Sun Tzu Best Advice

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THE ART OF WAR - Sun Tzu

Elizabeth Bogner

May 17, 2011

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-art-of-war-sun-tzu-2011-5?IR=T&

 

Sun Tzu Best Advice
ON MANAGEMENT	1. Care about your team, but also be a hard-ass ·         There are 5 dangerous faults which may affect a general: o    recklessness, which leads to destruction; o    cowardice, which leads to capture; o    a hasty temper, which can be provoked by insults; o    a delicacy of honour, which is sensitive to shame; o    over-solicitude for his men, which exposes him to worry and trouble Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valley; Look upon them as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you even unto death When the general is weak and without authority; when his orders are not clear and distinct; when there are no fixed duties assigned to officers and men, and the ranks are formed in a slovenly haphazard manner, the result is utter disorganization.
	2. Hire great people, because weak, frustrated subordinates will cripple you 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.
ON STRATEGY	1. Know thine enemy Move not unless you see an advantage; use not your troops unless there is something to be gained; fight not unless the position is critical.
ON TACTICS	1. All warfare is based on deception
	2. Be decisive and quick The quality of decision is like the well-timed swoop of a falcon which enables it to strike and destroy its victim.
	3. Exploit your enemy's weaknesses, avoid his strengths avoid what is strong and to strike at what is weak
	4. Don't just do something for the sake of doing something -- make sure it helps you If it is to your advantage, make a forward move; if not, stay where you are.
	5. Plan ahead -- don't make it up as you go Ponder and deliberate before you make a move. Concentrate your energy and hoard your strength.
WARNING	1. Don't attack someone just because they pissed you off
INFORMATION IS KING	1. Don't go into battle without knowing what you're up against Knowledge of the enemy's dispositions can only be obtained from other men. compare the opposing army with your own, so that you may know where strength is superabundant and where it is deficient He who knows things, and in fighting puts his knowledge into practice, will win his battles. He who knows them not, nor practices them, will surely be defeated.
HOW TO LOSE	1. Tell your people to do something they can't; promote idiots; or work your team to death There are 3 ways in which a ruler can bring misfortune on his army: By commanding the army to advance or to retreat, being ignorant of the fact that it cannot obey. This is called hobbling the army. By attempting to govern an army in the same way as he administers a kingdom, being ignorant of the conditions which obtain in an army. This causes restlessness in the soldier's minds. By employing the officers of his army without discrimination, through ignorance of the military principle of adaptation to circumstances. This shakes the confidence of the soldiers.
MISCELLANEOUS	1. Drag your ass out of bed early -- and other tips Bestow rewards without regard to rule, issue orders without regard to previous arrangements; and you will be able to handle a whole army as though you had to do with but a single man.
ON WINNING	The good fighter is able to secure himself against defeat, but cannot make certain of defeating the enemy. One may know how to conquer without being able to do it. There are five essentials for victory: He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight. He will win who knows how to handle both superior and inferior forces. He will win whose army is animated by the same spirit throughout all its ranks. He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared. He will win who has military capacity and is not interfered with by the sovereign.
THE BOTTOM LINE	If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.