Sun Tzu

Tareq al-Suwaidan presents Sun Tzu, in his account of the history of management, as the author of the oldest surviving book on the subject, The Art of War ¹.

Al-Suwaidan says the estimates place the writing of The Art of War about three thousand years before the Common Era, and that the book is translated and in print (needs_source: the date is the speaker's figure, unchecked) ¹. He explains that the book is military at its core, teaching the commander how to run his army and deal with opponents, with rules that mix deception and good administration ². In his view much of human development had a military basis, and modern management books such as The Art of War in Business have built anew on this old foundation ³.