War, Power, Strategy

War is seemingly everywhere around us, and not just the war in Iraq. There are culture wars, internet wars, business wars, nasty political wars. This all reflects something strange and new happening in society—a heightened level of conflict up and down the line, as more and more individuals are drawn into and involved in power struggles. It is a confusing and complicated battlefield for us all. The only way to really navigate this new world order is through a solid understanding of strategy, but there is much confusion and many misconceptions about this subject. Strategy is not a prescription for doing this or that in certain situations, but rather a philosophy, a way of looking at the world, a heightened form of rationality and consciousness. The most developed form of strategy comes from warfare, where for thousand of years extremely sound principles on how to handle conflict and competition have been conceived, tested and retested on the battlefield. Some of these principles include the supreme importance of mobility in thought and action, looking at the world through your rivals’ eyes, crafting plans that are detailed yet flexible, always taking the line of least expectation and least resistance. The art of war itself, as defined by Sun-tzu, is to win with minimum bloodshed and violence, an ideal that is rarely lived up to in war, but one that is of great value to study nonetheless. The apex is Grand Strategy, a philosophical approach to life which always aims at the most rational and far reaching solution to any problem. The knowledge contained in the art of war has for too long been relegated to elites and seen as an arcane subject. The premise of The 33 Strategies of War is that military strategy has incredible relevance to all kinds of everyday situations, problems, conflicts. The 33 Strategies is steeped in the philosophy of Sun-tzu, the tenets of grand strategy, and the practical wisdom contained in the military arts. It is an attempt to make the ideas and experiences of the greatest strategists in history—Napoleon, Hannibal, Queen Elizabeth I, T.E. Lawrence, Musashi, to name a few—as applicable and useful to your life as possible. Its goal is to make everyone his or her own general and master strategist.

[@CultofThings]

Respect to Robert Greene for not backing down.

[@cisi8819]

Jeff Doe i am very thankfull to. He open our eyes

[@leahguillory5681]

My favorite author💙💛😊🥇☀️

[@dev-tamim]

Me too

[@diceyending4622]

Robert went to war with the questioner in real time right before our eyes

[@Notabot437]

Lmao. It was getting interesting with the first guy.

[@John-qi9cj]

roberts intellect is terrifying

[@MrHarryc727]

Thanks Robert I am a Beast because of you!

[@liegelord1971]

I agree as a fellow strategist that strategy is a worldview and the process of strategic making is ideally a fluid concept...ever evolving, ever changing and adapting while never lose sight of the grand goal

[@alupelimjamekwana2174]

@@aronflip9353 I'm wondering the same thing.

[@gusb7711]

Robert was treated very poorly by the staff and guest. Robert, however, was brilliant.

[@joemecca611]

he does ok

[@dwight4k]

+Gus B May I ask how you know that? Do you work there? Or have you worked there?

[@rizla8602]

It's easy to be critical and ask why isn't something done another way, that's the weapon of swallow people, they are trying to act smart and that's all they can do! Long and healthy life to a master, who blew them away and he will always do! Man of knowledge and truth, viva la Rober Green!

[@donsilverson9927]

Who was the loser at the very beginning?

[@VersionBest]

Yeah the audience was rough. A few of them wanted to be confrontational rather than asking genuine questions regarding the topic of the talk. I am a software engineer so I can understand that some people who are in the same field as me can be arseh*le. These same people have an over inflated sense of self (basically a nice way of saying they're full of themselves). Like they're God. I suppose it comes with the territory when you're in this field. The people who are in this field knows what I'm talking about.

[@Michaelngo102]

What a presentation! Just want to say thank you to Robert. What a great work he has done. Definitely impacted my life for the better. So much practical knowledge in his books. The Law of Human Nature is a must read. Big respect. Thank you again.

[@SP9_Qc]

- Some of the people asking questions in the Q&A session were really rude with Robert. This is not the place to argue like that... In my opinion. - I really enjoyed the story of Musashi! Great speech Overall.

[@hollykuntz1922]

The guy who asked the last question was super annoying.

[@stevenoverlord]

They wanted to hear themselves talk

[@bigbossbeats2301]

This lecture is gold

[@n.d8001]

Humble guy. Brilliant guy. love him

[@andratoma9834]

👠 Amazing. Thank you for posting.

[@rachcliffe3182]

Where is his water? How inconsiderate! Bravo, Rob!

[@bebeezra]

It went sideways in the Q&A but it was an intriguing talk. When you hypothesize the impetus behind the Iraq invasion to illustrate your point, you're going to illicit an argumentative response regardless of the audience. His point was well made but the example used to make his point was too polarizing and a bit of a stretch. Regardless, loved the topic and the speaker's insights.

[@matbob7249]

Guy is raw power and wisdom. Absolute genius

[@stevenoverlord]

When you try to speak to people who think they are smarter than anyone else u get Q and A like this. I like how Robert handled the whole situation honestly but definitely didn't deserve to be interupted by the moderator, debated on semantics to people who want to hear them speak, and a non functioning mic lol

[@victorcortes8570]

I’m grateful that the previous comments demonstrate the horrible Q&A session. Now I saved some time for myself to reflect upon what Robert said. I’ve listened to the 33 strategies of War so hearing Robert’s insight helped me further understand his thesis.

