Sun Tzu’s 13 Chapters and The Art of More

I have been involved in building businesses since 1994. Since that time I have been very fortunate to be a part of some stunning successes, work with some incredibly talented and committed people and been blessed to have worked hard enough on myself to bounce back from some deeply painful defeats. 

Today, I continue to help people grow their business, and it's something I simply love doing.

Over this time our approach has become more focused, methodologies more refined, data sources more evolved and the engagement with clients more direct, or shall we say “more authentic”. Each business I have launched is a statement of personal evolution and learning but the focus has always on learning and helping people grow.

Over the journey, I found an explanation of our methodology, one that has always been second nature to me. I fell in love with the teachings, principles and practices of The Art of War (孙子兵法), a collection of the teachings of a famous and incredibly successful Chinese general, military strategist, writer and philosopher Sun Tzu (545BC - 470BC).

So, to pay respect to a philosophy studied by leaders in military, politics, business and sport for thousands of years and to give wholehearted consideration to the very real challenges of growing a business and to our focus of “helping people find a way of winning”, we called our business The Art of More.

The other reason for this choice was the ability of Sun Tzu's philosophy to be applied to many and varied situations. It covers aspects such as knowledge of the terrain and competitor, self-awareness, and avoidance of unnecessary and untimely conflict. Ultimately Sun Tzu was about achieving victory without battle. As one of my mentors would say, that in its core meaning, The Art of War is in fact The Art of Peace.

Also, importantly, the concepts and principals articulated in the text are timeless, because they pertain to people, behaviours and human nature.

Further, what isn’t commonly known is that the very title of this work has been contested. The Art of War is considered by many to be The Art of Strategy, a position strongly held by author RL Wing in his 1988 translations.

Wing believes that translating the Chinese character used for “War” (bing) to mean Strategy, is not only a common translation but also most faithful to Sun Tzu’s objective: the achievement of triumph through tactical positioning, without resorting to battle.

For some, the philosophy is simply referred to as Sun Tzu’s 13 Chapters. 2,500 years provides plenty of room for interpretation!

For me, I love the meaning of each of the perspectives and principles of these teachings, and most of all the incredibly holistic nature of the thinking. 

I have been taught that strategy is a “sport of completeness” and without completeness, we simply operate in tactical actions based on effort, hope and chance. In fact, what many call a strategy in modern-day business cannot be truthfully defined as anything but tactical. Current practice is not holistic in its considerations and not complete in its form or impact. It may only partly consider competitors and sometimes does not at all. It also very often fails to encompass an informed view of the way in which the competitive environment or terrain is likely to change.

So again, to pay respect to a philosophy studied by millions of people for thousands of years and to give consideration to the very real challenges of growth, change and uncertainty, we would like to extend the teachings in our social media efforts.

We will share stories and lessons over the journey, and when thinking about some of the things we’d like to share with you, sharing the philosophy of Sun Tzu was one of the first “cabs off the rank”.

Over the course of the next 12 months, we will post specific principles and perspectives contained in the Art of War and ground these with very brief, real-life examples of people who succeeded and failed at the hands of these principals.

We encourage your feedback and questions, and in the meantime, we hope you enjoy them.

#leadership #curiosity #entrepreneurship #consciousness #theartofmore