Analyzing key takeaways from Sun Tzu’s The Art of War.
Book 1 → Laying Plans
We can summarize Sun Tzu’s 7 questions when doing a survey of military conditions on both sides.
- Authority
- Ability
- Advantages
- Discipline
- Strength
- Training
- Consistency
Here we stress that a plan is good as an exercise, but what we really need is a strategy, such that we react in realtime in the heat of action, rather than intellectualizing it non-locally. Sun Tzu stresses that “all warfare is based on deception.”
This reminds me of game theory — first mover & second mover advantage games. I was playing a game against myself: nighttime Ahmad wanted to wake up at 5am, but daytime Ahmad wanted to sleep in. Nighttime Ahmad had the advantage as a first mover in this game, so he was able to set a trap that daytime Ahmad could not evade. He positioned his alarm clock all the way on the opposite end of the room so he is forced to get out of bed. At one point when daytime Ahmad would just snooze and go back to bed, Nighttime Ahmad set his alarm through an app that required him to solve math problems and difficult puzzles as a way to wake his mind up. The method worked.
An essential part of winning is running through the strategy in your head as many times as possible. Poke holes in the strategy to pressure test it, and run through simulations in your head. Victory goes to he who is prepared for any potential outcome.
Book 2 → Waging War
- Once war is decided, strike immediately and fast (blitzkrieg).
- Forage on the enemy rather than rely on provisions from home afar.
- “The captured soldiers should be kindly treated and kept.”
This reminds me of how General Ulysses S. Grant took away the same lesson from seeing General Zachary Taylor do the same with the Mexicans they defeated in the Mexican-American War. That allowing the enemies to return to their homes with dignity was better in the long-run. Grant would do the same with the Confederates in the Civil War.
Book 3 → Attack By Stratagem
- It is better to capture the enemy rather than annihilate them.
- It is better to win the battle without fighting if possible.
- Four tactics ranked by preference:
- Disrupt the enemy’s plans.
- Prevent the enemy from regrouping.
- Attack the enemy directly.
- Besiege a walled city.
- Five essentials for victory:
- Knowing when to and when not to fight.
- Knowing how to handle inferior and superior forces.
- Animated by the same spirit consistently through the ranks.
- Is prepared and takes the enemy when they’re unprepared.
- Has military capacity to execute.
- He references a saying that perfectly captures this philosophy:
- If you know the enemy and known yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself, but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.
Book 4 → Tactical Dispositions
- It is wise to wait for the enemy to slip up and make a mistake — this is how victory is attained.
- “Security against defeat implies defensive tactics; ability to defeat the enemy means taking the offensive.”
- It isn’t just about winning, but winning with ease.
- You can control success by controlling your discipline.
Book 5 → Use Of Energy
- Simulated disorder postulates perfect discipline.
- Combining energy among your colleagues and pointing that in a disciplined effort will increase odds of victory.
We think of forward momentum in war similarly to a vector. A vector can go much farther covering the same surface area if all points are directed along the same trajectory.