Tr ansl at i on, I nt r oduct i on, Expl anat i ons,

and Adapt at i ons of Concept s

by Gar y Gagl i ar di

A Gi f t t o You Fr om
Sci ence of St r at egy I nst i t ut e
The wor l d s l eadi ng member shi p or gani za-
t i on f or st udyi ng Sun Tzu s st r at egy.
www. War sRul es. com
THE
ART
OF
WAR
Sun
TZU s
The Power of Sun Tzus Strategy
I have personal l y used t he ideas i n t his book to bui l d a successf ul career i n
cor porate sal es, management , and market i ng. Then I went on to st ar t my own
sof t ware company, which became one of t he Inc. 500 fastest growi ng companies i n
Amer ica. Af ter sel l i ng my sof t ware company, I have dedicated my l i fe to spreadi ng
t he War r iors Rul es of wi nni ng wit hout conf l ict t aught i n t his book.
My mission became even more i mpor t ant when I was diagnosed wit h cancer.
As I went t hrough t reat ment , I saw t hat many of my fel l ow pat ient s were l iteral l y
dyi ng because t hey hadnt been t rai ned how easy it is to make good st rategic deci -
sions. It was t hat exper ience t hat l ead me to st ar t t he Science of St rategy Inst i -
t ute, gi vi ng our members access to our Warriors Rule Book t hat expl ai ns Sun Tzus
met hods i n ever yday ter ms.
Whi l e you are may be readi ng t his book out of cur iosit y, we hope it i nterest s
you i n l ear ni ng more about usi ng Sun Tzus system to make bet ter decision. You
wi l l f i nd t hat t hey can help you make faster, easier progress i n your l i fe wit h l ess
conf l ict .
Si ncerel y,
Award Recognition for Strategy Books by Gary Gagliardi
(Click on the book title to read more about it on the web.)
Youth Nonction
Independent Publishers
Book Award
2006 - Seminalist
The Warriors Apprentice
Business
Independent Publishers
Book Award
2006 - Seminalist
Strategy for Sales Managers
Self-Help
Foreword Magazine
Book of the Year
2005 - Finalist
The Warrior Class:
306 Lessons in Strategy
Philosophy
Foreword Magazine
Book of the Year
2005 - Finalist
Strategy Against Terror
Multicultural Nonction
Independent Publishers
Book Award
2005 - Finalist
The Art of War
Plus Its Amazing Secrets
Sports
Foreword Magazine
Book of the Year
2007 - Finalist
The Ancient Bing-fa:
Martial Arts Strategy
Career
Foreword Magazine
Book of the Year
2007 - Finalist
Making Money by Speaking:
The Spokesperson Strategy
Multicultural Nonction
Independent Publishers
Book Award
2003 - Winner
The Art of War Plus
The Ancient Chinese Revealed
Psychology/Self-Help
Ben Franklin
Book Award
2006 - Winner
The Golden Key to Strategy
Business
Ben Franklin
Book Award
2004 - Finalist
Warrior Marketing
The Science of Strategy Institute
Seattle, WA, USA
ScienceOfStrategy.org
Clearbridge Publishing
clearbridge.com
Published by Clearbridge Publishing, a division of the Science of Strategy Institute.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any part or by any means, electronic or mechani-
cal, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the
Publisher, except where permitted by law.
Dedicated to my wife, Rebecca,
who makes it all wonderful!
What Mastering The Art of Wars Secrets Will Do For You ...... 6
Introduction: How to Understand Sun Tzu More Easily ....... 9
Sun Tzus The Art of War
1 Analysis ............................................................................. 12
2 Going to War ..................................................................... 20
3 Planning an Attack ............................................................. 27
4 Positioning .......................................................................... 35
5 Momentum ....................................................................... 42
6 Weakness and Strength ...................................................... 51
7 Armed Confict .................................................................... 61
8 Adaptability ....................................................................... 70
9 Armed March ..................................................................... 76
10 Field Position ..................................................................... 89
11 Types of Terrain ............................................................... 100
12 Attacking With Fire ........................................................... 118
13 Using Spies .....................................................................................125

C o n t e n t s
6
What Masteri ng The Art of War s Secrets Wi l l Do For You
by Gary Gagl i ardi
Our world is getting more challenging, but it is also bursting with new opportunities. One of
those opportunities is joining with other people who are studying the strategic principles in this
book. To be successful, we all need to use better strategy, but not just in the sense of long-term
planning, which works less and less well in our dynamic age. We need to make our everyday
decisions from a more competitive perspective. Our information age is dened by interconnected
organizations and adaptive processes, but we grew up in an education system that taught us only
how to work in hierarchical organizations and pre-planned processes. We need new strategic skills
for the decision-rich environment in which we now live. Read most about these challenges here.
The heart of Sun Tzus strategic system are two ideas: that strategic positions are created from
a natural balance of forces and that we can leverage those forces to win without conict. Sun
Tzus system teaches us that successful people are ordinary people who saw their opportunity and
acted on it. You cannot predict or plan the path that will take you to your goals. You can only dis-
cover that path. You can see that path more clearly if you master Sun Tzus Warrior Rules (listed
here). These rules are simple to understand. Fighting is costly. We all have limited resources. We
must use those resources to make progress in ways that leverage the support of others while avoid-
ing their opposition.
As you will learn in going through this book, Sun Tzu sees competition in terms of advancing
your position. As a science, Sun Tzus strategy combines concepts from modern physics, psychol-
7
ogy, and economics. Today, the science of decision-making called cognitive engineering, rapid
cognition, and recognition-primed decision-making The most recent scientic research docu-
ments that the super powers that Sun Tzu teaches are real and available to us all. To learn more
about the science behind adaptive strategy, click here.
This translation is for those who are willing to work to fulll their potential. It is for people
who want to join with others in learning Sun Tzus approach to strategy. Sun Tzus work has
a long history of creating winners. Our work on Warrior Rules opens its secrets to everyone.
Sun Tzus methods have been proven to work in every competitive arena--on the battleelds, in
business, politics, sports, etc. You can read more about the success of those using our materials,
including this free book, here.
Sun Tzus strategy provides a clear framework for understanding complex and fast-changing
situations. Your success requires understanding your position, leveraging your opportunities, and
responding properly to specic situations. In the Institutes training programs for our members,
these three areas of study are called position awareness, opportunity development, and situational
response. Instead of expecting a specic result, these methods work to advance your position by
exploring situations to uncover the opportunities hidden within them. You cannot know ahead of
time what opportunities will come in the course of a day, much less in the course of your lifetime.
Read this book now and re-read it again a few months from now. On your second reading,
you will discover that, as your situation changes, different lessons become more cldear. When
I rst started studying Sun Tzu, after reading the book several times, I realized that I was miss-
8
ing the greater part of Sun Tzus system because they didnt apply to my immediate situation. My
day-to-day decisions were based on my old habits, not Sun Tzus principles. I only discovered my
mistakes after the fact when I re-read the book. It was at that point, I decided to get serious about
learning Sun Tzus system instead of just reading and re-reading the book. After I began carefully
studying Sun Tzu and actively using his ideas every day, my life began to change, getting better
and better in every way. This is why we developed the Warriors Rule Book, so our members could
nd the lessons they need when they needed them.
The Science of Strategy Institute and our WarriorRules website was created as a home for
those who are interested in developing their strategic skills. Apply for membership today!
9
I n t r o d u c t i o n : Understandi ng Sun Tzu s Strategy
by Gary Gagl i ardi
In English translation, much of Sun Tzus The Art of War sounds like vague aphorisms, espe-
cially when we dont see how they apply to our immediate situation. However, in the original
Chinese, the work is a series of very specic strategic formulas that can be applied to may different
situations. We can translate these formulas only approximately into English sentences. To make
understanding more challenging, many of these concepts are expressed in the rich cultural tradi-
tion of ancient Chinese science. To appreciate what this means, we may want to read the Chinese
Philosophy Overview, which explains the conceptual framework on which Sun Tzus work is built.
We describe Sun Tzus work as the science of strategy because there is a huge difference
between a scientic work and a self-help book. When reading science we have to read every word
carefully to master the terminology. Each concept is built on the foundation of previous ideas. We
can open a self-help book to any chapter and understand the basic ideas without studying the
preceding chapters carefully. The authors include examples, illustrations, exercises, and practice
drills to help us master key concepts. Sun Tzus work lacks all these features, which is why we
redeveloped them as our list of Warriors Rules.
In Sun Tzus work, the difference between ght, conict, battle, and attack is as great as
the difference between rational numbers, irrational numbers, real numbers, and imaginary
numbers in mathematics. As in mathematics, we can understand what the words rational irra-
10
tional, real, and imaginary mean and still have no idea about how those terms dene different
types of numbers. The same is true in Sun Tzus work. When we read ght, conict, battle,
and attack we assume we know what is being said. We quickly forgetand often do not even
noticeSun Tzus very specic denitions of terms.
My notes in this edition call attention to concepts that are easily missed and how important
earlier denitions are to understanding a given passage. As the work goes on, Sun Tzu uses his
specialized vocabulary to express more complex ideas. Most of these ideas are difcult to explain
without this specialized vocabulary. However, since casual readers do not master the underlying
concepts, they cannot understand the competitive rules that are being explained.
The book denes the concepts controlling a strategic position and how a position is advanced
in a competitive environment. Chinese scientic tradition taughtas modern science doesthat
most concepts are best expressed in the formal relationships of formulas. A good example is
E=MC2, which can be generally described as the relationship between energy and matter.
Because of depth of meaning in each Chinese character, every line has a wealth of useful appli-
cations. The only real secret to Sun Tzu is that it takes time and effort to learn his system just like
it takes time to master any userful skill. This is why we invite people to join our organization, and
sign up for our on-line courses, and live training.
Sun Tzu discusses three aspects of strategy in his work. The rst two chapters and the nal
one concentrate on positioning. The middle chapters concentrate on identifying and exploring
opportunities to advance and build up positions. The penultimate and largest section of the book
11
explores the responses required to address a specic competitive situations. Since we retain only
5 percent of what we read, unfortunately, the chances that we will not remember the right prescrip-
tions for a specic situation after only reading the book. This is why re-reading it a few times is
essential so we can see how much we missed.
We hope that reading the book will interest you further in understanding and using these tech-
niques. We designed the our membership on-line training to make mastering these ideas quick,
easy, and even fun. In our training, we provide the examples, illustrations, exercises, and activi-
ties, and that you would expect in learning a science, but we do it in an adult learning environment
where our attendees draw from their real-life experiences to illustration Sun Tzus methods. We
have Institute trainers all over the world training individuals within organizations in these tech-
niques. For more information about our live training, visit our training site where we explain our
program. If you are a trainer or consultant yourself (or want to become one, visit our trainers site,
where we explain our licensing program.
C h a p t e r 1 : A n a l y s i s
Sun Tzu said:
1
This is war.
It is the most important skill in the nation.
It is the basis of life and death.
It is the philosophy of survival or destruction.
You must know it well.
6
Your skill comes from fve factors.
Study these factors when you plan war.
You must insist on knowing your situation.
1. Discuss philosophy.
2. Discuss the climate.
3. Discuss the ground.
4. Discuss leadership.
5. Discuss military methods.
Many find the cultural aspects of this work
fascinating. The original Chinese is much more
like formulas than sentences. For example:
Competition = survival + destruction
Position = philosophy + climate + ground +
leadership + method
Sun Tzus system is the interaction of all these
formulas together. We can use the same
formulas to analyze any challenging situation.
Sun Tzus system is the interaction of all these
formulas together. The five elements described
here are based on the five classical elements
in Chinese science and philosophy.
The Ar t of War 12
14
It starts with your military philosophy.
Command your people in a way that gives them a higher shared purpose.
You can lead them to death.
You can lead them to life.
They must never fear danger or dishonesty.
19
Next, you have the climate.
It can be sunny or overcast.
It can be hot or cold.
It includes the timing of the seasons.
23
Next is the terrain.
It can be distant or near.
It can be diffcult or easy.
It can be open or narrow.
It also determines your life or death.
Like a work of science or mathematics, Sun
Tzus goal is to simplify complex conditions
with a list of rules. To this end, a large portion
of Sun Tzus work is spent defining conditions
clearly. Much of what Sun Tzu writes may
seem vague, but it is very specific if you keep
track of all his definitions.
In our Warriors Rules, we repeatedly explain
these key concepts in context so you can learn
them. Unfortunately, Sun Tzu doesnt repeat
his definitions. You must remember them.
13 Chapt er 1: Anal ysi s
General is,
Intelligence, trust, love, bravery, strict also.
Method is,
Bend system,
Government ofcial philosophy,
Ruler use also.
All here ve are,
General not no hear,
Knowledge of is victory,
No knowledge of is no victory.
Make school by plans,
2
And yet demand this situation.
Says:
Ruler that has philosophy,
General that has ability,
BONUS MATERIAL:
The Chinese Revealed
For our members who are
interested in the original
Chinese, we offer a Chinese
transliteration in The Art of
War Plus The Ancient Chinese
Revealed. This book is the
only book that shows English
readers what Sun Tzu actu-
ally wrote. It was also the first
book to use our side-by-side
system, showing the Chinese
with our English translation.
By letting you see the original
text, you can compare differ-
ent translations of The Art of
War to see for yourself what
is gained and often lost in
translation. All of our books
on Sun Tzu are based on the
Chinese formulas, not our
English translation.
The Ar t of War 14
28
Next is the commander.
He must be smart, trustworthy, caring, brave, and strict.

30
Finally, you have your military methods.
They shape your organization.
They come from your management philosophy.
You must master their use.
34
All fve of these factors are critical.
As a commander, you must pay attention to them.
Understanding them brings victory.
Ignoring them means defeat.
2
You must learn through planning.
You must question the situation.
3
You must ask:
Which government has the right philosophy?
Which commander has the skill?
Sun Tzus Warriors Rules teach that these five
elements are the foundation for understanding
strategic positions. In our Rule Book, we orga-
nize Sun Tzus lessons into nine types of stra-
tegic skills, 1) position awareness, 2) perspec-
tive development, 3) opportunity recognition, 4)
opportunity evaluation, 5) minimizing mistakes,
6) rapid response, 7) creative response, 8)
claiming positions, and 9) securing positions.
15 Chapt er 1: Anal ysi s
As an information-based science,
strategy must focus on the quality
of information.
The basis of all strategy is the fact
that all information is inherently
flawed because all people can and
should disguise their true positions.
Strategy is designed to leverage
this fact.
Heaven ground that obtain,
Method command that moves,
Army crowd that strong,
Ofcer soldier that train,
Reward penalize that bright,
We by this know victory defeat will be;
General listen our plan,
Uses it must win,
Remain it;
General no listen our plan,
Uses it must defeat,
Remove it.

