🎯 The Art of War & Leadership

While some leadership principles in the military won’t fit in business today, some very old Confucianism and Taoism concepts, surprisingly enough, still apply to leaders of the modern world.

The criteria offered by The Art of War for assessment of the military leadership are traditional virtues also much emphasized in Confucianism and medieval Taoism; intelligence, trustworthiness, humaneness, courage and sternness. According to the great Chan Buddhist Fushan, “Humaneness without intelligence is like having a field but not plowing it. Intelligence without courage is like having sprouts but not weeding. Courage without humaneness is knowing how to reap but not how to sow.” The other two virtues, trustworthiness and sternness are those by which the leadership wins both the loyalty and obedience of the troops.

The above can be read in any modern translation of Sun Tzu’s The Art of War. These are leadership virtues that are still very much applicable for today's leaders. Core values of today's organizations still cover Intelligence in innovation, business excellence, leadership in the industry, and overall competitiveness; Courage in integrity, compliance, business conduct, and disruptive behavior in the market; Humaneness in employee centricity, culture of participation, performance-based rewards, and workplace diversity.

Dating from the 5th century BC, The Art of War was written in thirteen chapters, with each chapter focusing around a specific aspect of warfare.

Reading through each of the chapter's title in the table below from four different translation efforts, one can already form some understanding on how the key ideas presented in the book can still be applied to modern leadership.

The book I can be seen reading in the photo to the left is an illustrated version translated by Thomas Cleary in 1998.

Chapter	Lionel Giles (1910)	R.L. Wing (1988)	Ralph D. Sawyer (1996)	Chow-Hou Wee (2003)
I	Laying Plans	The Calculations	Initial Estimations	Detail Assessment and Planning (Chinese: 始計)
II	Waging War	The Challenge	Waging War	Waging War (Chinese: 作戰)
III	Attack by Stratagem	The Plan of Attack	Planning Offensives	Strategic Attack (Chinese: 謀攻)
IV	Tactical Dispositions	Positioning	Military Disposition	Disposition of the Army (Chinese: 軍形)
V	Use of Energy	Directing	Strategic Military Power	Forces (Chinese: 兵勢)
VI	Weak Points and Strong	Illusion and Reality	Vacuity and Substance	Weaknesses and Strengths (Chinese: 虛實)
VII	Maneuvering an Army	Engaging The Force	Military Combat	Military Maneuvers (Chinese: 軍爭)
VIII	Variation of Tactics	The Nine Variations	Nine Changes	Variations and Adaptability (Chinese: 九變)
IX	The Army on the March	Moving The Force	Maneuvering the Army	Movement and Development of Troops (Chinese: 行軍)
X	Classification of Terrain	Situational Positioning	Configurations of Terrain	Terrain (Chinese: 地形)
XI	The Nine Situations	The Nine Situations	Nine Terrains	The Nine Battlegrounds (Chinese: 九地)
XII	Attack by Fire	The Fiery Attack	Incendiary Attacks	Attacking with Fire (Chinese: 火攻)
XIII	Use of Spies	The Use of Intelligence	Employing Spies	Intelligence and Espionage (Chinese: 用間)

Chapters One to Three can be used in strategic business planning in business today. This involves starting with a vision and statement of direction, carefully calculated profit and loss model that defines acceptable margin, an ambitious but realistic road map; and key strategies around communication, and management.

Chapters Four to Eight may be applied to creating governance models that will guide staff on how business will be conducted on a daily basis. These chapters can also guide today's leaders in defining key focus areas, and aligning SMART action plans to those in the short-term.

Chapters Nine to Eleven may help new leaders learn about situational leadership, responding to a challenge the organization is encountering for the first time,with agility and flexibility.

Finally, in this age when corporate and economic espionage are both grave criminal offenses, chapters Twelve and Thirteen can still help new leaders appreciate the value of business intelligence, no surprise dashboards, and keeping track of competitors' activities.

Here are some of my favorite quotes from the book that I try to use as references in guiding my staff towards success:

On the Importance of Following Through

Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.

On Diversity & Talent Mix

There are not more than five musical notes, yet the combinations of these five give rise to more melodies than can ever be heard.There are not more than five primary colors, yet in combination they produce more hues than can ever be seen.There are not more than five cardinal tastes, yet combinations of them yield more flavors than can ever be tasted.

On the Importance of Building Trust

Treat your men as you would your own beloved sons. And they will follow you into the deepest valley.

On the Importance of Planning

Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.

On General Leadership

A leader leads by example, not by force.

On Managing Employee Behavior

Engage people with what they expect; it is what they are able to discern and confirms their projections. It settles them into predictable patterns of response, occupying their minds while you wait for the extraordinary moment — that which they cannot anticipate.

Credits:

Terracotta Warriors Image - Pixabay
Business Strategy - Pixabay
Business Meeting - Pixabay
Situational Leadership - Infographics

References:

The Art of War
Sun Tzu's 31 Best Pieces Of Leadership Advice