When Professor Robert LaFleur talks about The Art of War, he doesn’t just mean the famous text by Sun Tzu. And he certainly doesn’t mean a crash course in corporate conquest. For LaFleur, a Professor of Anthropology and History and Chair of Asian Studies, teaching this course is about reshaping the way students think — not just about business, but about life.

“The Art of War is a great compilation of management strategies,” he says, “but no one in Chinese history ever learned to manage anything by reading it alone. It’s just a pathway to something deeper.”

That “something deeper” is what LaFleur calls The Art of Warning, a more advanced and overlooked tradition rooted in the ancient Chinese text Zizhi tongjian — A Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Ruling. Spanning over 10,000 pages, it’s a historical chronicle that LaFleur has spent three decades studying, and it’s the true foundation of his course.

Teaching Management from the Ground Up

Structured as a deeply interdisciplinary seminar, the course challenges students to explore leadership through the lens of Chinese emperors, military strategists, East Asian philosophers, and modern thinkers. Students read texts from Sun Tzu and Musashi, listen to lectures about Confucius, and draw connections to Western management theorists like Peter Senge and Robert Greene.

“We talk about three levels of management,” LaFleur explains. “First, managing ourselves. Second, managing our teams or families. And third, managing tianxia — all under heaven. That third level only becomes possible after mastering the first two.”

Unlike many business classes that focus narrowly on data and numbers, The Art of Warning is designed to cultivate a mindset — one rooted in observation, reflection, and human understanding.

“Management is a profoundly humanistic enterprise,” LaFleur says. “If you understand people, you’ll manage better. And the humanities teach you how to do that.”

One of the course’s core concepts is remonstrance, the traditional principle that junior members of a hierarchy must correct senior members when they see mistakes — a duty that LaFleur says is often forgotten in modern corporate settings.

“The Art of Warning teaches that juniors have a responsibility to warn their seniors,” he says. This course invites students to rethink the corporate model, where responsibility doesn’t just flow top-down — it moves both ways.

LaFleur is currently writing a book called The Art of Warning, which draws from The Comprehensive Mirror to bring this principle into conversation with modern business and organizational leadership.

Business Meets the Humanities

For first-year student Saumyaa Desai ’28 the course was a surprising but welcome shift from her usual academic experience.

“I didn’t have a strong background in history or politics, so I had some initial concerns about taking the course,” she shares. “But it turned out to be more about managing life — and realizing you can’t start a business if you can’t manage yourself first.”

What stood out most to her was how the course approached business theory through centuries-old literature.

“We read a lot — especially classical Chinese and Japanese texts,” she says. “I think business courses need more reading like this. Not everything is about numbers. It’s also about mindset and learning from others’ life experiences.”

One of the ideas from Sun Tzu that stayed with her:

“Sometimes, you just need to let things happen instead of trying to control everything. That’s something I think about a lot — in business and in life.”

The course also reshaped Saumyaa’s understanding of business management and leadership.

“It helped me expand my view of business, shifting it from an understanding based on accounting and practicality — all of which are necessary to be an entrepreneur — to a more holistic perspective that includes theories of management at three levels: oneself, family, and ‘all under heaven,’ ” she reflects. “These theories helped me understand the roots from which every business grows, rather than just the superficial outer layers of the skills needed.”

Saumyaa also credits the course with making her a better writer and giving her more confidence to speak in class.

“It’s discussion-based, open, and encourages you to share your perspective. And yes — there’s a lot of reading — but it’s absolutely worth it.”

Rethinking What Business Education Should Be

For LaFleur, the purpose of the course isn’t just to expose students to East Asian history and literature — it’s to offer a lifelong lesson in how to think and lead.

“If you want to build a better organization, you need to understand people — their stories, their values, and their past. That’s why you study the humanities. That’s why you read history.”

And that’s why The Art of War — and The Art of Warning — have a lasting place in Beloit College’s business curriculum.