the classic work, The Art of War by Sun Zhu. Maybe you've read it, maybe you have not read it.

You have surely heard about it and you might have a sense of what it's all about.

Today I want to compare and contrast that classic work against my book, Trend Following.

Just because there is a different context

between the art of war and trend following doesn't mean there are not similarities. For example,

both books and emphasis on strategy, adaptability, and understanding the environment to achieve success.

Sun Tzu believed that the art of war is of vital importance to the state. It is a matter of life

and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Pretty critical stuff, strategy. Well, from a

trend-finding perspective, this is serious discipline too. Both require

rigorous adherence to systems as the key to avoiding financial ruin. Both involve high stakes.

Sun Tzu for state survival, my work for financial survival. The key, both demand discipline execution,

to avoid catastrophic failure. Sun Tzu saw that all war is based on deception. Mislead the

enemy about your intentions and strengths. I don't advocate deception in trend following.

Traders must act on price signals,

not assumptions about market intentions.

Trend followers can very easily deceive themselves, however,

by not following rules.

So the comparison here is divergent.

Sun Tzu actively uses deception against opponents, while my deception,

what I share, is passive. It's about avoiding being misled by market narratives. Both,

however, exploit misperceptions for advantage. You didn't think there was a connection.

There's always a connection to trend following.

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