Art of War

I have heard of Sun Tzu (孫子)'s "Art of War" book on military strategy and how applicable it is even in the corporate world, but have never gotten round to reading it. For more details, click here. What brought about this post on the art of war? Recently, some pieces of "public information" were made available, and then, previous pieces of "whispers in the wind" of certain actions by some individuals suddenly made greater sense.

And it got me thinking of an adage I heard before: "Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer". Looking it up, it brought me to Sun Tzu's "Art of War", and looking at other notable quotes, I have observed situations in which they were being practiced in the corporate world:

1. What is essential in war is victory, not prolonged operations.

2. Be extremely subtle, even to the point of formlessness. Be extremely mysterious, even to the point of soundlessness. Thereby you can be the director of the opponent's fate.

3. The best victory is when the opponent surrenders of its own accord before there are any actual hostilities... It is best to win without fighting.

4. A military operation involves deception. Even though you are competent, appear to be incompetent. Though effective, appear to be ineffective.

5. All men can see these tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved.

6. All warfare is based on deception.

7. For to win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill. Hence to fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting.

8. It is essential to seek out enemy agents who have come to conduct espionage against you and to bribe them to serve you. Give them instructions and care for them. Thus doubled agents are recruited and used.

9. Now the reason the enlightened prince and the wise general conquer the enemy whenever they move and their achievements surpass those of ordinary men is foreknowledge.

10. Of all those in the army close to the commander none is more intimate than the secret agent; of all rewards none more liberal than those given to secret agents; of all matters none is more confidential than those relating to secret operations.

There are actually more quotes, and these are but a sampler. The higher up you go, the more intense the "war". Of course, there are people who are actually genuine with their intentions in the corporate world, but for the most part, one would practice some semblance of the above quotes in one form or another.

Not sure if you would agree with me, but the machinations of war will always be prevalent, and the victor, typically will be the ones who make the silent strikes.