We go to war every day —
        …against competitors, clients, crises, deadlines, and even their own self-doubt.

Most people fight with emotion.
They swing wildly…

And they lose energy, money, and time —
      …because they mistaken movement for strategy.

Sun Tzu warned against this 2,500 years ago.  

He said warriors who spend more time calculating and never move until they can ensure a win go into battle already victorious, while those wishful thinkers who act first and then seek victory are doomed to fail.

To this day, great schools like Harvard and the U.S Navy; and leading sports teams, and countless leaders, like Bill Gates, Margaret Thatcher, and even emperors like Napoleon, made Sun Tzu’s Art of War a daily reading ritual.  Why?

Even violent drug lords, mafia bosses and terrorists obsess over this little book. Why?

Before I answer that, let me tell you a bit more about the free booklet I promised you above. 

I call it The 16 Strategies of Psychological Warfare. 

The booklet comes from years of studying books like The Art of War + ancient Indian books (like the Arthashastra) + ancient Japanese books—all on the same subject.  Strategy, leadership & power. 

You see, during ancient times, these books were kept top secret because they had, and still have, the power to topple Kingdoms. They were only available to royal leaders, their advisors and military generals to prepare and guard against psychological warfare.

In all fairness, the world is infinitely more psychologically violent. Social media. Marketing. Algorithms. AI. All of them are weapons aimed at capturing your most prized possession—your mind. Then there are colleagues, all vying for the same scarce positions. 

Now, more than ever, Sun Tzu’s Art of War should be essential reading for anyone hoping to thrive in this fast-paced, highly competitive world.

But there’s a problem…

Studying these ancient masterpieces is like learning a musical instrument. You could take 20 years learning it alone and doing it wrong, or an infinitely shorter time with a teacher.

But even then, it depends, which teacher.  

Here’s what I mean (please bear with me here)

The Art of War is a Chinese classic written 2,500 years ago, and it was translated for the first time by a French missionary, Amiot (1772). The first English translation came in 1910 by Giles, vastly different from Amiot. It’s as if they were translating from entirely different original texts. But Why?

Amiot was taken in by the poetry of The Art of War and portrayed Sun Tzu with artistic and esoteric qualities (almost like a magician).  He fell into the trap of reading it shallowly. In fact, the title, “The Art of War”, came from French translators.  A more accurate translation is “Master Sun’s Military Methods.” Far less dramatic.

We know this today because other texts by ancient Chinese generals of the era have since been discovered by archaeologists, some also titled “Military methods.”  For example, Sun Bin’s Military methods—of whom many think descended from Sun Tzu—is another shining example of strategy. Then there is Zhuge Liang’s Military methods.  Some scholars think he even surpassed Sun Tzu, since he never lost a battle throughout a lifetime of continuous warfare with some of China’s most famous generals like Cao Cao and Sima Yi.  His stories are even featured in Robert Greene’s The 48 Laws of Power — see Law 5.

In contrast, Giles portrayed Sun Tzu as a pragmatic, cunning and sometimes ruthless warlord. You see, Giles wrote when the U.S was in the clutches of an intellectual trend now known as American Pragmatism.  So, he injected a militaristic, no-nonsense, kick-the-door-down attitude in his translation. 

But both of them were wrong.

It took me eight years to figure this out.  To be honest, I stumbled upon it when a Chinese professor, fluent in the language and the culture, explained it.  Since then, I have depended on only one translation of Sun Tzu’s Art of War, and I have never seen the book the same again.

This is the translation you will receive when you come to my workshop.  (Instructions for joining the workshop are available below)

…but first…

A slight detour: Do you know why Whiskey is 43% alcohol, while beer is only 5%?

Both the beer-making and whiskey-making processes start the same way. Water and Barley are pounded to release sugars.  Then yeast is added and kept in a warm room. As the yeast eats the sugar, it releases alcohol — this is called fermentation. However, the yeast becomes poisoned by the alcohol, which stops the fermentation process. That’s why beer has about 5% alcoholic concentration.

