The Art of War in the 21st Century: How To Achieve Success With Time-tested Competitive Strategies In Today's Digital Business World

Foreword:

How to achieve SUCCESS in today's competitive global marketplace

By Dr. Vi

The first version of Sun Tzu's The Art of War was estimated to exist more than 2,500 years ago, during a very intense civil war period in ancient China.  Warfare strategies were considered to be of the utmost importance to any military operation, leading its armies to win battles in different situations.

In the past decades, there have been hundreds of books written about the historic values, discoveries and stories on Sun Tzu and the Art of War.  However, the purpose of this book is to focus on how you can apply the ancient Chinese wisdom in modern business situations and various digital market scenarios.  Not only will you find simple and easy-to-understand Business English for all 13 chapters, but you will also learn the best way to apply "The Art of War" competitive strategies to your own unique situation.

In today's digital business world, CEOs and entrepreneurs, like you, strive to win sales through multiple media and channels.  You are fighting for site traffic, new subscribers, and sales orders on a daily basis.  It seems to be more challenging than ever to win sales and grow your market because with the introduction of many new Internet technologies, new competitors can easily enter your market at little or no cost.

Organizations of all sizes, ranging from government agencies, corporations, non-profits to even small businesses, are built in a much more complex way than they were decades ago.  All business tasks, functions and transactions are happening simultaneously in both the real and physical space.

If you are selling to retail consumers (business to consumer or B2C), you will find consumers searching for the best bargains to save their time and money.

If you are selling to business customers (business to business or B2B), you will find business owners searching for every opportunity to cut costs and increase their bottom-line.

If you are selling physical goods, you will find customers expecting not only good quality products, but also free shipping and fast delivery.

If you are selling digital goods, you will find customers expecting the best price and instant downloads on the Internet.  They want to have easy access to different digital formats.  They want to have choices to buy through their preferred retail stores online.  

If you are offering services online, you will find customers demanding world class customer service through multiple channels, from phone, email to online chat.  Your company needs to deliver above and beyond to ensure customer satisfaction, because even just one negative review can go viral through word-of-mouth marketing, especially on social media networks.

To succeed in today's digital world, you have to be prepared and get ready to adapt to changes.  The only constant in life is change, quoted from Heraclitus (535 BC- 475 BC), a Greek philosopher.  Not only CEOs and top executives need to think about competitive strategies.  Small business owners and individuals also need to position themselves competitively for growth and prosperity.

Learn how to plan your strategies and lead your team with precision, clarity and confidence toward a path of success.

About the Author Sun Tzu

Sun Tzu (born 544 BCE- died 496 BCE), also known as Master Sun, Sun Wu (wu meaning military) or Sun Zi (zi meaning son) was a military general, a strategist and a philosopher during the Spring and Autumn civil war period of the Zhou Dynasty (1045 BCEto 256 BCE).

The Art of War (Chinese: 孫子兵法; pinyin: Sūn zĭ bīng fǎ) is one of the most influential ancient Chinese books on military strategy.  An inscribed bamboo slip of The Art of War was unearthed in Yinque Mountain, Linyi, Shandong in 1972.  It was dated back to the 2nd century BCE.

Sun Tzu's work has been praised and employed throughout the world in many Eastern and Western cultures, as well as many competitive endeavors, such as: politics, business, sports, and modern warfare.

The book was first translated into French in 1772 by French Jesuit Jean Joseph Marie Amiot and a partial translation into English was attempted by British officer Everard Ferguson Calthrop in 1905. The first annotated English language translation was completed and published by Lionel Giles in 1910. Since then, there have been many revised and translated copies by different academic scholars.

About the Author Dr. Vi

This particular version of The Art of War is translated, written and edited by Vivian W. Lee (aka:  Dr. Vi - value and integrity).  She has a PhD in Organizational Management, specializing in e-Business and Competitive Intelligence (CI).  Her academic background includes: a MBA in Marketing, a Certificate in Internet Marketing, a Certificate in Intercultural Studies, and a Bachelor of Psychology.  She is a global entrepreneur, a publisher, an author, a marketing strategist and a master copywriter.  

Her focus in this book is to apply the true essence of Sun Tzu's wisdom in the rapidly changing digital marketplace.  She has translated each chapter into modern business English with you the reader in mind.  All the military strategies are referenced back to current business strategies, Internet marketing techniques, and competitive intelligence practices.  

More important, she will ask critical questions in each chapter based on Sun Tzu's military principles and discuss them in five different business areas:  

1) Organizational Management,

2) Human Resources,

3) E-Business Communication,

4) Sales Marketing, and

5) Competitive Intelligence.

