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The Book of Five Rings is relevant to what, exactly? Why do business guys latch onto stuff like this so hard, it is literally a book about sword fighting, it t

The Book of Five Rings is relevant to what, exactly? Why do business guys latch onto stuff like this so hard, it is literally a book about sword fighting, it tells you where to put your feet, how to grip the sword, to keep your pinkie loose and grip with your forefingers. How is that strategy going to help your SaaS business?

barry-cotter 9y ago
Same reason everybody loves The War of Art and The Inner Game of Tennis or Impro. The lessons you can learn from them are applicable far beyond the fields the books are technically about.
- icelancer 9y ago
  >>Same reason everybody loves The War of Art and The Inner Game of Tennis or Impro. The lessons you can learn from them are applicable far beyond the fields the books are technically about. Generally the reason people like these books is because openly advertising you like them makes you sound enlightened.
  - ericd 9y ago
    I'm sure a lot of people start reading The Art of War because of a cargo-culting impulse, but it actually does have some interesting thoughts in it. You might enjoy it.
    - barry-cotter 9y ago
      The War of Art != The Art of War https://www.amazon.com/War-Art-Winning-Creative-Battle/dp/1501260626 https://www.amazon.com/War-Art-Winning-Creative-Battle/dp/15...
      - ericd 9y ago
        Oh, huh, I guess my brain autocorrected, thanks for the correction. It sounds like you'd recommend it?
- PostOnce 9y ago
  Or so the readers claim. What lessons, specifically, can we derive from the Book of Five Rings that apply to modern business? If you or anyone else can elaborate on that in the context of The Book of Five Rings specifically, I would be fascinated to hear about it.
  - kybernetikos 9y ago
    I'm not someone with amazing business achievements to boast about but I was inspired by Musashis argument that every move should include the intention to cut your enemy. It's so easy to get caught up in the role play of tactics - thinking you are parrying or doing this or doing that and losing track of the actual goal. Its not as if your every move will succeed in cutting and that's fine but dont get so caught up in the form of what you are doing that you forget the purpose. But I didn't read the Book of Five Rings because I wanted to get good at business, I read it because Musashi seemed like a fascinating character. > The primary thing when you take a sword in your hands is your intention to cut the enemy, whatever the means. Whenever you parry, hit, spring, strike or touch the enemy's cutting sword, you must cut the enemy in the same movement. It is essential to attain this. If you think only of hitting, springing, striking or touching the enemy, you will not be able actually to cut him. It also speaks to efficiency. Just like in go you don't want any of your moves to be doing just one thing.
- alexasmyths 9y ago
  "The lessons you can learn from them are applicable far beyond the fields the books are technically about." The 'Art of War' is about winning in a zero sum game. For most of history, that's the only way wealth could be created, i.e. 'taken'. The Valley in particular, is a testament to the opposite - that value can be created out of thin air, that we can 'grow the pie a lot, and just take a small slice as profit and everyone wins'. The 'Art of War' is therefore a bad business book for so many reasons - it presupposes that the only way you can win, is by destroying others. Surely, in some markets/situations it may be like that, but overall, it's antithetical to the premise of innovation. Gates was somewhat like that Jobs a little less. The 'new gen' are not really like that so much. I think Zuck & co. are highly competitive, but not conquerors.

barry-cotter 9y ago

Same reason everybody loves The War of Art and The Inner Game of Tennis or Impro. The lessons you can learn from them are applicable far beyond the fields the books are technically about.

icelancer 9y ago
>>Same reason everybody loves The War of Art and The Inner Game of Tennis or Impro. The lessons you can learn from them are applicable far beyond the fields the books are technically about. Generally the reason people like these books is because openly advertising you like them makes you sound enlightened.
- ericd 9y ago
  I'm sure a lot of people start reading The Art of War because of a cargo-culting impulse, but it actually does have some interesting thoughts in it. You might enjoy it.
  - barry-cotter 9y ago
    The War of Art != The Art of War https://www.amazon.com/War-Art-Winning-Creative-Battle/dp/1501260626 https://www.amazon.com/War-Art-Winning-Creative-Battle/dp/15...
    - ericd 9y ago
      Oh, huh, I guess my brain autocorrected, thanks for the correction. It sounds like you'd recommend it?
PostOnce 9y ago
Or so the readers claim. What lessons, specifically, can we derive from the Book of Five Rings that apply to modern business? If you or anyone else can elaborate on that in the context of The Book of Five Rings specifically, I would be fascinated to hear about it.
- kybernetikos 9y ago
  I'm not someone with amazing business achievements to boast about but I was inspired by Musashis argument that every move should include the intention to cut your enemy. It's so easy to get caught up in the role play of tactics - thinking you are parrying or doing this or doing that and losing track of the actual goal. Its not as if your every move will succeed in cutting and that's fine but dont get so caught up in the form of what you are doing that you forget the purpose. But I didn't read the Book of Five Rings because I wanted to get good at business, I read it because Musashi seemed like a fascinating character. > The primary thing when you take a sword in your hands is your intention to cut the enemy, whatever the means. Whenever you parry, hit, spring, strike or touch the enemy's cutting sword, you must cut the enemy in the same movement. It is essential to attain this. If you think only of hitting, springing, striking or touching the enemy, you will not be able actually to cut him. It also speaks to efficiency. Just like in go you don't want any of your moves to be doing just one thing.
alexasmyths 9y ago
"The lessons you can learn from them are applicable far beyond the fields the books are technically about." The 'Art of War' is about winning in a zero sum game. For most of history, that's the only way wealth could be created, i.e. 'taken'. The Valley in particular, is a testament to the opposite - that value can be created out of thin air, that we can 'grow the pie a lot, and just take a small slice as profit and everyone wins'. The 'Art of War' is therefore a bad business book for so many reasons - it presupposes that the only way you can win, is by destroying others. Surely, in some markets/situations it may be like that, but overall, it's antithetical to the premise of innovation. Gates was somewhat like that Jobs a little less. The 'new gen' are not really like that so much. I think Zuck & co. are highly competitive, but not conquerors.