Comparing the Basics of Jiang Tai Gong's Six Secret Teachings to Sunzi's The Art of War

In the business world, there are some MBA executives who loved to recite the quotes from the Art of War for the purpose of motivating the troops.  Some of these motivators are just bi-polar salesmen who are seeking new ways of motivating themselves by "pumping up" their troops.

Most of these chosen ones do not know how to use the Art of War principles in a sequential mode.   It tells us that these wanna-be's are not strategists in the purest sense.

(updated 06/03/15  15:15 hrs)

The serious strategy professionals usually preferred to read Jiang Tai Gong's book that teaches the readers how to view the Big Tangible Picture from the perspective of a chief level officer.

The book starts by delineating the grand perspective of an organization by profiling the circumstances behind the chief-level officer (chapter one and two) to their choice of field leadership (chapter three).  The last three chapters (chapter four, five and six)  accentuate the fundamentals of understanding the tactical preparation and implementation for subjugating the competition .

By gathering the correct quantity of quality intelligence, one can conclude the strategic state of that organization.

Conceptual Difference #1
While the gist of Sunzi essay is focused on understanding the current strategic  situation from ground up, the Jiang Tai Gong's classic is focused to understanding the grand strategic situation from the "top down" perspective.

Conceptual Difference #2
Chapter one and two of this strategic classic are focused on the fundamentals of advising a client

Conceptual Difference #3
Each chapter teaches the consultant on how to influence the client with am improved perspective.


Comments From The  Compass Desk
From ancient China until now, this classic has been used to enlighten those who are seriously involved in the profession of strategic consulting and competitive intelligence gathering.

We will discuss more on the differences between the fundamentals of Jiang Tai Gong's Six Secret Teachings to Sunzi's Art of War in a future post.