[@cosmicocean6687]

Robert Green - Wonderful MS - Biggest Egomaniac

[@sherazahmad5232]

I don't know what you people are talking about, this is the exact kind of Q&A session that I like watching where spectators are not passive but are actively deciphering your arguments and looking for loopholes. People aren't supposed to be afraid of the guy on the stage and giving him freedom to be as vague as he wants. If only the whole world was like this.

[@arbazarR]

I believe it is a misunderstanding of the lesson itself. The book they discussed, was not created to talk about wars, but to take the strategies from wars and see the possibility to implement these strategies in daily life.

[@natarajrangayana]

Brilliant Very insightful Learnt a lot Thank you very much You are true master!

[@bedwardreach]

great speech, huge love from birmingham UK

[@solstice68]

Bedward Reach I

[@27sman]

Birmingham perry barr uk here mate

[@amicuscoach59]

Agreed. I lived in Redmond for 15 years and the majority of my friends were Microsofties. They are engineers, techies and are not endowed with the ability to be strategic. Trying to tie a shoe lace is a tough task. The twit is a prime example of techie thinking.

[@allybally0021]

Sun Tzu also said that 'Winning by minimum bloodshed may be wise....but doesn't make for good telly'. That was from his lesser known book 'Square Go!' - less sophisticated than the other one.

[@uchihakiller201]

Telly ??

[@skymark7914]

@@uchihakiller201 tv

[@miketython1550]

@@skymark7914 don’t know if you’re joking or not

[@skymark7914]

@@miketython1550 telly is television. It's how brits and irish people say it. Why would I be joking?

[@miketython1550]

@@skymark7914 because tellys weren’t invented when sun tzu was alive 🤣

[@roshankulatunga9830]

You have a fantastic capacity to deliver the accumulated knowledge to other people around the world. The War, Power, and Strategy lecture was very productive and the best of the best in your series of lectures. It created an interest to learn and master in military strategies, which is really my area of interest. Further, 10000 hours of accumulating knowledge is also another strategy to become an expert in an area of interest. Your teaching gave me the courage to step onto a new page in my life where I have started trusting myself and expecting to achieve the strategic heaven which you have described. Tripple Gem Bless you Mr. Greene

[@markhirstwood4190]

Great talk by Robert Greene.

[@kenanng]

Why i s Robert's name not even mentioned in the video description?

[@SavageStephen]

what separates a genius from the average is their understanding of history

[@anacletoperez3018]

Hope you got paid well for this Robert.

[@APerez89]

Anacleto? Really!??? 😂😂😂😂 Where's Refugio? Jk better than mine. At least yours is like a diamond... rare. 😉

[@moirangthemvishalsingh]

Why is the video quality so low and not in HD

[@einsteinzvice517]

What an enlightening session, Mr.Greene! I must REIGN over my ancient Neanderthalian tendency towards 'envy' in the hopes that one day perhaps I too may conduct a brilliant and 'Masterful' presentation! ;-P

[@FlamingRobzilla]

Bravo.

[@iceblue1457]

I think the question about Art of War in Japan and the Tet strategy are based on the documentary by History channel on the Art of War by Sun Tzu.

[@femmeNikita27]

Good to know. Thank you very much for this insight. I suppose cultural aspects might be vital in this issue. First of all Asian people will never admit failure, so the talk about faith in success might not be what it is in Western cultures. But I haven't watched this documentary yet so it's hard for me to fully comment on this in more detail. Another issue might be the fact that awareness of common soldiers sacrificed to pursue strategic goals usually would differ a lot , especially in Asian army, from the level of awareness of their generals, especially those at the top who planned the operation. In some cases common soldiers just knew they had to be present in some place but with no idea for what, not to mention unaware of being expected to die there in horrible way. Some of them were poor minority peasants not even speaking the same language that their generals did. So any speculations based on Western mindset related to Asian armies fighting wars are probably missing a point in many regards.

[@rugamba100]

love your presentation u a real master

[@raniatahoun568]

Brilliant!

[@egdapo]

Agreed!

[@OneMoreDesu]

Video starts at 02:40

[@j2times2006]

Jesus Christ the people in the audience must love to hear the sound of their own voices when they talk. Between dealing with these jagoffs and the horrendous sound issues I hope the check Robert cashed was a big one.

[@havenosmellleavenoname382]

Lol im p. sure the people in the crowd can manipulate the planert with their 00100100 b.s., robert green hangs out wit fiddy

[@havenosmellleavenoname382]

Greene*

[@ericw.4672]

Foddy

[@antoniamendonca8918]

I agree with you j2times2006 😊 he must have really felt peeved to be surrounded by simps like the arguer 😔

[@Steyreon]

Reading the comments I think I will skip the Q&A...great talk by Robert!

