Quotes About Strategy

Great courtiers throughout history have mastered the science of manipulating people.

But it's not what you have that brings you victory, it's how you use it.

People trying to make a show of their authority are easily deceived by the surrender tactic. Your outward sign of submission makes them feel important; satisfied that you respect them, they become easier targets for a later counterattack

Los seductores prefieren seleccionar sus posibilidades. Tanto como sea posible, persiguen a gente que delata alguna vulnerabilidad a ellos, y evitan a la que no pueden emocionar. Dejar en paz a quienes son inaccesibles a ti es una senda sensata; no puedes seducir a todos. Por otra parte, busca activamente a la presa que reaccione de la manera correcta. Esto volverá mucho más placenteras y satisfactorias tus seducciones.

What gets us into trouble in the realm of power is often our own overreaction to the moves of our enemies and rivals.

The essence of strategy is not to carry out a brilliant plan that proceeds in steps. It is to put yourself in situations where you have more options than your enemy does...True strategy is being able to do strategy A, B, or C, depending on the circumstances.

The ability to measure people and to know who you're dealing with is the most important skill of all in gathering and conserving power. Without it you are blind:

this often neutralizes their behavior—they expected, even wanted you to react with force and so they are caught off-guard and confounded by your lack of resistance.

This is the essence of the surrender tactic: Inwardly you stay firm, but outwardly you bend.

In the battle of the intelligent against the brutal and the aggressive, the surrender tactic is the supreme weapon.

Most men are ruled by the heart, not the head. Their plans are vague, and when they meet obstacles they improvise. But improvisation will only get you as far as the next crisis, and is never a substitute for thinking several steps ahead and planning to the end.

it is far easier to avoid creating envy in the first place than to get rid of it once it is there, ...

Deception is a developed art of civilization and the most potent weapon in the game of power.

Aprende a ejercer el hechizo del en- cantador apuntando a las debilidades primarias de la gente: vanidad y amor propio.

Your idea of power is wrong. You have mistaken aggressive action for effective action.

Perfect economy, then, does not mean hoarding your resources. That is not economy but stinginess—deadly in war. Perfect economy means finding a golden mean, a level at which your blows count but do not wear you out.

It is occasionally wiser to imitate the court jester, who plays the fool but knows he is smarter than the king.

Nunca dividía a su ejército en unidades menores, ya que eso infringiría el principio militar de mantener concentradas las fuerzas; además, dispersarlas dificultaría su monitoreo, y se perdería el control de la batalla.

Conoce  a tu presa,  y  elígela con cuidado. No pier- das tiempo en la caza menor: los conejos que caen en la trampa, el visón preso en el cepo perfumado. Desafío es placer.

Al comenzar, no debe ha- ber nada seductor en tu actitud. La seducción ha de iniciarse desde un ángulo, indirectamente, para que el objetivo  se percate de ti en forma gra- dual.

Siempre hay momentos en que el lugar del comandante no es la retaguardia con su estado mayor sino la vanguardia con sus tropas.

una vez que hayas elegido a la persona correcta, debes hacer que el objetivo venga a ti. Si en etapas iniciales logras hacerle creer que es él quien realiza el primer acercamiento, has ganado el juego.

Muchas suspiran por el placer que huye / y aborrecen al que se les brinda; / insta con menos fervor / y dejarás de parecerle inoportuno. / No siempre han de delatar tus agasajos la esperanza / del triunfo; en ocasiones conviene que el amor / se insinúe disfrazado con el nombre de amistad. / He visto más de una mujer intratable sucumbir / a esta prueba, y al que antes era / su amigo convertirse por fin en su amante.

Yet another way of avoiding the game would be perfect honesty and straightforwardness, since one of the main techniques of those who seek power is deceit and secrecy. But being perfectly honest will inevitably hurt and insult a great many people, some of whom will choose to injure you in return.