The 33 Strategies of War – Robert Greene

The 33 Strategies of War – by Robert Greene
Date read: 8/1/22. Recommendation: 9/10.

Robert Greene is a generational talent. He’s my favorite author and fortunately, I haven’t read his entire library of work yet. This is an older book of his that I just read through for the first time and it’s as brilliant as any of his other work. He follows his tried and true template of bringing each strategy to life with historical examples of those who have embodied that strategy, as well as those who have failed to observe its importance. There are countless practical applications in our daily lives and careers.

See my notes below or Amazon for details and reviews.

My Notes:

Strategy:
“Our successes and failures in life can be traced to how well or how badly we deal with the inevitable conflicts that confront us in society. The common ways that people deal with them—trying to avoid all conflict, getting emotional and lashing out, turning sly and manipulative—are all counterproductive in the long run, because they are not under conscious and rational control and often make the situation worse.” RG

“Strategic warriors operate much differently. They think ahead toward their long-term goals, decide which fights to avoid and which are inevitable.” RG

“Strategy makes a better woodcutter than strength.” The Iliad, Homer

“Tactical people are heavy and stuck in the ground; strategists are light on their feet and can see far and wide.” RG

“In this world, where the game is played with loaded dice, a man must have a temper of iron, with armor proof to the blows of fate, and weapons to make his way against men. Life is one long battle; we have to fight at every step and Voltaire rightly says that if we succeed, it is at the point of the sword, and that we die with the weapon in our hand.” Schopenhauer 

Self-sufficiency:
“Being unconquerable lies with yourself.” Sun-tzu

“Dependency makes you vulnerable to all kinds of emotions—betrayal, disappointment, frustration—that play havoc with your mental balance.” RG

Trust yourself more and others less.

Enemies:
“Being attacked is a sign that you are important enough to be a target. You should relish the attention and the chance to prove yourself.” RG

It took Joe Frazier to make Muhammad Ali a great fighter—tough opponents will bring out the best in you.

Allow yourself to evolve and remain fluid:
“Your tendency to fight the last war may lead to your final war.” RG

“Strategy is not a question of learning a series of moves or ideas to follow like a recipe; victory has no magic formula. Ideas are merely nutrients for the soil; they lie in your brain as possibilities, so that in the heat of the moment they can inspire a direction, an appropriate and creative response.” RG

“Apply no tactic rigidly; do not let your mind settle into static positions, defending any particular place or idea, repeating the same lifeless maneuvers. Attack problems from new angles, adapting to the landscape and to what you’re given. By staying in constant motion you show your enemies no target to aim at. You exploit the chaos of the world instead of succumbing to it.” RG

“Water. Adapting its shape to wherever it moves in the steam, pushing rocks out of its way, smoothing boulders, it never stops, is never the same. The faster it moves the clearer it gets.” RG

“The future belongs to groups that are fluid, fast, and nonlinear.” RG

“Anything that has form can be overcome; anything that takes shape can be countered. This is why sages conceal their forms in nothingness and let their minds soar in the void.” Huainanzi

Reality is your friend:
Scout mindset: superior strategists see things as they are. They don’t dwell on the past, the present is far more interesting.

“To remain disciplined and calm while waiting for disorder to appear amongst the enemy is the art of self-possession.” Sun-tzu

Preparation: 
Never allow yourself to be underprepared—calmness and relaxed concentration come from relentless preparation.

Alfred Hitchcock stayed calm and detached during filming because he had prepared so relentlessly leading up to the production. Nothing caught him off guard. 

“Deep knowledge of the terrain will let you process information faster than your enemy.” RG

Grand strategy:
“Ignore the conventional wisdom about what you should or should not be doing….You need to be patient enough to plot several steps ahead—to wage a campaign instead of fighting battles. The path to your goal may be indirect, your actions may be strange to other people…” RG

Grand strategist = calm, detached, far-seeing. 

