Sun Tzu and the Art of Business: Six Strategic Principles for Managers - Hardcover

McNeilly, Mark R.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0195099966 ISBN 13: 9780195099966

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 1996

Synopsis

To hand down the wisdom he had gained from years of battles, more than two millennia ago the famous Chinese general Sun Tzu wrote the classic work on military strategy, The Art of War. Because business, like warfare, is dynamic, fast-paced, and requires an effective and efficient use of scarce resources, modern executives have found value in Sun Tzu's teachings. But The Art of War is arranged for the military leader and not the CEO, so making connections between ancient warfare and today's corporate world is not always easy. Now, in Sun Tzu and the Art of Business, Mark R. McNeilly shows how Sun Tzu's strategic principles can be successfully applied to modern business situations.
Here are really two books in one: Mark McNeilly's synthesis of Sun Tzu's ideas into six strategic principles for the business executive plus the entire text of Samuel B. Griffith's popular translation of The Art of War. McNeilly explains how to gain market share without inciting competitive retaliation ("Win All Without Fighting"), how to attack a competitor's weak points ("Avoid Strength and Strike Weakness"), and how to maximize the power of market information for competitive advantage ("Deception and Foreknowledge"). He also demonstrates the value of speed, preparation, and secrecy in throwing the competition off-balance, employing strategy to beat the competition ("Shape Your Opponent"), and the need for character in successful leaders. In his final chapter, McNeilly presents a practical method to put Sun Tzu and The Art of Business into practice.
By using modern examples throughout the book from GE, Microsoft, AT&T, BMW, Southwest Airlines, FedEx, and many others, he illustrates how, by following the wisdom of history's most respected strategist, executives can avoid the pitfalls of management fads and achieve lasting competitive advantage.
Even though down-sizing continues to increase corporate competition, and new technology constantly changes the playing field, the basics of business and strategy remain essentially unchanged. Sun Tzu and the Art of Business illuminates the fundamental strategic principles, providing lessons every manager must know to succeed today.

About this title

About the Author:

Mark R. McNeilly is a strategist for IBM as well as an amateur military historian and former infantry and artillery officer. He lives in Apex, North Carolina.

Review:

"K-Mart, AT&T, Xerox, and General Motors would have saved themselves billions of dollars if their past CEO's had read this book."--Philip Kotler, J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University

"This practical introduction to Sun Tzu's ideas will help U.S. business leaders to quickly overcome their international rivals' incredible head start in exploiting Sun Tzu's wisdom.... Mr. McNeilly deserves the thanks of American business. His new book is the best of the four American attempts at the difficult feat of converting Sun Tzu's seminal Ping Fa--or The Art of War, as it's called in the West--into a usable guide for strategic managers."--David I. Goldenberg Strategy and Leadership

"Finally someone wrote a book on The Art of War that makes sense."--Bryan Bloom, Chief Operating Officer, The C/W Company

"This book is fun and serious...a fast and interesting read. I recommend it to anyone interested in strategy."--Academy of Management Executives

"If you've ever felt that business is like war, a new business book based on the teachings of an ancient Chinese warrior has much to offer."--Entrepreneur Magazine

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0195099966
• ISBN 13: 9780195099966
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 272