Quotes about strategy

A collection of quotes on the topic of strategy, people, doing, other.

Quotes about strategy

Sun Tzu photo

“All men can see these tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved.”

Sun Tzu (-543–-495 BC) ancient Chinese military general, strategist and philosopher from the Zhou Dynasty

人皆知我所以勝之形,而莫知吾所以制勝之形。
Source: The Art of War, Chapter VI · Weaknesses and Strengths

Timothy McVeigh photo
Amartya Sen photo
Arundhati Roy photo
Monte Melkonian photo
Sun Tzu photo

“Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.”

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

Sun Tzu photo

“Thus, what is of supreme importance in war is to attack the enemy's strategy.”

是故上攻伐谋
The Art of War, Chapter III · Strategic Attack
Variant: Thus, what is of supreme importance in war is to attack the enemy's strategy.

Noam Chomsky photo
Michel Foucault photo

“There is not one but many silences, and they are an integral part of the strategies that underlie and permeate discourses.”

Michel Foucault (1926–1984) French philosopher

Source: The History of Sexuality, Volume 1: An Introduction

Michael E. Porter photo

“The essence of strategy is choosing what not to do.”

Michael E. Porter (1947) American engineer and economist

Source: What is strategy?, 1996, p. 70

Douglas Adams photo
Amir Taheri photo
Miyamoto Musashi photo

“In this world it is said, "One inch gives the hand advantage", but these are the idle words of one who does not know strategy.”

Miyamoto Musashi (1584–1645) Japanese martial artist, writer, artist

Go Rin No Sho (1645), The Wind Book
Context: Some other schools have a liking for extra-long swords. From the point of view of my strategy these must be seen as weak schools. This is because they do not appreciate the principle of cutting the enemy by any means. Their preference is for the extra-long sword and, relying on the virtue of its length, they think to defeat the enemy from a distance.
In this world it is said, "One inch gives the hand advantage", but these are the idle words of one who does not know strategy. It shows the inferior strategy of a weak spirit that men should be dependant on the length of their sword, fighting from a distance without the benefit of strategy.

Miyamoto Musashi photo
George Orwell photo

“To nationalize factories, demolish churches, and issue revolutionary manifestoes would not have made the armies more efficient. The Fascists won because they were the stronger; they had modern arms and the others hadn't. No political strategy could offset that.”

George Orwell (1903–1950) English author and journalist

§ 6
"Looking Back on the Spanish War" (1943)
Context: The outcome of the Spanish war was settled in London, Paris, Rome, Berlin — at any rate not in Spain. After the summer of 1937 those with eyes in their heads realized that the Government could not win the war unless there were some profound change in the international set-up, and in deciding to fight on Negrin and the others may have been partly influenced by the expectation that the world war which actually broke out in 1939 was coming in 1938. The much-publicized disunity on the Government side was not a main cause of defeat. The Government militias were hurriedly raised, ill-armed and unimaginative in their military outlook, but they would have been the same if complete political agreement had existed from the start. At the outbreak of war the average Spanish factory-worker did not even know how to fire a rifle (there had never been universal conscription in Spain), and the traditional pacifism of the Left was a great handicap. The thousands of foreigners who served in Spain made good infantry, but there were very few experts of any kind among them. The Trotskyist thesis that the war could have been won if the revolution had not been sabotaged was probably false. To nationalize factories, demolish churches, and issue revolutionary manifestoes would not have made the armies more efficient. The Fascists won because they were the stronger; they had modern arms and the others hadn't. No political strategy could offset that.
The most baffling thing in the Spanish war was the behaviour of the great powers. The war was actually won for Franco by the Germans and Italians, whose motives were obvious enough. The motives of France and Britain are less easy to understand. In 1936 it was clear to everyone that if Britain would only help the Spanish Government, even to the extent of a few million pounds’ worth of arms, Franco would collapse and German strategy would be severely dislocated. By that time one did not need to be a clairvoyant to foresee that war between Britain and Germany was coming; one could even foretell within a year or two when it would come. Yet in the most mean, cowardly, hypocritical way the British ruling class did all they could to hand Spain over to Franco and the Nazis. Why? Because they were pro-Fascist, was the obvious answer. Undoubtedly they were, and yet when it came to the final showdown they chose to stand up to Germany. It is still very uncertain what plan they acted on in backing Franco, and they may have had no clear plan at all. Whether the British ruling class are wicked or merely stupid is one of the most difficult questions of our time, and at certain moments a very important question.

