The most widespread, used and translated version of Sun Tzu's work
into several languages is the one originally published in 1963 in
Analysis of The Art of War from an
Administrative approach.
“Despite its age (5th century BC), Sun Tzu's book contains many
teachings for business in the modern world”
In recent years, the contribution of these teachings is being seen in
“more mature disciplines”, of approaches and knowledge that can
be applied in business and company management, in the face of
dissatisfaction with the knowledge available in this sphere, to face
the new changes and trends in the environment, which have put in
crisis the paradigms that for decades were used as “guidelines” for
the management of organizations.
As happened at the beginning of “scientific management” and, in
later years, especially after the war, when management tools
generated in the military industry (operations research, critical path,
econometrics) were incorporated into the civil sphere, generating
the “school of administrative sciences”, the specialists turned, once
again, to the study of military classics.
Compared to other literary works, the most referenced and revered
military classic by specialists is Sun Tzu, Chinese philosopher and
military man from the years 400-320 BC. His essays, collected in
“The Art of War”, have been republished multiple times in recent
years. There are also many books that use his teachings for business
management. As for example, the book “The Art of War for
Managers”, Gerald Michaelson “is the world leader of Sun Tzu's
strategies” who proposes “50 strategic rules to succeed in the
business world. These lessons synthesize the business side of Sun
Tzu.”
In the presentation of a version of the book in Spanish it is said
“many key phrases in modern business management manuals are,
practically, literal quotes from the work of Sun Tzu (changing, for
example, army for company, or weapons for resources). )”, that is,
the “presence” of this author is older than one might think.
In 2004, an International Symposium “The Art of War” was held.
Applications of Sun Tzu's Strategies in business. Filmmakers have not
escaped the “boom”, in the film “Wall Street”, by director Oliver
Stone, the character played by Michael Douglas, for which he won
the acting Oscar, refers to the teachings of Sun Tzu that he applied in
their successful businesses.
The author and his work.
According to scholars on the subject, the “discovery” of Sun Tzu in
the West is somewhat surprising. For centuries his thoughts were
unknown to the military themselves, who would benefit the most
from his ideas. Lidell Hart, British military specialist, in the Preface to
the edition of “The Art of War” laments that it reached the West
during the period of the French Revolution, in a poor and little-
disseminated translation. He states that the military theorist who
exerted the most influence at the end of the 19th century and the
beginning of the 20th century was Clausewitz, “despite the fact that
the Chinese philosopher has a clearer vision, a deeper intelligence
and an eternal freshness.” (Sun Tzu, 2001, p. 9 preface by Hart).
England, which is preceded by an extensive essay by Samuel B.
Griffith, which constituted his doctoral thesis, defended at the
University of Oxford, and who also produced what is considered the
most consistent translation of the original in Chinese.
Unlike Clausewitz's book "On War", which has several hundred
pages, Sun Tzu's collection of essays does not exceed 100 pages,
distributed in 13 chapters, with a very condensed exposition. Among
the topics it addresses are: Estimates (for war), Making war
(approaches and organization), Offensive strategy, Dispositions,
Energy, Weaknesses and strengths, Maneuvers, Terrain, among
others. In a few pages it presents suggestions on: philosophies,
strategies, tactics, organizational recommendations on war, among
others.
Philosophy and strategy.
The essential difference about the main philosophy of war between
Clausewitz and Sun Tzu is that, for the former, victory in war is
obtained with the “destruction of the enemy.” For Sun Tzu the most
important thing is “to achieve victory without fighting.” For this
reason, Lidell Hart suggests that humanity could have been spared
much of the damage suffered “if, in the wars of the 20th century,
the influence of Clausewitz's military thought had been completed
with the teachings of the Chinese philosopher.”
Consistent with this philosophy, Sun Tzu attached great importance
to prior knowledge of the battlefield, the enemy's forces, their
disposition on the ground, as well as effective intelligence work.
Assimilating this to the field of business, specialists reiterate that, to
formulate their strategies, companies must know in depth the
situation of the markets, the strengths and weaknesses of their
competitors, as well as have a precise diagnosis of their strengths
and weaknesses. internal. “The main reason why the wise general
conquers the enemy is prior knowledge,” says Sun Tzu.
A very recurring phrase from the Chinese philosopher for specialists
in management issues is: “Know yourself and know your enemy.
“Know the terrain and the climate.” The inferences of these ideas for
the management of organizations can be summarized as follows:
• Be clear about our strengths and weaknesses, to be able to
organize our resources for an effective battle. On a personal
level “Know thyself”.
A comment. This is the first of the emotional intelligence skills,
one of the most widespread management approaches in recent
years.
• Know the weaknesses of competitors to be able to “attack”
