Sun Tzu’s The Art of War and John Kotter’s Leading Change

Business is a vital component of our modern world along with its continuous growth. In Sun Tzu’s The Art of War, he not only talks about ancient Chinese military tactics, but also how cohesion and strategy play integral roles in accelerating growth as a whole. Tzu’s literary work, which has been translated countless times, urges the development and vision of a sound strategy. Culture is often considered a focal point in the corporate world. Having a strategy that covers that idea of culture can facilitate in achieving its goals. He also defines strength as unity, not size, and discusses how to respond when circumstances shift rapidly. Sun Tzu, however, also incorporates the importance of leadership throughout his piece. John Kotter, the author of Leading Change, suggests that leaders are critical, under the façade of a single goal, in implementing change. According to Kotter, when leaders empower their workers to provide more insight and a larger role in the organization’s development, the company culture is given the ability to grow and flourish. The organization’s development comes with a lot of changes along the way. Kotter believes that change requires a steady and infinite push, as well as sustainability to make sure it stays. Both of these literary works present us with exquisite views on what it takes to develop and succeed. Sun Tzu’s Art of War and John Kotter’s Leading Change unite to emphasize comprehensible strategy, inevitable change and quality leadership in order to achieve corporate achievement.

A catalyst for organizational success is strategy. Having a solid plan can take your organization to new heights. So much preparation and analysis is necessary in order to prepare such a sound tactic. Being able to loo...

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... have the ability to rub off onto others, causing us to be leaders without us knowing. I feel as if I will be able to use that kind of mentality throughout my future endeavors. The ability to work with others, cohesion, is a quality that I will continue to work on in order to become a more successful businessman and human being. Both Sun Tzu’s The Art of War and John Kotter’s Leading Change synthesize almost effortlessly to show how cohesion, strategy and leadership are essential in becoming successful in a business setting.

Works Cited

Inkpen, Andrew C. "Southwest Airlines 2011." Thunderbird School of Global Management n.pag. Havard Business Review. Web. 24 Feb 2014.

Kotter, John P. Leading Change. Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1996. Print.

Sunzi and Samuel B. Griffith. The Art of War. London: Oxford University Press, 1963. Print.