Plan advantage by means of listening,3
Therefore become of situation
By means of assist this outside,
Inuence one,
Reason advantage and system
The Art of War Plus The Ancient
Chinese Revealed took years of
research to develop, but this
work was critical in creating
a deep understanding of Sun
Tzus formulas. Today, this
work is used as a standard
for translation worldwide. It
is easier for most countries,
even countries in Asia such
as Thailand, to develop their
translation of Sun Tzu from
the work we have done in this
translation .
The Ar t of War 16
Which season and place have the advantage?
Which method of command works?
Which group of forces has the strength?
Which offcers and men have the training?
Which rewards and punishments make sense?
This tells when you will win and when you will lose.
12
Some commanders perform this analysis.
If you use these commanders, you will win.
Keep them.
Some commanders ignore this analysis.
If you use these commanders, you will lose.
Get rid of them.
3Plan an advantage by listening.
Adjust to the situation.
Get assistance from the outside.
Infuence events.
Then planning can fnd opportunities and give you control.
Are you frustrated because your plans dont
work out in many situations? In competitive
situations, peoples plans collide creating situa-
tions no one plans. The rules that Sun Tzu
teaches for competitive decision-making are
an on-going process of developing prespective
on our competitive situations.
Training our strategic instincts starts with
identifying the five factors introduced in this
chapters how they shape our positions.
17 Chapt er 1: Anal ysi s
4Warfare is one thing.
It is a philosophy of deception.
3
When you are ready, you try to appear incapacitated.
When active, you pretend inactivity.
When you are close to the enemy, you appear distant.
When far away, you pretend you are near.
7
You can have an advantage and still entice an opponent.
You can be disorganized and still be decisive.
You can be ready and still be preparing.
You can be strong and still avoid battle.
You can be angry and still stop yourself.
You can humble yourself and still be confdent.
You can be relaxed and still be working.
You can be close to an ally and still part ways.
Developing strong strategic instincts requires
questioning the quality of our information.
We dont need perfect information to make
good decisions. All information is inherently
flawed because people disguise their true in-
tentions. Sun Tzus rules factor this fact int our
thinking. Warriors Rules are meant to works
where key information is unknown.
The Ar t of War 18
You can attack a place without planning to do so.
You can leave a place without giving away your plan.
17
You will fnd a place where you can win.
You cannot frst signal your intentions.
5Manage to avoid battle until your organization can count on certain victory.
You must calculate many advantages.
Before you go to battle, your organization's analysis may indicate that you might not win.
You can count few advantages.
Many advantages add up to victory.
Few advantages add up to defeat.
How can you know your advantages without analyzing them?
We can see where we are by means of our observations.
We can foresee our victory or defeat by planning.
Dont be misled when Sun Tzus
stanzas seem like vague aphorisms.
The problem is that many ideas are
difficult to translate. Understanding
them requires knowing key aspects
of Sun Tzus culture. This verse, for
example, describes counting, but
it is based on a Chinese system of
tokens used to analyze conditions.
Mastering Sun Tzus means learn-
ing to do these counts automatically
and instinctively so we make better
decisions quickly.
19 Chapt er 1: Anal ysi s
C h a p t e r 2 : G o i n g t o Wa r
Sun Tzu said:
1
Everything depends on your use of military philosophy.
Moving the army requires thousands of vehicles.
These vehicles must be loaded thousands of times.
The army must carry a huge supply of arms.
You need ten thousand acres of grain.
This results in internal and external shortages.
Any army consumes resources like an invader.
It uses up glue and paint for wood.
It requires armor for its vehicles.
People complain about the waste of a vast amount of metal.
It will set you back when you attempt to raise tens of thousands of troops.
Study and practice helps us internalize the
skills taught by Sun Tzu so we can use them
automatically every day to make decisions.
The concept of an invader described here
is based on the idea that all positions must
be advanced into new areas to be improved.
Most peoples progress in life slows down
because they stop learning and growing.
We must invade new areas to make prog-
ress in advancing your position.
The Ar t of War 20
12
Using a huge army in battle makes success very expensive .
Long delays create a dull army and sharp defeats.
Attacking enemy cities drains your forces.
Long, violent campaigns that exhaust the nations resources are wrong.
16
Manage a dull army.
You will suffer sharp defeats.
Drain your forces.
Your money will be used up.
Your rivals will multiply as your army collapses and they will begin against you.
It doesnt matter how smart you are.
You cannot get ahead by taking losses!
23
You hear of people going to war too quickly.
Still, you wont see a skilled war that lasts a long time.
25
You can fght a war for a long time or you can make your nation strong.
You cant do both.
When we stop learning and growing, our
progress slows down and our position starts
declining. Continuing our education requires
time, effort, and even money, but it is easier
and cheaper in an association with others. If
we want to continue to improve our position
throughout our lives, we need to develop
skills at seeing new opportunities and
quickly pursuing them.
21 Chapt er 2: Goi ng t o War
Make no assumptions about all the dangers in using military force.
2
Then you won't make assumptions about the benefts of using arms either.
3
You want to make good use of war.
Do not raise troops repeatedly.
Do not carry too many supplies.
Choose to be useful to your nation.
Feed off the enemy.
Make your army carry only the provisions it needs.
The nation impoverishes itself shipping to troops that are far away.3
Distant transportation is costly for hundreds of families.
Buying goods with the army nearby is also expensive.
High prices also exhaust wealth.
If you exhaust your wealth, you then quickly hollow out your military.
Military forces consume a nations wealth entirely.
War leaves households in the former heart of the nation with nothing.
Much of the science of strategy is based
upon the uncertainty of predicting the
future. The science sets out rules that
result in good outcomes despite an un-
certain future.
This section provides the basis for ideas
later in the work that deal with chaos or
complexity in very modern ways.
Sun Tzu clarifies what we can and cannot
know about the future. We increase our
chances of success by testing each opportu-
nity with a minimum of risk.
People value their membership in the
Institute because they want to make good
decisions in unpredictable conditions. We
can advance our position with our current
resources if we have the necessary competi-
tive skills and use them more and more.
The Ar t of War 22
2
Warriors never pretend that they know all the risks in choosing a course of action.
Because you cannot know all the costs in advance, you cannot know your eventual rewards either.
You must invest your efforts wisely.
You cannot afford to constantly correct your mistakes.
Plan to use small steps forward.
Pick projects that are certain to improve your position.
Use everything others give you.
Plan your progress to maintain the resources you need.
3 Warriors who move too far from what they know fnd that they are poorer for it.
Distance is another form of cost that makes success unlikely.
The further you go, the higher the price you must pay.
You cannot afford the cost of far-fung projects.
The efforts you put into traveling cannot also be used to build up your position.
Moving too far afeld can destroy your position completely.
Long-distance campaigns erode dependable forms of support and erode your position.
BONUS MATERIAL:
The Warriors Apprentice
The Warriors Apprentice, Your First Guide to
Strategy is another of our award-winning
books. It explains and adapts Sun Tzus
ideas to make them easier to understand
and use in your everyday life. As shown
here, its side-by-side format shows the
complete text of The Art of War on the
left-hand pages and the apprentice ad-
23 Chapt er 2: Goi ng t o War
8
War destroys hundreds of families.
Out of every ten families, war leaves only seven.
War empties the governments storehouses.
Broken armies will get rid of their horses.
They will throw down their armor, helmets, and arrows.
They will lose their swords and shields.
They will leave their wagons without oxen.
War will consume 60 percent of everything you have.
Because of this, it is the intelligent commanders duty to feed off the enemy. 4
2
Use a cup of the enemys food.
It is worth twenty of your own.
Win a bushel of the enemys feed.
It is worth twenty of your own.
6
You can kill the enemy and frustrate him as well.
Take the enemys strength from him by stealing away his money.
The tangible resources of warhorses,
armor, helmets, etc.are also a meta-
phor for all the resources that we cannot
afford to lose, especially our time. All
resources are limited
The point here is that conflict is costly.
We cannot predict its outcome. Every
move is an experiment. We master Sun
Tzus system so that we can learn how
to experiment safely.
The Ar t of War 24
The life of the warrior is inherently dangerous.
Many attempts at advancing your position are doomed to fail.
Every attempt at moving forward is costly.
Don't risk your future mobility on the possibility of failure.
You must maintain sources of support to defend your position.
Warriors always know how to hold onto their assets.
Warriors always protect their ability to move.
Warriors keep advances small, quick, and local to minimize costs.
4 Warriors maintain their resources through campaigns that return more than they consume.
You can win more time.
An hour spent today can save twenty hours in the future.
You can leverage your fnances.
Invest a dollar today to save twenty dollars in the future.
You can improve your situation and gain resources as well.
Address the diffculties that steal away your resources and weaken your position.
The Warriors Apprentice is espe-
cially popular among young
adults who want to live the
warrior way. It was written to
apply to anyones life, but the
way we express these ideas
are particularly chosen for the
types of challenges young
adults face.
25 Chapt er 2: Goi ng t o War
8
Fight for the enemys supply wagons.
Capture his supplies by using overwhelming force.
Reward the frst who capture them.
Then change their banners and fags.
Mix them in with your own wagons to increase your supply line.
Keep your soldiers strong by providing for them.
This is what it means to beat the enemy while you grow more powerful.
5Make victory in war pay for itself.
Avoid expensive, long campaigns.
The military commanders knowledge is the key.
It determines whether the civilian offcials can govern.
It determines whether the nations households are peaceful or a danger to the state.
This page contains one of the key for-
mulas for strategic understanding. It is
the basis for much of the framework for
understanding opportunities. Can you
spot it? We cannot advance our position
unless we realize that our successes
must pay for themselves.
The Ar t of War 26
C h a p t e r 3 : P l a n n i n g a n A t t a c k
Sun Tzu said:
1
Everyone relies on the arts of war.
A united nation is strong.
A divided nation is weak.
A united army is strong.
A divided army is weak.
A united force is strong.
A divided force is weak.
United men are strong.
Divided men are weak.
A united unit is strong.
A divided unit is weak.
12
Unity works because it enables you to win every battle you fght.
Still, this is the foolish goal of a weak leader.
Avoid battle and make the enemys men surrender.
This is the right goal for a superior leader.
Sun Tzu lays out the whole need for a mem-
bership organization here. The relationships of
united versus divided is well defined in Sun
Tzus strategy as complementary opposites.
The last verse here is critical. Unity helps us
win not only in a fight but primarily by helping
us see ways to avoid unnecessary battles. The
question is how our reflexes are trained. Most
of us have been trained to struggle through
life instead of win easily. This is easier working
with a group of like-minded people.
27 Chapt er 3: Pl anni ng an At t ack
2
The best policy is to attack while the enemy is still planning.
The next best is to disrupt alliances.
The next best is to attack the opposing army.
The worst is to attack the enemys cities.
5
This is what happens when you attack a city.
You can attempt it, but you cant fnish it.
First you must make siege engines.
You need the right equipment and machinery.
It takes three months and still you cannot win.
Then you try to encircle the area.
You use three more months without making progress.
Your command still doesnt succeed and this angers you.
You then try to swarm the city.
This kills a third of your offcers and men.
You are still unable to draw the enemy out of the city.
This attack is a disaster.
Institute members get the opportunity to learn
about these concepts in depth. For example,
these four policies connect to the four steps in
advancing a position, Learn-Aim-Move-Claim.
There are many such numbered cross refer-
ences in this work. Five connects to the five
key factors. Six connects to the six dimen-
sions of an opportunity, and so on. This tradi-
tion goes back to the I Ching and the bagua
as we explain in this article on the sources of
Sun Tzu.
The Ar t of War 28
3Make good use of war.
Make the enemys troops surrender.
You can do this fghting only minor battles.
You can draw their men out of their cities.
You can do it with small attacks.
You can destroy the men of a nation.
You must keep your campaign short.
8
You must use total war, fghting with everything you have.
Never stop fghting when at war.
You can gain complete advantage.
To do this, you must plan your strategy of attack.
Strategic awareness not only wins advances.
We use its leverage to prevent opponents from
contesting our advances.
Chinese is a more precise language for
strategy, largely because Sun Tzu defined his
terms. Our terms fight, battle, and attack
all suggest conflict. As we master strategy, we
learn how to use all these different methods
while avoiding conflict. We will automatically
recognized the critical differences if we are
able to spend enough time studying the text.
Have you noticed how our sections and
lines are numbered? Our translation retains
the chapter/block/line context of the original
Chinese. As with a mathematical proof, context
is everything in ancient Chinese, which was
as you saw in our earlier example, a highly
conceptual language.
29 Chapt er 3: Pl anni ng an At t ack
12
The rules for making war are:
If you outnumber enemy forces ten to one, surround them.
If you outnumber them fve to one, attack them.
If you outnumber them two to one, divide them.
If you are equal, then fnd an advantageous battle.
If you are fewer, defend against them.
If you are much weaker, evade them.
19
Small forces are not powerful.
However, large forces cannot catch them.
You must master command.4
The nation must support you.
3
Supporting the military makes the nation powerful.
Not supporting the military makes the nation weak.
5
The army's position is made more diffcult by politicians in three different ways.
Sun Tzu teaches rules that we can use auto-
matically to pick the right response. Here, the
issue is relative local strength, but situations
get more complicated when we add relative
size to other factors such as our field position,
the type of terrain, and so on.
The methods described heresurround,
attack, divide, battle, defend, and
evadeare very specific and are covered
in several different parts of this book, not just
in this one passage. Of course, the real chal-
lenge is instantly recognizing these situations
and responses in wer real life experiences.
The Ar t of War 30
The rules for winning customers are:
If your product is ten times better, just take orders.
If your product is fve times better, assume the sale.
If your product is twice as good, pick better prospects.
If your product is equal, sell only to the best prospects.
If your product is weaker, sell where the competition cannot.
If your product is much weaker, fnd market niches.
Small companies cannot sell to broad markets.
However, large companies cannot satisfy niche markets.
4 As a salesperson, you control your territory.
Your territory must support you.
You are strong when your territory is well managed.
Your position is weak when your territory is poorly managed.
Poor territory management creates problems for salespeople in three ways.
BONUS MATERIAL:
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The Art of War for the Sales War-
rior was our first adaptation of
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31 Chapt er 3: Pl anni ng an At t ack
Ignorant of the whole armys inability to advance, they order an advance.
Ignorant of the whole armys inability to withdraw, they order a withdrawal.
We call this tying up the army.
Politicians dont understand the armys business.
Still, they think they can run an army.
This confuses the armys offcers.
12
Politicians dont know the armys chain of command.
They give the army too much freedom.
This will create distrust among the armys offcers.
15
The entire army becomes confused and distrusting.
