The outcome of wars can be predicted before they start.

Sun Tzu regularly discusses the need for planning and preparation. The point of the entire text is to increase the reader’s understanding of elements and conditions that will arise. At no point does Sun Tzu suggest that coming up with a last-minute plan is going to be effective. Instead, he states that he can always predict which side will win long before the battle, if he can see which side is better prepared. This preparation is not just amassing soldiers and weapons. It includes the planning for the movement of resources (supply lines), choosing effective battlefields, and understanding the impact that weather will have.

Planning also extends to organization. Sun Tzu regularly discusses the importance of maintaining order and morale within an army. He also warns that failing morale or poor organization will be an army’s downfall. This must be addressed before the army is put to war. Organizing one’s army into effective subdivisions with strong and compassionate leadership is discussed throughout several of the essays.

A successful leader will have thorough knowledge of oneself and one’s enemy.

In nearly every essay, Sun Tzu discusses the importance of knowing oneself (the entire army, its capabilities, and limitations) as well as understanding the enemy (their entire army, capabilities, and limitations). He states that such knowledge will inform proper decisions and decide the outcome of engagements. Knowing the number of enemy soldiers and their location(s) is not enough. One must understand every facet of the enemy force. These facets include the enemy’s use of supplies and supply lines, the amount of food they consume each day, if they are running low on food, their morale, their communication systems, and their spies. A leader should have similar knowledge of their allies and their own army as well.

Sun Tzu gives many scenarios where lack of knowledge will lead an army to ruin. It is not a simple matter of attacking the enemy with a larger force. One should strive to attack the enemy when their morale is low, and the battle conditions are advantageous. While this concept does include supplies, it is heavily focused on the fact that an army is a collection of people. People who need to be fed, motivated, and guided in battle. By knowing the motivations and fears of one’s own army and the enemy, some battles can be avoided, or at least decisive enough to reduce casualties.

One should not seek to destroy the enemy to find victory.

In several of the essays, Sun Tzu mentions that killing the enemy and destroying their territory is not the goal of war. This might seem counterintuitive since it is often the result of war. He regularly places an emphasis on trying to attain victory without destroying the enemy. A leader with superior knowledge and tactics should be able to obtain a decisive victory quickly. Decisive victories, unlike prolonged campaigns, will result in fewer casualties to one’s own army. They will also usually end with the enemy army surrendering or fleeing, instead of fighting to the death. Sun Tzu even advises that captured enemy soldiers should be treated well.

Toward the end of the book, at the end in Essay XII, Sun Tzu offers a poignant observation. He states that emotions will change and can be overcome, but kingdoms that are destroyed never exist again, and those that die cannot be brought back. Sun Tzu states that the “enlightened ruler is heedful” and “full of caution.” This is not just to preserve the enemy, but it is also important in keeping one’s own forces loyal and the nation at peace.

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