This way you can understand how to apply ancient Chinese wisdom and military principles to your own business.  You will be able to manage your financial and human resources accordingly for the most profitable enterprise.

You can visit Dr. Vi's website at www.DrVivianLee.com

Follow her on Twitter @DrVivianLee.

Introduction

The Art of War is one of the most widely read Chinese military classics written by Sun Tzu.  After over 2,500 years, not only have military generals in China and foreign countries studied Sun Tzu's military strategies and wisdom, but many business executives have also studied Sun Tzu's management philosophy and business application.

There have been many Chinese-to-English translations of The Art of War over the years.  One of the most popular Chinese-to-English versions was written in 1910 by Lionel Giles (born 1875 - died 1958), a British scholar and translator.  Giles' version was based on a British officer Everard Ferguson Calthrop's 1905 and 1908 translations (during China's Qing Dynasty).  The challenge is...  

We don't speak like those people in the early 19th century anymore.  After more than 100 years from the first English translated version, it's necessary for us to have an updated Chinese-to-English translation with Modern English, as well as new business interpretations.  We need something with good word choices, simple explanations, and easy-to-understand concepts -- that truly capture the principles of The Art of War .

The purpose of this book is to address some of the social, cultural and economic issues relevant for today's global business audience.  Whether you are a CEO, an executive, a manager, a student or even a teenager who is inspired to be a business leader one day, this book will help you to understand ancient Chinese wisdom and philosophy.  You will gain new insights on how to compete with the best moves and achieve long lasting results.  You will have less stress and more success in every aspect of your life.

Below is a quick overview for all 13 chapters with their ancient Chinese-to-English chapter titles translated and revised to modern Business English subject lines in the following formats (Chapter #.  Sun Tzu's Chinese-to-English titles > Modern Business English title):

Estimates > How to Create Your Strategic Plan

Waging War > How to Prepare for Your Strategic Moves

Offensive Strategy >How to Plan Your Offensive Strategies

Dispositions > How to Develop Your Market Positioning

Posture Of Army > How to Create Your Competitive Forces

Void And Actuality > How to Manage Resources by Strengths and Weaknesses

Maneuvering > How to Manage Conflicts and Changes

The Nine Variables > How to Assess Your Environment by Nine Variables

On The March > How to Manage Your Team in Motion with Momentum

Terrain > How to Compete Successfully in Six Types of Terrain

The Nine Situations > How to Respond to Your Markets on Nine Grounds

The Attack By Fire > How to Use Quick Fire Strategies to Attack

Use Of Spies > How to Use Competitive Intelligence to Succeed

In each chapter, you will find three sections (Chinese, English and Business):

Ancient Chinese: This section has the original text from the bamboo script in Traditional Chinese characters.

Chinese-to-Modern-English Translation: This section has many short and simple English sentences, with line breaks so you can pause to think and interpret what each point means to your own unique situation.

Business Interpretation:  This section is written with you the business leader in mind.  It consists of five subject areas:

(1) Organizational Management,

(2) Human Resources,

(3) E-Business Communication,

(4) Sales Marketing, and

(5) Competitive Intelligence.

In each subject area, you will find key questions, detail discussions,  and business applications based on Sun Tzu's The Art of War  principles.  You will also find simple and clear explanation on how to apply these competitive strategies and marketing techniques within your company.

Why this book is written differently...

You will find modern English with good word choices, clear sentence structures, as well as, simplified layouts.

Word Choices:

replace complex and confusing words with simple and modern English words for the best and closest Chinese-to-English translation

convert ancient Chinese measurements and military transportation to modern terms -- for example, you will find le (Chinese measure in distance) and chariots (military cars in ancient China) referenced here as miles (Western measurement for the ease of reading) and trucks (modern transportation)

refer the military general or the ruler in a country to similar modern day positions, like CEO, Chairperson, Board of Directors, and Executives of an organization

Sentence Structures:

write in short and simple sentences, instead of long run-on sentences

use lots of line breaks and spacing between paragraphs to give you a pause to think, digest and understand the principles

translate direct meaning to avoid double negative sentences with confusing meaning

Text Layouts:

use modern Business English headings for quick navigation

use different font styles (like bold, italics, and underlined) on key terms for emphasis and reference

show both the Chinese paragraphs and the English paragraphs next to each other for quick bi-lingual reference

align similar sentence structures so the paragraphs are read like a poem with short phrases and verses

list items by numbers or bullets for the ease of reading and clear  understanding

create new paragraphs to indicate where the original Chinese sentence ended with a complete thought

To sum up, The Art of War strategies can be applied in organizations of all sizes:

For business leaders in organizations with 10,000+ employees, you will learn how to manage your large army effectively and responsively.