This invites invasion by many different rivals.
We say correctly that disorder in an army kills victory.
There were no politicians, as we know
them today, in Sun Tzus era, but there
were decision-makers and decision-
influencers who played political roles
within organizations.
Classical strategy divides competi-
tion (the army) and production (the
nation). Planning works for internal
production, but strategic awareness
is requires in external competitive
situations.
The Ar t of War 32
Ignorant of which prospects are the best, you try to contact everyone.
Ignorant of which prospects are bad, you are discouraged from selling to anyone.
You tie yourself up in knots.
Ignorant of management, you want different prospects.
You think you are in the wrong market.
This undermines the effectiveness of your efforts.
You must understand your priorities in selling.
You cannot sell whenever and to whomever you want.
This creates weak customer relationships.
Unfocused selling confuses your prospects and creates distrust.
This invites the competition to win away your customers.
A unfocused sales process destroys your chances of success.
The Art of War for the Sales
Warrior is so important because
salespeople are on the front
lines of business competition.
Unlike those on the inside of a
company who have the luxury of
a controlled work environment,
salespeople have to deal with
the challenge of competitors
directly. Every situation that they
face requires an understanding
of strategic positions. They need
a strategy for their territory as a
whole, for each account, and for
each sales call.
33 Chapt er 3: Pl anni ng an At t ack
5
You must know fve things to win:
Victory comes from knowing when to attack and when to avoid battle.
Victory comes from correctly using both large and small forces.
Victory comes from everyone sharing the same goals.
Victory comes from fnding opportunities in problems.
Victory comes from having a capable commander and the government leaving him alone.
You must know these fve things.
You then know the theory of victory.
6
We say:
Know yourself and know your enemy.
You will be safe in every battle.
You may know yourself but not know the enemy.
You will then lose one battle for every one you win.
You may not know yourself or the enemy.
You will then lose every battle.
The pattern of the five requirements for
victory ties closely to the five factors in
analysis, which, in turn, tie to the five
elements in classical Chinese science.
These interconnections make it easier
to internalize all the moving parts of
Sun Tzus system. As you integrate
this system into your thinking, it auto-
matically pops out the right decisions
just when you need them.
The real wisdom isnt in using the sys-
tem, which becomes almost automatic,
but in taking the time to master it.
The Ar t of War 34
C h a p t e r 4 : P o s i t i o n i n g
Sun Tzu said:
1
Learn from the history of successful battles.
Your frst actions should deny victory to the enemy.
You pay attention to your enemy to fnd the way to win.
You alone can deny victory to the enemy.
Only your enemy can allow you to win.
6
You must fght well.
You can prevent the enemys victory.
You cannot win unless the enemy enables your victory.
9
We say:
You see the opportunity for victory; you dont create it.
As we practice in Sun Tzus Warriors
Rules, we naturally see everything as
a matter of positioning. We recognize
our current position and quickly see
our best possible choices. We estab-
lish future positions with the intention
of opening up better choices.
As in chess, we need to understand
how the pieces can move to under-
stand our position. Strategic cognition
is the ability to immediately recognize
the critical elements of positions.
35 Chapt er 4: Posi t i oni ng
You are sometimes unable to win.
2
You must then defend.
You will eventually be able to win.
You must then attack.
Defend when you have insuffcient strength.
Attack when you have a surplus of strength.
7
You must defend yourself well.
Save your forces and dig in.
You must attack well.
Move your forces when you have a clear advantage.
11
You must always protect yourself until you can completely triumph.
Some may see how to win.3
However, they cannot position their forces where they must.
This demonstrates limited ability.
Sun Tzu teaches us how to make much
better decisions. This starts by putting our
decisions into the framework of advancing
or defending positions. When do we defend
our position? When do we try to advance it?
Do we ever abandon it?
Much of strategic cognition is based
instantly choosing between two opposite
courseshere, attacking (advancing) and
defending. In classical strategy, we call
these elements complementary opposites:
two sides of the same situation.
The Ar t of War 36
BONUS MATERIAL:
The Art of War
Plus Its Amazing Secrets
is our award-winning
book that provides
a stanza-by-stanza
explanation of Sun
Tzus concepts. This
format allows us to
explain the intercon-
nections among vari-
ous parts of the text
and its relationships
to traditional Chinese
science.
2
Decisions about attacking and defending are automatic. We initially
and continually use our resources to defend what we have. We never attack
unless we have more resources than we need to defend. Then, if we see a
clear opportunityone in which we cannot losethen we must attack. At-
tacking here implies advancing, moving forward, moving into new territory,
or expanding.
In the original Chinese, defense is associated with staying in place while
improving a position out of basic weakness. Attack, in contrast, implies
movement or action while using an opportunity from a position of strength.
Success depends totally upon our ability to protect ourselves and survive
long enough for an opportunity to present itself.
3When an opportunity presents itself, we must frst recognize it. This
requires vision. Then we must move a lot of resources to the right place to
take advantage of the opportunity.
37 Chapt er 4: Posi t i oni ng
4
Some can struggle to a victory and the whole world may praise their winning.
This also demonstrates a limited ability.
6
Win as easily as picking up a fallen hair.
Dont use all of your forces.
See the time to move.
Dont try to fnd something clever.
Hear the clap of thunder.
Dont try to hear something subtle.
12
Learn from the history of successful battles.
Victory goes to those who make winning easy.
A good battle is one that you will obviously win.
It doesnt take intelligence to win a reputation.
It doesnt take courage to achieve success.
17
You must win your battles without effort.
Avoid diffcult struggles.
Though translated here in terms of effort, it
is often easier to explain strategic cognition
in terms of leverage. Certain specific types
of decisions are triggered in the presence
of leverage. When leverage is missing, the
opposite course must be chosen.
Leverage requires recognizing and using
the natural forces and cycles of change to
our advantage. The competitive environ-
ment is more powerful than we are. Sun
Tzu teaches us how use the forces in envi-
ronment instead of fighting them.
The Ar t of War 38
The failure here is in picking diffcultthat is, costlyconficts. Success
under these conditions is too expensive, even if we win. We must choose posi-
tions that are easily and inexpensively obtained.
Sun Tzu taught that the world is full of opportunities. We must choose only
the easiest contests most certain of success. The time to move is when the
trends are in our favor. The clap of thunder means a clear, obvious sign. Sun
Tzu used the metaphor of sight for vision and sound for knowledge. We must
be careful not to imagine opportunities where they don't exist.
When Sun Tzu refers to history, he means the past, but he also means the
statistical probability of success. When it is a question of survival, we must
always bet on certainties. If we dont, we will eventually have a run of bad luck
that will cost us everything. Bing-fa is a patient, careful philosophy that doesn't
force success.
The two key ideaswinning without effort and attacking only when you
will winare intimately connected. We always win by preventing our defeat
because good defense allows us to be extremely particular about picking our Ge
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The Art of War
Plus Its Amazing
Secrets is the ONLY
book to explain in
detail the system of
diagramming used in
traditional Chinese
science to explain
the interconnections
between various
key elements. In the
beginning of each
chapter, we show and
explain the diagrams
for the ideas in that
chapter.
39 Chapt er 4: Posi t i oni ng
Fight when your position must win.
You always win by preventing your defeat.
21
You must engage only in winning battles.
Position yourself where you cannot lose.
Never waste an opportunity to defeat your enemy.
24
You win a war by frst assuring yourself of victory.
Only afterward do you look for a fght.
Outmaneuver the enemy before the frst battle and then fght to win.
4You must make good use of war.
Study military philosophy and the art of defense.
You can control your victory or defeat.
4
This is the art of war:
1. Discuss the distances.
2. Discuss your numbers.
In Sun Tzus usage, fight specifically
means using all our resources. Did you
notice that definition earlier in the text? Did
you remember it when reading this sec-
tion? Again, the specific way Sun Tzu uses
language is different from the more general
usage in English. In Chinese, characters
are not verbs, nouns, or adjectives. They
are concepts that we have to translate into
verbs, nouns, and adjectives in English,
which waters them down.
The Ar t of War 40
3. Discuss your calculations.
4. Discuss your decisions.
5. Discuss victory.
10
The ground determines the distance.
The distance determines your numbers.
Your numbers determine your calculations.
Your calculations determine your decisions.
Your decisions determine your victory.

15
Creating a winning war is like balancing a coin of gold against a coin of silver.
Creating a losing war is like balancing a coin of silver against a coin of gold.
5
Winning a battle is always a matter of people.
You pour them into battle like a food of water pouring into a deep gorge.
This is a matter of positioning.
Again, we see that the five points of discus-
sion listed here map specifically to the five
key factors defined in Chapter 1. Can you
connect them properly? By using these pat-
terns, Sun Tzu compresses a lot of informa-
tion into his simple formulas.
Sun Tzu was the first advocate of practice,
training, and drill. Most people remember
less than 5% of what they read. Most
people learn primarily from their mistakes,
which are a lot more expensive than spend-
ing the time to develop strategic cognition.
41 Chapt er 4: Posi t i oni ng
C h a p t e r 5 : Mo me n t u m
Sun Tzu said:
1
You control a large group the same as you control a few.
You just divide their ranks correctly.
You fght a large army the same as you fght a small one.
You only need the right position and communication.
You may meet a large enemy army.
You must be able to sustain an enemy attack without being defeated.
You must correctly use both surprise and direct action.
Your armys position must increase your strength.
Troops fanking an enemy can smash them like eggs.
You must correctly use both strength and weakness.
2
It is the same in all battles.
You use a direct approach to engage the enemy.
You use surprise to win.
Again, two opposing concepts
surprise and direct actionare
defined both in terms of each
other and in terms of when they
are used in meeting challenges.
The choice between two comple-
mentary opposites makes the right
decisions in challenging situations
much easier.
The Ar t of War 42
4
You must use surprise for a successful invasion.
Surprise is as infnite as the weather and land.
Surprise is as inexhaustible as the fow of a river.
7
You can be stopped and yet recover the initiative.
You must use your days and months correctly.
9
If you are defeated, you can recover.
You must use the four seasons correctly.
11
There are only a few notes in the scale.
Yet you can always rearrange them.
You can never hear every song of victory.
14
There are only a few basic colors.
Yet you can always mix them.
You can never see all the shades of victory.
The natural impression that this sec-
tion is poetic as opposed to substan-
tive is completely wrong.
All the images involvedweather,
land, days, months, seasons, notes,
the scale, colors, shades, flavors,
etc.are tied clearly and specifically
to the five factors of strategic analy-
sis via the five Chinese elements and
their connections. Knowing those
connections makes the specific
meaning clear.
43 Chapt er 5: Moment um
17
There are only a few favors.
Yet you can always blend them.
You can never taste all the favors of victory.
20
You fght with momentum.
There are only a few types of surprises and direct actions.
Yet you can always vary the ones you use.
There is no limit to the ways you can win.
24
Surprise and direct action give birth to each other.
They are like a circle without end.
You cannot exhaust all their possible combinations!
3Surging water fows together rapidly.
Its pressure washes away boulders.
This is momentum.
Water is one of the key elements tied
to one of the key strategic factors,
climate. As we are trained in Sun
Tzus system, these connections are
obvious and automatic.
Water is also one of the most fre-
quently used metaphors in Sun Tzu.
As we study Sun Tzu, we learn the
role it plays in Chinese philosophy
and the history of the martial arts.
The Ar t of War 44
4
A hawk suddenly strikes a bird.
Its contact alone kills the prey.
This is timing.
7
You must fght only winning battles.
Your momentum must be overwhelming.
Your timing must be exact.
10
Your momentum is like the tension of a bent crossbow.
Your timing is like the pulling of a trigger.
4War is very complicated and confusing.
Battle is chaotic.
Nevertheless, you must not allow chaos.
4
War is very sloppy and messy.
Positions turn around.
Nevertheless, you must never be defeated.
Are timing and momentum the
complementary opposites we
have seen elsewhere? No,
because we dont choose be-
tween them, but they are used
together.
The key is that Sun Tzu has
defined momentum much more
specifically than its usual use
in English. It is not winning. It is
taking control of the situation by
combining standard approaches
with an innovation.
45 Chapt er 5: Moment um
7
Chaos gives birth to control.
Fear gives birth to courage.
Weakness gives birth to strength.
10
You must control chaos.
This depends on your planning.
Your men must brave their fears.
This depends on their momentum.
14
You have strengths and weaknesses.
These come from your position.
16
You must force the enemy to move to your advantage.
Use your position.
The enemy must follow you.
Surrender a position.
The enemy must take it.
You can offer an advantage to move him.
Remember when we said Sun Tzu
works in mathematical terms similar
to the modern ideas of chaos theory?
As conceptual constructs, we can
use these ideas in a way that makes
good decisions quick and easy to
make once we have all the parts fit
together in our thinking.
The Ar t of War 46
L e s s o n 9 9 : De a l i n g wi t h C h a o s
If competition is chaotic, where does control come from?
A. Control is impossible.
B. It comes from human nature.
C. It comes from discipline.
D. It comes from aggressiveness.
Chaos gives birth to control.
Fear gives birth to courage.
Weakness gives birth to strength.
The Art of War 5:4.7-9
Answer: B. It comes from human nature.
Even our opponents want a sense of order. Competition among
people creates chaos, but that chaos itself creates a human need for order.
Human nature seeks to identify patterns. We want to make sense of con-
fusion. The greater the chaos, the more we desire order. It is this human
desire for order that makes it possible for us to take control of events even
during hostile confrontations. (Lesson continues below...)
BONUS MATERIAL:
The Warrior Class: 306 Lessons in
Strategy is another of our award-
winning books. (Yes, our books
win a lot of awards.) It turns each
stanza of Sun Tzus work into a
complete lesson on strategy.
47 Chapt er 5: Moment um
You can use your men to move him.
You can use your strength to hold him.
5You want a successful battle.
To do this, you must seek momentum.
Do not just demand a good fght from your people.
You must pick good people and then give them momentum.
5
You must create momentum.
You create it with your men during battle.
This is comparable to rolling trees and stones.
Trees and stones roll because of their shape and weight.
Offer men safety and they will stay calm.
Endanger them and they will act.
Give them a place and they will hold.
Round them up and they will march.
Strategic cognition connects the
rules of basic physics to the rules of
human psychology, especially the
psychology of groups. This makes
it easier to predict the most likely
course events will take.
In classical strategy, the same rules
defined physical and psychological
momentum.
The Ar t of War 48
The same is true of courage. Uncertainty creates fear. The
greater our uncertainty, the greater our fear. At some point,
we need to escape from this fear. We nd the courage to make
changes because, though change is normally frightening, any
change is less frightening than the uncertainty of chaos. Any
predictable outcome, even death, is preferable to constant fear.
