Title: 36 Strategems
Author: Unknown, Chinese oral tradition
Genre: Essay, Non-Fiction, Military Strategy
Published: Unknown, Has been passed on through oral history
BookMarks
Another Chinese treatise on military strategy. It is more of an essay than a book. The book is divided into 6 chapters. Each chapter has six proverbs and a couple of lines explaining the essence of the proverb to the audience. The chapters focus on different strategies which are as follows
- Winning Stratagems
- Enemy Dealing Stratagems
- Attacking Stratagems
- Chaos Stratagems
- Proximate Stratagems
- Desperate Stratagems
Brute force and firepower is never the optimum strategy. However, the strategies focus on use of deception, understanding of opposition and the conditions to reach to victory. The writer saves the best for the last and concludes of the 36, fleeing is the best strategy!
Military strategy and planning has provided lots of inspiration to modern business strategy formulation. This one keeps it simple and straightforward and that is usually the secret ingredient of most successful business strategies! Especially the last one - knowing when to retreat!
Link: Wikipidea - provides the entire text with history and explanation.
Previuosly on BookMarks - The Art of War
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