Whiskey includes an extra step. Our ancestors figured out that alcohol boils at 78°C, whereas water boils at 100°C. So, when making Whiskey, the fermented mash is heated, and the alcohol evaporates first, which is captured and cooled. This cooled (or distilled) liquid, with a much higher and purer alcoholic concentration, is the beginning of Whiskey.

Why am I telling you this? 

That’s because studying The Art of War is like making Whiskey. Most people read the book, like any other, and get drunk on a shallow 5% understanding. 

However, a teacher with distilled knowledge can give you a more potent understanding of the timeless book. Not only will you consume the book, but you will learn to distil its knowledge yourself. You will become a refined strategic thinker, like a fine bottle of Whiskey.

So, come and get baptised in The Art of War:

You will arrive at 8:00 at a secret location, somewhere in Mulderdrift.  You will be surrounded by nature, a river not too far from the conference room, and a space built for deep thinking and relaxation. You will be greeted with a light breakfast and meet your cohort members.

1. 09:00—session 1: I will teach you Sun Tzu’s underlying philosophy. By breaking down the book into LEGO blocks. You will be able to put it together again in any situation you face.  In fact, you might as well throw the book away because you’ll have its principles firmly imprinted in your new strategic mindset.
2. 11:00—session 2: You will get a ready-to-use framework. Over the years, I developed a cheat-sheet—a one-page document I use as a map to understand any strategic situation and to plan ahead; all based on Sun Tzu’s Art of War, of course, but at a glance.  This cheat sheet is yours as well if you come.
3. 13:00: LUNCH (of course, there will be snacks served before lunch)
4. 14:00—session 3: AI Situation Analysis Prompts: As you likely know, AI is powerful, but unless you engineer your prompt, you will get generic answers scraped from popular blogs. I have developed specific prompts you can use to get a deep analysis of any situation; it will be like having Sun Tzu himself in the room with you. 
5. 15:00—session 4, Strategic Dialogue: You probably have pressing strategic issues to discuss. From 3 pm, it will be your turn to apply the lessons you would have learned on the day to a real-life situation, with me and your cohort members in the room. We will probe and ask serious questions to refine your strategy. 
6. 16:00—session 5: Make new strategic friends: Much has been lost and gained from decisions. The most effective people have a confidant, and your cohort members will become new strategic thinking partners. You will form new and important relationships.

Let me tell you a sad story about someone who refused to listen

A friend of mine inherited a business some years ago. A successful garden service with 7 teams, maintaining gardens in 15 suburbs. You see, his father, who founded the business, died when my friend was still fairly young—in his mid-twenties. Although he understood the operations, since he worked with his father, he had yet to appreciate strategy.

Of course, I recommended The Art of War. But he thought it was some stupid old book—philosophy, bla bla bla…. How wrong he was!

He didn’t realise that he had to rise to the level of strategist, where operations are only 1 of 5 pieces of the strategy puzzle (according to Sun Tzu). Eventually, his team rebelled against him, he lost a few clients, and the business was bought for next to nothing by a competitor.

Now, I am inviting you to the big table of strategic thinking—the table of kings and emperors. This is an offer to learn in 8 hours what took me 16 years to grasp.

• We will spend a day together — only 14 of us in a room: (12 students and my two assistants). The sessions are intimate so that we can go deep, use real-life examples, and tear into the issues that keep you up at night.
• Food and drinks in a natural setting: My workshops are hosted at a secret venue, deep in nature, somewhere in nature (in Muldersdrift).  Not too far from Joburg—so you can drive there in 40min if you’re from Joburg— but it feels far from all the noise.  Your only distraction will be wild animals walking by or birds landing on your table. Breakfast, lunch and an evening snack, prepared to the highest quality and taste, will be served. This will not be “conference food”; it will be proper chef-prepared nourishment, fit for strategic leaders.
• In your learning material, you will get: the right copy of Sun Tzu’s Art of War and a copy of another rare Chinese classic—hidden for over 2000 years, written by kings who lived 500 years after Sun Tzu’s era, and studied him like detectives.  Plus, you will get the cheat sheet I prepared and a profile of everyone attending.