Everyone has weaknesses. We are all well aware of our
personal weaknesses. Strength comes from accepting our weak-
nesses and learning how to use them and compensate for them.
We are weak because we are small, but we learn to use our small
size by becoming more focused. We are unknown, but we learn
to use our obscurity to promote mystery. We are all novices, but
we learn to use our newness as the source of a fresh perspec-
tive. We can learn to see that every possible weakness is also a
potential strength.
The chaos of competition makes our success possible.
Without it, our innovations would have little or no impact on the
competitive battle. We must not fear chaos but embrace it. Our
fear can give us courage. Our limitations are the source of human
strength.
The Warrior Class was originally
developed from our Institutes live
workshops for our members. Its
lessons were discussion points
for the group. However, over the
years, we discovered the it was
more effective to offer shorter
live training sessions (our longest
workshop is now two-days) and
let our members discuss the les-
sons of the Warrior Class in their
local chapter meetings.
For those who do not yet have
their own local chapters to work
with, we have now automated
the Warrior Class as interac-
tive lessons. Like a video game,
these lessons only allow you to
move to the next level when you
are able to answer its questions
successfully.
Because you have to pass tests
to complete the three parts of the
Warrior Class, we can now certify
peoples competence in applying
Sun Tzus lessons.
49 Chapt er 5: Moment um
13
You make your men powerful in battle with momentum.
This should be like rolling round stones down over a high, steep cliff.
Momentum is critical.
You are now only about a third of the way through the
text.
While each verse seems simple in itself, Sun Tzu has
been adding concept on top of concept and relation-
ship on top of relationship. By this point, no casual
reader can remember what has been taught clearly
enough to apply these ideas to everyday decision-
making. You need education and exercise to really
use this ideas. This is why training is so important.
The reader assumes that, as in modern nonfiction,
ideas will be repeated and illustrated so you can
remember them. To develop true strategic skills, this
framework has to become part of your thinking. This
requires more than just reading the work once.
The Ar t of War 50
C h a p t e r 6 : We a k n e s s a n d S t r e n g t h
Sun Tzu said:
1
Always arrive frst to the empty battlefeld to await the enemy at your leisure.
After the battleground is occupied and you hurry to it, fghting is more diffcult.
3
You want a successful battle.
Move your men, but not into opposing forces.
5
You can make the enemy come to you.
Offer him an advantage.
You can make the enemy avoid coming to you.
Threaten him with danger.
9
When the enemy is fresh, you can tire him.
When he is well fed, you can starve him.
When he is relaxed, you can move him.
The section discusses the skill of opportunity
recognition. One of the advantages in working
with others in a membership organization is
getting perspective on our own positions.
Weakness and strength are complementary
opposites. Much of Sun Tzus system is based
on this ancient concept sometimes call yin-
yang philosophy. We referred to this concept
in a discussion of two other terms that are tied
to a single key factor in strategy. Do you re-
member what the two other terms were? They
were united and divided. The key element
they relied on was a shared mission.
51 Chapt er 6: Weakness and St r engt h
2
Leave any place without haste.
Hurry to where you are unexpected.
You can easily march hundreds of miles without tiring.
To do so, travel through areas that are deserted.
You must take whatever you attack.
Attack when there is no defense.
You must have walls to defend.
Defend where it is impossible to attack.
9
Be skilled in attacking.
Give the enemy no idea where to defend.
11
Be skillful in your defense.
Give the enemy no idea where to attack.
3Be subtle! Be subtle!
Arrive without any clear formation.
Remember when attack and defense
were discussed? Once we understand
when to defend and when to advance,
we need to know how to advance. This is
covered here.
The organization of The Art of War is
similar to that of other works of classical
science. Basic concepts are introduced
and then more sophisticated concepts
are built on top of them, creating a con-
sistent, integrated system. In Sun Tzus
time, writing and duplicating books was
very expensive. This discouraged long,
detailed explanations and put more of a
burden on study by the reader.
The Ar t of War 52
Ghostly! Ghostly!
Arrive without a sound.
You must use all your skill to control the enemys decisions.
6
Advance where he cant defend.
Charge through his openings.
Withdraw where the enemy cannot chase you.
Move quickly so that he cannot catch you.
10
Always pick your own battles.
The enemy can hide behind high walls and deep trenches.
Do not try to win by fghting him directly.
Instead, attack a place that he must recapture.
Avoid the battles that you dont want.
You can divide the ground and yet defend it.
Dont give the enemy anything to win.
Divert him from coming to where you defend.
Our different adaptations
translate the concepts of
weakness and strength as
emptiness and fullness or
even need and satisfaction.
All are legitimate, but more
important is how these two
concepts are connected to the
overall structure Sun Tzu has
developed so far.
53 Chapt er 6: Weakness and St r engt h
4Make other men take a position while you take none.
Then focus your forces where the enemy divides his forces.
Where you focus, you unite your forces.
When the enemy divides, he creates many small groups.
You want your large group to attack one of his small ones.
Then you have many men where the enemy has but a few.
Your larger force can overwhelm his smaller one.
Then go on to the next small enemy group.
You can take them one at a time.
5You must keep the place that you have chosen as a battleground a secret.
The enemy must not know.
Force the enemy to prepare his defense in many places.
You want the enemy to defend many places.
Then you can choose where to meet the enemy.
His forces will be weak there.
Though The Art of War is
studied all over the world, it
is best studied in conjunc-
tion with works explaining its
ideas for specific uses.
Sun Tzu never gives ex-
amples of how to use his
principles to make it easy to
master his ideas. He never
talks about specific weapons
or troop formations.
The Ar t of War 54
7
If he reinforces his front lines, he depletes his rear.
If he reinforces his rear, he depletes his front.
If he reinforces his right fank, he depletes his left.
If he reinforces his left fank, he depletes his right.
Without knowing the place of attack, he cannot prepare.
Without knowing the right place, he will be weak everywhere.
13
The enemy has weak points.
Prepare your men against them.
He has strong points.
Make his men prepare themselves against you.
6
You must know the battleground.
You must know the time of battle.
You can then travel a thousand miles and still win the battle.
4
The enemy should not know the battleground.
He shouldnt know the time of battle.
Symbolically, the right, left,
back, and front map to the
four points of the compass.
The four points of the com-
pass, plus its center, are
the basis for mapping the
five key factors that define
a strategic position and the
four secret steps in advanc-
ing a position, which is why
Sun Tzu uses the formulation
several times to express his
approach to finding open-
ings, the topic of this chapter.
55 Chapt er 6: Weakness and St r engt h
His left fank will be unable to support his right.
His right will be unable to support his left.
His front lines will be unable to support his rear.
His rear will be unable to support his front.
His support is distant even if it is only ten miles away.
What unknown place can be close?

12
You control the balance of forces.
The enemy may have many men but they are superfuous.
How can they help him to victory?
15
We say:
You must let victory happen.
17
The enemy may have many men.
You can still control him without a fght.
When you form your strategy, know the strengths and weaknesses of your plan. 7
Here are those four compass
points again. Why are they
repeated? A clue: the differ-
ence between deplete and
support" is closely tied to
the topic of this chapter, find-
ing opportunities.
Strategic cognition is being
very systematically described
here, but in simply reading
the book, we move so quickly
through these ideas that they
cannot stick.
The Ar t of War 56
Opposition on different issues must not unite.
General opposition must not focus on one issue.
Productivity must not disguise weaknesses.
Weaknesses must not stop productivity.
People wont oppose changes that they dont expect.
How can unknown plans be opposed?
You decide the balance of emotion.
People may vaguely oppose doing what is needed.
How can they stop you from succeeding?
This is always true.
You must allow yourself to succeed.
Your problems may be overwhelming.
You can still solve them by avoiding confrontations.
7
When you plan your strategy, know the strengths and weaknesses of your analysis.
BONUS MATERIAL:
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ment Warrior applies Sun Tzus
lessons in a way that those who
are responsible for a team of
people within a larger orga-
nization can appreciate. This
adaptation uses our line-by-line,
side-by-side format as shown
here. We developed this book
training the management teams
for some of the worlds most suc-
cessful companies.
57 Chapt er 6: Weakness and St r engt h
When you execute a plan, know how to manage both action and inaction.
When you take a position, know the deadly and the winning grounds.
When you enter into battle, know when you have too many or too few men.
5
Use your position as your wars centerpiece.
Arrive at the battle without a formation.
Dont take a position in advance.
Then even the best spies cant report it.
Even the wisest general cannot plan to counter you.
Take a position where you can triumph using superior numbers.
Keep opposing forces ignorant.
Everyone should learn your location after your position has given you success.
No one should know how your location gives you a winning position.
Make a successful battle one from which the enemy cannot recover.
You must continually adjust your position to his position.
8
Manage your military position like water.
Water takes every shape.
What does Sun Tzu mean
by a wars centerpiece?
We have to know what
factor Sun Tzu puts at the
center of his compass for
mapping a position. In clas-
sical Chinese, the center
was the ground, but for Sun
Tzu, it was our philosophy.
The Ar t of War 58
When you execute your plan, know what needs to be done and what can be left undone.
When you make a decision, know exactly what will work and what will not.
When you move, know when you have too many or too few resources.
Use your credibility as leverage for your projects.
Go into every situation with an open mind.
Avoid being easily predictable.
Then the opposition cant spread rumors against you.
Even the most adamant opponent cannot counter you.
Make decisions that have the weight of the organization behind them.
Keep potential opposition in the dark.
Potential opponents should learn about your project only after it succeeds.
They should not see how you were able to create the support that you needed.
Make your success so clear-cut that others cannot disparage or minimize it.
Always adjust your plan to weaken any opposition.
8
You must remain fexible in your decision-making.
Decisions can take any shape.
The Art of War for the Manage-
ment Warrior discusses strategy
in dealing with a management
war on two fronts: the competi-
tive pressures from outside the
company and political pressures
from within the company.
59 Chapt er 6: Weakness and St r engt h
It avoids the high and moves to the low.
Your war can take any shape.
It must avoid the strong and strike the weak.
Water follows the shape of the land that directs its fow.
Your forces follow the enemy, who determines how you win.
8
Make war without a standard approach.
Water has no consistent shape.
If you follow the enemys shifts and changes, you can always fnd a way to win.
We call this shadowing.
12
Fight fve different campaigns without a frm rule for victory.
Use all four seasons without a consistent position.
Each day passes quickly.
A month can decide your failure or success.
Here again we see Sun
Tzus interconnection of
concepts. The five cam-
paigns are tied to the five
key factors defining a
position. The four seasons
are tied to the four steps in
advancing a position.
Weakness and strength
are the engine in Sun
Tzus system. If you want
to learn a little more for
free, you might want to visit
WarriorsRules.com. on a
daily basis to read our free
rules article of the day.
The Ar t of War 60
C h a p t e r 7 : A r me d C o n f l i c t
Sun Tzu said:
1
Everyone uses the arts of war.
You accept orders from the government.
Then you assemble your army.
You organize your men and build camps.
You must avoid disasters from armed confict.

6
Seeking armed confict can be disastrous.
Because of this, a detour can be the shortest path.
Because of this, problems can become opportunities.
9
Use an indirect route as your highway.
Use the search for advantage to guide you.
When you fall behind, you must catch up.
When you get ahead, you must wait.
You must know the detour that most directly accomplishes your plan.
This chapter ends the first half
of the book, which lays out the
basic framework of strategic
cognition. At this point, Sun Tzu
has defined literally dozens of
key concepts, so many that
most casual readers will have
lost track of more of them. For
the real student of strategy, this
is where the science gets even
more interesting.
This chapter plays an important
role in summarizing the first
half of the book and introducing
the more detailed second half,
which looks at more specific
conditions and the special re-
sponses that they require.
61 Chapt er 7: Ar med Conf l i ct
14
Undertake armed confict when it creates an advantage.
Seeking armed confict for its own sake is dangerous.
2
You can build up an army to fght for an advantage.
Then you wont catch the enemy.
You can force your army to go fght for an advantage.
Then you abandon your heavy supply wagons.
5
You keep only your armor and hurry after the enemy.
You avoid stopping day or night.
You use many roads at the same time.
You go hundreds of miles to fght for an advantage.
Then the enemy catches your commanders and your army.
Your strong soldiers get there frst.
Your weaker soldiers follow behind.
Using this approach, only one in ten will arrive.
You can try to go ffty miles to fght for an advantage.
Then your commanders and army will stumble.
The concepts of advantage
and fighting were specifically
defined earlier. If you don't re-
member what they mean, you
wont understand what Sun Tzu
specifically means by fighting
for an advantage here.
Advantage means an opening
where you have an opportunity
to outperform rivals. Fight-
ing means investing all your
resources. A basic idea of strat-
egy is that you cannot, through
your own efforts, create an
opening. Investing resources
to try to create openings never
works in any situation, for
the specific reasons Sun Tzu
explains here.
The Ar t of War 62
Using this method, only half of your soldiers will make it.
You can try to go thirty miles to fght for an advantage.
Then only two out of three get there.
18
If you make your army travel without good supply lines, your army will die.
Without supplies and food, your army will die.
If you dont save the harvest, your army will die.
21
Do not let any of your potential enemies know what you are planning.
Still, you must not hesitate to form alliances.
You must know the mountains and forests.
You must know where the obstructions are.
You must know where the marshes are.
If you dont, you cannot move the army.
If you dont, you must use local guides.
If you dont, you cant take advantage of the terrain.
This list refers to specific top-
icsmountains, marshes, for-
ests, alliances, etc.that Sun
Tzu defines later in the text.
He makes his point about the
importance of knowledge by
intentionally introducing ideas
that we cannot understand at
this place in the text.
63 Chapt er 7: Ar med Conf l i ct
3You make war using a deceptive position.
If you use deception, then you can move.
Using deception, you can upset the enemy and change the situation.
You can move as quickly as the wind.
You can rise like the forest.
You can invade and plunder like fre.
You can stay as motionless as a mountain.
You can be as mysterious as the fog.
You can strike like sounding thunder.
10
Divide your troops to plunder the villages.
When on open ground, dividing is an advantage.
Dont worry about organization; just move.
Be the frst to fnd a new route that leads directly to a winning plan.
This is how you are successful at armed confict.
Though these topics are defined later, any
reader of ancient Chinese would recog-
nize these associations, which again go
back to the I Ching and the ba gua.
For Western readers, it is necessary to
explain these concepts in todays practical
terms, which we do in our adaptations.
The Ar t of War 64
3 You must not let potentially dangerous people think that you are
against them. Your best opportunity to move forward is avoiding them
entirely. If you cannot avoid them, your goal should be to make them
think that you are willing to be friendly with them. You can then get
away from them as quickly as possible. You can learn their strengths and
weaknesses. You need to know how dangerous people might hamper
your progress. You need to learn where you might get trapped. Without
creating a challenge, you must appear unmovable. Let dangerous people
know as little as possible about you. You can then surprise them by
defending yourself if necessary.
