When strong, avoid them. If of high morale, depress them. Seem humble to fill them with conceit. If at ease, exhaust them. If united, separate them. Attack their weaknesses. Emerge to their surprise.

If the enemy opens the door, you must race in.

Therefore, just as water retains no constant shape, so in warfare there are no constant conditions.

When the higher officers are angry and insubordinate, and on meeting the enemy give battle on their own account from a feeling of resentment, before the commander-in-chief can tell whether or not he is in a position to fight, the result is ruin.

Carefully compare the opposing army with your own, so that you may know where strength is superabundant and where it is deficient.

Weak leadership can wreck the soundest strategy; forceful execution of even a poor plan can often bring victory.

Correct your mistake as soon as you have found it.