Working Wisdom: quote about business and globalization

“In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity.”

This quote is attributed to Sun Wu or, as he is best known in the Western world, Sun Tzu (an honorific which means ‘Master Sun’). He was a high-ranking Chinese general, military strategist, writer and philosopher who is generally believed to have lived in the Eastern Zhou period of ancient China, somewhere between the sixth and the second century BC. Sun Tzu is traditionally credited as the author of The Art of War, a widely influential work on military strategy and tactics that has affected both Western and East Asian philosophy and military thinking. Many of his ideas remain relevant today and his writings on the themes of leadership, communication, planning and preparation have become popular among political leaders and business professionals. In addition to this chaos-related quote, for example, The Art of War states in Chapter 11 that a leader must be “serene and inscrutable” and capable of comprehending “unfathomable plans”.