at the points where they are most vulnerable (neglected market
segments, insufficient after-sales service, late response to
customer demands). Sun Tzu advises “If you want to be sure of
winning, attack a place that your enemy does not defend.”
 • The “terrain” must be understood as the “market”, which
in addition to competitors is made up of clients, commercial
systems, etc. The “climate” is identified as the “environment”
where technological, economic, political, social, environmental
trends, regulations, etc. are present.
Planning, actions and alliances.
Other aspects that Sun Tzu presents are: the concentration of forces,
the attack and the contingency plan. Concentration of forces refers
to establishing a superiority of forces at the point of attack,
regardless of the size of the enemy army. It is a "relative
superiority", where we detect that the enemy is weaker, or where
we can generate a weakness through strategies that deceive him.
Regarding the attack, Sun Tzu suggests that the strategist must
analyze whether there is a real need to carry it out. It proposes
analyzing whether there are other options that do not involve
attacking, which can often weaken us or leave us in a more
complicated position. It also suggests analyzing whether the attack
can be carried out “without bleeding us out,” do it in a “profitable”
manner, and whether we have advantages, whether numerical or
otherwise, that give us a good chance of success.
Finally, Sun Tzu highlights, with great wisdom, that it is essential to
formulate a strategy for the creation of a contingency plan, which
will serve as a backup, in the event that the forecasts and the first
plans that we prepare fail.
The core of Sun Tzu's philosophy on war rests on two principles:
-The entire Art of War is based on deception.
- The supreme Art of War is to subdue the enemy without fighting.
From these principles, some lessons emerge that can be summarized
as follows:
• Employing too many strategies can lead to losing the
battle. According to Sun Tzu, the best strategy is the simplest
and best focused, since overly complex strategies can confuse
members of one's own army, compromising their chances of
victory.
• It is wise to use resources based on the expected result:
the battle of the modern company has many fronts:
communication, products, marketing, etc. Each of them requires
intelligent use of resources.
• Great armies first become invincible and then defeat their
enemy. The teaching of this maxim is clear. A company cannot
succeed on the external front if it has not first done so internally,
conquering its employees, conquering the terrain of best
practices.
• Deception is a very effective weapon. According to Sun
Tzu, a constant curtain of deception must be generated, so that
the enemy never knows what is really happening. In this way any
action will be surprising for the enemy, thus achieving an
advantage for our army.
• Subduing the enemy without fighting is the supreme
excellence. For the Chinese general, "the best policy in war is to
take an intact state; ruining it is inferior." In this we can read an
allusion to certain dumping strategies, for example: why win a
market that we ourselves have destroyed?... Therefore, Sun Tzu
clearly points out that "what is of utmost importance in war is to
attack the enemy's strategy; the second best is to break his
alliances through diplomacy; thirdly comes to attack his army."
Regarding alliances, Sun Tzu recommends:
• Prevent your enemies (competitors) from joining together
to oppose you.
• If there are powerful alliances, avoid attacking them.
• If you must attack, first separate your enemy (competitor)
from your allies.
• Use your own allies skillfully.
• Don't choose allies that don't suit you.
• Know how to keep an alliance and when to end it.
Role of leadership.
The topic of leadership does not escape Sun Tzu's attention.
Regarding this, he states: “And for this reason, the general who does
not seek personal glory when he advances, nor does he care about
avoiding punishment when he retreats, but whose sole purpose is to
protect the population and promote the best causes of his
sovereign, It is the precious jewel of the State... few are found of this
character... "
Among the qualities of a good general he points out: Sun
Tzu.
• He fulfills a mandate from the sovereign to mobilize the
people and organize an army.
• When he sees the right course, he acts, he doesn't wait for
orders.
• You must trust your ability to control the situation, as
circumstances dictate. It is not bound by established procedures.
• Appreciate timely changes in circumstances.
• A wise general in his deliberations must consider both
favorable and unfavorable factors.
• It carefully examines the dangers implied in the
advantages and the advantages related to the dangers (its
similarity to contemporary management theories could be
“turning problems into opportunities”).
• By taking favorable factors into consideration, you make
your plan viable; By taking into account the unfavorable ones,
you can resolve difficulties.
He also points out what he considers to be the “five qualities that, in
the character of a general, are dangerous,” which are:
• If he is reckless, they can kill him. (He makes a difference
between bravery and recklessness, the latter can be interpreted
as thoughtless behavior).
• If he is a coward, they can take him prisoner. Elaborating
on this, he states, “Those who value life above all else will be
overcome by hesitation. The hesitation of a general is a huge
disaster.”