Max Euwe photo

“Strategy requires thought, tactics require observation.”

Max Euwe (1901–1981) Dutch chess Grandmaster, mathematician, and author
George Orwell photo
Terry Pratchett photo
Benjamin Disraeli photo

“The most dangerous strategy is to jump a chasm in two leaps.”

Benjamin Disraeli (1804–1881) British Conservative politician, writer, aristocrat and Prime Minister

“Nowadays, HR professionals play three roles: • Storyteller • Strategy interpreter • Strategic facilitator”

Dave Ulrich (1953) American academic

Source: HR from the Outside In, 2012, p. 92

Barack Obama photo
Nathan Bedford Forrest photo
Miyamoto Musashi photo
Omar Bradley photo
Miyamoto Musashi photo
Mukesh Ambani photo
Judith Butler photo
Barack Obama photo
Jack Welch photo

“Getting the right people in the right jobs is a lot more important than developing a strategy.”

Jack Welch (1935) American executive: General Electric CEO

Source: Jack: Straight from the Gut (2001), Ch. 24.

Milkha Singh photo

“He emphasized that I must maintain my speed for the first 300 metres, and then give it my all in the last 100 metres. He said that if I ran the first 300 metres at full speed, Spence would do the same, although that was not his running strategy.”

Milkha Singh (1935) Indian track and field athlete

At the 1958 Commonwealth Games, Milkha describes how Dr. Howard, the American coach built the strategy to outrace his biggest threat Milkha At Midnight, 13 December 2013, publisher+Outlook India http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?282698,

Hu Jintao photo
Aga Khan IV photo
Omar Bradley photo
Barack Obama photo

“No development strategy can be based only upon what comes out of the ground, nor can it be sustained while young people are out of work.”

Barack Obama (1961) 44th President of the United States of America

2009, A New Beginning (June 2009)

Monte Melkonian photo
Bertrand Russell photo
Thomas J. Sargent photo
Cassandra Clare photo
Eric R. Kandel photo

“What strategy does the brain use to read itself out?”

Eric R. Kandel (1929) American neuropsychiatrist

In Search of Memory (2006)
Context: What strategy does the brain use to read itself out? That question, which is central to the unitary nature of conscious experience, remains one of the many unresolved mysteries of the new science of mind.

Miyamoto Musashi photo

“In strategy it is important to see distant things as if they were close and to take a distanced view of close things.”

Miyamoto Musashi (1584–1645) Japanese martial artist, writer, artist

Go Rin No Sho (1645), The Water Book
Context: The gaze should be large and broad. This is the twofold gaze "Perception and Sight". Perception is strong and sight weak.
In strategy it is important to see distant things as if they were close and to take a distanced view of close things. It is important in strategy to know the enemy's sword and not to be distracted by insignificant movements of his sword. You must study this. The gaze is the same for single combat and for large-scale combat.

Barack Obama photo

“This counterterrorism campaign will be waged through a steady, relentless effort to take out ISIL wherever they exist, using our air power and our support for partner forces on the ground. This strategy of taking out terrorists who threaten us, while supporting partners on the front lines, is one that we have successfully pursued in Yemen and Somalia for years. And it is consistent with the approach I outlined earlier this year”

Barack Obama (1961) 44th President of the United States of America

2014, Statement on ISIL (September 2014)
Context: Now, it will take time to eradicate a cancer like ISIL. And any time we take military action, there are risks involved –- especially to the servicemen and women who carry out these missions. But I want the American people to understand how this effort will be different from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It will not involve American combat troops fighting on foreign soil. This counterterrorism campaign will be waged through a steady, relentless effort to take out ISIL wherever they exist, using our air power and our support for partner forces on the ground. This strategy of taking out terrorists who threaten us, while supporting partners on the front lines, is one that we have successfully pursued in Yemen and Somalia for years. And it is consistent with the approach I outlined earlier this year: to use force against anyone who threatens America’s core interests, but to mobilize partners wherever possible to address broader challenges to international order.

