--- description: History says you need an element of surprise title: What Strategy Secret Can You Learn From Great Military Leaders? image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf2567af0540112f0/6986a73e1eebf78132373148/toy-soldiers.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Ideas](/section/ideas/) ## Ideas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Psychology](/tag/psychology/) ## Psychology Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # What Strategy Secret Can You Learn From Great Military Leaders? by [Eric Barker](/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 7, 2014 4:01 AM CUT  Forward march Forward marchblackwaterimages—Getty Images by [Eric Barker](/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 7, 2014 4:01 AM CUT Successful strategy is about **surprise**. Running straight at a problem when it’s well established is suicide. Throughout military history frontal assaults against prepared defenses have failed. 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 "undefined"): --- > “” --- History says you need an element of surprise. Almost all successful attacks have hit enemies from the rear, from the flank, or anywhere it is not expected: --- > “” --- And: --- > “” --- If you’re a little David against a big Goliath, it’s _definitely_ about surprise. You need to break the rules to win. When underdogs play by the rules, they lose 72% of the time. When they break with established strategy and innovate, they _win_ 64% of the time. Via [Power](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0061789089/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0061789089&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20 "undefined"): --- > “” --- So how do you engineer surprise? Deliberately mislead the enemy. In his classic [The Art of War](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0195014766/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=spacforrent-20 "undefined"), Sun Tzu said “**All warfare is based on deception**“: --- > “” --- Deception is key. You’d be smart to heed the words of _The Godfather_: **Keep your friends close — and your enemies closer**. Research shows dominant leaders [really do](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/06/was-the-godfather-right-should-you-keep-frien/ "undefined") exactly that: --- > “” --- **_This piece originally appeared on_** [**_Barking Up the Wrong Tree_**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/12/strategy-secret-learn-great-military-leaders/ "undefined")**_._** **Join 25K+ readers.** Get a free weekly update via email [here](http://eepurl.com/o6uAD "undefined"). Related posts: [What three things can we learn about strategy from the greatest generals of history?](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/08/what-three-things-can-we-learn-about-strategy/ "undefined") [How can we spur innovation at work — and in ourselves?](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/09/how-can-we-spur-innovation-at-work-and-in-our/ "undefined") [What can we learn from Sun Tzu’s Art of War?](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2011/05/what-can-we-learn-from-sun-tzus-art-of-war/ "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3475976/strategy-secret-learn-great-military-leaders/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3475976/strategy-secret-learn-great-military-leaders/"},"headline":"What Strategy Secret Can You Learn From Great Military Leaders?","datePublished":"2014-10-07T04:01:47.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T07:57:11.873Z","description":"History says you need an element of surprise","url":"https://time.com/3475976/strategy-secret-learn-great-military-leaders/","keywords":["Psychology","Military"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf2567af0540112f0/6986a73e1eebf78132373148/toy-soldiers.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/bltf2567af0540112f0/6986a73e1eebf78132373148/toy-soldiers.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Toy soliders","caption":"Toy soldiers","creditText":"blackwaterimages—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/3475976/strategy-secret-learn-great-military-leaders/","name":"What Strategy Secret Can You Learn From Great Military Leaders?"}}]}] ```