Book "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu
When I started reading this book I was surprised how old it was, I consider that this book is pure strategy to win and get victorious of a war. When reading I could relate some of the principles to management concepts, such as the direction of the generals, teamwork and unanimity of the troops that directed. In this analysis I intend to highlight those concepts and strategies that I could identify throughout my reading.
In the first chapter I can highlight the five factors to assess the art of war: doctrine (which would be harmony in the country or in the organization), time (the deadline, stations, constant change), the land (the land (The situations, the place where we move, where we show survival, the market or the same organization), the command (the person who directs and who must possess certain qualities) and the discipline (which must be the basis of the troops, as well as the policies, objectives and values are the basis of an organization).
Something that caught the attention of the first chapter is that I talked about an evaluation, precisely for the leader or commander of the troop. These, like managers, must comply with certain qualities, be wise and capable, have talent, better training, and others. Just as a manager must be trained, have conceptual, technical and conceptual skills.
Another thing that caught my attention throughout the book was that he said that "the art of war is based on deception", confusing the enemy and not letting this know about our strategies to attack him off guard and ensure victory. Always seek to be prepared and better than the adversary and not let this see the weaknesses of one but always make him believe that he is at a disadvantage.
In Chapter II, he speaks of how to manage resources and how we should not end our supplies, but to make good use of ours and take the enemy. Do not let us be stripped, but strategically think that we never lack anything.
In that same chapter I can highlight the way he talks about rewards for troops, to give them initiative, as well as a manager this motivates the people in charge to work with mood, one of the strategies it gives is not that of noreward everyone, but a few and that this is motivation for the entire troop. So also how to put prison soldiers on your part, turn your enemies into your allies.
In Chapter III, it tells me that "those who get them to impotent the people of others without fighting are the best masters of the art of war", focusing that winning the war is not to attack, destroy and end up in disaster, but avoid thedamage the most possible, making the enemy surrender to you. He also instructs not acting full of anger because that will only lead to acting based on impulse without thinking, so it is better to be wise, with prudence and cunning.
In chapter IV I told me that I must develop my invincibility and make use of the vulnerability of my enemies to attack. It teaches to act with premeditated strategies and plans, use the right weapons and conserve the laws, which would be my objectives of the organization.
In chapter V he talks about the force of impetus, the perception of you, I interpret it as the image you make known. We must remain firm in front of our enemies, our competitors, act with cunning and not let them find out about my plans. He mentioned that the "good warriors" are able to choose the best people, display them properly and let the impetus strength achieve their objectives, as well as a good manager must select the appropriate staff for each task, direct them effectively and maintainEnthusiasm, order, motivation, conviction and commitment.
In chapter VI follows the theme of the strategy, how to make strategic changes to confuse enemies, not repeat the same strategies, but continue innovating and adapting to change, to know the place and time of battle and cover all my flanksTo prevent any attack. Know my surroundings, the environment where I find myself, the process in which I work and know how to act, as they say "war warned does not kill a soldier".
In Chapter VII I highlight the parties “thus, an army perishes if it is not equipped, if it has no provisions or if it does not have money” where it tells me that if it is prepared, if you do not have resources and tools, I do not knowYou can go afloat. Thus, administer my resources strategically. Also when it talks about the land "only when you know every detail of the condition of the land you can maneuver and war" I relate it to knowing the market, or knowing a process, when we work in an industry we must know the whole process and train ourselves to be able to identify thestrategies that we are going to use.
In Chapter VIII, I highlight the part of “When you are in a closed terrain, prepare a strategy and move. When you are in mortal terrain, fight ”, which instructs me to be strategic, not to give up in closed situations, to fight until the end.
In chapter IX I could see more relationship with management, “military maneuvers are the result of plans and strategies in the most advantageous way to win”, choose the optimal option by determining the effectiveness of my troop. He also talks about not lowering his guard, but always staying awake for any change or any unexpected situation. Another part was to give orders clearly, simple and consistently to the troops, these accept them, as with a manager, orders and guidelines must be expressed correctly, so that everyone can understand.
In chapter X I was able to relate a characteristic that said that he should have the commanders of howYou can give orders, so informal that you cannot discipline them, your soldiers will be as spoiled children and, therefore, unusable ”, as well as when a manager cannot be very friendly with the staff in charge, because later they take it as a relaxation,You cannot be so informal, you have to correct errors.
The following chapters told me about various military strategies that use, different types of land and how to act in each one, such as “when there is no place where to go, it is a mortal land” and also how to use thisType of land to motivate soldiers. How to attack with each type of fire and the use of spies to obtain information from the enemy, although I believe that today it would not be to act against the competition, but rather I would see how to have spies within the same staff to know what problemsThey are emerging.
As last words, even if this book was intended for the military field I could relate it to the field of management and although it was published thousands of years ago, I could see that even today we can apply some of those concepts, interpreting them correctly. I could also see some levels of management in the military hierarchical ranges, such as the emperor would be senior management, of patrimonial type, the Prince Middle Command and the generals would be first line.
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