I enjoy a good Sun Tzu quote just like the other guy, But the supposed universal insights are highly overrated. This is especially the case when trying to apply the principles from The Art of War outside warfare, such as business or life in general.
One of my favorite contemporary writers is Edward Luttwak. He makes the claim that Sun Tzu and other Chinese texts shouldn’t be categorized as strategy but as stratagems. Strategems is defined as clever little tricks, strategy is more expansive, it brings in the ability to enter into other peoples minds. Luttwak explains that stories such as The Iliad will teach you strategy, which is a topic I’ve written in the past, whole books such as Grand Strategies by Charles Hill have been written about it. Reading literature helps you understand motivations and relationships between both individuals and multiple disciplines (war, finance, politics, logistics, geography, science, etc).
Miyamoto Musashi
Miyamoto Musashi was a Japanese Samurai that wrote The Book of Five Wrings, a text on strategy which I tend to go back to often. Musashi describes strategy with the term “The Way” where the individual uses the resources at hand to achieve success, which may be achieved through different methods and different paths. It’s not a recipe book, he explains that there’s multiple ways to achieve success, but once you know how to achieve success in one area of life, it’s much easier to replicate this in other areas. You might see this in individuals who are successful in business who have been in the military or participated in sports, and claim that these past experiences laid the foundation for their success in business. I’ll use some quotes to make my point:
“There is no one way to salvation, whatever the manner in which a man may proceed. All forms and variations are governed by the eternal intelligence of the Universe that enables a man to approach perfection. It may be in the arts of music and painting or it may be in commerce, law, or medicine. It may be in the study of war or the study of peace. Each is as important as any other. Spiritual enlightenment through religious meditation such as Zen or in any other way is as viable and functional as any “Way.”… A person should study as they see fit.”
From the start we realize that it’s not a book exclusive to war or martial arts, but it attempts to give insights into individuals in any discipline. Sun Tzu is giving advice in the context of warfare alone.
“Language does not extend to explaining the Way (strategy) in detail, but it can be grasped intuitively.”
“If you merely read this book you will not reach the Way of strategy.”
Musashi correctly asserts that strategy is a form of tacit knowledge. Those quoting Sun Tzu don’t understand the difference between tacit and explicit knowledge, and apply Sun Tzu’s quote out of context in the belief it has universal principles.
“It is the warrior’s way to follow the paths of both the sword and the pen. Even if he has no natural ability in these paths, a warrior is expected to do his share to the best of his ability.”
Musashi stresses the need for theory and practice, something we can also find in Machievellis work.
“The principle of strategy is having one thing, to know ten thousand things.”
Those who have achieved success in one area in life tend to be able to achieve success in others. There’s a process and a discipline that is required.
“Study strategy over the years and achieve the spirit of the warrior. Today is victory over yourself of yesterday; tomorrow is your victory over lesser men.”
“Determine that today you will overcome your self of the day before, tomorrow you will win over those of lesser skill, and later you will win over those of greater skill.”
Musashi explains that success is achieved by the slow process of skill development, not the quick application of a clever trick from Sun Tzu. This can be compared to the research for deliberate practice from Anders Ericsson and mindsets from Carol Dweck.
Ericsson came up with the most misunderstood concept of the ten thousand hour rule. Over a long period of a specific style of practice (“deliberate practice”) the brain slowly changes itself around this skill, developing myelin sheath through skill specific neurological axions which speeds up communication between certain neurological networks being practice. This process, along with the creation of memory chunking, is what produces talent.
Musashi is also encouraging what Carol Dweck coined as a “growth mindset” where the individuals who believe success and failure come from knowledge and willpower and skills can be improve through hard work will see a self fulfilling prophecy and their brains are literally wired for learning and see their skills increase. The opposite is the “fixed mindset” which is the belief that skills or talent are fixed and not much can be done to improve it. This also has connotations to the winner and loser effect as described by Ian Robertson and others, which I’ve written elsewhere.
“Truth is not what you want it to be; it is what it is, and you must bend to its power or live a lie.”
Musashi encourages an objective empirical reality that doesn’t bend to our wishes and emotions. Something all too often forgotten by todays society of safe spaces and trigger warnings. Some could say Musashi would encourage Thucydides, not Plato.
“The purpose of today’s training is to defeat yesterday’s understanding.”
Many of us often forget that most of our beliefs and world views are most likely distorted or a complete error. One must not only wish to gain new knowledge but discard erroneous ideas. What often happens is people create an identity around a certain belief or world view and attach moral principles to this identity. You can see this by how people get personally offended over political or “social issues” and no side cares to even consider they may be wrong and care to push their belief instead of arising into the truth through argument. This can be harmless in many occasions, but someone in a position of power can’t afford to live with comforting fantasies but look at the world objectively. \
“To win any battle, you must fight as if you are already dead”
This is an idea that often shows up in Western literature. Xenophon mentions it in one of his speeches in his Anabasis and Homer on The Iliad. Those who fear death (or any coward unwilling fearful of risk) will find success ungraspable.
“It may seem difficult at first, but everything is difficult at first.”
Good advice in any context. Either learning a new skill or starting a new venture or habit, after you jump into the water one becomes acclimated to it.
“The path that leads to truth is littered with the bodies of the ignorant.”
Failed theories and practices must be ruthlessly discarded, and often times are the stepping stones to truth.
“You must understand that there is more than one path to the top of the mountain.”
There’s a million ways to make a million dollars. One of the contemporary failures is the attempt to imitate success by following a recipe book. While there is often merit in this, people often forget that the market leaders often won by doing things differently than their competitors, not by imitating others. Reason must be applied.
“Even if you strive diligently on your chosen path day after day, if your heart is not in accord with it, then even if you think you are on a good path, from the point of view of the straight and true, this is not a genuine path. If you do not pursue a genuine path to its consummation, then a little bit of crookedness in the mind will later turn into a major warp. Reflect on this.”
This quote reminds me of the book Mastery by Robert Greene. In it he explains that if we are expected to dedicate the time to develop our skills in our profession, it must first be a discipline we intrinsically enjoy.
“When you decide to attack, keep calm and dash in quickly, forestalling the enemy…attack with a feeling of constantly crushing the enemy, from first to last.”
Don’t rush into anything half heartedly.
“When you have attained the way of strategy there will be nothing that you cannot understand. You will see the way in everything.”
This quote can be applied to the Western ability to think critically. This is a lost art, as you can see everyone considering themselves a sage, but are actually fools parroting out one logical fallacy after another and too moronic to comprehend their aping. An understating of critical thinking would have giving them insight into different disciplines.
“Whatever your determination or will power, it is foolish to try to change the nature of things. Things work the way they do because that is the way of things.”
An emphasis on objective reality. This could be related to the new managerial developments focusing on understanding the world as it really is (consultancies Cognitive Edge and ReD Associates). This is the opposed where we create an ideal state and try to breach the gap (As Dave Snowden would say).
“Do nothing which is of no use”
Reminds me of Machiavelli claiming that a prince must use times of peace to train and prepare for war, and if they lose in war it’s because they didn’t prepare during peace and thought things would always be good. It’s also a thought repeated in classical texts, comparing the Greeks or Romans who train and dwelve in useful pursuits as opposed to the barbarians who spend their life in trifles and pleasure.
“True warriors are fierce because their training is fierce.”
A thought echoed by Machievelli, Thucydides and Heraclitus. The quality of the individual comes from the quality of their training.
I could go on, but I believe the point is made. Despite the constant use of Sun Tzu in contexts outside war, Musashi shows up to be a much suitable alternative that is often ignored.