Miyamoto Musashi photo

“Strategy is the craft of the warrior.”

Miyamoto Musashi (1584–1645) Japanese martial artist, writer, artist

Go Rin No Sho (1645), The Ground Book
Context: Strategy is the craft of the warrior. Commanders must enact the craft, and troopers should know this Way. There is no warrior in the world today who really understands the Way of strategy.
There are various Ways. There is the Way of salvation by the law of Buddha, the Way of Confucius governing the Way of learning, the Way of healing as a doctor, as a poet teaching the Way of Waka, tea, archery, and many arts and skills. Each man practices as he feels inclined.

Miyamoto Musashi photo

“If you do not look at things on a large scale it will be difficult for you to master strategy.”

Miyamoto Musashi (1584–1645) Japanese martial artist, writer, artist

Go Rin No Sho (1645), The Ground Book
Context: If you do not look at things on a large scale it will be difficult for you to master strategy. If you learn and attain this strategy you will never lose even to twenty or thirty enemies. More than anything to start with you must set your heart on strategy and earnestly stick to the Way. You will come to be able to actually beat men in fights, and to be able to win with your eye. Also by training you will be able to freely control your own body, conquer men with your body, and with sufficient training you will be able to beat ten men with your spirit.

Miyamoto Musashi photo

“Without the correct principle the fight cannot be won.
The spirit of my school is to win through the wisdom of strategy, paying no attention to trifles. Study this well.”

Miyamoto Musashi (1584–1645) Japanese martial artist, writer, artist

Go Rin No Sho (1645), The Wind Book
Context: If you rely on strength, when you hit the enemy's sword you will inevitably hit too hard. If you do this, your own sword will be carried along as a result. Thus the saying, "The strongest hand wins", has no meaning.
In large-scale strategy, if you have a strong army and are relying on strength to win, but the enemy also has a strong army, the battle will be fierce. This is the same for both sides.
Without the correct principle the fight cannot be won.
The spirit of my school is to win through the wisdom of strategy, paying no attention to trifles. Study this well.

Barack Obama photo

“When we make rash decisions, reacting to the headlines instead of using our heads; when the first response to a challenge is to send in our military -- then we risk getting drawn into unnecessary conflicts, and neglect the broader strategy we need for a safer, more prosperous world. That’s what our enemies want us to do.”

Barack Obama (1961) 44th President of the United States of America

2015, State of the Union Address (January 2015)
Context: When we make rash decisions, reacting to the headlines instead of using our heads; when the first response to a challenge is to send in our military -- then we risk getting drawn into unnecessary conflicts, and neglect the broader strategy we need for a safer, more prosperous world. That’s what our enemies want us to do. I believe in a smarter kind of American leadership. We lead best when we combine military power with strong diplomacy; when we leverage our power with coalition building; when we don’t let our fears blind us to the opportunities that this new century presents. That’s exactly what we’re doing right now. And around the globe, it is making a difference. [... ] That’s how America leads -- not with bluster, but with persistent, steady resolve.

Yasser Elshantaf photo
Ludwig Erhard photo
Marilyn Ferguson photo

“We have two essential strategies for coping: the way of avoidance or the way of attention.”

Marilyn Ferguson (1938–2008) American writer

The Aquarian Conspiracy (1980), Chapter Three, Brains Changing, Minds Changing

Masaaki Imai photo
James Clear photo
Margaret Atwood photo

“A man is just a woman’s strategy for making other women.”

Margaret Atwood (1939) Canadian writer

Source: The Handmaid’s Tale (1985), Chapter 20 (p. 121)

Winston S. Churchill photo

“However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results”

Winston S. Churchill (1874–1965) Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

Attribution debunked by Langworth.
Misattributed
Source: Published by Richard Langworth online: https://richardlangworth.com/quotes

“Even God used silence as a strategy.”

Gregory Maguire (1954) Novelist

Source: Mirror Mirror

Lois McMaster Bujold photo

“Forward momentum only worked as a strategy if one had correctly identified which way was forward.”

