Photo by AmpamukA (Busy in ICU for 1 month)

Here’s this week’s update for Sun-Tzu Sunday.  Sun-Tzu was a military strategist of ancient China.   Every Sunday this summer, I’ve presented an excerpt from his treatise The Art of War.  This week’s passage is the series finale, and comes from the seventh chapter entitled The Fray.

The soldier’s spirit

Is keenest

In the morning;

By noon

It has dulled;

By evening

He has begun

To think of home.

Boy, Sun-Tzu hit it right on the head with that one.  I’m way more productive in the morning.  It coincides with my scripted to-do list, as I hit the ground running.  The early bird gets the worm.  Late in the day, I’ve usually had enough, and I begin planning out the next day.

How about you?  Are you more productive in the morning, or are you a strong finisher?

• Sun-Tzu Sunday, July 26, 2009 ** Maurice ** I decided to start a new feature for the summer on the Corporate Barbarian Blog: Sun-Tzu Sunday (can a Machiavelli Monday be far behind?).  Sun-Tzu was a military strategist of ancient China.   Each week, I'll present an excerpt from his treatise The Art of War. ......
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Photo by Helgas Lobster Stew

Here’s this week’s update for Sun-Tzu Sunday.  Sun-Tzu was a military strategist of ancient China.   Every Sunday this summer, I’m presenting an excerpt from his treatise The Art of War.  This week’s entry comes from the eleventh chapter, entitled The Nine Kinds of Ground.  This passage is part of the chapter dealing with troops in desperate straits, but I think it applies to modern-day workers:

They are alert

Without needing

Discipline;

They act

Without needing

Instructions;

They are devoted

Without needing

A compact;

They are loyal

Without needing

Orders.

These seem to be the traits of a loyal, motivated, mature individual.  Funny, but I always seem to work better when I’m given more freedom.  In other words, I don’t need someone looking over my shoulder, telling me what to do every minute.  I can police myself.  Treat me fairly, and I’ll go through a wall for you.  I think that I would have liked serving for Sun-Tzu.

Are you like one of Sun-Tzu’s soldiers?

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• Sun-Tzu Sunday, August 30, 2009 Photo by AmpamukA (Busy in ICU for 1 month) Here's this week's update for Sun-Tzu Sunday.  Sun-Tzu was a military strategist of ancient China.   Every Sunday this summer, I've presented an excerpt from his treatise The Art of War.  This week's passage is the series finale, and comes......
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bfick

Here’s this week’s update for Sun-Tzu Sunday.  Sun-Tzu was a military strategist of ancient China.   Each week, I present an excerpt from his treatise The Art of War.  This week’s entry comes from the second chapter, entitled The Waging of War:

In War,

Victory should be

Swift.

If victory is slow,

Men tire,

Morale sags.

Sieges

Exhaust strength;

Protracted campaigns

Strain the public treasury.

If men are tired,

Morale low,

Strength exhausted,

Treasure spent;

Then the feudal lords

Will exploit the disarray

And attack.

This even the wisest

Will be powerless

To mend.

I have heard that in war

Haste can be

Folly

But have never seen

Delay that was

Wise.

No nation has ever benefited

From a protracted war.

I’m not going to try to tie this one to modern business.  Wow, sure sounds like the war in Iraq though, doesn’t it?  What was the estimated cost of fielding our troops in Iraq, about $390,000 for one year for each soldier?  Talk about a strain on the public treasury.

Check in next Sunday for another update.

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wirralwater

Here’s this week’s update for Sun-Tzu Sunday.  Sun-Tzu was a military strategist of ancient China.   Each week, I present an excerpt from his treatise The Art of War.  This week’s entry comes from the first chapter, entitled Making Plans:

Master Sun Said:

War is

A grave affair of state;

It is a place

Of life and death,

A road

To survival and extinction,

A matter

To be pondered carefully.

There are Five Fundamentals

For this deliberation,

For the making of comparisons

And the assessing of conditions:

The Way,

Heaven,

Earth,

Command,

Discipline.

The Way

Causes men

To be of one mind

With their rulers,

To live or die with them,

And to never waver.

(This would coincide with a corporation’s mission statement, a shared set of beliefs to which everyone in the company should ascribe.)

Heaven is

Yin and Yang,

Cold and hot,

The cycle of seasons.

(This would seem to imply that it’s external, so this could be the economy in general.)

Earth is

Height and depth,

Distance and proximity,

Ease and danger,

Open and confined ground,

Life and death.

(This seems to be the specific market in which the company does business.)

Command is

Wisdom,

Integrity,

Compassion,

Courage,

Severity.

(This refers to the various traits of good management.  I was a little surprised to see compassion listed by a military man.  Sun-Tzu was clearly ahead of his time.)

Discipline is

Organization,

Chain of command,

Control of expenditure.

(To me, discipline = following procedures and staying under budget.  Hmm, a frugal leader.)

Every commander is aware

Of these

Five Fundamentals.

He who grasps them

Wins;

He who fails to grasp them

Loses.

I guess we should get a grasp on these fundamentals, lest we lose.

Check in next Sunday for another installment of Sun-Tzu Sunday.

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• Sun-Tzu Sunday, August 9, 2009 bfick Here's this week's update for Sun-Tzu Sunday.  Sun-Tzu was a military strategist of ancient China.   Each week, I present an excerpt from his treatise The Art of War.  This week's entry comes from the second chapter, entitled The Waging of War: In War, Victory should be Swift.......
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