[@ndondiafrika249]

is it me, or those people asking questions just want to hear themselves talk?

[@floofiegaming8596]

Yes

[@jeffreypircher5095]

So this talk was at Microsoft…? The technology company?

[@Henok_T]

Application

[@andile5945]

it’s quite a shame really. It doesn’t appear as though they have read or perhaps I should say pondered over the contents of the book. Great talk nonetheless

[@akshaykamathb2788]

26:55 every battel is won or lost before it's evr fought 1:03:43 Napoleon says if ur army is motivated & u hv inspired it u hv 3 tm's d force of another army

[@doubledollaBILL]

1:12:58 1:03:40 Morale's chapter in the 33 Strategies symbol is the tide and the moons 🌙 effect on it

[@kashmalawazir7198]

Great wisdomised knowledge being deliverd.love from Pakistan

[@abdiazizhajibare4964]

Robert Greene is simply genius and a blessing to mankind

[@chain-wallet]

be like athena, not like ares

[@alpeetakozeltak2000]

Be like Jesus, love your enemies.

[@talhaaziz1049]

what a man

[@doubledollaBILL]

34:00 the owl 🦉 is the oldest still living fighter species in the Animal Kingdom, Dr. Robert writes about The Hawk (2nd oldest) in the 48 Laws chapter 35 Master The Art Of Timing if you will. Ares 🇬🇷 is to The Hawk as Athena is to The Owl 🦉

[@stevenoverlord]

Wow Bill gates has neglected this division of Microsoft 😷

[@getmartincarter]

Terrific lecture spoilt by the failure to edit out the microphone disfunction at the beginning

[@PenandBlade]

I found it charming

[@milicapuric2250]

Martin Carter Was it really spoiled?

[@getmartincarter]

Milica Puric - post production editing is an important tool ' hello can you hear me ... light switch ... it's on ... can you hear me now ... yes no ... etc "" this could be edited out

[@MrHarryc727]

This is why his books are outlawed in prison lol

[@erics3101]

Oh yes, I finally gotfinally got a copy of the art of seduction there, most lifw changing day of my life!

[@susymay7831]

Timestamps would greatly help your presentatioms.

[@IceThawing]

He look like the professor 👨🏻‍🏫

[@dangtran1808]

Anyone who thinks war is irrelevant go speak to a Ukrainian today. U may not be interested in war but war is interested in you

[@miketython1550]

Well said

[@markhirstwood4190]

Based on Greene's great book, The 33 Strategies of War, you can tell that Russia has: strategy, timing, superior weapons, better economy of means, unity of command, the moral high ground and what Sun Tuz calls 'shih', that is a position of massive potential force. Russia has won in advance. US 'empire' died when they fled the Taliban.

[@naiceeuploads8241]

Very poor video quality. C'me on this is at Microsoft!

[@Jollofpappi]

Shitty staff. He Could’ve managed the situation better than he did. I hate it when they put people with no leadership or organizational skills as organizers/leaders. Anyways, Great talk from Robert!

[@AnnaMishel]

Earring & Hair?

[@user-pf5xq3lq8i]

Leftist uniform.

[@coimbralaw]

WTF are you talking about?

[@johnhanks4260]

He was there because the chad was not introduced into the supreme lifetime royal court. We would have had Gore with better judgement instead. No parent issues.

[@anonmouse2259]

what did you just say

[@ButthurtImmigrant]

“The Handbook of a Psychopath” Robert Greene

[@mtango9985]

Why the hell would you argue with a speaker?Very disrespectful.

[@9aelie]

Of course the most ignorant person would ask the first question, it's like he's a walking, talking fox news. And of course everyone is an expert.

[@jayj7007]

••••

[@mothersrx]

The first person that asked him a question just wanted to be right. What a bum.

[@VideovigilanteUSA]

Microsoft research group joke with technology

[@saluztaguba1757]

Ano baanggusto mong gawinko par a maalis ang tampo mo kay. Ex

[@donydony9603]

Nbvhhh

[@grimmer2005]

This speaker should think about changing his strategy when talking to the listeners :P Just braging over how long he studied war, and tell someone to read a good book, are not so good things to say to win an argument...

[@ericragnar3069]

why argue with a speaker? The audience members just wanted to demonstrate their big egos on someone who came to give a speech. Totally rude and arrogant.

[@grimmer2005]

Yeah, you are correct. But when giving a speech, such as this, you must be prepared to be criticized on many ways. And be able to answer it correctly.

[@ericragnar3069]

I suppose you are right that one should be ready to address attacks from all sides. I'm just irritated by the argumentative approach some of these folks have when asking their question. It's almost as if they're asking a question in order to have a debate.

[@coimbralaw]

You sound envious of someone who has read more than you have.

[@Sakibsthoughts]

The questioners are stupid. They have a big Microsoft ego that's keeping them away from understanding the reality.

[@havenosmellleavenoname382]

No terri but allah hu ak bar, muhammad jihad. Lol Wheres my organic fridge yo?