Making yourself seem less successful than you are protects your re-
sources. In situations in which you might be challenged, appearing weak
is an advantage. Dont worry about what others think; focus on your own
progress. Be creative about fnding an easy way around the dangerous
people who might confront you. Outmaneuvering opponents is how you
are successful in real-world fghts.
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interested in the martial
arts.
65 Chapt er 7: Ar med Conf l i ct
4Military experience says:
You can speak, but you will not be heard.
You must use gongs and drums.
You cannot really see your forces just by looking.
You must use banners and fags.
6
You must master gongs, drums, banners, and fags.
Place people as a single unit where they can all see and hear.
You must unite them as one.
Then the brave cannot advance alone.
The fearful cannot withdraw alone.
You must force them to act as a group.
12
In night battles, you must use numerous fres and drums.
In day battles, you must use many banners and fags.
You must position your people to control what they see and hear.
This section offers practical
advice about competitive com-
munication, but it is easy to miss
its connections to the larger pic-
ture. Notice that this is the fourth
block in this chapter. These four
blocks describe the four skills in
advancing a position.
We haven't mentioned the
block (indicated by large block
numbers) and stanza (each
verse) system and its use in
developing the meaning in these
lessons. In ancient Chinese,
chapters, blocks, and stanzas
repeat key concepts, changing
wording to emphasize differ-
ent ideas as we repeat verses
in a song. This approach adds
meaning in a systematic way
that is easy to memorize.
The Ar t of War 66
4 At this point, the topic changes from avoiding real-world battles to
winning in fghts when you cant avoid them. The frst key to winning a
real fght is making a lot of noise. You must work hard to get the atten-
tion of those around you. You can get aid from unexpected areas if you
make your situation clear.
Communication is how you control confrontations. You must control
what others, both your opponents and potential allies, see and hear.
You need to get other people on your side. If you are too aggressive,
you alienate others and increase the hostility against you. If you are too
timid, you lose the support of others and invite attacks. You must offer a
reason for others to join with you.
When it is night, you must make more noise. During the day, you use
motion to signal others. You must expect others to interpret their situ-
ation, whether it is safe to attack you or join you, based upon what they
see and hear you do.
The Ancient Bing-fa:
Martial Arts Strategy starts
by tracing the martial
arts back through
Asian history back to its
roots in sword training
based upon Sun Tzus
philosophy. When both
weapons and Sun Tzus
work were denied to the
common people, his
tradition was carried on
in the physical training
of the martial arts that
spread through Asia.
67 Chapt er 7: Ar med Conf l i ct
5You control your army by controlling its morale.
As a general, you must be able to control emotions.
3
In the morning, a persons energy is high.
During the day, it fades.
By evening, a persons thoughts turn to home.
You must use your troops wisely.
Avoid the enemys high spirits.
Strike when his men are lazy and want to go home.
This is how you master energy.
10
Use discipline to await the chaos of battle.
Keep relaxed to await a crisis.
This is how you master emotion.
13
Stay close to home to await the distant enemy.
Stay comfortable to await the weary enemy.
Remember the discussion
earlier about timing in the
chapter on momentum? Can
you say how this discussion
is related?
In training people to un-
derstand Sun Tzu, we
continually ask questions to
get them thinking. We can
develop better decision-mak-
ing skills only by making
decisions. We learn faster
from our mistakes. When we
are wise, we prefer to make
our mistakes in training and
practice rather then our lives.
The Ar t of War 68
Stay well fed to await the hungry enemy.
This is how you master power.
6
Dont entice the enemy when his ranks are orderly.
You must not attack when his formations are solid.v
This is how you master adaptation.
4
You must follow these military rules.
Do not take a position facing the high ground.
Do not oppose those with their backs to the wall.
Do not follow those who pretend to fee.
Do not attack the enemys strongest men.
Do not swallow the enemys bait.
Do not block an army that is heading home.
Leave an escape outlet for a surrounded army.
Do not press a desperate foe.
This is how you use military skills.
The part of strategic cog-
nition is called situation
response. The specific items
in this section are covered in
more detail later in the text.
Here the point is that avoid-
ing the wrong action is often
more important than choos-
ing the right action. This is
important because, as we
develop our sense of ood
decision-making, it is usually
easier to know the wrong
action. If we reject those ac-
tions without having to think
about them, we are closer to
choosing the correct action.
Since conflict can be so
costly, good strategic think-
ing eliminates unnecessary
conflict in peoples lives.
69 Chapt er 7: Ar med Conf l i ct
C h a p t e r 8 : A d a p t a b i l i t y
Sun Tzu said:
1
Everyone uses the arts of war.
As a general, you get your orders from the government.
You gather your troops.
On dangerous ground, you must not camp.
Where the roads intersect, you must join your allies.
When an area is cut off, you must not delay in it.
When you are surrounded, you must scheme.
In a life-or-death situation, you must fght.
There are roads that you must not take.
There are armies that you must not fght.
There are strongholds that you must not attack.
There are positions that you must not defend.
There are government commands that must not be obeyed.
This is a pivotal chapter. Sun Tzu
has finished laying out his basic
framework for making strategic
decisions. The next half of the
book has a different purpose.
Here he warns us that before
we can really use this system,
we have to master an additional
level of complexity. That level of
complexity was introduced in the
previous chapter and will be ex-
plained in more detail in the next
three long chapters.
The Ar t of War 70
14
Military leaders must be experts in knowing how to adapt to fnd an advantage.
This will teach you the use of war.
16
Some commanders are not open to making adjustments to fnd an advantage.
They can know the shape of the terrain.
Still, they cannot fnd an advantageous position.
19
Some military commanders do not know how to adjust their methods.
They can fnd an advantageous position.
Still, they cannot use their men effectively.
2
You must be creative in your planning.
You must adapt to your opportunities and weaknesses.
You can use a variety of approaches and still have a consistent result.
You must adjust to a variety of problems and consistently solve them.
Sun Tzu's concept
of adaptability
doesnt mean doing
whatever we think.
It means doing
exactly what is
required given the
situation.
The following
chapters cover an
array of overlapping
conditions defining
the situation specifi-
cally.
71 Chapt er 8: Adapt abi l i t y
3You can deter your potential enemy by using his weaknesses against him.
You can keep your potential enemys army busy by giving it work to do.
You can rush your potential enemy by offering him an advantageous position.
4You must make use of war.
Do not trust that the enemy isnt coming.
Trust your readiness to meet him.
Do not trust that the enemy wont attack.
Rely only on your ability to pick a place that the enemy cant attack.
Sun Tzu focuses
on establishing
a position rather
than on defeating
enemies as his
goal.
However, in the
following chap-
ters, Sun Tzu
will explain that
a key aspect of
any position is its
strengths relative
to opposing posi-
tions.
The Ar t of War 72
Fl ow Li ke Wat er and
Change Li ke Wi nd
Y
ou can know exactly where the position you desire is located, but
you cannot plan exactly how to get there. The sea of human activity is
more like a restless ocean than a xed grid of city streets.
No Cr yst al Bal l
You cannot know the conditions you will face getting to your des-
tination until you are on your way. Like a ship sailing across the ocean,
you must continually adapt to the changing winds and currents using
all the techniques of sailing. In strategy, you must continually adapt to
the changing winds and currents of situations using all the techniques
of moving.
The Key of Adaptabili ty: All moves depend
totally on your abilit y to adapt.
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We have many members
who have trouble relating
to the original works focus
on military war. So, unlike
most of our other books,
The Godlen Key doesnt
contain the complete text
of The Art of War, but as
you can see from this
example, its principles are
all come directly on Sun
Tzus work.
This design makes it an
excellent work for schools
and school districts who
want to help young people
master strategy.
73 Chapt er 8: Adapt abi l i t y
5
You can exploit fve different faults in a leader.
If he is willing to die, you can kill him.
If he wants to survive, you can capture him.
He may have a quick temper.
You can then provoke him with insults.
If he has a delicate sense of honor, you can disgrace him.
If he loves his people, you can create problems for him.
In every situation, look for these fve weaknesses.
They are common faults in commanders.
They always lead to military disaster.
11
To overturn an army, you must kill its general.
To do this, you must use these fve weaknesses.
You must always look for them.
The five key factors are again
the basis for this statement
about leadership, especially
leadership as specifically de-
fined in Chapter 1.
If you dont remember that
definition of leadership, you
will miss how this discussion
of flaws is based on excesses
rather than absences. You may
want to go back to Chapter 1
and find the five characteris-
tics of commanders. We have
said it before, but it does get
easier and easier to remember
all these elements when you
study because they connect
together.
The Ar t of War 74
As you advance in life, you are going to
meet many different conditions on the way to
many different destinations. Some moves will
be pleasant excursions. Other moves will turn
into crazy games of chicken. Some moves will
become races. In other moves, you will discover
that the way you planned to go has been closed
for construction.
Adapt or perish, now as ever, is
natures inexorable imperative. H. G.
Wells
The Ni ne Spec i f i c Condi t ions
There are nine special situations that you must instantly recognize and
adapt to:
Scattering conditions arise when attacked by a foe.
Easy conditions arise early in a new advance.
Disputed conditions arise on valuable ground.
Open conditions arise when the ground is clear.
St r at egy
makes you
acut el y awar e
of changes
ar ound you.
The Golden Key to Strategy is
based on the material that
we use in our live presen-
tations so there are a lot of
quotes, stories, and even
jokes mixed in with its
lessons. The Keys to Sun
Tzu lecture from our live
training is available as a
DVD video and audio CD
at Strategy-Shop.com and
as a video course at the
Strategy-School.com
75 Chapt er 8: Adapt abi l i t y
C h a p t e r 9 : A r me d Ma r c h
Sun Tzu sai d:
1
Anyone moving an army must adjust to the enemy.
When caught in the mountains, rely on their valleys.
Position yourself on the heights facing the sun.
To win your battles, never attack uphill.
This is how you position your army in the mountains.
6
When water blocks you, keep far away from it.
Let the invader cross the river and wait for him.
Do not meet him in midstream.
Wait for him to get half his forces across and then take advantage of the situation.
10
You need to be able to fght.
You cant do that if you are caught in water when you meet an invader.
Position yourself upstream, facing the sun.
Never face against the current.
Always position your army upstream when near the water.
This is the first of the three lon-
gest and most complex chap-
ters in Sun Tzus work. These
chapters explore all the details
that make every situation
unique and the prescriptions
for finding the right response to
the situation. These chapters
rely much more heavily on past
definitions, text organization,
and past interconnections for
their meaning.
The Ar t of War 76
15
You may have to move across marshes.
Move through them quickly without stopping.
You may meet the enemy in the middle of a marsh.
You must keep on the water grasses.
Keep your back to a clump of trees.
This is how you position your army in a marsh.
21
On a level plateau, take a position that you can change.
Keep the higher ground on your right and to the rear.
Keep danger in front of you and safety behind.
This is how you position yourself on a level plateau.
25
You can fnd an advantage in all four of these situations.
Learn from the great emperor who used positioning to conquer his four rivals.
2
Armies are stronger on high ground and weaker on low.
They are better camping on sunny southern hillsides than on shady northern ones.
Provide for your armys health and place men correctly.
Notice that Sun Tzu doesnt list
the four ground conditions he
is discussing.
Technically, these conditions
represent three problems plus
their absence. The first is an
excess of ground, mountains.
The second an excess of
climate, water. The third is an
excess of ground and climate
combined, marshes. The fourth
is the lack of excess. This is
important because the number
three is connected to barriers
to progress, not to four skills
for advancing a position.
77 Chapt er 9: Ar med Mar ch
Your army will be free from disease.
Done correctly, this means victory.
6
You must sometimes defend on a hill or riverbank.
You must keep on the south side in the sun.
Keep the uphill slope at your right rear.
9
This will give the advantage to your army.
It will always give you a position of strength.
3Stop the march when the rain swells the river into rapids.
You may want to ford the river.
Wait until it subsides.
4
All regions can have seasonal mountain streams that can cut you off.
There are seasonal lakes.
There are seasonal blockages.
There are seasonal jungles.
One of the great benefits
of developing our strategic
skills is that all of Sun Tzus
lessons can be connected
to competitive situations in
our life. In doing our many
adaptations of Sun Tzus
work, we explain the types
of conditions, for example in
the business environment,
that we can map to these
classical competitive situa-
tions.
The Ar t of War 78
There are seasonal foods.
There are seasonal fssures.
Get away from all these quickly.
Do not get close to them.
Keep them at a distance.
Maneuver the enemy close to them.
Position yourself facing these dangers.
Push the enemy back into them.
16
Danger can hide on your armys fank.
There are reservoirs and lakes.
There are reeds and thickets.
There are mountain woods.
Their dense vegetation provides a hiding place.
You must cautiously search through them.
They can always hide an ambush.
Here, we have the three chal-
lenges that limit progress. They
are called distance, dan-
gers, and obstacles. They
map to mountains, waters,
and marshes. Each concept
has a precise meaning but
these concepts are specifically
defined later in the text.
79 Chapt er 9: Ar med Mar ch
4Sometimes, the enemy is close by but remains calm.
Expect to fnd him in a natural stronghold.
Other times he remains at a distance but provokes battle.
He wants you to attack him.
5
He sometimes shifts the position of his camp.
He is looking for an advantageous position.
7
The trees in the forest move.
Expect that the enemy is coming.
The tall grasses obstruct your view.
Be suspicious.
11
The birds take fight.
Expect that the enemy is hiding.
Animals startle.
Expect an ambush.
There are many specific les-
sons in this long section, but
the general lesson is the same:
we can get information only by
interpreting the changes in the
environment, but that informa-
tion is never perfect.
The Ar t of War 80
4 Sales managers must continually monitor competitors.
Competitors are confdent in their most secure accounts.
Prevent your salespeople from attacking these competitors.
Attacking entrenched competition discredits your salespeople.
Competitors may shift their market focus.
They are looking for new opportunities.

Notice similar changes across different sales territories.
This means that a competitive threat is building.
You may not see which competitor is behind this threat.
You must be suspicious.
Notice when buyers suddenly become shy.
Suspect that competitors are planning a surprise.
Your customers are worried.
A competitor is challenging you.
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Art of War for the Sales War-
rior designed for those who are
responsible for managing sales
warriors. Like their salespeople,
sales managers are on the front
lines of the competitive battle,
but they have to think more like
generals than warriors. While
salespeople can focus on one ac-
count at a time, sales managers
must keep them in touch with the
big strategic picture.
