Steps Towards Business Agility
The Art of Strategy: Acknowledgements
Standing on the shoulders of giants
What is strategy? Why do you need it? How do you do it? And, how can you be more certain to succeed? The Art of Strategy provides timeless answers to these eternal questions. It is a modern reading of Sun Tzu’s Art of War using the lenses of strategists John Boyd and Simon Wardley (swardley). All parts. Other reading formats.
This interpretation of Sun Tzu’s The Art of War stands on the shoulders of the following brilliant scholars, researchers and translators who have wrestled with transforming the Art of War through time and space: Andrew Zieger, Bengt Pettersson, the Denma Translation Group, Derek Yuen, François Jullien, James Trapp, J.H. Huang, John Minford, John Sullivan, Jonathan Clements, Lionel Giles, Michael Nylan, Ooi Kee Beng, Peter Harris, Ralph Sawyer, R. L. Wing (Rita Aero), Roger Ames, Samuel Griffith, Thomas Cleary, Thomas Huynh and Victor Mair.
The Art of Strategy was inspired by Bob Marshall’s Product Aikido — a rendition of the US Marine’s Warfighting Manual in the light of non-violence and fellowship. Chet Richards’ master classes, talks and writings have helped me immensely in understanding John Boyd’s briefings.
I am forever thankful to Simon Wardley (swardley) for generously sharing, teaching and building a community around the innovative and valuable way of visualizing strategy and strategizing known as Wardley Mapping.
Hisayo Oki’s calligraphy has added another dimension to each part and with deep gratitude I thank her for transforming Sun Tzu’s wisdom into art.
And, I remember gratefully:
For valuable feedback on content and structure, Aidan Molloy, Akhilesh Chadha, Anand Purohit, Anne Lundbergh (alundbergh), Barry Bettman, Björn Sandberg, Chet Richards, Christer Hanefalk, Cliff Hazell, Damon Skelhorn, Francois Herrault, Gábor Oláh, Grigori Milov, Holger Gelhausen, Hugo Schön, Hunter Hastings, Jabe Bloom, Johannes Lindman, Johan Persson, Julius Gamanyi, Marc Burgauer, Mark J. McGrath, Markus Andrezak, Nadja Macht, Olivier de Meringo, Rod Leaverton, Staffan Nöteberg, sue borchardt, Susan Cohen and Yoko Schön.
For energizing encouragements and for spreading the word, AbGhaffar@, Adam Hansen, Adger De Boer, adrian Cockcroft, Adolfo Neto, Aleix Morgadas, Alek, Alex Irvine, Alexandro Leer, Ali Sabzi, Alistair Cockburn, Alizay Yousfzai, Amy Grech, Andi Roberts, Andreas Schliep, Andrew Harmel-Law, Andy Le, Ani, Anna Sandell, Anna Sannikova, Annika Steiber, Antoine Buteau, Arne Roock, Ashok Kumar, Baptiste, Beatric Düring, Ben Ford, Bengt Nyman, Benjamin Mosior, Björn Tikkanen, Mr.Blackwood, BMK, Bob Marshall, Brandon Nelson, Brian Byrne, Brian “Ponch” Rivera, Brigitte Pfeifer, Bruno Poggi, Cameron Priest, Miss Catherine La Grange, spinster, Casey Rosenthal, Cem Asma, Charles The Scientist, Chieko Yahagi Lundberg, Christopher James Eyre, Chris Jackson, Chris McDermott, Christopher McCann, Clementine, Coding Cossack, Corey Foy, Craig McPheat, cristene j g-w, Curtis Rosee Lyon, Daniel Bentes, Daniel Walters, Daniel ZivKovic, Daniils Petrovs, Dan J, Dave Abrahams, Dave Gray, David Holl, David Ingledow, David Mavrodiev, Davy Benoot, Dipti Singhal, Dominik Ortelt, Elinson, Elodie, Elyse Lopez, Eric-Jan Kaak, Esat Artug, Estee, Eugene Teo, Evert de Ruiter, Eyal Yaniv, Florian Meyer, Francesco Cesarini, Frederik Debonné, Fredrik Lindén, Frida Mangen, Gaurav Agrawal, Girish Kumar, Goksenin Yildirim, Gokalp Caniklioglu, Goran Skugor, Gösta von Stebut, Graham Boyd, Graham Dear, Gudjon Mar Gudjonsson, Hammad Saleem, Hans De Leenheer, Hans Gillior, Harprit Singh, Hasnain Mahoon, Henrik Kniberg, Henrik Mårtensson, Henrik Taubert, Hiba E., Håkan Forss, Igor Kurochkin, Ilona, Indra Gunawan Naumira, Ionut Craciunescu, Isabelle Svärd, Isak Dinesen, Jack Rotgar, Jacob miller, Jakub Stafa, James Cho, James Heys, Dr. Jamie Schwandt, Jan Höglund, Janice Fingler, Jan Korecky, Jan Martin Mikkelsen, Jaysonborga, J. D. Carlston, Jeff Sussna, Joakim Manding Holm, Joanna Wrona, Joanne Astley, Joaquín Peña Fernández (joapen), Johanah, Johan Nordin, Johannes Nordh, John Cutler, John Grant, John Hammersley, John Le Drew, JoJo, Jon Agust Arason, Jonas