 A comment. In a similarity with managerial concepts, it can be
identified as “the value of deciding, assuming the risks that this
implies.”
• If he is irritable, they can make a clown of him. Clarify this
by expressing “He who is easily angered is irascible, obstinate
and hasty. Does not consider difficulties. "The essential thing in
the behavior of a general is his firmness."
A comment. The control of emotions is the second of the
Emotional Intelligence skills.
• If you are eager to defend your reputation, you have no
attention for anything else.
• If you only fear losses, you cannot give up temporary
advantages for long-term gains. (A similarity to management
concepts would be “focusing more on threats than on possible
opportunities,” as a negative behavior).
The lessons that can be drawn from the work of Sun Tzu far exceed
the possibilities of this commentary. Furthermore, the level of
“compaction” (conclusive and didactic syntheses) with which their
ideas are presented allows each person to make the interpretations
that are most useful for their purposes. Knowledge of this work
exceeds the specific interests that military personnel, managers,
professionals, etc. may have. and, at the same time, integrates them
all.
Analysis of The Art of War from an Administrative
approach.
“Despite its age (5th century BC), Sun Tzu's book contains many
teachings for business in the modern world”
In recent years, the contribution of these teachings is being seen in
“more mature disciplines”, of approaches and knowledge that can
be applied in business and company management, in the face of
dissatisfaction with the knowledge available in this sphere, to face
the new changes and trends in the environment, which have put in
crisis the paradigms that for decades were used as “guidelines” for
the management of organizations.
As happened at the beginning of “scientific management” and, in
later years, especially after the war, when management tools
generated in the military industry (operations research, critical path,
econometrics) were incorporated into the civil sphere, generating
the “school of administrative sciences”, the specialists turned, once
again, to the study of military classics.
Compared to other literary works, the most referenced and revered
military classic by specialists is Sun Tzu, Chinese philosopher and
military man from the years 400-320 BC. His essays, collected in
“The Art of War”, have been republished multiple times in recent
years. There are also many books that use his teachings for business
management. As for example, the book “The Art of War for
Managers”, Gerald Michaelson “is the world leader of Sun Tzu's
strategies” who proposes “50 strategic rules to succeed in the
business world. These lessons synthesize the business side of Sun
Tzu.”
In the presentation of a version of the book in Spanish it is said
“many key phrases in modern business management manuals are,
practically, literal quotes from the work of Sun Tzu (changing, for
example, army for company, or weapons for resources). )”, that is,
the “presence” of this author is older than one might think.
In 2004, an International Symposium “The Art of War” was held.
Applications of Sun Tzu's Strategies in business. Filmmakers have not
escaped the “boom”, in the film “Wall Street”, by director Oliver
Stone, the character played by Michael Douglas, for which he won
the acting Oscar, refers to the teachings of Sun Tzu that he applied in
their successful businesses.
The author and his work.
According to scholars on the subject, the “discovery” of Sun Tzu in
the West is somewhat surprising. For centuries his thoughts were
unknown to the military themselves, who would benefit the most
from his ideas. Lidell Hart, British military specialist, in the Preface to
the edition of “The Art of War” laments that it reached the West
during the period of the French Revolution, in a poor and little-
disseminated translation. He states that the military theorist who
exerted the most influence at the end of the 19th century and the
beginning of the 20th century was Clausewitz, “despite the fact that
the Chinese philosopher has a clearer vision, a deeper intelligence
and an eternal freshness.” (Sun Tzu, 2001, p. 9 preface by Hart).
The most widespread, used and translated version of Sun Tzu's work
into several languages is the one originally published in 1963 in
England, which is preceded by an extensive essay by Samuel B.
Griffith, which constituted his doctoral thesis, defended at the
University of Oxford, and who also produced what is considered the
most consistent translation of the original in Chinese.
Unlike Clausewitz's book "On War", which has several hundred
pages, Sun Tzu's collection of essays does not exceed 100 pages,
distributed in 13 chapters, with a very condensed exposition. Among
the topics it addresses are: Estimates (for war), Making war
(approaches and organization), Offensive strategy, Dispositions,
Energy, Weaknesses and strengths, Maneuvers, Terrain, among
others. In a few pages it presents suggestions on: philosophies,
strategies, tactics, organizational recommendations on war, among
others.
Philosophy and strategy.
The essential difference about the main philosophy of war between
Clausewitz and Sun Tzu is that, for the former, victory in war is
obtained with the “destruction of the enemy.” For Sun Tzu the most
important thing is “to achieve victory without fighting.” For this
reason, Lidell Hart suggests that humanity could have been spared
much of the damage suffered “if, in the wars of the 20th century,
the influence of Clausewitz's military thought had been completed
