Art of War: Why You Need This 2,500 Year Old Book

Why would a person of today, a civilian, want to read a manual for waging war that is over two thousand years old?

Sun Tzu felt that the wise general or leader could not simply rely on their knowledge of the terrain or the opposition but had to know themselves.

Victory, Sun Tzu says in The Art of War, comes to those who develop an ethic of constant refinement and improvement.

To become invincible, you must develop deep understanding and full control of your own reactions, and to be the same in the face of praise or blame.

In Chinese philosophy, leadership is character. People with great character, developed over time, naturally become leaders.

Other military treatises from its era were simply technical manuals on the mechanics of waging war. The Art of War provides a philosophy for action based on spiritual principles.

The wise general is attuned to the ‘Tao’ of a situation, or the way events are moving at any one moment in time. Such a leader can act objectively and with perfect timing.

The smart way to approach conflict is objectively, taking account of the aims of all parties in a situation. This goes against a ‘fight for your life’ mentality but will lead to quick wins with minimal losses.

It is possible to develop your conflict skills to such an extent that goals are achieved without even having to fight:

“One hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the most skillful. Subduing the other’s military without battle is the most skillful”

Read the other Memos in my Art of War Collection