Week 1: Who Reads The Art of War?
The Art of War is more than a book of military strategies, but a “must-read” for everyone. We will discuss the background of Sun Tzu’ s life and offer guidelines for reading The Art of War.
Week 2: Warfare Fundamentals
We will read the first four chapters of The Art of War: Laying Plans, Waging War, Attack by Stratagem, and Tactical Dispositions. We will also examine the factors fundamental to winning any war.
Week 3: Strategic Opportunities
We will continue to read Chapters 5 to 8: Energy, Weak and Strong, Engaging the Force, and The Nine Variations. The focus of these chapters is on the need for creativity and flexibility.
Week 4: Situational Positioning
We will cover Chapters 9 to 11, looking at the three general areas of resistance – distance, dangers, and barriers – and the six ground positions arising from them. Familiar battles in British and American history will illustrate Sun Tzu's principles.
Week 5: Success
The last two chapters of The Art of War deal with espionage. We will analyze the five types of intelligence sources and how best to manage each. We will further investigate the five principles of generalship and examine how they can be incorporated into personal development and contemporary leadership.
Week 6: The Importance of The Art of War Today
The Art of War has been applied to many fields. The principles Sun Tzu laid out are used in business, organization strategy, developing management skills, or even football matches. In this last session, we will explore how these principles relate to real-life and consider them in action.
