If you ever receive The Art of War from me, know that I think you a warrior and I wish you a swift route to victory in the noiseless night.
-AS
Thank You, Sun Tzu
- Originally posted on a 6s community May 10, 2011 at 9:37am
“Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” Sun Tzu, The Art of War
One of my favorite books is The Art of War, because the words pluck the chords of organization and planning in my mind. The quote above infiltrates all levels of my life: I dwell on the words and the images daily; I read those words or ones like them posted near my computer and at odd places; I speak them to everyone at some point or another; I teach them to my students and my children and myself…over and over again.
After I read them the first many times but before I’d put them to any practical use, I phoned my dad, a retired service member, and asked, “What is the difference, militarily, between strategy and tactics?” That was a fair question for me at the time, though I can hardly imagine not knowing the answer now.
So very many victories are left to wither on the vine because the strategy was clever but tactic-less or the tactics were brilliant but no strategy ever brought them together for fruition or, far worse, a goal was excellent but no strategy existed and no tactics were ever employed. The fruit cannot be born forever.