“The Art of War is…about how you deal with the cards that life has dealt you – it is a holistic approach to winning.”
Sun Tzu‘s Art Of War is one rare book that never fails to teach me something every time I read it. So when I saw the book “The Art Of War For Wowen” from Ate Beb’s house few weeks ago, I can’t help myself but ask her to lend it to me, even if I already got file of books at home that I need to read. I’ve seen lots of translations of the original Art Of War in the bookstores. There are many books that uses this approach to many non-military areas such as The Art of War for Executives, The Art of War for Managers and The Art of War for Business. I never read any translations other than the original until now. Chin-Ning Chu‘s Art Of War for Women leads me back to the original Art Of War except that it concentrate more on applying the strategies in a womanly approach. It discuss how women climb the business world and the challengers we usually encounters.
Honestly, I wasn’t fully aware how women are treated differently in business world. I never experienced it personally nor entertain the idea. For me, everyone is the same, no gender, race or color can distinguish one from another in corporate world. It’s all about skills, talents and knowledge. At least thats what I believe before reading this book. I only knew a little about office politics, I’ve seen a few sometimes but I never consider myself involve in any of those issues. This book offers a number of examples of women who claimed they were helpless, mistreated, and unfairly turned down for promotions and career advancement. But sometimes these women had actually sabotaged their own chances.
This book encourages women to be honest with themselves. What makes us happy? What do we want out of life? What are our strengths and weaknesses? There are no right or wrong answers. Like Sun Tzu’s Art of War this book doesn’t offer specific answer. It is all about strategy. An art in which all of the factors are interrelated and every situation is so unique.
One part of the book that I like is the analogy between the glass slippers and combat boots. Some women want glass slippers. Their perfect world includes prince charming, a castle and princess life. Some women want combat boots. They want to enter the battle and conquer the business world. Each option is fine and good. But sometimes women tried to wear glass slippers with military clothes or coordinate combat boots with a ball gown. That’s where the conflict is. Neither of the two situation works. Because deep down, we’re not being honest with what makes us happy. The question is “What kind of shoes do we want to wear: combat boots or glass slippers?
“We still have that Cinderella syndrome, and have a glass slipper somewhere in our heart.
We’re all waiting around for our Prince Charming to rescue us from the workplace. Certainly, this attitude is not for the battlefield of business. In business, you need a combat boot mentally.”
Climbing the ladder of success in stilettos is not as easy as it sounds and this book is a simple guide for women who wants to make it on top. There’s a lot of practical ideas and relevant advice that will surely worth every women’s time.
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