with the teachings of the Chinese philosopher.”
Consistent with this philosophy, Sun Tzu attached great importance
to prior knowledge of the battlefield, the enemy's forces, their
disposition on the ground, as well as effective intelligence work.
Assimilating this to the field of business, specialists reiterate that, to
formulate their strategies, companies must know in depth the
situation of the markets, the strengths and weaknesses of their
competitors, as well as have a precise diagnosis of their strengths
and weaknesses. internal. “The main reason why the wise general
conquers the enemy is prior knowledge,” says Sun Tzu.
A very recurring phrase from the Chinese philosopher for specialists
in management issues is: “Know yourself and know your enemy.
“Know the terrain and the climate.” The inferences of these ideas for
the management of organizations can be summarized as follows:
• Be clear about our strengths and weaknesses, to be able to
organize our resources for an effective battle. On a personal
level “Know thyself”.
A comment. This is the first of the emotional intelligence skills,
one of the most widespread management approaches in recent
years.
• Know the weaknesses of competitors to be able to “attack”
at the points where they are most vulnerable (neglected market
segments, insufficient after-sales service, late response to
customer demands). Sun Tzu advises “If you want to be sure of
winning, attack a place that your enemy does not defend.”
• The “terrain” must be understood as the “market”, which
in addition to competitors is made up of clients, commercial
systems, etc. The “climate” is identified as the “environment”
where technological, economic, political, social, environmental
trends, regulations, etc. are present.
Planning, actions and alliances.
Other aspects that Sun Tzu presents are: the concentration of forces,
the attack and the contingency plan. Concentration of forces refers
to establishing a superiority of forces at the point of attack,
regardless of the size of the enemy army. It is a "relative
superiority", where we detect that the enemy is weaker, or where
we can generate a weakness through strategies that deceive him.
Regarding the attack, Sun Tzu suggests that the strategist must
analyze whether there is a real need to carry it out. It proposes
analyzing whether there are other options that do not involve
attacking, which can often weaken us or leave us in a more
complicated position. It also suggests analyzing whether the attack
can be carried out “without bleeding us out,” do it in a “profitable”
manner, and whether we have advantages, whether numerical or
otherwise, that give us a good chance of success.
Finally, Sun Tzu highlights, with great wisdom, that it is essential to
formulate a strategy for the creation of a contingency plan, which
will serve as a backup, in the event that the forecasts and the first
plans that we prepare fail.
The core of Sun Tzu's philosophy on war rests on two principles:
-The entire Art of War is based on deception.
- The supreme Art of War is to subdue the enemy without fighting.
From these principles, some lessons emerge that can be summarized
as follows:
• Employing too many strategies can lead to losing the
battle. According to Sun Tzu, the best strategy is the simplest
and best focused, since overly complex strategies can confuse
members of one's own army, compromising their chances of
victory.
• It is wise to use resources based on the expected result:
the battle of the modern company has many fronts:
communication, products, marketing, etc. Each of them requires
intelligent use of resources.
• Great armies first become invincible and then defeat their
enemy. The teaching of this maxim is clear. A company cannot
succeed on the external front if it has not first done so internally,
conquering its employees, conquering the terrain of best
practices.
• Deception is a very effective weapon. According to Sun
Tzu, a constant curtain of deception must be generated, so that
the enemy never knows what is really happening. In this way any
action will be surprising for the enemy, thus achieving an
advantage for our army.
• Subduing the enemy without fighting is the supreme
excellence. For the Chinese general, "the best policy in war is to
take an intact state; ruining it is inferior." In this we can read an
allusion to certain dumping strategies, for example: why win a
market that we ourselves have destroyed?... Therefore, Sun Tzu
clearly points out that "what is of utmost importance in war is to
attack the enemy's strategy; the second best is to break his
alliances through diplomacy; thirdly comes to attack his army."
Regarding alliances, Sun Tzu recommends:
• Prevent your enemies (competitors) from joining together
to oppose you.
• If there are powerful alliances, avoid attacking them.
• If you must attack, first separate your enemy (competitor)
from your allies.
• Use your own allies skillfully.
• Don't choose allies that don't suit you.
• Know how to keep an alliance and when to end it.
Role of leadership.
The topic of leadership does not escape Sun Tzu's attention.
Regarding this, he states: “And for this reason, the general who does
not seek personal glory when he advances, nor does he care about
avoiding punishment when he retreats, but whose sole purpose is to exceeds the specific interests that military personnel, managers,
protect the population and promote the best causes of his professionals, etc. may have. and, at the same time, integrates them
sovereign, It is the precious jewel of the State... few are found of this all.
character... "

