Whenever I conduct a course on Sun Tzu's Art of War, participants are often fascinated by the strategies, tactics and timeless wisdom that have guided leaders, generals and businesspeople for over 2,500 years.
However, I always remind them of one important fact:
Sun Tzu did not create strategic thinking. He inherited it from something much older.
That source is Yijing (I Ching), often regarded as the foundation of Chinese philosophy, strategy and leadership thinking.
Many people know that Sun Tzu teaches us how to win. But fewer people realize that before we can choose a strategy, we must first understand the situation we are facing.
This is where Yijing comes in.
Sun Tzu answers the question:
"What should I do?"
Yijing answers the more fundamental question:
"What is really happening?"
Think about the decisions leaders face every day:
Should I expand or consolidate?
Should I confront or cooperate?
Should I invest now or wait?
Should I change jobs or stay?
Should I push harder or be patient?
Most mistakes are not caused by poor execution. They happen because people misread the situation itself.
- A leader may use the right strategy at the wrong time.
- A manager may push when patience is needed.
- An entrepreneur may persist when adaptation is required.
Yijing helps us see the hidden patterns behind events, relationships and decisions.
Many people mistakenly view Yijing as a fortune-telling tool. After studying and applying it for decades, I have come to a different conclusion.
The true power of Yijing is not prediction but pattern recognition.
Successful leaders, investors and entrepreneurs are often able to see patterns before others do. They recognize shifts, opportunities and risks earlier than the crowd.
Yijing develops this ability.
Through the interaction of Yin and Yang, 8 Trigrams (Bagua) and the 64 Hexagrams and 5 Moving Elements (Wu Xing), Yijing describes 64 recurring life situations that every person, leader and organization will eventually encounter.
These situations have remained remarkably relevant across thousands of years because human nature has not changed.
Technology changes. Markets change. Business models change.
But human behavior remains largely the same.
This is why Sun Tzu's Art of War remains relevant today.
And this is why Yijing remains relevant today.
In my Sun Tzu programs, I often tell participants:
Sun Tzu teaches strategy.
Yijing teaches situational intelligence.
One teaches you how to act.
The other teaches you when to act.
One teaches you how to win.
The other teaches you how to recognize the nature of the battlefield before the battle begins.
Together, they form a powerful framework for leadership, decision-making and personal growth.
If you have ever wondered why some people consistently make better decisions under uncertainty, the answer is often not intelligence alone.
It is their ability to understand the situation before everyone else does.
That is the gift of Yijing.
And that is why every serious student of Sun Tzu should eventually study Yijing.
Upcoming 1-day Yijing Leadership and Management courses:
1. 2 July 2026 Thursday https://asiatrainers.org/yjlm
2. 24 July 2026 Friday https://asiatrainers.org/yjlm1
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