Lois McMaster Bujold (1949) Science Fiction and fantasy author from the USA

Source: Vorkosigan Saga, Komarr (1998), Chapter 16 (p. 268)

Peter F. Drucker photo
Robert Greene photo
Rick Riordan photo

“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

Lois McMaster Bujold photo
Suzanne Collins photo
Edward Said photo
Robert Greene photo

“You need a strategy, and a trade or investment decision can be evaluated only in the context of that strategy.”

Aaron C. Brown (1956) American financial analyst

Source: The Poker Face of Wall Street (2006), Chapter 1, The Art of Uncalculated Risk, p. 23

Joseph Massad photo

“Science, as traditionally defined, is fundamental to conservation biology but does no good if isolated from "softer" issues such as ethics, sociology, and political strategy. Indeed, there is nothing more dangerous than science in an ethical vacuum.”

Reed Noss (1952)

[Conservation Biology, Whither Conservation Biology?, June 1993, 7, 2, 215–217, 10.1046/j.1523-1739.1993.07020215.x, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1046/j.1523-1739.1993.07020215.x] (quote from p. 215)

Jill Stein photo

“It's time to stop a foreign policy which is essentially a marketing strategy for the weapons industry.”

Jill Stein (1950) American politician and physician

"Making the Wars for Oil Obsolete," May 22, 2016 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hd6gLKkaBD4

Michael Foot photo
Bruce Palmer Jr. photo

“In its distinctive strategy and internal dynamics and its rich intellectual tradition, Hizb al-Tahrir points up the heterogeneity of twentieth-century Islamist protest movements in the Middle East.”

Suha Taji-Farouki (1950) British Islamic scholar

A Fundamental Quest – Hizb ut-Tahrir and the Search for the Islamic Caliphate, Grey Seal, London 1996

Lois McMaster Bujold photo
Robert T. Kiyosaki photo
Andrew Sullivan photo
George W. Bush photo
Steve Blank photo

“Strategy Is not a to-do list.”

Steve Blank (1953) American businessman

Entrepreneur "Strategy is Not a To-do List" https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/238513 October 16, 2014.

Cyrano de Bergerac photo
Herbert A. Simon photo
Fritjof Capra photo
James C. Collins photo
David Frum photo
Richard Perle photo
Leo Tolstoy photo

“If only people freed themselves from their beliefs in all kinds of Ormuzds, Brahmas, Sabbaoths, and their incarnation as Krishnas and Christs, from beliefs in Paradises and Hells, in reincarnations and resurrections, from belief in the interference of the Gods in the external affairs of the universe, and above all, if they freed themselves from belief in the infallibility of all the various Vedas, Bibles, Gospels, Tripitakas, Korans, and the like, and also freed themselves from blind belief in a variety of scientific teachings about infinitely small atoms and molecules and in all the infinitely great and infinitely remote worlds, their movements and origin, as well as from faith in the infallibility of the scientific law to which humanity is at present subjected: the historic law, the economic laws, the law of struggle and survival, and so on, — if people only freed themselves from this terrible accumulation of futile exercises of our lower capacities of mind and memory called the "Sciences", and from the innumerable divisions of all sorts of histories, anthropologies, homiletics, bacteriologics, jurisprudences, cosmographies, strategies — their name is legion — and freed themselves from all this harmful, stupefying ballast — the simple law of love, natural to man, accessible to all and solving all questions and perplexities, would of itself become clear and obligatory.”

Source: A Letter to a Hindu (1908), VI

Amit Shah photo
Miyamoto Musashi photo

“In this the Fire Book of the NiTo Ichi school of strategy I describe fighting as fire.”

Miyamoto Musashi (1584–1645) Japanese martial artist, writer, artist

Go Rin No Sho (1645), The Fire Book

Michael Chabon photo
Richard Rodríguez photo
Cory Doctorow photo

“Open platforms and experimental amateurs … eventually beat out the spendy, slick pros. … Relying on incumbents to produce your revolutions is not a good strategy. They're apt to take all the stuff that makes their products great and try to use technology to charge you extra for it, or prohibit it altogether.”

Cory Doctorow (1971) Canadian-British blogger, journalist, and science fiction author

"Why I won't buy an iPad (and think you shouldn't, either)" on BoingBoing (2 April 2010) http://boingboing.net/2010/04/02/why-i-wont-buy-an-ipad-and-think-yo.html