Among the qualities of a good general he points out: Sun

Tzu.

• He fulfills a mandate from the sovereign to mobilize the

people and organize an army.
• When he sees the right course, he acts, he doesn't wait for
orders.
• You must trust your ability to control the situation, as
circumstances dictate. It is not bound by established procedures.
• Appreciate timely changes in circumstances.
• A wise general in his deliberations must consider both
favorable and unfavorable factors.
• It carefully examines the dangers implied in the
advantages and the advantages related to the dangers (its
similarity to contemporary management theories could be
“turning problems into opportunities”).
• By taking favorable factors into consideration, you make
your plan viable; By taking into account the unfavorable ones,
you can resolve difficulties.

He also points out what he considers to be the “five qualities that, in

the character of a general, are dangerous,” which are:

• If he is reckless, they can kill him. (He makes a difference

between bravery and recklessness, the latter can be interpreted
as thoughtless behavior).
• If he is a coward, they can take him prisoner. Elaborating
on this, he states, “Those who value life above all else will be
overcome by hesitation. The hesitation of a general is a huge
disaster.”
A comment. In a similarity with managerial concepts, it can be
identified as “the value of deciding, assuming the risks that this
implies.”
• If he is irritable, they can make a clown of him. Clarify this
by expressing “He who is easily angered is irascible, obstinate
and hasty. Does not consider difficulties. "The essential thing in
the behavior of a general is his firmness."
A comment. The control of emotions is the second of the
Emotional Intelligence skills.
• If you are eager to defend your reputation, you have no
attention for anything else.
• If you only fear losses, you cannot give up temporary
advantages for long-term gains. (A similarity to management
concepts would be “focusing more on threats than on possible
opportunities,” as a negative behavior).

The lessons that can be drawn from the work of Sun Tzu far exceed
the possibilities of this commentary. Furthermore, the level of
“compaction” (conclusive and didactic syntheses) with which their
ideas are presented allows each person to make the interpretations
that are most useful for their purposes. Knowledge of this work