SUN TZU'S LEADERSHIP STRATEGEMS

- A leader leads by example not by Force.

- Opportunities multiply as they are seized.

- Know the enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles you will never peril.

- The general who wins the battle makes many calculations in his temple before the battle is fought.

- The general who loses makes but few calculations beforehand.

- Be extremely subtle, even to the point of formlessness. Be extremely mysterious, even to the point of soundlessness. Thereby you can be the director of the opponent’s fate.

- The best victory is when the opponent surrenders of its own accord before there are any actual hostilities...It is best to win without fighting.

- A military operation involves deception. Even though you are competent, appear to be incompetent. Though effective, appear to be ineffective.

- Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.

- Be extremely subtle, even to the point of formlessness. Be extremely mysterious, even to the point of soundlessness. Thereby you can be the director of the opponent’s fate.

- Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.

- Let your plans be dark and as impenetratable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.

- What enables the wise sovereign and the good general to strike and conquer and achieve things beyond the reach of ordinary men is foreknowledge.

According to Mark McNeilly, a former US Army officer & strategist, writing in his book, 'Sun Tzu & the Art of Modern Warfare', the following fundamental principles capture the strategic philosophy of Sun Tzu's Leadership Strategems:

1) Win All Without Fighting [how to achieve the objective without destroying it]

2) Avoid Strength, Attack Weakness [strike only where the enemy is most vulnerable]

3) Deception and Foreknowledge [how to win the information war]

4) Speed and Preparation [moving swiftly to overcome resistance decisively]

5) Shaping the Enemy [selecting and preparing the battlefield to your advantage]

6) Character-based Leadership [leading by example]

[Excerpted from the 'Lifescaping' seminar participant's manual. The 'Lifescaping' seminar is conducted by Dilip Mukerjea about four times a year under the auspices of the Singapore Institute of Management.]