“Already the author of several works, including the excellent Introduction to Strategy, co-written with Vincent Desportes, Jean-François Phelizon returns here with an unusual book. Advancing his argument through 712 maxims arranged in fourteen chapters, the author adopts a distinctive pedagogical approach: while each maxim can be read on its own, together they form a work of deeper coherence. This is all the more true because each one is carefully weighed and invites reflection. The book therefore belongs to that very particular category of bedside reading: a work that cannot be read in one sitting if one wishes to draw the full benefit of its lessons.

In terms of substance, one should note the author’s particular attention to two aspects that are as essential as they are, relatively speaking, underexplored in the literature. The first concerns narrative and its strategic effects: in a complex world, no political or strategic action can do without meaning, lest it be distorted by the adversary. This necessarily involves one’s relationship to people. At this level, the author appears to be positively influenced by social psychology.

The second aspect is time, both objective and subjective, with which one must learn to play if one is not to fall into the trap of systematically seeking a decisive outcome, while the adversary pursues long-term objectives whose horizon is constantly shifting. Well written and clear, this is both a particularly successful essay on strategy and a deep dive into strategic philosophy. Any reader can only gain from reading it.”

— Géostratégies

“There are many officers who pride themselves on transposing their knowledge of military art to the business world. Far more useful, however, is the reverse path offered by Jean-François Phelizon, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Saint-Gobain, in his latest work: A New Art of War. As he rightly writes: ‘It used to be said that money was the sinew of war; today, it is less money than opinion that has become the true sinew of war. It used to be customary to favor direct actions of force; today, it is rather indirect actions that must be invented and implemented.’

The author is a keen connoisseur of strategic analysis, which he has examined in detail across some ten books combining references to Chinese thought with the demands of chess. Here, he provides a comprehensive picture of the threats and risks facing both state and economic organizations. And the field of possible aggression seems limitless: ‘The more human societies become market-based, the more they need security.’ Beyond the blows that may be dealt to companies, institutions, or citizens, Jean-François Phelizon points to the effects produced by state responses. He highlights the temptation of an anticipatory surveillance society that would justify its hold over the population through an apparently legitimate concern for the prevention of attacks. ‘Regular forces derive great advantages from the expansion of the notion of secrecy,’ he observes. In the effort to strengthen the security of persons and property, the decisive differentiating factor seems, more than ever, to lie in the possession of information. Information can secure leadership for a company, a strategic advantage in a negotiation, or better financial conditions in a transaction. Whether on a battlefield, in the corridors of a boardroom, or on a trading floor, it is knowledge that creates prosperity — whether it is a matter of protecting knowledge already acquired or increasing it. The remaining challenge is to identify which piece of data will carry added value. ‘The quality of information does not lie in whether it is public or secret. The nature of secrets is more diverse than the classification usually used by political and military institutions. Not all secrets are equal, and not all ways of concealing information are equal. Between what should be known, what is hinted at, what is half-hidden, and what is not shown at all, there is a continuum that must be managed,’ warns the industrial leader. Jean-François Phelizon knows the workings of international trade too well to formulate his strategic concepts in an obscure manner. In a clear and concrete style, he offers the reader analyses nourished both by his operational experience and his academic knowledge. The increasingly digitized society in which we live can lead us to believe in the imperative need to accelerate our exchanges constantly, to the point of reducing time for reflection and analysis to a minimum. ‘Dominating time therefore consists in seeking the annihilation of the adversary, whereas playing with time consists in seeking the attrition of his forces before considering their dislocation,’ warns Jean-François Phelizon. The time devoted to reading this book is undoubtedly part of the useful preparation for a better understanding of the world around us, in its economic, political, and profoundly human dimensions.” — Défis (Revue de l’INHESJ).

“This book was written by a specialist in economics as well as in strategy. Jean-François Phelizon has already published Strategic Action in 1998, Introduction to Strategy in 2007 with General Desportes, and Rereading Sun Tzu’s Art of War in 1999. It is very much in the direct line of this last work that A New Art of War is situated. The 712 axioms of J.-F. Phelizon are fully of their time — the first axiom opens with a timely ‘formerly’ — a time of asymmetrical wars in which public opinion constitutes a formidable ‘invisible hand’ as shown in Chapter V on narrative.

Hence axiom no. 22: ‘The theater of operations is far broader than the place where fighting takes place, weapons in hand. It encompasses economic, financial, legal, media, and digital terrains.’ And axiom no. 24: ‘Whoever thinks that only an army wages battle does not belong to his time.’” — Philippe Chapleau (Ouest-France).