Name: The Art of War (New Version)
Rating: 4.1 (877 reviews)
Author: Sun Tzu

What’s in it for me? Learn to pick your battles and become a better leader.

Sun Tzu’s The Art of War is a classic. Leaders around the world often reference this title. In fact, it’s one of the most influential leadership books of all time. What it teaches can be applied to business, sports, your private life, parenting – pretty much any situation in which you might encounter conflict, tension, or competition.

So, how did a manual that was written 2,500 years ago gain such a cult following? Well, as it turns out, a good idea never gets old.

In this Blink, we’re diving into the key ideas outlined in The Art of War. The main piece of advice is something you’ve probably both received and given to others: pick your battles. But how do you do that? And what does that mean in the context of leadership today?

With around 50 pages, depending on the edition, The Art of War is a fairly short book. Likewise, this is going to be a fairly short Blink. Much of the original has to do with battle techniques – but we’ll also add in some modern-day context to make its lessons more applicable in today’s world.

In this Blink, you’ll learn

how to avoid war in the first place;
how to be a better leader; and
how to outsmart your competition.

The Art of War and its historical context.

Let’s start by putting The Art of War and its author into context by rewinding 2,500 years. It’s the fifth century BCE, a period marred by battles between different warring states in China. Among those leading and advising in these battles was Sun Tzu – and he was winning a lot.

He was a Chinese general, military strategist, and writer – and all of his victories inspired his military treatise. Yes, this is a book about war. But you’ll find that the ideas in it focus more on alternatives to actual fighting – like submission (if only temporary).

The book has 13 chapters, each with a lot of bullet points rather than prose about war tactics. You’ve already gotten a huge spoiler, which is that you should “pick your battles” – and that a war is best won without any fighting at all.

But before we dive into this, let’s touch on the 13 chapters. They’re about making plans, the economy of warfare, the five pillars of a strong united front, the importance of defending your position, how to use creativity on the field, how to quickly respond to changes, the dangers of direct conflict, the need for flexibility, evaluating the intention of others, the three areas of resistance, the nine stages of a campaign, how to employ weapons correctly, and utilizing good information.

A lot of the material has to do with using the landscape and your army’s resources to your advantage. If you want the details of each, we recommend you get the book and read it. But if you want to learn how to be a good leader based on this book, stay with us.

Use information to gain a competitive advantage.

Sun Tzu was a master of soft power. That is, he tried to win wars without ever physically fighting. If fighting was absolutely necessary, his goal was to win the easy battles first.

The best way to win the easy battles is to have insider knowledge. That’s right – Sun Tzu was a fan of spying and engaging in psychological warfare. These days, you could turn to industry espionage. Or you could just do some research on the internet and talk to your network to find out what your competitors' advantages and disadvantages are.

Speed is the essence of war.

We mentioned earlier that it’s important to know what your competitor or enemy is up to. To do that, you can deploy different methods. Sun Tzu really liked espionage. These days you’ve got corporate espionage – but you also have data, market research, and business intelligence.

And while it’s important that you “know the enemy,” it’s just as important that you “know yourself.” You can exploit information you have on the enemy – but it won’t be of much use to you unless you have a full understanding of your own team or company’s capacities, strengths, and weaknesses.

The skills of a good leader.

Now, let’s get into what Sun Tzu says about leadership. We’ve mainly talked about business strategies and tactics. And that’s great. But what advice does this title have for you leaders out there?

Sun Tzu’s key idea on leadership is something you’ve heard before: “A leader leads by example, not by force.”

Key ideas in The Art of War (New Version)

What is The Art of War (New Version) about?

The Art of War (fifth century BCE) is a Chinese military treatise that many global figures, including Mao Zedong and Douglas MacArthur, have used to inform their leadership strategies. Along with military tactics that can be applied to culture, politics, business, and sports, it highlights the skills good leaders need to have.