James Gimian co-wrote The Rules of Victory: How to Transform Chaos and Conflict, Strategies from The Art of War with Barry Boyce. Mark “Moose” McGrath and I asked him how Sun Tzu’s thinking can help leaders today.
The interconnected whole
Jim starts from the interconnected whole and how it shapes objectives. We connect it to complex adaptive systems theory. Conflict is everywhere, and leadership is everyone’s business.
Being present
Leaders need presence and self-awareness. We discuss situational awareness and the difficulty of assessing yourself. Examples come from aerospace, and a Taylor Swift song reminded Mark how hard self-assessment is. Jim offers the triad of view, practice and action.
Emulate, do not copy
Different views lead to different actions, and shifting a view is about orientation. Jim argues for emulation over imitation. He also asks us about our work on the Flow System. Shih, in Sun Tzu’s sense, is flow, the natural stream of energy in a system. Mindfulness and narrative approaches have roles in the military and beyond.
Sun Tzu and Boyd meet at orientation, and Jim knows both well.
What view do you hold about your team that it might be time to shift?
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