AKA Sun Tzu Ping-fa Translated by Thomas Cleary A book review by Shashank Dev Sondhi (86) ©2007 Shashank Dev Sondhi Roll No. 86 About the book • Publisher: Rupa & Co. Shambhala South Asia Editions • Noteworthy: – Half the book contains: 1. Translator’s Preface 2. Translator’s Introduction Sun Tzu’s Book’s chapters: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. Strategic Assessments Doing Battle Planning a siege Formation Force Emptiness and fullness Armed Struggle Adaptations Maneuvering Armies Terrain Nine Grounds Fire Attack On the use of Spies • 1st “edition” : 400-320BC • Price Tag: Rs. 195/- only • No. of pages: 172 (with commentary by five later philosophers) ©2007 Shashank Dev Sondhi Roll No. 86 About the Author • According to tradition, King Ho-lu of Wu hired Sun Tzu as a general approximately 512 BC after finishing his military treatise, the Sun Tzu (named after the author as was common in China prior to the Qin era). After his hiring, the kingdom of Wu, previously considered a semibarbaric state, went on to become the most powerful state of the period by conquering Chu, one of the most powerful states in the Spring and Autumn Period. Sun Tzu was the first to set out what we would now recognize as principles of war: moral influence, • weather, terrain, command, and doctrine. The first meant the trust of people in their leaders. By “command”, he meant the qualities and ability of the general and by “doctrine” he meant organization, command and control, and logistics. ©2007 Shashank Dev Sondhi Roll No. 86 After all these years! • In the 1980s The Art of War was adopted by Tokyo, Wall Street, and the City of London as a text for students of business strategy, and became fashionable dinner-party conversation for the so-called yuppies of the time • Sun Tzu’ s theory had been incorporated into the martial arts techniques of both offense and defense and of both armed and unarmed combat. His Bing Fa (art of war) was the philosophical basis of what we now know as the Asian martial arts. • His writing touches on basic concepts of competition and thus will be ever-relevant in the corporate arena. ©2007 Shashank Dev Sondhi Roll No. 86 Excerpts from the text ©2007 Shashank Dev Sondhi Roll No. 86 Strategic Assessments Leadership is a matter of intelligence, trustworthiness, humaneness, courage and sternness. Discipline means organization, chain of command, and logistics. ©2007 Shashank Dev Sondhi Roll No. 86 Doing Battle So the important thing in a military operation is victory, not persistence. ©2007 Shashank Dev Sondhi Roll No. 86 FORCE Making the army able to take on opponents without being defeated is a matter of unorthodox and orthodox methods ©2007 Shashank Dev Sondhi Roll No. 86 Emptiness and fullness Therefore, victory in war is not repetitious, but adapts its form endlessly. ©2007 Shashank Dev Sondhi Roll No. 86 Armed struggle So a military force is established by deception, mobilized by gain, and adapted by division and combination. ©2007 Shashank Dev Sondhi Roll No. 86 Maneuvering armies In military matters it is not beneficial to have more strength, only to avoid acting aggressively; it is enough to consolidate your power, assess your opponents, and get people, that is all. ©2007 Shashank Dev Sondhi Roll No. 86 So why is this important? • Armies are the oldest form of organization used for conquest • Outlines ways to think and plan when entering to do battle and… • Today’s competitive markets are like battle fields with sales and marketing at the very front in need of yester-years’ wisdom. • It models your thought by citing very basic grass root level concepts of strategy which can be applied by lateral positioning. ©2007 Shashank Dev Sondhi Roll No. 86 I’m a student! I’m broke 28 days a month! I can’t spend Rs. 195 on a book! The guy died loooong ago why and how is he still getting the royalty? • It is available for free online @ http://www.archive.org where it is stored under the world’s largest non profit ebook project Project Gutenberg. ©2007 Shashank Dev Sondhi Roll No. 86 Sources • • • • • I actually read the whole book. Seriously! No seriously! Would I lie to you! I haven’t read the Marketing Management content because I was reading this! ©2007 Shashank Dev Sondhi Roll No. 86 Thank you for your time. ©2007 Shashank Dev Sondhi Roll No. 86