Sun Tzu was a master philosopher, strategist, and military general who lived during the Zhou dynasty, some 2500 years ago. Originally a military text of stratagem, The Art of War has influenced military and political leaders throughout the centuries. His ideas still hold true today and are highly applicable to the modern-day battleground...corporations.
Organizations have a collective psychology and oftentimes an underlying psychosis. Despite nearly 100 years of effort to make management a science, starting with Frederick Taylor in the early 1900s, organizations today are still composed of individuals and their feelings. Even though decisions that are made in everyday business are supposedly rooted in logic and rational thought, almost all decisions are ultimately judgments, and just like all of human behavior, those judgments are based on the individual's mood, feelings, and thoughts.
This volume is to be consumed in small chunks, and highlights 21 of Sun Tzu's most applicable strategies. It is aimed toward helping the individual to become a master of his or her surroundings, situations, and adversaries in a corporate environment.
This volume applies ancient philosophy to modern-day situations and highlights how we can influence the behavior of others by creating the environment we want, tapping into the feelings and thoughts of others, and ultimately impacting leadership judgments.
Some may call it manipulation, some may call it deception. I call it the Art of Modern War.