“What the ancients called a clever fighter is one who not only wins, but excels in winning
with ease.”
In around 500 BC – according to tradition – the Chinese military strategist and philosopher,
Sun Tzu wrote The Art of War – effectively a manual on warfare and military tactics.
In this ancient text, Sun Tzu’s most important argument concerns the relationship between
efficiency and victory.
Sun Tzu asserted that conserving resources by using deception, spying and trickery was
essential to winning a war – military action was not the be all and end all.
In fact, if military combat could be avoided, it should be.
So how would Sun Tzu employ his tactics, had he been a soccer coach, competing in a soccer
tournament?
Sun Tzu believes that they must win the tournament at all costs – after all, that is the aim
of the tournament – to win the title.
It’s all about the name on the trophy!
Most teams competing in the tournament concentrate on the games that lie ahead – they train
hard, practise their ball skills and revise their strategy on the field.
But Sun Tzu is playing a different game…he is playing The Art of War.
He sees training for the matches as just one factor that can influence winning the tournament
– but he takes a more holistic approach to gaining the upper hand.
So, what are his tactics?
He’s doesn’t just rely solely on the performance of his team on match days to win.
He spies…
He sabotages practice playing fields…
He drugs rival team players…
He uses misinformation to get teams disqualified…
But does his approach work?
His tactics were so successful, the team win the trophy – over other teams with superior
playing skills.
That, Sun Tzu would argue, is how to win a war.
He asserts that the art of winning in the most efficient way possible is the most important
art of the state, and believed the powerful state would be the one that used deception
and innuendo to trick an enemy into defeat.
Right?
Wrong?
Sun Tzu believed his approach was amoral.
He wasn’t concerned with the idea of ‘martial honour’ but with victory alone.
The Art of War was an extremely influential book that has impacted Eastern and Western
military thinking, business tactics and legal strategy.
A more detailed examination can be found in the MACAT analysis.