“The prudent man might seem cold, his rationality sucking pleasure out of life. Not so. Like the pleasure-loving gods on Mount Olympus, he has the perspective, the calm detachment, the ability to laugh, that come with true vision which gives everything he does a quality of lightness—these traits comprising what Nietzsche calls the ‘Apollonian ideal.’ Only people who can’t see past their noses make things heavy.” RG

“We often imagine that we generally operate by some kind of plan, that we have goals we are trying to reach. But we’re usually fooling ourselves; what we have are not goals, but wishes.” RG

“What have distinguished all history’s grand strategists and can distinguish you too, are specific, detailed, focused goals. Contemplate them day in and day out, and imagine how it will feel to reach them and what reaching them will look like.” RG

Clear line of command:
“Better one bad general than two good ones.” Napoleon

“No good can ever come of divided leadership. If you are ever offered a position in which you will have to share command, turn it down, for the enterprise will fail and you will be held responsible. Better to take a lower position and let the other person have the job.” RG

Lead from the front:
“Right from the beginning, your troops must see you leading from the front, sharing their dangers and sacrifices—taking the cause as seriously as they do. Instead of trying to push them from behind, make them run to keep up with you.” RG

LBJ was relentless and demanding, but never asked his staff to do anything he wouldn’t do himself. 

Shift the battlefield:
“The best way to attain control is to determine the overall pace, direction, and shape of the war itself. This means getting enemies to fight according to your tempo, luring them onto terrain that is unfamiliar to them and suited to you, playing to your strengths.” RG

“Your enemies will naturally choose to fight on terrain that is to their liking, that allows them to use their power to best advantage…Your goal is to subtly shift the conflict to terrain of your choice. You accept the battle but alter its nature. If it is about money, shift it to something moral. If your opponents want to fight over a particular issue, reframe the battle to encompass something larger and more difficult for them to handle. If they like a slow pace, find a way to quicken it.” RG

Center of gravity:
“Everyone has a source of power on which he or she depends. When you look at your rivals, search below the surface for that source, the center of gravity that holds the entire structure together. That center can be their wealth, their popularity, a key position, a winning strategy. Hitting them there will inflict disproportionate pain. Find what the other side cherishes and protects—that is where you must strike.” RG

“Power is deceptive. If we imagine the enemy as a boxer, we tend to focus on his punch. But still more than he depends on his punch, he depends on his legs; once they go weak, he loses balance, he cannot escape the other fighter, he is subject to grueling exchanges…” RG

To find the center, it often takes multiple steps to peel back the layers. Scipio first saw that Hannibal depended on Spain, then that Spain depended on Carthage, then that Carthage depended on its material prosperity. Instead of striking Carthage, he struck its fertile farming zone which was the source of its wealth, debilitating Carthage completely. 

“The Wall. Your opponents stand behind a wall which protects them from strangers and intruders. Do not hit your head against the wall or lay siege to it; find the pillars and supports that make it stand and give it strength. Dig under the wall, sapping its foundation until it collapses on its own.” RG

In victory, learn when to stop:
“You are judged in this world by how well you bring things to an end…The art of ending things well is knowing when to stop, never going so far that you exhaust yourself or create bitter enemies.” RG

“The worst way to end anything—a war, a conflict, a relationship—is slowly and painfully.” RG

“Before entering any action, you must calculate in precise terms your exit strategy.” RG

Gambles versus risks:
“Both cases involve an action with only a chance of success, a chance that is heightened by acting with boldness. The difference is that with a risk, if you lose, you can recover: your reputation will suffer no long-term damage, your resources will not be depleted, and you can return to your original position with acceptable losses. With a gamble, on the other hand, defeat can lead to a slew of problems that are likely to spiral out of control.” RG

The Silk Roads – Peter Frankopan

The Silk Roads – by Peter Frankopan
Date read: 3/5/19. Recommendation: 7/10.

A comprehensive world history from the perspective of the East. The entire book is an important reminder that before the modern era, the Middle East and Asia were the scientific hubs of the world. Places like Iraq, Uzbekistan, and Afghanistan were the centers of logic, theology, mathematics, medicine, and philosophy. The Silk Road allowed ideas and goods to spread, connecting distant people and cultures, from the Pacific to the Mediterranean. For most of history, Western Europe was an isolated, intellectual backwater. Frankopan details all of this and how the world’s political and economic center of gravity eventually came to shift West in recent centuries. It’s a great resource if you want to challenge your Western-centric view of history (it could also double as religious studies course).

