This article is a summary written by me about the book The 33 Strategies of War, after a long process of re-reading, selecting and summarizing each of the points and concepts that the author describes. So much so that The 33 strategies that the entire book talks about now do not occupy more than one line of text.
The 33 strategies of war is the third book of Robert Greene and was published in 2003. The book describes what the most successful strategies have been throughout history and how these strategies are compatible with the common life of any person in all areas. This book shows how the path to success is strewn with obstacles and rivalry.
In this summary of the 33 strategies of War you will quickly see how what happens every day on the street and in companies is not a simple competition, but a war, a daily combat in which everyone tries to take advantage at the expense of others. the rest. The author, Robert Greene, offers a complete list (which we will see in summary) of the best military strategies of all time and shows how to apply them to everyday life. It includes, among others, offensive war, defensive war and dirty war.
These strategies have been extracted directly from history and the personal experience of great military leaders, such as Carl Von Clausewitz, Napoleon Bonaparte, George Patton, Erwin Rommel and Themistocles. They also come from such famous war theorists as Sun Tzu.
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The 33 Strategies of War – Summary by Zane
By Darío (Zane) Huerta
Main points of the Introduction:
Summary of The 33 Strategies of War – The best quotes by Robert Greene
I didn't want to limit myself to just creating a summary of the 33 war strategies that the book deals with, so you will also be able to appreciate some of the most interesting phrases that appear in the work, added as important excerpts for this summary.
The word "strategy” comes from the ancient Greek: “strategos”, which literally meant “army chief”.
Being extrovertedly aggressive today will only bring you problems, but knowing how to be aggressive and fight in a subtle way will be what makes you succeed in society.
War, which seems like a primitive art typical of impulsive man, is, In fact, essential today, both for men and women, and its bases must always be strategic.
We are educated for peace, but those who know the battlefield best win.
“Whoever wants peace, let him prepare for war.”
Vegetius, 4th century AD
We need practical knowledge that allows us to address the battles that we are forced to face daily.
Thus, the ideal to pursue today is that of strategic warrior, who handles difficult situations with skillful and intelligent maneuvers, thinks ahead and long term, and knows which battles to avoid and which to face.
An example of this is Mahatma Gandhi, the greatest exponent of peace, defended his modus operandi, Non-Violence, as an extremely strategic way of fighting, where he was constantly forced to reflect and plan actions for long periods of time.
According to the Greek Myths compiled by Robert Graves in 1955, Athena, the Greek goddess of war, is a woman who hates war, and always tries to deal with problems in the most peaceful way possible. In fact, she does not have weapons, and if she needs them she asks her father, Zeus, for them.
It is also said that her mercy is great, but that once she intervenes in battle she is never defeated, not even Ares could against her, because whoever best masters strategy and tactics wins, even if they do not like to fight.
“You have to see things as they are, not as your emotions color them., because your emotional reactions can resemble a disease that needs to be cured, and the only remedy is to be aware that the outbreak of these emotions is inevitable, notice it when it appears and compensate for it.”
It is also essential to understand that, although it is necessary to study the best strategists in history, it is even more important study yourself, to your victories and defeats, and understand that The blame for your failures lies in your bad strategies, and never in the traps or maneuvers of your adversaries.
The resources that you will read below are ideas extracted after studying several thousand years of war between humanity, and have been adapted in the best possible way in order to make them common links between ancient battles and today's competitiveness.
Once the introduction is understood, the following six premises must be taken as constants throughout each of the thirty-three strategies that are going to be mentioned.
6 Fundamental Rules:
- Be realistic.
- Judge actions, not words.
- Rely only on yourself.
- Think cold.
- Reason is not gained by force.
- Keep your spirits up.
Part I: Self-Directed Warfare.
1.- Identify those you will overcome, that will give you purpose and direction.
2.- Get your mind to flow, react quickly and not get stuck in past mistakes or achievements.
3.- Never lose your spirit.
4.- Constantly test yourself.
Part II: Organizational Warfare
5.- When working in a group, it provides a feeling of participation, without getting carried away by group thinking, as it is often irrational.
6.- Get each part of the team to work independently towards a common goal.
7.- A group works best when individual success is only achieved through group success.
Part III: Defensive Warfare
8.- Know your limitations; Choose wisely how to spend your time and energy.
9.- Try not to let your way of working be known until you know your competition's way of working.
10.- Don't let your competition feel confident to challenge you, it is better to have an impressive reputation.
11.- Going back is always an option.
Part IV: Offensive Warfare
12.- Focus on long-term goals, it doesn't matter if your competition stands out more at specific moments, but rather who stands out more at the end.
13.- Learn to read your competition, how they think and how they act.
14.- Baffle the competition by acting before they have even decided.
15.- It is not necessary to be perfect, just to be the one who makes the fewest mistakes.
16.- Discovering your competition's center of gravity can be vital.
17.- Examine the competition, find out how it can be divided. You don't have to face everything.
18.- Do not attack directly, as you will be warned and your competition will be able to defend themselves.
19.- Even if you have cracks, don't give yourself time to see them. Keep the competition busy with themselves, covering up their imperfections.
20.- Devise maneuvers that only offer negative options for the rest.
21.- It advances even between negotiations.
22.- It is essential to know when and how to finish tasks.
Part V: Dirty War
23.- Control the way others perceive reality and you will control them.
24.- Confuse the competition by combining ordinary and extraordinary actions.
25.- Try to make the idea of competition seem less fair than your alternative.
26.- Attack and ignore later.
27.- Simulate defending other people's interests while promoting your own.
28.- Instill doubts and insecurities in the competition and they will self-destruct.
29.- Move forward little by little, because big leaps bring envy and many enemies.
30.- Induce, little by little, your ideas into the minds of others, making them believe that they are their own ideas, through subtle and subliminal messages.
31.- Join the competition and destroy it from within.
32.- Camouflage your aggressiveness in docile and kind acts.
33.- Make sure the competition is afraid, distracted, and falls into chaos.
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