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

by Mark R. McNeilly

Overview

More than two millennia ago the famous Chinese general Sun Tzu wrote the classic work on military strategy, The Art of War. Now, in a new edition of Sun Tzu and the Art of Business, Mark McNeilly shows how Sun Tzu's strategic principles can be applied to twenty-first century business. Here are two books in one: McNeilly's synthesis of Sun Tzu's ideas into six strategic principles for the business executive, plus the text of Samuel B. Griffith's popular translation of The Art of War. McNeilly explains how to gain market share without inciting competitive retaliation, how to attack competitors' weak points, and how to maximize market information for competitive advantage. He demonstrates the value of speed and preparation in throwing the competition off-balance, employing strategy to beat the competition, and the need for character in leaders. Lastly, McNeilly presents a practical method to put Sun Tzu's principles into practice. By using modern examples throughout the book from Google, Zappos, Amazon, Dyson, Aflac, Singapore Airlines, Best Buy, the NFL, Tata Motors, Starbucks, 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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199782918
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	12/23/2011
Edition description:	Revised
Pages:	344
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.10(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Mark McNeilly is a marketing executive with thirty years of experience at IBM and Lenovo. He has spoken about his views on strategy to businesspeople around the world as well as on the BBC, C-SPAN, CNBC, and the History Channel.

Table of Contents

CONTENTS
Introduction
1. Win All Without Fighting: Capturing Your Market Without Destroying It
2. Avoid Strength, Attack Weakness: Striking Where They Least Expect It
3. Deception and Foreknowledge: Maximizing the Power of Market Information
4. Speed and Preparation: Moving Swiftly To Overcome Your Competitors
5. Shape Your Opponent: Employing Strategy To Master the Competition
6. Character-Based Leadership: Providing Effective Leadership in Turbulent Times
7. Putting The Art of Business into Practice
Notes
Suggested Readings
Original Translation by Samuel B. Griffith
Bibliography

Editorial Reviews

"A must read for any serious executive, strategist or marketer. I constantly refer to the concepts McNeilly outlines and they never fail to provoke new insight into the challenges I must address."—David Harkleroad, CMO, Hay Group; ex-head of intelligence at IBM

"Among shelves stuffed with superficial misinterpretations of The Art of War, Mark McNeilly offers what no one else can: an accessible and practical guide for applying Sun Tzu's true philosophy to business. There are but a handful of experts who have studied Sun Tzu as thoroughly as McNeilly. Fewer still can bring decades of real-world management experience to the challenge of interpreting these ancient principles for use in modern business competition."—Kaihan Krippendorff, CEO of Outthinker and author of Outthink the Competition

"McNeilly's updated work delivers even more fresh and relevant insight into Sun Tzu's ancient battlefield wisdom. This book clearly and powerfully applies Sun Tzu to the modern business battlefield in a way that resonates with today's business practitioners. Rich with real-world corporate examples, Sun Tzu and the Art of Business is truly a multi-dimensional look at how to apply Sun Tzu."—Becky Sheetz-Runkle, author of Sun Tzu for Women: The Art of War for Winning in Business

From the Publisher