Art of Winning – Sun Tzu’s 30 Useful Advises for Leadership and Management

Sun Tzu was a Chinese military general, A war leader and A strategist. His thoughts on how you can be a great leader and winner in everything be it work, leadership, management and life has been documented in his world famous book “Art of War”, Here I am summarizing his 30 most powerful thoughts which can be used for Today’s Leaders and Managers...

1.     When you are on a job you will only have two outcomes either you will succeed or you will fail, As in his own words about the war - It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin.

2.     According as circumstances are favorable, one should modify one's plans.

3.     All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.

4.     If your opponent is secure at all points, be prepared for him. If he is in superior strength, evade him. If your opponent is of choleric temper, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant, If he is taking his ease, give him no rest. If his forces are united, separate them. Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected.

5.     The best Art of War it to win over your enemies without fighting, In his own words - Therefore the skillful leader subdues the Opponents resistance without any fighting; he captures their cities without laying siege to them; he overthrows their kingdom without lengthy operations in the field.

As per him, these are essentials for victory:

One will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight.

One will win who knows how to handle both superior and inferior forces.

One will win whose army is animated by the same spirit throughout all its ranks.

One will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared.

One will win who has military capacity and is not interfered with by the sovereign.

And To know your Enemy, you must become your Enemy.

7.     For a success, it is important to know yourself as well as your opponent – Sun Tzu said “If you know the opponent and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the opponent, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the opponent nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”

8.     To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself. Thus the good fighter is able to secure himself against defeat, but cannot make certain of defeating the opponent Hence the saying: One may KNOW how to conquer without being able to DO it.

9.     A clever leader is one who not only wins, but excels in winning with ease.

10.  One wins his battles by making no mistakes. Making no mistakes is what establishes the certainty of victory, for it means conquering an enemy that is already defeated. Hence the skillful fighter puts himself into a position which makes defeat impossible, and does not miss the moment for defeating the enemy.

11.  Learning, practicing every day is important for winning, Even the finest sword plunged into salt water will eventually rust.

12.  A good leader cultivates the moral law, and strictly adheres to method and discipline; thus it is in his power to control success.

13.  Thinking out of the box is necessary, In all fighting, the direct method may be used for joining battle, but indirect methods will be needed in order to secure victory. There are not more than five primary colors (blue, yellow, red, white, and black), yet in combination they produce more hues than can ever been seen. Similarly, In battle, there are not more than two methods of attack: the direct and the indirect; yet these two in combination give rise to an endless series of maneuvers.

14.  A good leader will be terrible in his onset, and prompt in his decision.

15.  Simulated disorder postulates perfect discipline, simulated fear postulates courage; simulated weakness postulates strength.

16.  Whoever is first in the field and awaits the coming of the enemy, will be fresh for the fight; whoever is second in the field and has to hasten to battle will arrive exhausted.

17.  A leader is skillful in attack whose opponent does not know what to defend; and he is skillful in defense whose does not know what to attack.

18.  Rouse your opponent, and learn the principle of his activity or inactivity. Force him to reveal himself, so as to find out his vulnerable spots. Carefully compare the opposing one with your own, so that you may know where strength is superabundant and where it is deficient.

19.  All men can see the tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved. Do not repeat the tactics which have gained you one victory, but let your methods be regulated by the infinite variety of circumstances. Military tactics are like unto water; for water in its natural course runs away from high places and hastens downwards. So in war, the way is to avoid what is strong and to strike at what is weak.

20.  A leader needs to be like water, just as water retains no constant shape, so in outside world there are no constant conditions.

21.  He who can modify his tactics in relation to his opponent and thereby succeed in winning, may be called a heaven-born captain. The five natural elements (water, fire, wood, metal, earth) are not always equally predominant; the four seasons make way for each other in turn. There are short days and long; the moon has its periods of waning and waxing.

22.  Practice dissimulation, and you will succeed. Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.

23.  A leader needs to be anticipative rather retrospective and should under the signs and signals, The Book of Army Management says: On the field of battle, the spoken word does not carry far enough: hence the institution of gongs and drums. Nor can ordinary objects be seen clearly enough: hence the institution of banners and flags.

24.  One also need to be Disciplined and calm, to await for the right time to attach this is the art of retaining self-possession. For example, In a war, soldier's spirit is keenest in the morning; by noonday it has begun to flag; and in the evening, his mind is bent only on returning to camp. A clever general, therefore, avoids an army when its spirit is keen, but attacks it when it is sluggish and inclined to return. This is the art of studying moods.

25.  The art of war teaches us to rely not on the likelihood of the enemy's not coming, but on our own readiness to receive him; not on the chance of his not attacking, but rather on the fact that we have made our position unassailable.

26.  All prefers high ground to low. and sunny places to dark, Master the opposite and you sure be a winner.

27.  Confront your men with the deed itself; never let them know your design. When the outlook is bright, bring it before their eyes; but tell them nothing when the situation is gloomy.

28.  If the opponent leaves a door open, you must rush in.

29.  Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys; look upon them as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you even unto death. But be cautious as if you are indulgent, but unable to make your authority felt; kind-hearted, but unable to enforce your commands; and incapable, moreover, of quelling disorder: then your soldiers must be likened to spoilt children; they are useless for any practical purpose.

30.  The Leader (General in war) who advances without coveting fame and retreats without fearing disgrace, whose only thought is to protect his country and do good service for his sovereign, is the jewel of the kingdom.

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