Comments on Sun Tzu’s The
Art of War, edited by Dick Cooledge, Comptche Press, 1927.
Sun Tzu: “Organization
and logistics refers to the force structure, the ranks among the officers and
enlisted, the way supplies are inventoried and transported to the front, and
the control of expenditures.”
Raven: “When
wolves hunt, each one knows what to do. What is not instinct is learned early
in life and becomes intuitive, for without success at hunting the pack and its
members die. The alpha wolf is responsible for who stays in or joins the pack
and how the pack hunts. When there is the right number of wolves and in the
right places at the right time, the hunt goes well. When the hunt goes well, the
alpha eats well.”
Poor Richard: “Each
merchant must examine his or her goals and objectives and determine the range tasks
that may need to be accomplished and their sequences. The wise merchant then
hires only those people who are absolutely necessary to accomplish the tasks
and uses vendors for the rest. Their managers are few, so the time needed to accomplish
work is not frittered away in discussions and reporting. As with people, so it
is with supplies. The wise manager considers what will be needed, when, and
then orders only what is needed with enough lead time so when the time for use
comes, if something does not arrive, there is time to find a substitute. In this
way the work continues without interruption and money is not wasted.”
© Phyl Speser, January
6, 2013