81 Chapt er 9: Ar med Mar ch
This section gives a clear
outline for interpreting an
opponents intentions. Can you
simply outline the system it
describes?
Again, remembering all these
details would be impossible
if they werent connected to
an underlying framework for
thinking. Anyone can use this
system, but it takes some men-
tal training to master it.
15
Notice the dust.
It sometimes rises high in a straight line.
Vehicles are coming.
The dust appears low in a wide band.
Foot soldiers are coming.
The dust seems scattered in different areas.
The enemy is collecting frewood.
Any dust is light and settling down.
The enemy is setting up camp.
5Your enemy speaks humbly while building up forces.
He is planning to advance.
3
The enemy talks aggressively and pushes as if to advance.
He is planning to retreat.
5
Small vehicles exit his camp frst.
They move the armys fanks.
They are forming a battle line.
The Ar t of War 82
Probe salespeople for rumors about competitors.
Salespeople learn about competitors from top decision-makers.
This foreshadows an aggressive move.
Salespeople hear news of competitors from many low-level people.
This means competitors have many people working the market.
News of competitors is scattered in different territories.
This means competitors are cherry-picking accounts.
News of competitors becomes rarer and rarer.
This means that competitors are dormant.
5 Your competitors sound pessimistic but are hiring salespeople.
Prepare your salespeople for a new competitive campaign.
Your competitors make silly claims and talk about new markets.
Prepare your salespeople for competitors consolidating business.
Your competitors make quick changes.
They reorganize their product offering.
Prepare your salespeople for a competitive sales push.
Strategy for Sales Managers is a
practical and indispensable
guide to using Sun Tzus
principles to meet the daily
challenges of herding cats...
I mean, managing sales-
people.
83 Chapt er 9: Ar med Mar ch
There is a secret in the change
of topic here that can help us
understand our rivals. At first
the topic was seeing our rivals
activities by changes in the
environment. Here the topic
changes to seeing our rivals
plans in how they behave.
Strategic cognition requires
foreseeing the future just a little
bit better than others.
8
Your enemy tries to sue for peace but without offering a treaty.
He is plotting.
10
Your enemys men run to leave and yet form ranks.
You should expect action.
12
Half his army advances and the other half retreats.
He is luring you.
14
Your enemy plans to fght but his men just stand there.
They are starving.
16
Those who draw water drink it frst.
They are thirsty.
18
Your enemy sees an advantage but does not advance.
His men are tired.
The Ar t of War 84
20
Birds gather.
Your enemy has abandoned his camp.
22
Your enemys soldiers call in the night.
They are afraid.
24
Your enemys army is raucous.
The men do not take their commander seriously.
26
Your enemys banners and fags shift.
Order is breaking down.
28
Your enemys offcers are irritable.
They are exhausted.
30
Your enemys men kill their horses for meat.
They are out of provisions.
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and and start reading our free
daily article (or buy any of our
books) to see how you can use
each of these rules for predict-
ing your opponents to work in a
practical way.
85 Chapt er 9: Ar med Mar ch
32
They dont put their pots away or return to their tents.
They are desperate.
34
Enemy troops appear sincere and agreeable.
But their men are slow to speak to each other.
They are no longer united.
37
Your enemy offers too many incentives to his men.
He is in trouble.
39
Your enemy gives out too many punishments.
His men are weary.
41
Your enemy frst acts violently and then is afraid of your larger force.
His best troops have not arrived.
43
Your enemy comes in a conciliatory manner.
He needs to rest and recuperate.
This chapter focuses on mov-
ing, one of the four skills in the
Progress Cycle, but movement
is more than simply doing what
we have planned. The most
interesting limits on movement
are actually explained in Chap-
ter 11, Types of Terrain.
The Ar t of War 86
45
Your enemy is angry and appears to welcome battle.
This goes on for a long time, but he doesnt attack.
He also doesnt leave the feld.
You must watch him carefully.
6
If you are too weak to fght, you must fnd more men.
In this situation, you must not act aggressively.
You must unite your forces.
Prepare for the enemy.
Recruit men and stay where you are.
6
You must be cautious about making plans and adjust to the enemy.
You must gather more men.
7
With new, undedicated soldiers, you can depend on them if you discipline them.
They will tend to disobey your orders.
If they do not obey your orders, they will be useless.
The strategic question is:
when do we stop? This is one
answer to that question, but
there are at least three other
conditions that can affect that
decision. You have already
seen one related to the envi-
ronment, when rivers swell
with rain, in other words, when
conditions in the environment
are changing too rapidly.
87 Chapt er 9: Ar med Mar ch
4
You can depend on seasoned, dedicated soldiers.
But you must avoid disciplining them without reason.
Otherwise, you cannot use them.
7
You must control your soldiers with esprit de corps.
You must bring them together by winning victories.
You must get them to believe in you.
10
Make it easy for people to know what to do by training your people.
Your people will then obey you.
If you do not make it easy for people to know what to do, you wont train your people.
Then they will not obey.
14
Make your commands easy to follow.
You must understand the way a crowd thinks.
Sun Tzus strategy works
because we are working with
other people, and humans are
more predictable and control-
lable than events. Seeing the
whole system of how people
interact instead of the indep-
dent reactions is what we
call developing our strategic
cognition.
The Ar t of War 88
C h a p t e r 1 0 : F i e l d P o s i t i o n
Sun Tzu said:
1
Some feld positions are unobstructed.
Some feld positions are entangling.
Some feld positions are supporting.
Some feld positions are constricted.
Some feld positions give you a barricade.
Some feld positions are spread out.
7
You can attack from some positions easily.
Other forces can meet you easily as well.
We call these unobstructed positions.
These positions are open.
On them, be the frst to occupy a high, sunny area.
Put yourself where you can defend your supply routes.
Then you will have an advantage.
The chapter begins with more
definitions of specific conditions.
In situation response, the various
arrays of different types of condi-
tions (the four types of ground in
the previous chapter, these six field
positions, the nine types of terrain
in the next chapter) all combine
to make every situation unique.
However, because they consist of
known components, each unique
condition can be broken down into
a precise recipe for success.
89 Chapt er 10: Fi el d Posi t i on
14
You can attack from some positions easily.
Disaster arises when you try to return to them.
These are entangling positions.
These feld positions are one-sided.
Wait until your enemy is unprepared.
You can then attack from these positions and win.
Avoid a well-prepared enemy.
You will try to attack and lose.
Since you cant return, you will meet disaster.
These feld positions offer no advantage.
24
You cannot leave some positions without losing an advantage.
If the enemy leaves this ground, he also loses an advantage.
We call these supporting feld positions.
These positions strengthen you.
The enemy may try to entice you away.
Still, hold your position.
You must entice the enemy to leave.
These six field positions (liter-
ally ground forms") are extreme
conditions in a three-dimensional
array. We have already mentioned
the nature of this array. Can you
remember it? Three is the number
describing barriers to progress. Six
is now the number indicating the
six extreme situations of the three
dimensions of distance, dan-
gers, and obstacles.
The Ar t of War 90
You then strike him as he is leaving.
These feld positions offer an advantage.
33
Some feld positions are constricted.
Get to these positions frst.
You must fll these areas and await the enemy.
Sometimes, the enemy will reach them frst.
If he flls them, do not follow him.
However, if he fails to fll them, you can go after him.
39
Some feld positions give you a barricade.
Get to these positions frst.
You must occupy their southern, sunny heights in order to await the enemy.
Sometimes the enemy occupies these areas frst.
If so, entice him away.
Never go after him.
45
Some feld positions are too spread out.
The power of strategy is that it
gives us the tools to recognize the
relevant conditions in common
situations and know how to react.
Since all real situations are com-
pounds of the idealized situations
described here, our actions can be
calibrated to the meet the precise
requirement of the situation, but
in practice, we often identify the
dominate characteristic of the situ-
ation and start from there.
91 Chapt er 10: Fi el d Posi t i on
Your force may seem equal to the enemy.
Still you will lose if you provoke a battle.
If you fght, you will not have any advantage.
49
These are the six types of feld positions.
Each battleground has its own rules.
As a commander, you must know where to go.
You must examine each position closely.
2
Some armies can be outmaneuvered.
Some armies are too lax.
Some armies fall down.
Some armies fall apart.
Some armies are disorganized.
Some armies must retreat.
7
Know all six of these weaknesses.
They create weak timing and disastrous positions.
They all arise from the armys commander.

Notice again that these weak-
nesses form a pattern of six. By
now, you should realize that this
isnt an accident, but can you see
the deeper connections to the key
pattern of six? In this case, the six
weaknesses of armies either arise
from or show up on the six types of
field position described earlier.
The Ar t of War 92
We cannot have our troops everywhere. Spreading our forces weak-
ens our position. Though we can threaten Syria and Iran from Iraq, we
cannot attack both countries at once or at all until we are ready to move
our troops into those new positions.
Each position is ideally a stepping-stone to a better position. Each
opens up new opportunities and poses new dangers. As we move
forward in the War on Terror, we must consider each step carefully and
know precisely what we are trying to accomplish.
2
In fghting terror, we must make certain that our own forces have none of
these weaknesses while spotting these weaknesses in terrorist organizations.
Thus far, we have managed to outmaneuver the terrorists by moving into the
Middle East. Their armies have either fallen apart, been disorganized, or had
to retreat. However, we must be wary of our weaknesses on the media battle-
ground.
We must be aware of our potential vulnerabilities in the media battle. Our
political and military leaders must be as skilled at communication strategy as
BONUS MATERIAL:
Strategy Against Terror
Strategy Against Terror is
our adaptation of The Art
of War to fourth genera-
tion war, the war on terror.
As a frequent guest on
talk radio shows, I am
constantly asked about
the war and I wanted to
do a complete analysis
of the issues by going
through Sun Tzus entire
93 Chapt er 10: Fi el d Posi t i on
10
One general can command a force equal to the enemy.
Still his enemy outfanks him.
This means that his army can be outmaneuvered.
13
Another can have strong soldiers but weak offcers.
This means that his army is too lax.
15
Another has strong offcers but weak soldiers.
This means that his army will fall down.
17
Another has subcommanders that are angry and defant.
They attack the enemy and fght their own battles.
The commander cannot know the battlefeld.
This means that his army will fall apart.
21
Another general is weak and easygoing.
He fails to make his orders clear.
His offcers and men lack direction.
Again we go through a series
of definitions. Remember, these
definition are like mathematical
equations. Together they create an
easy-to-visualize network of inter-
connecting ideas that anyone can
master. In Sun Tzus highly con-
densed form, it can be intimidating,
but anyone can master these ideas
in time.
The Ar t of War 94
they are at military strategy.
Though our leaders have complete access to the media, they have
often been outmaneuvered by the terrorists, who know how to grab the
headlines and push the emotional buttons of the press.
Often our soldiers have better stories for the media than their of-
Strategy Against Terror
was recognized as one
of the best philosophy
books by the Book of the
Year award committee at
Foreword Magazine, one
of the leading magazines
in book publishing.
fcers do. Our offcers are too relaxed in fghting the media war.
Terrorist leaders, in contrast, make strong threats, but they can seldom back them up, so their
credibility suffers.
A faw in the network of terror is that terrorist groups are fragmented. They vent their frustra-
tion at military setbacks at the hands of America by attacking fellow Muslims in countries such as
Saudi Arabia. This reaction undermines support for their cause.
Before 9/11, America's leadership was weak and too accepting of attacks on our people. Our
military response to repeated terrorist attacks was indifferent. Because we weren't trying to
establish clear positions, we couldn't make any progress against the terrorists. Our efforts were
95 Chapt er 10: Fi el d Posi t i on
This shows in his military formations.
This means that his army is disorganized.
26
Another general fails to predict the enemy.
He pits his small forces against larger ones.
His weak forces attack stronger ones.
He fails to pick his fghts correctly.
This means that his army must retreat.
31
You must know all about these six weaknesses.
You must understand the philosophies that lead to defeat.
When a general arrives, you can know what he will do.
You must study each general carefully.
3You must control your feld position.
It will always strengthen your army.
3
You must predict the enemy to overpower him and win.
You must analyze the obstacles, dangers, and distances.
The good news is that developing
strategic skills does not require
memorizing situations by rote.
Mastering the key elements of
strategy more like playing a game
where as we master one level of
skill, we can move onto the next.
This is how we developed the
training methodology of our Warrior
Class on-line training.
The Ar t of War 96
This is the best way to command.
6
Understand your feld position before you meet opponents.
Then you will succeed.
You can fail to understand your feld position and meet opponents.
Then you will fail.
10
You must provoke battle when you will certainly win.
It doesnt matter what you are ordered.
The government may order you not to fght.
Despite that, you must always fght when you will win.
14
Sometimes provoking a battle will lead to a loss.
The government may order you to fght.
Despite that, you must avoid battle when you will lose.
17
You must advance without desiring praise.
You must retreat without fearing shame.
Remember, provoking a battle
doesnt mean picking a fight.
Battle specifically means meet-
ing a challenge or an enemy not
conflict. Ideally, we want to meet
opponents when our advantage is
so crystal clear that they know that
we will win so that they give us
what we want rather than fighting.
97 Chapt er 10: Fi el d Posi t i on
The only correct move is to preserve your troops.
This is how you serve your country.
This is how you reward your nation.
4Think of your soldiers as little children.
You can make them follow you into a deep river.
Treat them as your beloved children.
You can lead them all to their deaths.
5
Some leaders are generous but cannot use their men.
They love their men but cannot command them.
Their men are unruly and disorganized.
These leaders create spoiled children.
Their soldiers are useless.
5You may know what your soldiers will do in an attack.
You may not know if the enemy is vulnerable to attack.
You will then win only half the time.
Notice another pattern here. Both
of the last two chapters in this sec-
ond section of the book end with
a discussion of managing people.
The most advanced principles in
classical strategy explain human
psychology under competitive
pressure. The Sun Tzus strategy
might be said to combine a simple
for of mathematics and physics
with human psychology. Much of
modern game theory is described
in Sun Tzus work.
The Ar t of War 98
You may know that the enemy is vulnerable to attack.
You may not know if your men have the capability of attacking him.
You will still win only half the time.
You may know that the enemy is vulnerable to attack.
You may know that your men are ready to attack.
You may not, however, know how to position yourself in the feld for battle.
You will still win only half the time.
11
You must know how to make war.
You can then act without confusion.
You can attempt anything.
14
We say:
Know the enemy and know yourself.
Your victory will be painless.
Know the weather and the feld.
Your victory will be complete.
In the end, our success depends
on only one issue: do we under-
stand enough to make a good
decision in our current situation?
Everyone tries to use strategy,
but those who are successful are
using Sun Tzus Rules even if they
dont realize it. A single missing
piece prevents us from complet-
ing a puzzle, but Sun Tzu gives us
all the pieces. We just have to put
them together.
