WHY LEAD LIKE SUN TZU

In times of war and in times of peace, leaders are needed to lead other people to accomplish a collective vision.  Whether this vision is building a community museum, saving a great corporation from the brink of bankruptcy or winning a protracted conflict like the Vietnam War, leaders are needed to show the way in reaching visions.

How can Sun Tzu help leaders in reaching visions?

Sun Tzu        Photo: defesabr

A Chinese military general, strategist and philosopher who lived in ancient China hundreds of years before Christ was born, Sun Tzu had been attributed by historians as the author who wrote the popular book on leadership, TheArt of War.

So popular is this book that it's been required reading by the U.S. Command and General Staff of the United States Army in all its units and headquarters for the continuing education of its personnel in the art of war.

It is also included in most management training programs of large corporations in the US, Europe and Asia and it has continued to be regarded as an international bestseller at and in bookshops worldwide.

What’s in this book that it has become virtually the international bible on leadership and has been reported to have been read and studied by many notable figures such as Mao Tse Tung who had partially credited the book on his 1949 victory against Chiang Kai Chek.

Ho Chi Min had also asked his able General Giap and his Vietnamese officers to study and learn from the book and had been credited with winning the war against the French and American forces in Vietnam.

Even Douglas McArthur and his foes, the leaders of Imperial Japan, have drawn inspiration from the work.

Upon closer examination of the principles discussed in the book, it contains 13 chapters of strategies and tactics in managing conflicts and winning battles used by Sun Tzu when he served as a general for an emperor at war against other empires in ancient China.

There is no doubt in the wisdom behind his advice, strategically and tactically speaking. The book is filled with detailed “how-tos” in the art and science of warfare and they're applicable today as it was over 2,000 years ago.

What piqued my curiosity though is Sun Tzu’s attitude about war which he considered as a necessary evil that must be avoided whenever possible and which must be fought swiftly to avoid economic loss.  

For a man who’d been tested in battles and who had written about it, his philosophy should be heartwarming enough for peace-loving souls like me.