The Way of Go: 8 Ancient Strategy Secrets for Success in Business and Life

Outlining key strategies utilized in the ancient Japanese game of Go, a knowledge management expert and Fortune 500 consultant explains how the game's tactics can be applied within a business setting for more effective decision-making benefits, improved openness to change, and better competitive practices. 35,000 first printing.

Anderson, a consultant and managing director of Knowledge Initiatives at the Fannie Mae Foundation, is an accomplished player of Go—an ancient and popular Japanese game gaining fans around the world. Requiring strategic moves like chess, the game is more complex and can teach players how to handle situations in business and life, Anderson argues; "Most strategies resource allocation decisions are—at their roots—classic Go strategy problems," he writes. Experienced players will have less difficulty than novices handling key problems such as when to expand into a competitor's territory, how to allocate scarce resources and how to create strategies in a time of rapid change because of their knowledge of Go. Anderson is an adept writer and conveys his enthusiasm for the game, particularly when he recalls devoting an inordinate amount of time to it during his college days. He arrives in Tokyo without even a hotel room but simply the names of a few players and an eagerness to learn from the masters of Go. Anderson does offer some real business scenarios to support his thesis. However, readers unfamiliar with Go may find the book tedious; without an understanding of the game's strategies, they're unlikely to be persuaded that the game's lessons are critical to business success.
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Anderson, consultant and teacher of Go, explains this 4,000-year-old Chinese game that moved to Japan, where it is extremely popular. Its timeless tactics apply to business and life and are instructive in strategy, decision making, and dealing with reality. Principles include maximizing limited time and resources; knowing when to seize the initiative, when to focus, and when to expand options; and adapting to change. Strong players of Go and in the game of life make plays that accomplish more than one objective, which is critical when they don't know what the future holds or what the competition will do. The author recommends that we focus on our goals, learn the rules, and follow them--but not slavishly. He recommends that we develop the spirit to break with tradition and chart our own course, which he acknowledges is hard to do. While the game of Go is complex, its lessons for business and life will be applicable to many library patrons. Mary Whaley
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