99 Chapt er 10: Fi el d Posi t i on
C h a p t e r 1 1 : T y p e s o f T e r r a i n
Sun Tzu said:
1
Use the art of war.
Know when the terrain will scatter you.
Know when the terrain will be easy.
Know when the terrain will be disputed.
Know when the terrain is open.
Know when the terrain is intersecting.
Know when the terrain is dangerous.
Know when the terrain is bad.
Know when the terrain is confned.
Know when the terrain is deadly.
11
Warring parties must sometimes fght inside their own territory.
This is scattering terrain.
We begin again with more definitions
of more situations. This time the magic
number is nine. The numbers five, four,
three, six, and nine all have special
meaning in Sun Tzus system. They are
all part of the larger pattern.
This pattern does get more complicated
in these final chapters, which offer more
detailed instructions on how to recognize
and respond to specific situations.
The Ar t of War 100
13
When you enter hostile territory, your penetration is shallow.
This is easy terrain.
15
Some terrain gives you an advantageous position.
But it gives others an advantageous position as well.
This will be disputed terrain.
18
You can use some terrain to advance easily.
Others can advance along with you.
This is open terrain.
21
Everyone shares access to a given area.
The frst one to arrive there can gather a larger group than anyone else.
This is intersecting terrain.
24
You can penetrate deeply into hostile territory.
Then many hostile cities are behind you.
This is dangerous terrain.
Though these nine conditions are de-
scribed as terrain, the Chinese char-
acter means earth or groundthe
same ground that is one of the five
key factors in Chapter 1. However,
that character also means condition
and situation. Here, the conditions
described are situations that arise
over time as we advance our posi-
tions.
101 Chapt er 11: Types of Ter r ai n
27
There are mountain forests.
There are dangerous obstructions.
There are reservoirs.
Everyone confronts these obstacles on a campaign.
They make bad terrain.
32
In some areas, the entry passage is narrow.
You are closed in as you try to get out of them.
In this type of area, a few people can effectively attack your much larger force.
This is confned terrain.
36
You can sometimes survive only if you fght quickly.
You will die if you delay.
This is deadly terrain.
39
To be successful, you must control scattering terrain by avoiding battle.
Control easy terrain by not stopping.
Control disputed terrain by not attacking.
In many of our books explain-
ing Sun Tzu, we describe these
nine terrains as stages of a
campaign. Understanding them
as stages is very useful in using
the techniques presented in this
chapter.
The Ar t of War 102
Control open terrain by staying with the enemys forces.
Control intersecting terrain by uniting with your allies.
Control dangerous terrain by plundering.
Control bad terrain by keeping on the move.
Control confned terrain by using surprise.
Control deadly terrain by fghting.
2
Go to an area that is known to be good for waging war.
Use it to cut off the enemys contact between his front and back lines.
Prevent his small parties from relying on his larger force.
Stop his strong divisions from rescuing his weak ones.
Prevent his offcers from getting their men together.
Chase his soldiers apart to stop them from amassing.
Harass them to prevent their ranks from forming.
8
When joining battle gives you an advantage, you must do it.
When it isnt to your beneft, you must avoid it.
While not every stage occurs in every
campaign, the earlier stages tend to
occur at the beginning of campaigns,
while the later stages tend to occur
at the very end of campaigns when
victory is in sight.
103 Chapt er 11: Types of Ter r ai n
10
A daring soldier may ask:
A large, organized enemy army and its general are coming.
What do I do to prepare for them?
13
Tell him:
First seize an area that the enemy must have.
Then he will pay attention to you.
Mastering speed is the essence of war.
Take advantage of a large enemys inability to keep up.
Use a philosophy of avoiding diffcult situations.
Attack the area where he doesnt expect you.
3You must use the philosophy of an invader.
Invade deeply and then concentrate your forces.
This controls your men without oppressing them.
4
Get your supplies from the riches of the territory.
It is suffcient to supply your whole army.
Invasion has a very specific mean-
ing in classical strategy. We men-
tioned it in the first chapter. Do you
remember it? It means moving into
a new territory. At this point, almost
every word has been defined earlier
in the text in a very clear manner.
The Ar t of War 104
6
Take care of your men and do not overtax them.
Your esprit de corps increases your momentum.
Keep your army moving and plan for surprises.
Make it diffcult for the enemy to count your forces.
Position your men where there is no place to run.
They will then face death without feeing.
They will fnd a way to survive.
Your offcers and men will fght to their utmost.
14
Military offcers who are committed lose their fear.
When they have nowhere to run, they must stand frm.
Deep in enemy territory, they are captives.
Since they cannot escape, they will fght.
18
Commit your men completely.
Without being posted, they will be on guard.
Without being asked, they will get what is needed.
Without being forced, they will be dedicated.
Without being given orders, they can be trusted.
Improving our strategic cognition can
make us more successful in every
aspect of our life. Here, the issue
is commitment. People with a weak
commitment have to be managed
and monitored. People who are truly
committed are self-starting and self-
managing. Wemust take action to re-
ally commit ourselves to mastering a
skill. Most people are dilettantes who
learn about skills but never make the
investment necessary to bury their
wheels in the sand to the master
master skills. .
105 Chapt er 11: Types of Ter r ai n
23
Stop them from guessing by removing all their doubts.
Stop them from dying by giving them no place to run.
25
Your offcers may not be rich.
Nevertheless, they still desire plunder.
They may die young.
Nevertheless, they still want to live forever.
29
You must order the time of attack.
Offcers and men may sit and weep until their lapels are wet.
When they stand up, tears may stream down their cheeks.
Put them in a position where they cannot run.
They will show the greatest courage under fre.
4Make good use of war.
This demands instant refexes.
You must develop these instant refexes.
Act like an ordinary mountain snake.
Everyone wants success. Everyone
has the desire. The difference be-
tween successful people and every-
one else is that the successful people
are engaged They understand that
they have no choice but to respond
to their situation instead of taking the
path of least resistance.
The Ar t of War 106
If people strike your head then stop them with your tail.
If they strike your tail then stop them with your head.
If they strike your middle then use both your head and tail.
8
A daring soldier asks:
Can any army imitate these instant refexes?
We answer:
It can.
12
To command and get the most out of proud people, you must study adversity.
People work together when they are in the same boat during a storm.
In this situation, one rescues the other just as the right hand helps the left.
15
Use adversity correctly.
Tether your horses and bury your wagons wheels.
Still, you cant depend on this alone.
An organized force is braver than lone individuals.
This is the art of organization.
Remember the point of these three
long chapters is to get into the specif-
ics of situations. Once we understand
how to quickly diagnose our situation,
we know instantly how to react ap-
propriately.
107 Chapt er 11: Types of Ter r ai n
Put the tough and weak together.
You must also use the terrain.
22
Make good use of war.
Unite your men as one.
Never let them give up.
5The commander must be a military professional.
This requires confdence and detachment.
You must maintain dignity and order.
You must control what your men see and hear.
They must follow you without knowing your plans.
6
You can reinvent your mens roles.
You can change your plans.
You can use your men without their understanding.
9
You must shift your campgrounds.
Notice again how the topics in these
more advanced lessons lead naturally
to a discussion of managing people.
These later chapters focus much
more heavily on the complex details
of human psychology. Here, the focus
is on getting the best result when we
are working with others.
The Ar t of War 108
You must take detours from the ordinary routes.
You must use your men without giving them your strategy.
12
A commander provides what is needed now.
This is like climbing high and being willing to kick away your ladder.
You must be able to lead your men deep into different surrounding territory.
And yet, you can discover the opportunity to win.
16
You must drive men like a fock of sheep.
You must drive them to march.
You must drive them to attack.
You must never let them know where you are headed.
You must unite them into a great army.
You must then drive them against all opposition.
This is the job of a true commander.
23
You must adapt to the different terrain.
You must adapt to fnd an advantage.
This verse sounds repetitive and
poetic, but notice that pattern of six.
This relates to the unobstructed,
entangling, supporting, constricted,
barricaded, and spread-out field
positions we discussed earlier. Could
it be that each line says something
important about managing people on
these terrains? There is also a con-
nection of the six field positions to the
nine terrains here, but it would require
more explanation than I can put in
these side notes.
109 Chapt er 11: Types of Ter r ai n
You must manage your peoples affections.
You must study all these skills.
6
Always use the philosophy of invasion.
Deep invasions concentrate your forces.
Shallow invasions scatter your forces.
When you leave your country and cross the border, you must take control.
This is always critical ground.
You can sometimes move in any direction.
This is always intersecting ground.
You can penetrate deeply into a territory.
This is always dangerous ground.
You penetrate only a little way.
This is always easy ground.
Your retreat is closed and the path ahead tight.
This is always confned ground.
There is sometimes no place to run.
This is always deadly ground.
Here, Sun Tzu again lists the nine
terrains but in a slightly different form.
Why? In the original, he listed them
in the order of progress. Here he lists
them in the order of where we find the
best opportunities. Do you see why
we describe these nine terrains as
the stages of a campaign? Strategy
teaches that competitive situations
tend to unfold in a certain way.
The Ar t of War 110
In every city, hundreds of groups need speakers. Every day,
across the nation there are meetings, conferences, and events
that are requires speakers. Annually, there are millions of speak-
ing opportunities. Clubs are looking for speakers to address their
members. Companies are looking for speakers to talk to their
employees. Meeting planners are looking for speakers to talk at
their events. People are looking for speakers every day.
After identifying your sales assets, you need to understand
you path t into the world of speaking. The the small, local events
where you start offer many openings. You use them to get com-
fortable, develop references, and your skills. You then move up
through the speaking hierarchy. You can think of the speaking
marketplace as rungs on a ladder. Each step lead to another. The
good news is that you can start harvesting the fruit of your efforts
from your rst steps on that ladder.
The Ei ght Key St eps
Whenever and wherever you speak, you want to get invited
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111 Chapt er 11: Types of Ter r ai n
16
To use scattering terrain correctly, you must inspire your mens devotion.
On easy terrain, you must keep in close communication.
On disputed terrain, you try to hamper the enemys progress.
On open terrain, you must carefully defend your chosen position.
On intersecting terrain, you must solidify your alliances.
On dangerous terrain, you must ensure your food supplies.
On bad terrain, you must keep advancing along the road.
On confned terrain, you must stop information leaks from your headquarters.
On deadly terrain, you must show what you can do by killing the enemy.
25
Make your men feel like an army.
Surround them and they will defend themselves.
If they cannot avoid it, they will fght.
If they are under pressure, they will obey.
7Do the right thing when you dont know your different enemies plans.
Dont attempt to meet them.
Here is another list of the nine ter-
rains and how to use them. What is
different here? How does this differ-
ence relate to the people with whom
we are working? These situations
are based on how interactions with
people change over time.
The Ar t of War 112
back again and again, year after year. As you move up through the levels of this
speaking hierarchy, you may not be have the time to work lower levels, but you
may still want to visit them to safely test new ideas. Jay Leno has one of the
positions in the world on the Tonight show, but he still works small clubs to try
new material and rene his skills in working with an audience. In this chapter,
we examine ten key steps in moving up the speaking ladder. These steps are:
1. Unafliated Organizations
2. Afliated Organizations
3. Local Businesses and Other Organization
4. Colleges and Other Educators
5. Local Conventions and Visitors Bureaus
6. Seminar and Event Promoters
7. Your Own Public Seminars
8. The Corporate Marketplace
Though not one of the key steps in building a speaking career, you also need
to know about two other very visible entities in the speakers universe, speakers
showcases, and speakers bureaus and agents.
Making Money by
Speaking came
researching the
worlds most suc-
cessful trainers
as part of our
building our Sci-
ence of Strategy
Institute live train-
ing network. You
can find out more
about joining
our network as a
trainer here.
113 Chapt er 11: Types of Ter r ai n
3
You dont know the position of mountain forests, dangerous obstructions, and reservoirs?
Then you cannot march the army.
You dont have local guides?
You wont get any of the benefts of the terrain.
7
There are many factors in war.
You may lack knowledge of any one of them.
If so, it is wrong to take a nation into war.
10
You must be able to control your government's war.
If you divide a big nation, it will be unable to put together a large force.
Increase your enemys fear of your ability.
Prevent his forces from getting together and organizing.
14
Do the right thing and do not arrange outside alliances before their time.
You will not have to assert your authority prematurely.
Trust only yourself and your self-interest.
For Sun Tzu, alliances were a double
edged sword. There are times when
they are needed but they also create
a potential opening for opponents.
The basic approach is to only create
alliances when they are needed for
a specific situation and not to get
entangled in them.
The Ar t of War 114
This increases the enemys fear of you.
You can make one of his allies withdraw.
His whole nation can fall.
20
Distribute rewards without worrying about having a system.
Halt without the governments command.
Attack with the whole strength of your army.
Use your army as if it were a single man.
24
Attack with skill.
Do not discuss it.
Attack when you have an advantage.
Do not talk about the dangers.
When you launch your army into deadly ground, even if it stumbles it can still survive.
You can be weakened in a deadly battle and yet be stronger afterward.
30
Even a large force can fall into misfortune.
If you fall behind, however, you can still turn defeat into victory.
Many statements seem innocuous to
the casual reader, but I hope these
notes have made you aware that
phrases such as attack with skill
are very condensed. Another way to
say this would be, You must use all
four skills in a cycle to move into new
areas successfully. Remember, each
ground has its own rules.
115 Chapt er 11: Types of Ter r ai n
You must use the skills of war.
To survive, you must adapt yourself to your enemys purpose.
You must stay with him no matter where he goes.
It may take a thousand miles to kill the general.
If you correctly understand him, you can fnd the skill to do it.
8
Manage your government correctly at the start of a war.
Close your borders and tear up passports.
Block the passage of envoys.
Encourage the halls of power to rise to the occasion.
You must use any means to put an end to politics.
Your enemys people will leave you an opening.
You must instantly invade through it.
8
Immediately seize a place that they love.
Do it quickly.
Trample any border to pursue the enemy.
Use your judgment about when to fght.
How do we apply the idea of govern-
ment to our own use of strategy? In
Sun Tzus view, every competitorin-
cluding ushas a government com-
ponent and an army component, a
productive capacity and a competitive
capacity. Knowing when and where
to govern, that is, plan, and when
and where to use strategy is a critical
idea.
The Ar t of War 116
12
Doing the right thing at the start of war is like approaching a woman.
Your enemys men must open the door.
After that, you should act like a streaking rabbit.
The enemy will be unable to catch you.
Strategy as seduction? What situation
better describes competition? As in
real competition, we dont even have
to have a specific rival, but we are
always competing in a relationship.
Strategy is the key to seduction and
seduction a key to strategy.