See my notes below or Amazon for details and reviews.

My Notes:

Intellectual center of the world:
Before the modern era, the Middle East and Asia were the scientific hub of the world (places like Iraq, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan). Center of logic, theology, mathematics, medicine, and philosophy.

At its peak, Baghdad was magnificent. Filled with parks, markets, mosques, bathhouses, schools, hospitals, palaces, kiosks, gardens. 

Silk Roads:
Linked the Pacific to Mediterranean, first major pathways that connected distant people and cultures. Carried goods, but also fostered intellectual and religious exchange. 

Globalization:
This is not a modern phenomenon. It was just as prevalent 2,000+ years ago with the expansion of China under the Han dynasty or Alexander of Macedon’s conquests of Persian territory. Each created its own opportunities, problems and technological advances. 

What we think to be uniquely modern problems are rarely that (with the exception of climate, obesity, and a few others). People have been outraged for the entirety of human history about certain things, particularly progress and change. Certain themes have remained present as far back as we can see – i.e. struggles between religions. 

“Two millennia ago, silks made by hand in China were being worn by the rich and powerful in Carthage and other cities in the Mediterranean, while pottery manufactured in southern France could be found in England and in the Persian Gulf. Spices and condiments grown in India were being used in the kitchens of Xinjiang, as they were in those of Rome. Buildings in northern Afghanistan carried inscriptions in Greek, while horses from Central Asia were being ridden proudly thousands of miles away to the east.” PF

The Mongols:
The Mongols rose to power and gained the largest land empire in history because of ruthless planning, streamlined organization, and a clear set of strategic objectives. Ability and loyalty > tribal background or status.

Mongols were not always seen as oppressors, invested in infrastructure, rebuilt cities, emphasized arts and production. Their reputation as bloodthirsty barbarians is due to histories written after the fact.

“This slanted view of the past provides a notable lesson in how useful it is for leaders who have a view to posterity to patronize historians who write sympathetically of their age of empire–something the Mongols conspicuously failed to do.” PF

The Plague:
Silk roads were the veins through which the plague devastated the world.

Social and economic change brought about in the west was significant. Shortage of labor helped increase its value and wages, enhanced negotiation power of lower classes. Also matched by weakening of propertied class with lower rents and falling interest rates. Wealth became more even distributed and resulted in a greater purchasing power and demand for luxury goods. Rise in wealth also brought about better diets and health. Post-plague populations were generally far healthier than before it struck. 

Religions:
Great overview of the political struggles between faiths for much of human history. Puts the foolishness of religion and silly beginnings in perspective.

Eighth and ninth centuries, Muslims (in the east) were curious, tolerant, open-minded, focused on progress. Europe (the west) was filled with Christian fundamentalists who were the opposite. They were considered intellectual backwaters.

In the middle of the ninth century, the Khazars decided to become Jewish. Khazar ruler brought delegations from each faith to debate and present their case. He asked Christians whether Islam or Judaism was the better faith, they said the first was much worse. He asked the Muslims whether Christianity or Judaism was better and they ripped Christianity. Both had admitted Judaism to be better and so they converted. 

Shift in world's political and economic center of gravity:
Since Europe was at the far end of the Silk Roads, it was an afterthought for most of history. But in the 1490s, Christopher Columbus crossed the Atlantic and Vasco de Gama navigated the southern tip of Africa. Both opened new trade routes and shifted the center of world power. Europe took center stage as the midpoint between the east and the west.

Rise of Western Europe:
France, Germany, Austria, Spain, Portugal and England were irrelevant in the world of the ancient Greeks, and were largely peripheral in the history of Rome. But after Columbus and Vasco de Gama, this changed their course of history entirely.

England would eventually turn what proved to be its weakness (distant, isolated), to its strength and the tides shifted towards Western Europe.

WWI:
Led to a massive redistribution of wealth. WWI bankrupted the old world and enriched the new. To finance food production, weapons, munitions, the Allies commissioned J.P. Morgan & Co., taking on huge debts. During the Great War, Britain went from being largest creditor in the world to being its largest debtor. World economy was left in ruins.