Quoted in "The Military Quotation Book" (2002) by James Charlton, p. 83
Disputed
Sun Tzu (-543–-495 BC) ancient Chinese military general, strategist and philosopher from the Zhou Dynasty
Probably apocryphal. This quotation does not appear in any print translation of Sun Tzu. The first citation in Google Books is from 2002; no citation in Google Books occurs in a translation of Sun Tzu.
Misattributed
“Without competitors there would be no need for strategy,”
Kenichi Ohmae (1943) Japanese academic
Source: The Mind Of The Strategist, 1982, p. 36
Context: Without competitors there would be no need for strategy, for the sole purpose of strategic planning is to enable the company to gain, as efficiently as possible, a sustainable edge over its competitors. Corporate strategy, thus, implies an attempt to alter a company's strength relative to that of its competitors in the most efficient way.
Michel Foucault (1926–1984) French philosopher
Les discours sont des éléments ou des blocs tactiques dans le champ des rapports de force; il peut y en avoir de différents et même de contradictoires à l'intérieur d'une même stratégie; ils peuvent au contraire circuler sans changer de forme entre des stratégies opposées.
Vol I, pp. 101-102
History of Sexuality (1976–1984)
Miyamoto Musashi (1584–1645) Japanese martial artist, writer, artist
Go Rin No Sho (1645), The Ground Book
“I learned to play fast without agonizing about strategy or overanalyzing individual moves”
Viswanathan Anand (1969) Indian chess player
After he started playing “blitz” (the shortest format of Chess) in Chennai in early years, pages=292-293
Reimagining India: Unlocking the Potential of Asia’s Next Superpower
Larry Bossidy (1935) American businessman
Source: Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done
“Real leadership is not just about winning conflict - it is about having a strategy to defuse it.”
Alex Salmond (1954) Scottish National Party politician and former First Minister of Scotland
Scotland in the World Forum (February 4, 2008)
Context: I want Scotland to be a leader in international conflict resolution. I want to build on the tremendous sense of goodwill towards our nation across the globe. Real leadership is not just about winning conflict - it is about having a strategy to defuse it. Resolution of conflict is harder, more subtle, more difficult.
“Niceness is a decision, a strategy of social interaction; it is not a character trait.”
Gavin de Becker (1954) American engineer
Source: The Gift of Fear: Survival Signals That Protect Us from Violence
