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Leadership Lessons from Sun Tzu’s Art of War
Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.
I first heard about the Art of War in 2002 during the football World Cup when the manager of Brazil (Luiz Felipe Scolari) made the whole Brazil squad read the book. The squad went on to win the World Cup. American football coach Bill Belichick, who is one of the greatest coaches in the history of the game with a record six Super bowl wins, is known to have used the text to gain insights when preparing for games.
It is clear that the Art of War has been used in many areas outside of the military with a lot of text being about fighting battles without actually having to battle. It explains how to out maneuver an opponent so that a physical battle is not actually needed. It is a book that I have related to more since working. It in particular has proven to help entrepreneurs and executives in relation to helping them succeed in competitive business situations. It is the one of my first books that I read out of enjoyment and it helped start my path into reading outside of what is required in either education or working life.
Sun Tzu’s Art of War was written between 771 to 476 BC but many leadership lessons can still be learnt as it is relevant today as ever.
