An interesting post by Gordon Smith concludes "the study of law and strategy views the world from the perspective of a business and asks: how can we use law to gain a competitive advantage?"
It's a serious post and makes a very good point. But my immediate reaction was rather flippant; namely, "I've got to churn out a book on how lawyers can use Sun Tzu's The Art of War to win."
But I probably won't. In the first place, it's probably been done. (It has.) In the second place, The Art of War is one of the most overused pieces of nonsense in the book business/business book field these days. as The Economist observed a while back:
The “Art of War” is widely used by after-dinner speakers short of ideas. .... Sun Tzu beat the Christmas-cracker industry by two –and-a-half millennia.
In the West Sun Tzu’s advice has been adapted for almost every aspect of human interaction from the boardroom to the bedroom. The publishing industry feeds on Sun Tzu spin-offs, churning out motivational works such as “Sun Tzu For Success: How to Use the Art of War to Master Challenges and Accomplish the Important Goals in Your Life” (by Gerald Michaelson and Steven Michaelson, 2003), management advice such as “Sun Tzu for Women: The Art of War for Winning in Business” (Becky Sheetz-Runkle, 2011) and sporting tips such as “Golf and the Art of War: How the Timeless Strategies of Sun Tzu Can Transform Your Game” (Don Wade, 2006). Amazon offers 1,500 titles in paperback alone.
And they all suck.
But there's still a lot of bucks to be made with one of those books with a title like "How to be Super-Excellent and Greatly Achieve Great Super-Greatness Excellently while Clearing Up Your Cellulite and Winning Every Case Greatly."
So I'll pass on the Sun Tzu angle. ... Think ... How about "Be a Nelson of the Law: How Mahan's The Influence of Sea Power upon History Provides Winning Legal Strategies"? ... Or "The Insurgent Lawyer: Using 'The U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual' to Win Every Case"?
All I need is the right hook and I can make a mint. Suggestions welcome.
Comments