The Invisible Mentor

The Way of Strategy – Review of The Book of Five Rings

July 1st, 2009 |

Review of The Book Of Five Rings: The Classic Guide To Strategy, Miyamoto Musahi

I reviewed Book of Five Rings: The Classic Guide to Strategyfor my newsletter Ambeck Edge in November 2005, and I re-read the Summareview (Hybrid book review and summary) today and still find it very useful. We often forget things we know because they are not in the forefront of our consciousness, so we need reminders. I smile as I write this blog post because Johann Wolfgang von Goethe‘s quote “Everything has been thought of before, but the problem is to think of it again,” comes to mind.

The Book Of Five Rings written in 1645 is about the “Way of Strategy,” which is using certain techniques to take down the enemy. Because of when the book was written, you have to be aware of the imagery and language used – enemy, weapon, combat, sword, cutting and so on. Once you get beyond that, and use those words as metaphors, a lot can be gleaned from the book.

To adapt the book to our time, an enemy could be a metaphor for competitor. The Book Of Five Rings emphasizes the importance of practicing and mastering your art – becoming adept at what you do. Your strategy should either be decisive or fluid. You have a fluid strategy when you have obstacles in your way. Musahi outlines Principles of the Way of Strategy. Though the principles are over three and a half centuries old, they are still applicable.

Do not think dishonestly
The Way is in training
Become acquainted with every art
Know the Ways of all professions
Distinguish between gain and loss in worldly matters
Develop intuitive judgment and understanding for everything
Perceive those things which cannot be seen
Pay attention even to trifles
Do nothing which is of no use

From the book, I found the following to be insightful nuggets:

Lay your plans with true measure and then perform the work according to plan, thus you pass through life
The strategist makes small things into big things. The principle of strategy is having one thing, to know ten thousand things
Everything is difficult at first
If you do not look at things on a large scale it will be difficult for you to master strategy
Do what you have to do, even if it means doing it alone
Discern your competitor’s capability and know your strong points
Do not show your hand. Do not let everybody know what you’re doing
If your strategy doesn’t work change it. When you’re in a deadlock change your technique. Abandon efforts that do not work, think of your situation in a fresh spirit
Whenever we have become preoccupied with small details, we must suddenly change into a large spirit, interchanging large with small

Five Great Ideas

You must train day and night to make quick decisions. In strategy it is necessary to treat training as a part of normal life with your spirit unchanging
There is timing in everything. Timing in Strategy cannot be mastered without a great deal of practice
In strategy, it is important to see distant things as if they were close and to take a distanced view of close things
The Way to Understanding is through experience
People in this world look at things mistakenly, and think that what they do not understand must be the void. This not true void. It is bewilderment.When your spirit is not in the least clouded, when the clouds of bewilderment clear way, there is the true void (By knowing things that exist, you can know that which does not exist; that is the void)

If you can get past some of the disturbing imagery you could gain a lot from The Book Of Five Rings. This is a book where you can take its concepst and apply them to your work and life. I recommend The Book of Five Rings.