--- title: 3 Things the Greatest Generals of History Can Teach You About Strategy description: Realize that war is no one’s end goal, but a means to achieve the end goal canonical: https://time.com/3754272/3-things-the-greatest-generals-of-history-can-teach-you-about-strategy/ author: Eric Barker article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-03-26T04:01:31.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:49:35.607Z article:section: Ideas og:title: 3 Things the Greatest Generals of History Can Teach You About Strategy og:description: Realize that war is no one’s end goal, but a means to achieve the end goal og:url: https://time.com/3754272/3-things-the-greatest-generals-of-history-can-teach-you-about-strategy/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf36fbf390af94c4a/698784b9cd6848f9b809a45d/480810991-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=478&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 478 og:image:height: 269 og:image:alt: chess-pieces-board og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 3 Things the Greatest Generals of History Can Teach You About Strategy twitter:description: Realize that war is no one’s end goal, but a means to achieve the end goal twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf36fbf390af94c4a/698784b9cd6848f9b809a45d/480810991-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=478&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 3 Things the Greatest Generals of History Can Teach You About Strategy > Sponsored content. 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Time follows Kelly and his twin brother, Mark, as they work the test the boundaries of long-term space travel._ by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Mar 26, 2015 4:01 AM UTC  Chess pieces on a board showing king Chess pieces on a board showing king Getty Images by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Mar 26, 2015 4:01 AM UTC ## 1) **Don’t do what your enemy is prepared for.** Frontal assaults against prepared defenses are stupid. Via [How Great Generals Win](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0393323161/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0393323161&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20): --- > “” --- Almost all successful attacks have hit enemies from the rear, from the flank, or anywhere it is not expected. Do not fight fair. Via [How Great Generals Win](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0393323161/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0393323161&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20): --- > “” --- And: Via [How Great Generals Win](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0393323161/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0393323161&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20): --- > “” --- ## 2) **Always attack from multiple angles** One big mess of soldiers charging forward is not strategic. Split your forces and hit the enemy from multiple fronts. Via [How Great Generals Win](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0393323161/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0393323161&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20): --- > “” --- ## 3) **Don’t focus on the fight. Focus on the end goal and you may not need to fight.** Realize that war is no one’s end goal. If you can break the enemy’s will or ability to fight, and you can win without conflict. Think about the politics of situation. Via [How Great Generals Win](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0393323161/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0393323161&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20): --- > “” --- **Join over 161,000 readers. Get a free weekly update via email** [**here**](http://eepurl.com/o6uAD)**.** Related posts: [New Harvard Research Reveals A Fun Way To Be More Successful](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/09/be-more-successful/) [The 8 Things The Happiest People Do Every Day](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/06/happiest-people/) [How To Stop Being Lazy And Get More Done – 5 Expert Tips](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/08/how-to-stop-being-lazy/) _Read next:_ [_How the Most Powerful People Get Things Done: 4 Tips From a White House Staffer_](http://time.com/3737636/get-things-done-tips-white-house-staffer/?iid=time%5Freadnext) [_Listen to the most important stories of the day._](http://time.com/newsletter/the-brief/?sl%5Fautoplay=true&xid=spl-fullbrief-article) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3754272/3-things-the-greatest-generals-of-history-can-teach-you-about-strategy/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3754272/3-things-the-greatest-generals-of-history-can-teach-you-about-strategy/"},"headline":"3 Things the Greatest Generals of History Can Teach You About Strategy","datePublished":"2015-03-26T04:01:31.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:49:35.607Z","description":"Realize that war is no one’s end goal, but a means to achieve the end goal","url":"https://time.com/3754272/3-things-the-greatest-generals-of-history-can-teach-you-about-strategy/","keywords":["Psychology"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf36fbf390af94c4a/698784b9cd6848f9b809a45d/480810991-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eric Barker","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/eric-barker/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf36fbf390af94c4a/698784b9cd6848f9b809a45d/480810991-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"chess-pieces-board","caption":"chess-pieces-board","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/psychology/","name":"Psychology"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3754272/3-things-the-greatest-generals-of-history-can-teach-you-about-strategy/","name":"3 Things the Greatest Generals of History Can Teach You About Strategy"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"A Year in Space: The Mission","description":"On March 28, NASA astronaut Scott Kelly begins a historic year in Space. 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