Overview
A written interview with Richards published on Sonshi.com, one of the original dedicated resource sites for Sun Tzu's "Art of War" on the early web. The interview covers Richards' views on Sun Tzu, john-boyd, and the connections between classical Chinese strategic thought and Boyd's modern strategic theory.
Content
The interview addresses a central theme in Richards' work: that Boyd's strategic framework, while developed from Western military history and modern scientific theory, converges with Sun Tzu's principles in significant ways. certain-to-win — Richards' most prominent book — draws its title from Sun Tzu ("He who is skilled in attack flashes forth from the topmost heights of heaven, making it impossible for the enemy to guard against him. This being so, the places that he shall attack are precisely those that the enemy cannot defend. He who is skilled in defense... makes it certain that the enemy does not know what to attack. He who is certain to win is one who attacks where the enemy has no choice but to defend."). The interview elaborates this connection.
Value as Source
Published in 2005, the interview predates the major expansion of Richards' public writing and speaking that came with the Agile community's interest in Boyd. It represents an early articulation of the Sun Tzu-Boyd synthesis that would be developed more fully in certain-to-win and a-swift-elusive-sword. Sonshi.com's focus on practitioner applications of Sun Tzu means the interview is oriented toward strategic application rather than academic analysis.
The interview complements oodacast-richards-interview and no-way-out-podcast-richards as part of the documented record of Richards' thinking across different periods.