‘The Art of War’, the ancient MBA course (and possibly the best one ever)

The Art of War is a classic book on military strategy written by Sun Tzu.

‘The Art of War’ is an all-time classic. You can apply lessons from the book to all kinds of everyday conflicts. There have been many strategies but nobody did a better job of conceptualizing the competition between forces than Sun Tzu did. It is widely regarded as the most influential landmark work that covers key principles of strategy and competition.

Some people avoid this book because it contains the word war. In reality, business is a modern warfare under the guise of a different name. Strategy in business is a relatively new enterprise. It really came into existence in the late 50s and when it did it started as an offshoot of military strategy. (The famous Peter Drucker was one of those thinkers who initiated this implementation) But since then, it has become a fundamental and integral part of business management. Do you want a quick MBA tutorial? Go get a copy of The Art of War.

One of the worst business mistakes we make is that we pay too much attention to numbers and stop watching people like a hawk. Many entrepreneurs think business is all about the numbers. They spend most of their energy on quantifying everything. All business is personal. You must be equipped with an in-depth understanding of human nature so you can manage your teammates, predict your competitor’s next move, and understand what your customer really wants.

I think that’s why the book has had the staying power. The world has changed dramatically since the age of Sun Tzu but mankind has not changed much in the philosophical sense. Our fear, desire, and motives have remained constant for many centuries. Unlike similar books from his time, Sun Tzu’s book is more about the philosophy rather than the mechanics of war.

The book is full of priceless quotes. It is not easy to pick which one is the most famous or influential. However, I am sure that my favorite one is at the list of the top 10, or even the top 5.

“The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting”

Having unnecessary carnage is not the object of competition. If you try to crush your competitors then they will fight you back. The war will cost you even if you manage to win. Did you manage to outpower your competitor today? Don’t celebrate, not just yet, because your competitor now hates you and will do anything to get revenge on you.

The good strategy is you position yourself on the playing field that your competitors have no choices other than staying out of your game and choosing to compete elsewhere.

How would you do that? You must ask yourself what you can do uniquely. Find something you can do better or a particular set of customers you can serve better. Do not compete. Instead, play differently so you don’t even have to compete. Make new rules and find new playing fields.

Many people think the business strategy is about eliminating competitors. If Sun Tzu is teaching an MBA course in the 21st century, he would have advised to stop focusing on the competitors and find ways to serve the customers better. ??????