The Art of War

Sun Tzu

Laying Plans

“Now the general who wins a battle, makes many calculations in his temple at the battle before the battle is fought. The general who loses a battle makes few calculations beforehand… It is by attention to this point that I can foresee who is likely to win or lose.”

• Whoever has strategised the most, experimented the most and knows the most will always win.

***Quick Note To Anybody In Sales

“It is not enough to conquer, sometimes you must seduce” – Voltaire

• From a marketing perspective, this means not always being a slick high-pressure salesman/woman. But sometimes just letting people sell themselves, by talking to them about t their interests and what they are going gain.

Attack By Stratagem

“Supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting.”

• Don’t forget what Voltaire said!

“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.”

• Firstly, Know everything that you’re coming up against. With school, this is knowing what’s going to be on that exam and thus, how you are going to finesse it. In Sports, this is knowing everything about your opponent – – – their playing style, their strengths and their weaknesses. In business/business of life, this is knowing what your competitors are doing and what’s giving them a cutting edge. Walmart founder Sam Walton became one of the wealthiest men ever by being obsessed with his opponents. Secondly, know about yourself. What are your downfalls that you need to work on in order to rise up? And what are your strengths? Your strengths are what give you your cutting edge. Work on these strengths, sharpen them like a sword and become one of the best at what you do.

Tactical Dispositions

“He wins his battles by making no mistakes. Making no mistakes is what establishes the certainty of victory, for it means conquering an enemy that has already been defeated.”

• Warren Buffet famously debunked the misconception about mistakes. Only learning from mistakes only hampers your confidence and can lead to you giving up. What you want to do, is make as little mistakes as possible by learning from other people’s mistakes. This is why knowledge is so important.

Weak Points and Strong

“Water shapes it’s 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.”

“He who can modify his tactics in relation to his opponent and thereby succeed in winning, may be called a heaven-born captain.”

• Be adaptable.

The Use of Spies

“What enables the wise sovereign and the good general to strike and conquer, and achieve things beyond the reach of ordinary men, is foreknowledge.”

• KNOWLEDGE