 To help him in tackle the numerous challenging tasks he faced in Malayan Sugar then , his future wife , Judy <unk> , gave him some notes of her translation of Sun Tzu 's Art of War from Chinese to English , as he is not <unk> in Chinese . Khoo immediately took keen interest in the military treatise and began to learn and apply Sun Tzu 's teachings into his work . Throughout his professional career , Sun Tzu 's Art of War was his indispensable guide . Khoo married Judy , a former Taiwanese singer in early 1982 . In 1983 , he moved to Kuala <unk> as sales and marketing manager . When Asian sugar <unk> Robert <unk> was invited to turn around the ailing Multi @-@ Purpose group of companies in 1987 , Khoo joined them as administration manager at Magnum Corporation . In 1989 , he left Magnum to head the personnel and administration department of <unk> Holdings <unk> , where he later became the general manager within just four months , managing The Mall shopping complex . Khoo initiated a series of management and sales policies that enabled The Mall to secure the ' Best <unk> Mall ' award for two years in a row . In the same year , he began writing his first best @-@ seller hit ; War at Work – Applying Sun Tzu 's Art of War in Today 's Business World , which was a collection of memoranda based on Sun Tzu 's Art of War he wrote to his managers at The Mall . 
