Who does not know the evils of war cannot appreciate its benefits.
Sun TzuRead
These are the six ways of courting defeat - neglect to estimate the enemy's strength; want of authority; defective training; unjustifiable anger; nonobservance of discipline; failure to use picked men.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote outlines six critical mistakes that can lead to failure in conflict.
Sun Tzu highlights six crucial errors that can lead to one's downfall in battle, emphasizing the importance of understanding the opponent's capabilities, maintaining authority, ensuring proper training, managing emotions, adhering to discipline, and selecting the best personnel. Each point serves as a reminder of the careful considerations necessary for achieving success in any competitive context, not just in warfare, but also in life and leadership.
Themes
StrategyFailureLeadershipWisdomConflictDiscipline
In practice
Example use cases
In a leadership seminar discussing common pitfalls, one could quote Sun Tzu to illustrate the importance of strategic awareness.
More from Sun Tzu
All quotes →Great 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
We are strong enough to bear the misfortunes of others.
Francois De La RochefoucauldRead
Hold your Council before Dinner; the full Belly hates Thinking as well as Acting.
Benjamin FranklinRead
Healing may not be so much about getting better, as about letting go of everything that isn’t you - all of the expectations, all of the beliefs - and becoming who you are.
Rachel Naomi RemenRead
I've had a lot of worries in my life, most of which never happened.
Mark TwainRead
To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.
Ralph Waldo EmersonRead
If you knew yourself for even one moment, if you could just glimpse your most beautiful face, maybe you wouldn’t slumber so deeply in that house of clay. Why not move into your house of joy and shine into every crevice! For you are the secret Treasure-bearer, and always have been. Didn’t you know?
RumiRead