Sun Tzu The Person
Sun Tzu The Person
Background
Sun Wu, Wu, better known as Sun Tzu or Sunzi (pronounced [swə ́ n tsɨ ̀]), was an ancient Chinese military general, strategist and philosopher who is traditionally believed, and who is most likely, to have authored the Art of War , an influential ancient Chinese book on military strategy. Sun Tzu has had a significant impact on Chinese and Asian history and culture, both as an author of the Art of War and through legend. During the 19th and 20th centuries, Sun Tzu's A r t o f W ar ar grew in popularity and saw practical use in Western society, and his work has continued to influence both Asian and Western culture and politics
Background (cont’d)
Historians have questioned whether or not Sun Tzu was an authentic historical figure. Traditional accounts place him in the Spring and Autumn Period of China (722 –481 BC) as a military military general serving under King Helü of Wu, who lived c. 544 —496 BC. Modern scholars accepting his historical place the completion of T h e A r t o f W a r in the Warring States Period (476 –221 BC), based on the descriptions of warfare in the text, and on the similarity of text's prose to other works completed in the early Warring States period
Statue of Sun Tzu in Yurihama, Tottori, Tottori, Japan
The 13 Chapters
The Essence Of The Art Of War Is:
To know yourself and your opponent To make victory the only option
To shape your opponent’s
strategy To invest in intelligence resources To make time your ally To make the devious route the most direct To be disruptive and intrusive
To know the weaknesses of your opponent To drive your competition crazy To think out of the noise To make your opponent part of your force To think, meditate, visualize and plan ahead To handle information better than anyone else To win without fighting
Sun Tzu’s War Samples Of Wisdom
Deception
All war is based on deception.
All war is deception.
All warfare is based on deception
Generals/Leaders That Ignored Sun
Tzu’s Advice and Paid The Price
Alexander The Great --- India
Hannibal --- Italy
Robert Lee --- Gettysburg
Napoleon --- Russia
Hitler --- Russia
Lyndon Johnson --- Viet Nam
George W. Bush --- Afghanistan
If She Can Read It …
Strategy
Thus, what is of supreme importance in war is to attack the enemy's strategy Speed is the essence of war. Take advantage of the enemy's unpreparedness; travel by unexpected routes and strike him where he has taken no precautions
Strategy
The expert in battle seeks his victory from strategic advantage and does not demand it from his men Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat
Formula For Defeat
These are the six ways of courting defeat – neglect to
estimate the enemy’s strength; want of authority; defective training; unjustifiable anger; nonobservance of discipline; failure to use picked men . . .
Sun Tzu’s Leadership Wisdom
Leadership
For them to perceive the advantage of defeating the enemy, they must also have their rewards If ignorant both of your enemy and yourself, you are certain to be in peril. Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys; look on them as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you even unto death
Please Visit The Website For More Wisdom
Five Elements for Comparing Competitive Position
Philosophy: A competitor with a strong philosophy is a strong competitor. A clear philosophy makes decisionmaking easier. Understanding your competitor's philosophy allows you to predict them. Heaven (Insight): Trends over time that are beyond your control. You must foresee these changes to adjust to them.
Five Elements for Comparing Competitive Position
Ground: It is both where you fight and what you fight for. The Ground is the basis of all competition because it is what people are fighting about. Competitors are distinguished by the position they hold on the ground. You can and must chose the ground over which you battle. Your choice of ground is a key aspect of your success.
Five Elements for Comparing Competitive Position
Leader: The success of the competitive unit depends on five qualities in its leader: bravery, intelligence, strictness, trust in and care about people. Methods: Methods have five qualities the make them effective: systems, organization, learning, support, and standards.
Laertis
33
The Four Skills The five elements that define a competitive position also create the four skills that define the competitor's interaction with the competitive environment:
Knowing
Vision
Action
Positioning
Laertis
34
LIFE Of The Leader
Leadership
Information (and Wisdom)
Focus
Execution
Must excel in all of them --- if not alone, with the help of others
What Is SPARKLE?
Character can be assessed in terms of seven factors: Self-Image, Purpose, Accomplishment, Responsibility, Knowledge, Loyalty and Ego (expressed in Excellence and Effort). The effectiveness of organizational activities, and indeed its very substance, depends on the tone and quality of the character of its leaders
Leadership
When the common soldiers are too strong and their officers too weak, the result is INSUBORDINATION. When the officers are too strong and the common soldiers too weak, the result is COLLAPSE. When the higher officers are angry and insubordinate, and on meeting the enemy give battle on their own account from a feeling of resentment, before the commander-in-chief can tell whether or no he is in a position to fight, the result is RUIN
Laertis
37
Leadership
A leader leads by example not by force Engage people with what they expect; it is what they are able to discern and confirms their projections. It settles them into predictable patterns of response, occupying their minds while you wait for the extraordinary moment — that which they cannot anticipate
Leadership
If words of command are not clear and distinct, if orders are not thoroughly understood, the general is to blame. But if his orders are clear, and the soldiers nevertheless disobey, then it is the fault of their officers What enables the wise sovereign and the good general to strike and conquer and achieve things beyond the reach of ordinary men is f o r e k n o w l ed g e (= w i s d o m )
Leadership
The general who wins the battle makes many calculations in his temple before the battle is fought. The general who loses makes but few calculations beforehand Too frequent rewards indicate that the general is at the end of his resources; too frequent punishments that he is in acute distress (wise use of sticks and carrots)
Sun Tzu’s Spiritual Wisdom
Key Spiritual Messages
Prevent conflicts before they arise Peacefully and quickly resolve conflicts when they do arise Act with courage, intelligence, and benevolence in adversarial situations
Convert potential enemies into friends
Control your emotions before they control you
Spiritual Flavor
In peace prepare for war, in war prepare for peace Treat your men as you would your own beloved sons. And they will follow you into the deepest valley You have to believe in yourself
Spiritual Flavor
Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win (it’s all about attitude) (Positive Attitude and The Power of Intention)
The enlightened ruler is heedful, and the good general full of caution
Spiritual Flavor
It is only the enlightened ruler and the wise general who will use the highest intelligence of the army for the purposes of spying (= learning and observing), and thereby they achieve great results Opportunities multiply as they are seized (one opportunity opens many other doors) (courage and faith to move ahead)
Spiritual Flavor
Military tactics are like unto water; for water in its natural course runs away from high places and hastens downwards... Water shapes its course according to the nature of the ground over which it flows; the soldier works out his victory in relation to the foe whom he is facing. Therefore, just as water retains no constant shape, so in warfare there are no constant conditions. He who can modify his tactics (and is flexible) in relation to his opponent and thereby succeed in winning, may be called a heaven-born captain
Spiritual Flavor
Unhappy is the fate of one who tries to win his battles and succeed in his attacks without cultivating the spirit of enterprise (endeavor + teamwork + innovation) for the result is waste of time and general stagnation. Hence the saying: The enlightened ruler lays his plans well ahead; the good general cultivates his resources The masterful leader cultivates the moral law, and strictly adheres to proper methods and discipline; thus it is in his power to control success
Interesting Myth About Sun Tzu
Once he won the war and opened the door for his Lord to new riches and power he left his command and disappeared in the into the backwoods of China. He became a commoner realizing that riches and power corrupt people. He was more spiritual than anyone thought. He lived a paradoxical life. He was a war monger and yet he yearned for peace; he was a master of deception and yet he loathed it, he proposed cunning and manipulation and yet he despised it, he earned riches and yet he walked away from them
