Who does not know the evils of war cannot appreciate its benefits.
Sun TzuRead
Hence the saying: The enlightened ruler lays his plans well ahead; the good general cultivates his resources.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Planning and resources are essential for effective leadership and strategy.
This quote emphasizes the importance of foresight and resource management in leadership and military strategy. An enlightened ruler or a good general does not act impulsively; instead, they carefully plan ahead and cultivate the necessary resources to ensure success. This reflects the larger principle that effective leadership requires both strategic thinking and the ability to leverage available assets wisely.
Themes
PlanningResourcesLeadershipStrategySuccess
In practice
Example use cases
In a business meeting to emphasize the importance of strategic planning.
More from Sun Tzu
All quotes βGreat results, can be achieved with small forces.
Sun TzuRead
To capture an enemies army is better than to destroy it.
Sun TzuRead
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.
Sun TzuRead
You can ensure the success of your attacks if you only attack places that are undefended. You can ensure the safety of your defense if you only hold positions that cannot be attacked. Therefore, that general is skillful in attack whose opponent does not know what to defend; and he is skillful in defense whose opponent does not know what to attack.
Sun TzuRead
If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.
Sun TzuRead
Similar quotes
This is the only leadership life I get, my one and only shot at following God the way I feel him prompting me to do so. This isn't some pre-game warm-up. It's the game, and the clock is ticking!
Bill HybelsRead
The king shall singly deliberate over secret matters; for ministers have their own ministers, and these latter some of their own; this kind of successive line of ministers tends to the disclosure of counsels.
ChanakyaRead
Maybe Klopp is the best manager in the world at creating teams who attack the back four with so many players, from almost anywhere on the pitch. They have an intensity with the ball and without the ball, and it is not easy to do that.
Pep GuardiolaRead
I have implicit faith in Sun Yat-sen, not because I am his blind follower, but because he really arouses the deepest respect in everybody. I do not know of another person in China who has such a broad and international outlook, whose ideas are so constructive, and who has such deep faith and confidence in his own mission.
Chiang Kai-ShekRead
America's promises do not come with a price tag. We meet our commitments. We bear our burdens. That's one of the reasons why almost every country on Earth sees America as stronger and more respected today than they did eight years ago when I took office.
Barack ObamaRead
In other words, don't expect to always be great. Disappointments, failures and setbacks are a normal part of the lifecycle of a unit or a company and what the leader has to do is constantly be up and say 'we have a problem, let's go and get it'.
Colin PowellRead