The Art of Politics & Campaigning - How Sun Tzu Can Advance Your Political Aspirations (ePub)

This material is useful regardless of the size of the campaign arena and is easily scalable from running for class president up to a national electoral challenge.

During the last 100 years, many writers have applied Sun Tzu's book on war to business, sports, and, of course, various levels of politics. His instructions, considerations, suggestions, and warnings have been directly integrated into offensive and defensive strategies and tactics that have been used in all types of governments from the dictatorial to socialistic to democratic. The political playing arena can be as small as a neighborhood to as large as the entire planet. The strategies and tactics of war are presented to advance one political player (person or idea) over another.

Your tactics will focus on the many ways to confront opponents, directly or indirectly. The book "Psychology of Gamesmanship" provides many tactical tools that can be applied to the political arena.

From the "Art of War"...
"The art of war is of vital importance to the State. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected.

From the "Art of Politics & Campaigning"...
The art of political competition begins with your commitment to successfully win a position that you want to occupy. In the process, you will have to raise people's confidence in your knowledge and ability to present yourself, your capability to perform the duties of the position, and how well you are able to respond to setbacks. It requires an expansion of your mental awareness. Preparation for predictable and unpredictable situations is critical to the campaign's success. Improper or incomplete readiness always results in opportunities to experience abject embarrassment.

Once publicly committed to the race, you can't quit or even appear to give up – even when the world knows that a snowflake dropping into a pan of boiling water has a better chance of survival than you do winning. If you did, you could never find a single supporter willing to help you in another campaign.

Continuing the battle, even against overwhelming odds will keep you in consideration for future political opportunities. When organizations and powerful individuals consider your qualifications, being known as a "quitter" will guarantee your exclusion from the short list.