Sun Tzu, a Chinese general of some 2,500 years ago during China's "Spring and Autumn Period," is the author credited with writing "The Art of War." Whether a man named Sun Wu ("Tzu" being an honorific for a revered teacher) was the actual author during his own life, or whether the principles were recorded by followers in his footsteps, the text reflects extreme clarity of thought, a deep knowledge of humans and human conflict, and a humanitarian philosophy, insomuch as the brutal business of war permitted.

Much quoted, and much taken out of context, "The Art of War" is difficult to summarize; some would call it "deceptively simple," but I would call it impressively concise. Allow me to briefly summarize some major themes:

- War is a brutal, ruinous process that is best ended as efficiently and decisively as possible.
- Deception is a fundamental principle of warfare; through it, the few can defeat the many.
- Winners plan ahead, but adapt quickly to changes in circumstance, turning loss into gain.
- The true strategist wins the invisible battles before the visible ones ever take place.
- Like the hawk, the general chooses when and where to strike, and strikes swift, and hard.
- By using the terrain and concealing his plans, the general puts his men in position to succeed.
- Use an army like water; follow the path of least resistance, but strike as a raging torrent.

Much of the book is devoted to the practical achievement of these aims. In passage after passage, Sun Tzu reveals deep knowledge about not only warfare, but psychology, and even economics; he notes inflation caused by the mere presence of an army, even without pillaging the countryside, and the high cost of long-distance deployments from home. Sun Tzu counsels that there is no brilliance associated with long wars. I like to call this consideration "The Total Cost of Warfare," modeled after the "total cost of ownership" of motor vehicles.

One common error is to presume that Sun Tzu counseled ruthlessness and dishonesty in rulers; this is confusing him with Machiavelli, author of "The Prince." Sun Tzu counseled building a reputation for benevolence and sincerity, but these are traits best applied to one's friends in a time of peace, whereas the object of his book was warfare. For Sun Tzu, deception was largely misleading with appearance and not showing his hand; the enemy essentially deceives himself. This subtlety is a trademark of Sun Tzu.

At first, a reader may suspect that Sun Tzu is a "defensive" general; however, this is mistaken. Sun Tzu certainly is a cautious general, but emphasized what we now call Murphy's Law: make yourself immune to defeat by eliminating the ways you can be defeated. Sun Tzu then seeks to hang the enemy with his own rope, ruthlessly taking advantage of any mistake while not being deceived himself. This requires exceptional clarity of thought and a rigorous devotion to open-minded inquiry free of bias or prejudice. Such open-mindedness is a core tenet of Sun Tzu's Taoist (pronounced Daoist) philosophy.

Utilizing this knowledge, Sun Tzu utilizes a perfect blend of offense and defense, direct and indirect maneuvers, stratagems and brute force, with a single objective: victory. This is "The Art of War."

Sun Tzu's writings remain relevant to this day. Beyond his knowledge of what I like to call "the human terrain," Sun Tzu strongly counsels adaptation to circumstances, whatever those circumstances may be. These timeless lessons underline the true value of "The Art of War": this book teaches us how to enhance our strategic thinking for the battles we face in our own lives. Through it, we can learn how to plan, how to adapt even while "in the field," how to impose our will on our opponents, how to find and utilize natural advantages, how to immunize ourselves against defeat, and how to take advantage of the opportunities provided by our opponents to win.

These lessons apply not only to warfare - though many students of war indeed study them - but to business and indeed, planning and management of all varieties.

Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" can appear daunting to the Westerner; indeed, the writing is so concise that those not intimately familiar with the context of warfare and the times that produced these writings can easily miss the true value of these lessons. For this reason, I have established a series of  classes called Learn & Master 'The Art of War' that provides rich context, explanation, and elaboration that brings these passages to life. This methodology shows Sun Tzu's writings in their proper, natural context, demonstrating how each idea relates to one another. This combination of voice, PowerPoint presentation, and live virtual classroom text chat provides a powerful learning medium making this book gripping, relevant, fascinating, and yes, even fun. I am pleased to say that those who have attended these sessions have been ecstatic at the results.

I am using my recently unveiled website, Strategies for Victory, as a nexus for examining and teaching strategic thinking. I also blog at jbstrategy.blogspot.com and can be followed on Twitter as jbtutor; all of these mediums will serve as ways to promote this fascinating and enlightening book.

After all, many search for wisdom from Sun Tzu merely by quoting isolated passages ripped away from their original context. How much more could they gain, if they could understand a single chapter? How far beyond even this, if they could understand the entire book...? Thus my challenge, and my opportunity: to make "The Art of War" easier to understand for a modern audience, not by taking away from the book's richness, but by adding context and explanation, including demonstrating how the 2,500 years of history that followed Sun Tzu have only proved the depth of his original insight.