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9780385518437

The Art of War for Women

by
  • ISBN13:

    9780385518437

  • ISBN10:

    0385518439

  • Format: Trade Paper
  • Copyright: 2010-02-09
  • Publisher: Crown Business
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Supplemental Materials

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Summary

Forget everything youthinkyou know about strength, strategy and success. This brilliant adaptation of the ancient masterpieceThe Art of Warshows women how to use Sun Tzu's philosophy to win in every aspect of life. Would you like to transform your weaknesses into strengths? Succeed at work without compromising your ethics? Integrate your style and personal philosophy into every action you take? If so, this book is for you. InThe Art of War for Women,bestselling author Chin-Ning Chu brings the eternal wisdom of philosopher-general Sun Tzu to women looking to gain a better understanding of who they are and, more importantly, who they want to be. In the West, when we think of war, we imagine battle, casualties, brutality. But Sun Tzu, the man who wrote the Art of War some 2,500 years ago, was Chinese, and the Chinese think of war differently than we do in the West. In their view, war does not revolve around fighting. It is about determining the most efficient way of gaining victory with the least amount of conflict. That's why Sun Tzu'sArt of Waris particularly appropriate for women. Let's face it, as intelligent and accomplished as we may be, there are very few of us who are comfortable with direct confrontation or situations where our triumph means someone else's defeat. We are natural negotiators and problem solvers; most of us prefer win-win situations to those in which winner-takes-all. But there is another reasonThe Art of Waris particularly appropriate for us. Although Sun Tzu's book is about the application of strategies, every one of those strategies begins with having a deep understanding of the people and the world around us. They also require us to understand ourselves our strengths and weaknesses, our goals and fears. In other words, the aim is not to apply a series of rules coldly and dispassionately, but rather to integrate ourselves and our unique talents into the strategies we will employ. This is not a feel-good book. (But you will feel good after reading it.) It is not a motivational book. (But you will be motivated to achieve what you want, once you are done.) Ultimately, its purpose it to provide women with the strategies we all need to overcome the obstacles that stand in the way of our goals and dreams. Sun Tzu'sArt of Waris the most influential book on strategy ever published, selling tens of millions of copies worldwide in several editions. Written by one of today's foremost authorities on Sun Tzu,The Art of War for Womenis sure to become a classic in its own right.

Author Biography

CHIN-NING CHU, an internationally renowned speaker and the bestselling author of Thick Face, Black Heart, is a descendant of Chu Yuan-Zhang, the pauper who became the first Emperor of the Ming Dynasty by defeating the descendant of Genghis Khan. The president of Asian Marketing Consultants, Inc., chairperson of the Strategic Learning Institute, and president of Neuroscience Industries, Inc., she was a major contributor to the Discovery Television Great Book series on The Art of War.

Supplemental Materials

What is included with this book?

The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

Excerpts

CHAPTER 1
Ji (Planning)

The Elements of Strategy


Before waging a war, the five elements that govern success must be examined. Only then can a proper assessment be done.
Those five elements are: 1. Tao (moral standing or ethics); 2. Tien (timing); 3. Di (terrain or resources); 4. Jiang (leadership); 5. Fa (managing).



The first chapter ofSun Tzu’s Art of Warcontains the core message of the book and includes all the principles that will be discussed in the remaining twelve chapters. Sun Tzu begins this chapter with a discussion of a concept called “Ji.” (*) Ji has a broad range of meanings: plotting and planning, predicting, comparing, and analyzing. All these elements are part of “prewar” strategy—in other words, they’re the steps you must take before you take any action.

Once you can understand these planning stages of life, the rest of Master Sun’s strategies will become second nature. For this reason, I examine his first chapter in depth. According to Sun, five elements govern success and must be understood in the planning stages of any action.

TAO: Your moral standing and the motivation that drives your actions. If your moral position is pure, colleagues will be willing to go to the mat for your cause.

TIEN: Timing. There are certain times when you should take action, other times when it is far better to wait. Tien lets you know which way to decide.

DI: “Earth,” “terrain,” or “resources.” Di refers to the obstacles that you face on your journey to success. Are you traveling over level ground? In other words, is everything going smoothly at work—or is each task akin to scaling a great mountain? Di also includes the distances you need to travel to accomplish your goal.

JIANG: “Leadership.” Sun Tzu believed that a leader must be wise, trustful, benevolent, courageous, and strict.

FA: “Method” or “how to”—what we today would call managing. Your “army” must be well organized, disciplined, and responsible, and as a leader you must be strong, and merciless in your attempts to maintain order. (Notice that Master Sun has adopted the paradoxical elements of Tao and Fa as part of his strategic thinking. I will explain how you can master the balance between the two.)


Things to Keep in Mind When Adopting Strategy

Those who carefully calculate their strategies will be led to victory. Those who carelessly calculate their strategies will be led to defeat.

1.None of the strategies inSun Tzu’s Art of Warstands on its own. All the elements are interrelated. In other words, strategy is not one-dimensional; it is multidimensional.

But unfortunately, books can only deliver one point at a time. As you read, you will see how the various pieces fit together. Don’t worry, I will help.

2.Play with the power of paradox. Taoist philosophy, whichSun Tzu’s Art of Waris based on, recognizes that good and evil are not opposing forces. The opposites are not absolute; rather, they are related—just as we know beauty because we have also seen ugliness and know short only as it compares to tall. In Taoism, inThe Art of War, there is no right and wrong, no black and white. Every action has its time and place, and the same action will lead to different results when your opponent or other circumstances are different. Confused? Good. This is the first step to understandingThe Art of War; you have to give up your attachment to clear–cut realities and instead embrace the whole spectrum of colors of paradox and ambiguity. This is the foundation of the art of war and the art of life.

3.Don’t look for rules or consistency.The only rule is, there

Excerpted from The Art of War for Women: Sun Tzu's Ultimate Guide to Winning Without Confrontation by Chin-Ning Chu
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

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