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Business Quotes by Sun Tzu

50 Business quotes by Sun Tzu

All Business quotes Sun Tzu’s page

Sun Tzu shows that victory comes from clever positioning, not from rushing blindly. He warns that holding unattackable ground, seizing intersecting routes, and keeping reinforcements focused are smarter than spreading forces thin. He also notes that a little danger can sharpen a team, while loud bluster without strategy reveals weakness.

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“Never venture, never win!”

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“mystify, mislead, and surprise the enemy”

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“who wishes to fight must first count the cost”

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“Danger has a bracing effect.”

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“If his forces are united, separate them.”

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“When the officers are too strong and the common soldiers too weak, the result is COLLAPSE.”

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The expert in battle seeks his victory from strategic advantage and does not demand it from his men.

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“So long as victory can be attained, stupid haste is preferable to clever dilatoriness.”

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“We cannot enter into alliances until we are acquainted with the designs of our neighbors.”

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Rewards for good service should not be deferred a single day.

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Be subtle! be subtle! and use your spies for every kind of business.

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“the worst calamities that befall an army arise from hesitation”

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“You can ensure the safety of your defense if you only hold positions that cannot be attacked.”

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“Bravery without forethought, causes a man to fight blindly and desperately like a mad bull. Such an opponent, must not be encountered…

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“We are not fit to lead an army on the march unless we are familiar with the face of the country --…

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“Knowing the enemy enables you to take the offensive, knowing yourself enables you to stand on the defensive.”

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“Be stern in the council-chamber, [Show no weakness, and insist on your plans being ratified by the sovereign.] so that you may…

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“Conceal your dispositions, and your condition will remain secret, which leads to victory; show your dispositions, and your condition will become patent,…

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“When your army has crossed the border, you should burn your boats and bridges, in order to make it clear to everybody…

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“When an invading force crosses a river in its onward march, do not advance to meet it in mid-stream. It will be…

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“first lay plans which will ensure victory, and then lead your army to battle; if you will not begin with stratagem but…

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Be the first to seize intersecting ground, that is ground which lies the intersections of borders or intersections of main thoroughfares of…

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To capture the enemy's entire army is better than to destroy it; to take intact a regiment, a company, or a squad…

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“If we wish to wrest an advantage from the enemy, we must not fix our minds on that alone, but allow for…

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“took part in the expedition, and also that its success was largely due to the dash and enterprise of Fu Kai, Ho…

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“In the practical art of war, the best thing of all is to take the enemy's country whole and intact; to shatter…

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“When the common soldiers are too strong and their officers too weak, the result is INSUBORDINATION.”

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“These military devices, leading to victory, must not be divulged beforehand.”

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“Ground on which we can only be saved from destruction by fighting without delay, is desperate ground.”

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“The whole secret lies in confusing the enemy, so that he cannot fathom our real intent.”

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“Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.”

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“If there is disturbance in the camp, the general's authority is weak. ”

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“You can be sure of succeeding in your attacks if you only attack places which are undefended.”

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The business of a general is to kick away the ladder behind soldiers when they have climbed up a height.

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“If he sends reinforcements everywhere, he will everywhere be weak.”

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“The principle on which to manage an army is to set up one standard of courage which all must reach.”

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It is the business of a general to be serene and inscrutable, impartial and self-controlled.

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“do many calculations lead to victory, and few calculations to defeat”

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“The spot where we intend to fight must not be made known; for then the enemy will have to prepare against a…

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Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.

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It is the rule in war, if our forces are ten to the enemy's one, to surround him; if five to one, to attack…

It is according to the shapes that I lay the plans for victory, but the multitude does not comprehend this. Although everyone can see…

Go into emptiness, strike voids, bypass what he defends hit him where he does not expect you.

“In a similar way, The Art of War pinpoints anger and greed as fundamental causes of defeat.”

“The PEOPLE being regarded as the essential part of the State, and FOOD as the people's heaven, is it not right that those in…

Therefore the good fighter will be terrible in his onset, and prompt in his decision.

The enemy's spies who have come to spy on us must be sought out, tempted with bribes, led away and comfortably housed. Thus they…

“So long as victory can be attained, stupid haste is preferable to clever dilatoriness.”

“You can ensure the safety of your defense if you only hold positions that cannot be attacked.”

“Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make…

If we do not wish to fight, we can prevent the enemy from engaging us even though the lines of our encampment be merely…

“The general who wins a battle makes many calculations in his temple before the battle is fought. The general who loses a battle makes…

In all fighting, the direct method may be used for joining battle, but indirect methods will be needed in order to secure victory.

“To begin by bluster, but afterwards to take fright at the enemy's numbers, shows a supreme lack of intelligence.”

They [spies] cannot be properly managed without benevolence and straightforwardness.