The Art of War [Hardcover]

Both the HBO character Tony Soprano and the Wall Street maverick played by Michael Douglas expounded on the wisdom found in The Art of War by Sun Tzu. Reading this short book will provide you with interesting quotes at cocktail parties, such as "In peace prepare for war, in war prepare for peace."

As you may be aware, The Art of War is not a recent edition to Amazon's list; it missed Amazon by 25 centuries. It is, however, a favorite of many contemporary executives who believe that its lessons on strategy and tactics of warfare may be applied metaphorically to business situations. In addition, since it is read and studied in Asia, it is thought by many to provide insight into eastern thought and philosophy, especially in business competition.

As a reference for leaders, it provides timeless advice for dealing with conflict, especially in competitive situations. For example it provides advice to:

End conflicts quickly: "In all history, there is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare."

Conduct research thoroughly: "The general who wins a battle makes many calculations in his temple before the battle is fought."

Build Esprit de Corps at all levels of the organization: "He will win whose army is animated by the same spirit throughout all its ranks."

Beware of five leadership faults: recklessness, cowardice, delicacy of honor, hasty temper, and over solicitude for subordinates.

By the way, the correct answer is "E".

Sun Tzu's observations about military strategy also seemed of limited applicability today since they pertain to ground wars with very primitive weapons. For example, his point that one should obtain the superior vantage point and position from which to attack, while valid, would be understood today by the greenest officer just out of his military strategy and tactics course at the academy. There are some occasionally useful tidbits here, but overall, I suspect anybody trying to use these tactics in exactly the same way today in a confrontation with modern ground weapons wouldn't be a happy camper.

To give just a couple of examples of this, in John Keegan's excellent book on the history of warfare, The Face of Battle, he points out that in the Battle of the Somme in World War I artillery accounted for 90 per cent of the casualties--not the infantry. The importance of artillery has continued to this day, something which didn't exist at all in Sun Tzu's time.

As Keegan has pointed out, the first "modern" battle in the sense that it was the artillery that carried the day was in the 12th century Battle of Agincourt, where the much smaller English army using longbowmen decisively defeated a much larger French army, inflicting heavy casualties on the other side.

Secondly, the greater speed, destructive power, and maneuverability of modern armies, especially in the case of mechanized armor, dictates that the overall strategy and details of ground engagements will be substantially different from those in Sun Tzu's time. (I could cite other examples, since we haven't even considered the advent of air power, but I'll leave it at that).

The best way to appreciate this book is in the context of a classic that represented a high point in the military thinking of its time, but which has since been superceded. Basically this amounts to saying the work has historical value, and there is nothing wrong with that, but I wouldn't go too much further than that.

Also (assuming the story is true), anybody who would behead two of the Emperor's most beautiful concubines because they giggled during a marching exercise for the Emperor is a real jerk and should apply for membership in the Nazi Hall of Fame (more like Hall of Shame).

Finally, as seen from the editions of this book that purport to teach useful business principles derived from Sun Tzu's book-- westerners continually misinterpret Oriental classics like this and apply them to situations where they are not applicabl--and where even the Chinese wouldn't think of using them. Again, this is a book about war, and has very little relevance to business.

You'd think people would have taken a clue from the title, "The Art of War." It's doesn't say, "The Art of Business." What part of the title didn't they understand?

In fairness, I would sum up by saying Sun Tzu's book represents an important historical contribution, but it has been over- hyped far beyond its real worth to the modern reader, and inappropriately applied in other areas, such as business, where it has very little, if any, real relevance or value.

(P.S. Perhaps I would find B. H. Liddell-Hart's or Camille Clauswitz's books more profound as classics on war, as I did Kegan's books? I may try reading them and see if I find them more interesting and valuable than the Art of War. I have read articles about both books over the years, and they do seem more impressive, but I haven't actually read the originals yet. If I do, I will post a review on them here, as with the Sun Tzu book. Hopefully, I will have something more positive to say on these two also venerable classics.)