Jaconelli, Jonathan Dupré, Jonathon Fletcher, Jorge De Flon, Jorn de Vreede, Jorn Larsen, Jose Casal, Joseph Bironas, Josh, Justin Kotze, Kaneez Fatima, Karen Martin, Karl Scotland, Kate Crawford, Kenneth Wingårdh, Kristoffer Berg, Kyle Byrd, Lamberton Conservatory, Larry Zhong, Lars Schneider, Popovics László, lauris.muzikants, Leandro Ostera, leauuriz, Leslie Macpherson, Linda Franzén, Lou Hayes, Jr, Lucas Gonzalez, Ludovic Claude, Luis Herrera Benitez, Magdalena Pokorska, Mahlin Standar, Malcolm Silberman, Manish Andankar, Manuel Rubio, Marc Habenicht, Marco Manca, Marcus Guest, Marcus Hammarberg, Maria Ericsson, Maria Kristiansson, Marika Gartelius, Mario Lucero, Mark Craddock, Mark Gilbert, Mark Landy, Mark McCann, Mark Menzel, Martin Burns, Martin Shelford, Mary Poppendieck, Mason L’Amy, Matt Anderson, Matthew Skelton, Mattias Åhlander, Matt Mims, Max Luka (MaX Y. Y.), Mayank Dhingra, Meltem Ozdemir, Mia Kolmodin, Michael Göthe, Michael Leow, Michael Litton, Michael Shnayderman, Michał Mazur, Michel Löhr, Mikael Vesavuori, Mike Rother, Mina Boström Nakicenovic, Mr Medium Rare, Monica Madrid Costa, moreReese, Morgan, Nasser Ghanemzadeh, Nelson da Costa, Nick, Nicolas Pelloux-Prayer, Niklas Angmyr, Niki Cy, Nikos Batsios, Nuno Rafael Gomes, Ola Berg, Ola Ellnestam, Oleksandr Zarnytskyi, Olivier Duquesne, Omar Khawaja, Omer Chaudhri, Ondratra, Pablo Lischinsky, Patrick OConnell, Patrick Oké, Patrick Ruess, Dr Paul Anderson, Paul McBride, Paul Morgan, Pawel Kaminski, Pete Cohen, Petter Blomberg, Petter Weiderholm, Philip Ebuluofor, Philip Peroni, Piotr Gamracy, Piotr Kolmanowski, Prasanna K, PsychoMarcus, Quentin Hartman, Rajiv Shah, Ralph Richter, Ravi Kunapareddy, Reda Hmeid, Retha Prinsloo, Reza Nazarian, Richard Brillantes, Richard Thompson, Richard Veryard, Ritika Mittal, Rixt Wiersma, Rob England, Robert Wünsch, Rodrigo Bastos, Ron Donaldson, Rudiger Wolf, Rui Vale, Ruth Malan, saeed sobhani, S.a.n.a.h, Sebastian, Sean Horgan, Sgarcia, Shane Steinbauer, Shireesh Kurapati, Shruti, Simon Almström, Simon Wardley (swardley), Sky Chin, Smrutiranjan Sahu, Srinivasa Vivek Jothiprakasam, Stefano Roncoroni, Stephan Sutter (stephan.sutter_78046), Stephan Willemse, Stiven, Stuart Whitfield, SunDeep Mehra, @Sunlight L., Synergy, Takateru Shimbori, Tanamiranga, than naingoo, Tessa Rowan, Thiago Olson, Thomas Ploch, Tiani Jones, Tomas Björkholm, Tom Asel, Tomas Tulka, Tony Caink, Torill Iversen, Treston Hawkins, Tristan Slominski, Tshivhidzo Makungo, Tunde Lawal, Tyresia (Τειρεσίας), Ulf Lindberg, Umaima Aysel, Vadym Kazulkin, Vanessa Åsell Tsuruga, Vedat Güven, Viacheslav Katsuba, Victor Sollerhed, Woody Zuill, Xavi Pérez, Yanick Jair Andrade, Yanick Andrade, Yves Stalgies, Zach Denney, Zain Jaffer, Zeljka Sotra, Zevannya Maddyna, Zhongping Zhang and Zoltan Danko.
This work is in progress since I’d like it to evolve according to Your needs — would you be willing to share Your observations and reflections?
The Art of Strategy: All Parts
Contents: A very short summary of each part
Introduction: What is strategy and why do you need it?
- Assessments: How to assess, prepare and shape
- Challenges: How to use and reduce inertia, entropy and friction
- Success: How to succeed together with stakeholders
- Setup: How to create resilience
- Momentum: How to use creativity, focus and timing
- Shaping: How to shape and avoid being shaped
- Engagement: How to engage using surprise
- Adaptations: How to adapt to shifting situations
- Movements: How to move to optimize momentum
- Landscape: How to approach difficult areas
- Situations: How to handle difficult situations
- Disruption: How to disrupt and avoid being disrupted
- Intelligence: How to use intelligence to create foreknowledge
Annex: Wardley Mapping Examples
Glossary: Explanation of key terms and symbols
Acknowledgements: Standing on the shoulders of giants
Sources: Where to learn more
Other reading formats: Hardcover, paperback and PDF
This is provided as Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International by the author, Erik Schön.
Wardley Mapping is provided courtesy of Simon Wardley (swardley) and licensed as Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International.
