Sun Tzu's Art of War

EntrepreneurshipVicky Zhao

About the author• Sun Tzu was born into minor nobility in

Shandong province of China.

• Sun Wu was given a good education and wrote a military treatise in order to get noticed and hired by royalty.

• Sun Wu's name was changed to Sun Tzu on the Art of War as a sign of his status a master of philosophy.

Introduction

• One of the oldest and most successful books on military strategy in the world.

• Huge influence on Eastern military thinking, business tactics, and beyond

• The Art of War has also been applied to business and managerial strategies

Historical Context• The time of this book: it was written in Chinese

Spring and Autumn period & came into the fore in the Warring States Period.

• The famous thoughts:

1.Confucius' ideas came to dominated Chinese Rulers' methods as “Confucianism”.

2. Sun Tzu's book developed a life of its own, finding its way into the hands of Chinese General Centuries

Main Ideas• The book is all about victory. • How to get what you want

without conflict.  • How to win if conflict arises. • To describe his strategy, Sun

Tzu describes its five elements:

Main ideasElements Meaning in the Art of War

Path(道）Mutual philosophy & purpose of the group: Even enemies will help each other if they are together on a boat that is in trouble.  Similarly sharing ideas and identification, bind people together into a useful, cohesive team. 

Heaven（天）

Environmental factors: The prevailing conditions determine what plans you can undertake.  These conditions are too big and general to be controlled by people.

Earth（地）

Situation: This is similar in effect to environment but on a smaller scale that you and your opponent can control, if you know how. 

Leader（将）

Leadership: Leadership allows you to make good plans because of your perception, foresight, emotional intelligence and objectivity.  It allows you to implement your plans because of your control of your troops.

Law（法） Art, as in "Art of War": This is the skill and ability to implement your strategy.  Preparation and coordination are essential here.

Chapter summaryChapter summary

1. 始计 Laying Plans 2. 作战 Waging War

3. 谋攻 Attack by Stratagem 4. 军形 Tactical Dispositions

5. 兵势 Energy 6. 虚实 Illusion and Reality

7. 军争 Maneuvering

Chapter summaryChapter summary

8 、九变 The Nine Variations 9 、行军 The Army on the March

10 、地形 Terrain 11 、九地 The Nine Situations

12 、火攻 Fiery Attack 13 、用间 The Use of Spies

Application• Military applications: In many East Asian cou

ntries, The Art of War was part of the syllabus for potential candidates of military service examinations. Various translations are available and were used by some European military institutions, for instance, in Germany before World War I. In the United States Marine Corps, it is reportedly required reading for intelligence personnel and recommended for all Marines.

• Besides these, all those thoughts in The Art of War are of great value for us to win an informationalzed war. This paper shows how to apply these tactics to informationalized wars.

Application• Out military applications: • Politics:It has found use in political campaigning as well;

Republican election strategist Lee Atwater claimed he traveled everywhere with the book

• Business: Most notably the book has gained popularity in corporate life; there have been a variety of business books written that apply its lessons to "office politics" and corporate strategy. Many Japanese companies make the book required reading for their key executives. The book is also popular among Western business management, who have turned to it for inspiration and advice on how to succeed in competitive business situations.

Application• Others: Some have also interpret

ed The Art of War as providing methods for developing social strategies, such as developing social relationships, maintaining romantic relationships, and seduction. The book stresses subtlety and always making it appear like one is trying to achieve something other than one's actual intention.

• 故曰：知彼知己，百戰不殆；不知彼而知己，一勝一負；不知彼，不知己，每戰必殆。

• So it is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you can win a hundred battles without a single loss.

• If you only know yourself, but not your opponent, you may win or may lose.

• If you know neither yourself nor your enemy, you will always endanger yourself.

Thank You