The Art of War · Part 3, Leading people · Idea 12 of 12

Ask the People Who Know

Sun Tzu on getting the truth from people, not guesses. From The Art of War by Sun Tzu, about the 5th century BC.

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Where it comes from.

The last chapter of The Art of War, credited to Sun Tzu, opens with a hard sum. Two armies can face each other for years, for a victory decided in a single day. Every one of those days costs a fortune.

So refusing to spend a little to learn the enemy’s plans is not thrift, the book argues. It is cruelty to your own people.

3 more screens in the appThe rest of the story, and where it turns up in your own week.
The idea in short

The last chapter of The Art of War says knowledge of the enemy cannot come from spirits, old cases or calculation. It can only come from other people, the ones who know. Around 205 BC, Han Xin moved only after his spies confirmed the other side’s best advice had been ignored. Then he asked that same adviser how to win the rest, and won Yan with a letter.

The answer you need is usually in someone else’s head. Practical advice: before a big choice, find one person who has lived it, and ask them.

Likely, on the evidence · checked against 4 sources

Make it yours.

Make it your step

Before your next big choice, find one person who has lived it and ask.

Ask your council

“I’m thinking of taking a job at another company. Who should I talk to before I decide?”

Sources.

  1. The Art of War, translated by Lionel Giles, Attributed to Sun Tzu (Project Gutenberg), 1910The text
  2. Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji), chapter 92: Han Xin, Marquis of Huaiyin, Chinese text, Sima Qian (Wikisource)The text
  3. Han Xin, Wikipedia, 2026
  4. Battle of Jingxing, Wikipedia, 2026

The Art of War, in 12 ideas.

  1. 1
    Count Before You CommitSun Tzu on weighing both sides before a fight
  2. 2
    Know Them, Know YourselfSun Tzu on knowing your rival and yourself
  3. 3
    First, Don’t LoseSun Tzu on making yourself hard to beat before you try to win
  4. 4
    Win Without the FightSun Tzu on why the best victory needs no battle
  5. 5
    Long Fights Cost EveryoneSun Tzu on why no one wins a drawn-out war
  6. 6
    Leave Them a Way OutSun Tzu on why a cornered rival fights hardest
  7. 7
    Push Where It GivesSun Tzu on putting your effort where resistance is weakest
  8. 8
    Quiet, Then QuickSun Tzu on patience first and speed when the moment comes
  9. 9
    Never Move in AngerSun Tzu on why anger is a bad reason to act
  10. 10
    Kind, Not SoftSun Tzu on caring for your people without spoiling them
  11. 11
    The Five Ways Leaders FallSun Tzu on the five faults that ruin a leader
  12. 12
    Ask the People Who KnowSun Tzu on getting the truth from people, not guesses
PreviousThe Five Ways Leaders Fall
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Read the rest in Counsel.

Ask the People Who Know and the other 11 ideas of The Art of War, a minute at a time.

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Every idea is drawn from the public-domain text, and its names, dates and quotes are checked against the sources listed with it. The paintings are made for Counsel; they show the scene, not a historical record.

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