We sold out of our adaptation of Sun
Tzu to relationships, called The Art of
War Plus the Art of Love, but it is and
all our out-of-print books are always
available in electronic format to mem-
bers of our Strategy School.
117 Chapt er 11: Types of Ter r ai n
C h a p t e r 1 2 : A t t a c k i n g Wi t h F i r e
Sun Tzu said:
1
There are fve ways of attacking with fre.
The frst is burning troops.
The second is burning supplies.
The third is burning supply transport.
The fourth is burning storehouses.
The ffth is burning camps.
7
To make fre, you must have the resources.
To build a fre, you must prepare the raw materials.
9
To attack with fre, you must be in the right season.
To start a fre, you must have the time.
11
Choose the right season.
The weather must be dry.
When we use better strategic rules, it begins
changing our lives. If we think literally, we
might skip this chapter about "fire attacks"
because we are never going to attack anyone
with fire or have to defend against fire. But Sun
Tzus strategy is a way of seeing the world.
Here, the methods are about how we use
weapons, specifically, those created by condi-
tions in the environment.
Most of those to whom we offer this book will
not even make it this far reading it. Fewer will
spend any time thinking about its ideas. Only
a very few have the desire and fire needed to
master its power. Those are the ones for whom
we exist.
The Ar t of War 118
13
Choose the right time.
Pick a season when the grass is as high as the side of a cart.
15
You can tell the proper days by the stars in the night sky.
You want days when the wind rises in the morning.
2
Everyone attacks with fre.
You must create fve different situations with fre and be able to adjust to them.
3
You start a fre inside the enemys camp.
Then attack the enemys periphery.
5
You launch a fre attack, but the enemy remains calm.
Wait and do not attack.
7
The fre reaches its height.
Follow its path if you can.
If you cant follow it, stay where you are.
The pattern of five is repeated again here,
twice: first with targets and then situations.
By now, after reading these notes, you
should know how to connect the dots, that
is, connect these elements to the five key
elements described in Chapter 1.
119 Chapt er 12: At t acki ng Wi t h Fi r e
10
Spreading fres on the outside of camp can kill.
You cant always get fre inside the enemys camp.
Take your time in spreading it.
13
Set the fre when the wind is at your back.
Dont attack into the wind.
Daytime winds last a long time.
Night winds fade quickly.
17
Every army must know how to adjust to the five possible attacks by fire.
Use many men to guard against them.
When you use fre to assist your attacks, you are clever.3
Water can add force to an attack.
You can also use water to disrupt an enemy.
It does not, however, take his resources.
You win in battle by getting the opportunity to attack.4
The rules in this chapter apply to all weapons,
but they are tailored for environmental weap-
ons. Nothing is more powerful in strategy than
leveraging the environment.
The Ar t of War 120
Articulating hidden desires can win markets.
Do this when you cannot address a core desire.
Take your time generating the feeling of need.
Let the competitive situation fan market desires.
Do not fght against prevailing attitudes.
Well-known needs are the most lasting.
Less visible needs can fade quickly.
You must master the previous fve approaches to using market desires.
You defend your customers by guarding them.
3 Leveraging market desires to generate sales is smart marketing.
Using any change can add force to your campaign.
You can use market change to put competitors at a disadvantage.
Change alone, however, does not take away competitors' sales.
4 You win in market competition by targeting unfulflled needs.
BONUS MATERIAL:
Warrior Marketing: Strategy for Con-
quering Markets is our adaptation
for marketing products, compa-
nies, and creating brands. Like
all of our business adaptations,
it has the complete Art of War on
its left-hand pages and our line-
by-line adaptation for marketing
on the facing right-hand pages.
121 Chapt er 12: At t acki ng Wi t h Fi r e
It is dangerous if you fail to study how to accomplish this achievement.
As commander, you cannot waste your opportunities.
4
We say:
A wise leader plans success.
A good general studies it.
If there is little to be gained, dont act.
If there is little to win, do not use your men.
If there is no danger, dont fght.
10
As leader, you cannot let your anger interfere with the success of your forces.
As commander, you cannot let yourself become enraged before you go to battle.
Join the battle only when it is in your advantage to act.
If there is no advantage in joining a battle, stay put.
We have mentioned three times in these notes
that the term fight doesnt mean conflict.
What does it mean? It means use all your
resources and hold nothing back. In strategy,
it is an action of last resort. By now, perhaps
you can see how clarifying these ideas gives
impact to what Sun Tzu is saying. See how
knowing the real meaning of the works terms
changes the meaning of every line?
The Ar t of War 122
You create competitors if you do not pay attention to satisfying those needs.
Your decisions can create a competitor's opportunities.
Strategy teaches:
You use your knowledge to choose your course.
You must not forget what success really means.
If a market cannot make you money, do not target it.
If it cannot be proftable, do not waste your resources.
If the target customers lack real desire, do not sell to them.
You must never let your emotions affect the success of a marketing campaign.
You must never go after a market simply because you want to humble the competition.
Go up against the competition only when it is proftable to do so.
If you cannot make money in competition, stay out of it.
Warrior Marketing offers the
original source material for the
whole idea of market positioning.
Like all of our business adapta-
tions, its application of Sun Tzus
concepts are not taken from our
English translation but directly
from the deeper concepts in the
original Chinese formulas.
123 Chapt er 12: At t acki ng Wi t h Fi r e
14
Anger can change back into happiness.
Rage can change back into joy.
A nation once destroyed cannot be brought back to life.
Dead men do not return to the living.
18
This fact must make a wise leader cautious.
A good general is on guard.
20
Your philosophy must be to keep the nation peaceful and the army intact.
With work, we can develop the pow-
ers of situation recognition. When we
do, we make better decisions because
we rely less on our emotions. Sun Tzu
teaches that emotions are a poor basis for
decision-making. People make decisions
based upon emotion only because they
have no systematic basis, such as the
principles of strategy, for making better
decisions.
The Ar t of War 124
C h a p t e r 1 3 : U s i n g S p i e s
Sun Tzu said:
1
All successful armies require thousands of men.
They invade and march thousands of miles.
Whole families are destroyed.
Other families must be heavily taxed.
Every day, a large amount of money must be spent.
6
Internal and external events force people to move.
They are unable to work while on the road.
They are unable to fnd and hold a useful job.
This affects 70 percent of thousands of families.
10
You can watch and guard for years.
Then a single battle can determine victory in a day.
Despite this, bureaucrats worship the value of their salary money too dearly.
They remain ignorant of the enemys condition.
Better strategic thinking can
make us rich both in money and
in experience. Sun Tzu saves his
most important chapter for last.
It is generally about setting up
information network. Its lessons
apply directly to why we set up
WarriorsRules.com and the Sci-
ence of Strategy Institute to bring
people together.
Sun Tzus Warriors Rules closely
connects the issues of economics
and information. Information is the
topic of this chapter, but the value
of information starts with some im-
portant economics. Making deci-
sions without a broad perspective
is much more expensive.
125 Chapt er 13: Usi ng Spi es
The result is cruel.
15
They are not leaders of men.
They are not servants of the state.
They are not masters of victory.
18
People need an intelligent leader and a worthy commander.
You must move your troops to the right places to beat others.
You must accomplish your attack and escape unharmed.
This requires foreknowledge.
You can obtain foreknowledge.
You cant get it from demons or spirits.
You cant see it from professional experience.
You cant check it with analysis.
You can only get it from other people.
You must always know the enemys situation.
We are coming to the end of the text here
and are just now getting to some of its most
important lessons. People who fail to master
these lessons pay the price. Taking the time
and the effort to train our minds is much less
costly even in the short run. Who know what
opportunities you might be missing?
The Ar t of War 126
Your business is always at risk. Failure is always a possibility. You can
always make mistakes that threaten your business, but your business is in
danger even if you operate it perfectly. Changes in the marketplace or busi-
ness climate can put you out of business. A new competitor can open next
door tomorrow. New technology can revolutionize an industry overnight.
Your existing competitive position is constantly eroding. You have to
constantly work to improve your competitive position, and improving,
expanding, and building up your business is costly. Most of your new
ideas will fail to pay for themselves. Only a precious few will be successful.
You can run a business for years. Then a single opportunity can come
along and change everything. You must choose whether to embrace that
opportunity or to reject it. If the opportunity proves to be false, embrac-
ing it will cost you everything that you have built up over the years. If the
opportunity proves to be your big chance at success, rejecting it may lead
inevitably to failure.
You have to make the right decisions every day. Despite this, many
businesspeople invest their time, money, and effort in advertising, inven-
tory, and systems, but they dont invest in building their channels of
BONUS MATERIAL:
Nine Formulas for Busi-
ness Success: the Science
of Strategy is our new-
est book. Like the The
Golden Key to Strategy
it does not reference
Sun Tzus text directly.
Instead, it reorganizes
the material to make
it easier for todays
business people to
use. It is the book we
use at the outline for
the Institutes training
program. For example,
Sun Tzus last chapter
on how to gather
information is so
critical that its material
becomes on of the first
chapters in the Nine
Formulas system for
using Sun Tzus ideas.
127 Chapt er 13: Usi ng Spi es
2
You must use fve types of spies.
You need local spies.
You need inside spies.
You need double agents.
You need doomed spies.
You need surviving spies.
7
You need all fve types of spies.
No one must discover your methods.
You will then be able to put together a true picture.
This is the commanders most valuable resource.
11
You need local spies.
Get them by hiring people from the countryside.
13
You need inside spies.
Win them by subverting government offcials.
You shouldnt be surprised at this point by the
pattern of five. As we grasp the dimensions
of the five key elements, we see that they are
one of the keys to understanding Sun Tzu.
You might be a little surprised to learn that
the term translated as spies is really closer
in meaning to go-between. What Sun Tzu
is really talking about here is what a com-
puter person might call interfaces, points at
which people connect to people through other
people.
The Ar t of War 128
Instructions:
1) Develop a preference for getting information directly from people. 2) Look for a range of contacts.
3) Get to know some old business pros. 4) Get in regular contact with young people. 5) Make a con-
nection with your customers. 6) Contact your competitors contacts. 7) Develop your missionaries.
8) Invest time in maintaining relationships. 9) When targeting a specic opportunity, extend your
information network to gather specic information.
information. The result can be devastating.
Without the right information, you cannot compete. You cannot develop
a competitive position that attracts customers. You cannot run a business
protably. It doesnt matter how hard you work; without the right informa-
tion, you will always be doing the wrong things at the wrong times.
The Fi nd Fr i ends For mul a
Ingredients:
1) A focus on the future, 2) a range of contacts, 3) old pros, 4) young eyes,
5) customer connections, 6) competitor contacts, 7) missionaries, 8) a sense of value, 9)
(optional) a specic opportunity
Nine Formulas for Busi-
ness Success: reduces
all of Sun Tzus ideas
into a series of nine
recipes for success
in business. Here,
for example, the Find
Friends formula com-
bines the range of con-
tacts discussed in this
chapter with Sun Tzus
advice for managing
people and identifying
opportunities,
129 Chapt er 13: Usi ng Spi es
15
You need double agents.
Discover enemy agents and convert them.
17
You need doomed spies.
Deceive professionals into being captured.
Let them know your orders.
They then take those orders to your enemy.
21
You need surviving spies.
Someone must return with a report.
3Your job is to build a complete army.
No relations are as intimate as the ones with spies.
No rewards are too generous for spies.
No work is as secret as that of spies.
5
If you arent clever and wise, you cant use spies.
If you arent fair and just, you cant use spies.
Sun Tzus Warriors Rules are based on
information management but not the computer
type of information management. It is under-
standing the information we get from real, live
people.
The Ar t of War 130
If you cant see the small subtleties, you wont get the truth from spies.
8
Pay attention to small, trifing details!
Spies are helpful in every area.
10
Spies are the frst to hear information, so they must not spread information.
Spies who give your location or talk to others must be killed along with those to whom they have
talked.
4You may want to attack an armys position.
You may want to attack a certain fortifcation.
You may want to kill people in a certain place.
You must frst know the guarding general.
You must know his left and right fanks.
You must know his hierarchy.
You must know the way in.
You must know where different people are stationed.
You must demand this information from your spies.
This chapter brings us full circle in Sun Tzus
rules. The book begins with analysis, but
analysis begins with information. Good strat-
egy develops a feedback loop in which good
analysis followed by good strategic moves
leads to better information and better decisions
and better moves.
131 Chapt er 13: Usi ng Spi es
10
You want to know the enemy spies in order to convert them into your men.
You fnd sources of information and bribe them.
You must bring them in with you.
You must obtain them as double agents and use them as your emissaries.
14
Do this correctly and carefully.
You can contact both local and inside spies and obtain their support.
Do this correctly and carefully.
You create doomed spies by deceiving professionals.
You can use them to give false information.
Do this correctly and carefully.
You must have surviving spies capable of bringing you information at the right time.

21
These are the fve different types of intelligence work.
You must be certain to master them all.
You must be certain to create double agents.
You cannot afford to be too cost conscious in creating these double agents.
Knowledge is power.
Warriors Rules are
the knowledge of
power. We provide
this free version
of Sun Tzus work
because we want to
give you an idea of
what you can learn
and do with historys
most powerful knowl-
edge.
The Ar t of War 132
5This technique created the success of ancient Shang.
This is how the Shang held its dynasty.
3
You must always be careful of your success.
Learn from Lu Ya of Shang.
5
Be a smart commander and a good general.
You do this by using your best and brightest people for spying.
This is how you achieve the greatest success.
This is how you meet the necessities of war.
The whole armys position and ability to move depends on these spies.
Sun Tzu wrote for the
people of his time, who
understood these cultural
references. The Institute
was created for people
today.
As this book ends, you
have a simple choice.
You can let your study of
Sun Tzu end here with
your habits of thinking
unchanged. Or you can
enjoy the benefits of work-
ing with others who share
your interests in strategy
and sign up as a Institute
member today.
133 Chapt er 13: Usi ng Spi es
Thus ends Sun Tzu's The Art of War.
At this point, you have to make a decision. This is appropriate because Sun Tzu teaches
the science of making better decisions. At this point, are you satisfied just being able to say
you read The Art of War? Or do you want to develop real skills you will use every day? The
first steps to developing those skills are FREE! The Science of Strategy Institute offers
a home for people who want to study Sun Tzus rule. Visit us every day to read a FREE
article explaining these rules in practical terms for free.
If you want to get access these over two hundred rules articles at any time, finding exactly
the rules for your current situation, you can join us as a member.
If you want to pursue your training more serious, you can join our on-line training.
If you are part of an organization, you can also get a live presentation on Sun Tzus prin-
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If you are a business trainer and want to include Sun Tzus Warriors Rules in your training
program, you can very affordably license our materials to include in your programs.