The Book of Leadership and Strategy: Lessons of the Chinese Masters [Paperback]

Thomas Cleary (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1992

The subtle arts of management and leadership have been developed over thousands of years by the Chinese. The Book of Leadership and Strategy represents the Taoist culmination of this long tradition and is one of the most prestigious works of ancient Chinese thought. Collected here are insightful teachings on the challenges of leadership on all levels, from organizational management to political statecraft. The translator, Thomas Cleary, has chosen and arranged these teachings to emphasize the most valuable lessons of Taoist wisdom for modern Western readers. Like Cleary's best-selling translation of The Art of War by Sun Tzu, this work will serve as an enlightening guide for people in business, politics, and government.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Are leaders born or made? If leadership skills can be imparted at all through words, this book, written some 2,000 years ago, offers some possibilities. And leave it to Thomas Cleary, who translates difficult works twice as fast as most of us read them, to bring us a crucial addition to classical tracts on war and leadership."—Japan Times

"This is wisdom for the new age. It's almost spooky how relevant are the words of these Taoist sages in this time of government excess and civil unrest. There are lessons here that our leaders and executives, and perhaps most importantly our children, could profit by."—Thom Calandra, financial columnist, San Francisco Examiner

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Chinese

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Product Details

• Paperback: 136 pages
• Publisher: Shambhala (September 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0877736677
• ISBN-13: 978-0877736677
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.3 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #154,862 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A philosophical look at leadership and strategy..., February 24, 2001

By 

Laura Haggarty (Northern KY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Book of Leadership and Strategy (Shambhala Pocket Classic) (Paperback)

This book is more philosophical than some others of similar titles and natures are. It views leadership and strategy through the lens of Taoist thinking, and as such is more concerned with the spiritual and ethical development of a leader. The book is broken into four sections: State and Society; Warfare; Peace; and Wisdom. Each is linked to the other, and follows the previous topic. There is a lot of discussion on the health of a given society, and how both the heads of a society as well as the people within it reflect and affect its overall health. There is a lot of focus on the causes and effects of warfare, as well as the ethics of waging war properly.

This is a small book, one that you can keep in your pocket or briefcase, perfect in size for reading on the train into work or while sitting in a doctor's office. It's full of essays that will make you think, and perhaps re-evaluate how you deal with certain situations in your life. It is worth buying, no question about that.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Extracts from the Huainan Tzu, June 4, 2005

By 

wiredweird "wiredweird" (Earth, or somewhere nearby) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Book of Leadership and Strategy: Lessons of the Chinese Masters (Paperback)

Cleary brings us another brief, readable translation from the Taoist canon. This time, it's a compilation of extracts from the Huainan Tzu (or Huainanzi). Unlike other books, this has multiple authors, guest philosophers in the court of a king of the small Huainan nation. If there's any choppiness in this list of brief lessons, it's probably due to the book's mixed origin rather than Cleary's editing.

He chose to arrange the aphoristic anecdotes into four chapters, on State, Warfare, Peace, and Wisdom. These readings are much less direct than other authors on statecraft - Han Fei Tzu or Sun Tzu are clearer to a modern reader, and more immediately applicable. Like other Taoist authors, these convey the sense that proper following of The Way is the only goal. Within The Way all other things, including peace, prosperity, and victory, ensue with the inevitability of water flowing down hill.

Some of these teachings are clear enough, though, and applicable immediately in today's world. "In early spring, ... pregnant animals are not to be killed and birds' eggs are not to be taken." Natural and agricultural resources need to be managed properly in order to stay productive for the long term. It's a lesson that is too rarely remembered in modern policy-making, when resources must be stretched to feed so many more people. Elsewhere, the Huainan masters direct their invasion forces not to destroy resources or plunder the populace, in order to keep the majority's good will after a change of regime. They knew this over two thousand years ago, but we're still applying the lesson only poorly today.

This isn't in the first rank of Taoist writings, but it's a readable and worthwhile addition for anyone who wants to dig a bit deeper. It complements Sun Tzu and Mo Tzu as much as it does Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu. It gives a little extra perspective on today's world, too.

//wiredweird

PS: This book's content also appears as one section of a larger collection, Cleary's "The Taoist Classics, Volume I."

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars up there with the bible, December 16, 1999

By 

E. Rivera "Ed" (New York) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Book of Leadership and Strategy: Lessons of the Chinese Masters (Paperback)

i read on the subject of eastern philosophy and the book of leadership and strategy is one that encompasses a typical taoist thought. very informative, and makes more sense than most holy books. thomas cleary is on my list of authors