The Complete Sun Tzu for Business Success: Use the Classic Rules of The Art of War to Win the Battle for Customers and Conquer the Competition

by Gerald A. Michaelson

Business today is war. As you and your company fight your way back from the recession, you need to take the high ground and make a stand. You need to know how to recapture customers, boost your profit margins, rally your workforce, and identify the competition's weakness to gain an advantage.

More than twenty-five centuries ago, the brilliant Chinese military theorist Sun Tzu explained how to accomplish these things. True, he was talking about warfare. But as you'll see in this comprehensive survey, his strategies apply equally well to today's business scene.

With the help of Gerald and Steven Michaelson, two of the greatest experts in applying Sun Tzu to today's business climate, you'll learn how to use ancient wisdom to manage your workforce, execute your policies, and find success in both business and your personal life.

Use this book to map a battle plan for victory!

448 pages, Hardcover

First published September 14, 2011

About the author

Gerald A. Michaelson was the author of many business books including the classic The Art of War for Managers, and others in the Sun Tzu series including Strategies for Success, Sun Tzu for Sales, and Sun Tzu for Marketing.
Gerald Michaelson spent over 25 years growing sales for Magnavox/Phillips, in sales, marketing, and ultimately as a Corporate Vice President, using the strategic concepts set forth in this book.
As a writer and consultant he was internationally recognized. As a featured speaker at an international symposium on Sun Tzu's the Art of War in Beijing, China, he also returned to conduct management seminars for the Chinese government utilizing Sun Tzu's strategic concepts. His articles appeared in leading periodicals of his time including Success Magazine, World Executive's Digest and Traveler in Asia, Executive Edge, and Sales and Marketing Management. He also wrote a weekly column for newspapers in the Scripps Howard network. He was a member of the Board of Directors of the American Marketing Association, and of fast growing companies. He appeared on every continent speaking on his insights from Sun Tzu.
Michaelson's diverse experiences as a Korean War Veteran, a Fortune 500 executive, a consultant, writer and author gave him the broad background that culminated in the classic Sun Tzu The Art of War for Managers. His business writings were praised by leaders from corporate CEO's, to military historians, to leading consultants. He passed away in 2005.
In 2010, his son, writing partner, and experienced CEO Steven W. Michaelson updated the timeless classic Sun Tzu The Art of War for Managers in a second edition. Staying true to the principles and thoughts in the first edition, Steve updated the business examples, and added new Managers Examples to continue to help readers understand Sun Tzu's applicability to daily business challenges.

Reviews

[Mike Norton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was hard to put down; it was an excellent translation from the original texts of Sun Tzu. One could start from page one and build an entire business plan of their own, adding to it as they'd read further and further into the book. Some parts of it were (to me, at least) common sense, but I alone don't represent the entire market that this book was meant to appeal to. Overall, I'd recommend it to anyone of any high school or higher education for a read if they'd be interested in the entrepreneurial life.

I cannot give this book five stars, however, because though The Art of War may be a timeless classic, this translation of it is not. This translation was meant for modern-day marketing. I suspect that in five to ten years, the examples that this book refers to will be obsolete.

[Herbert]

Appendix on pg 394 has complete Art of War. Remainder biz jargon

[Manu · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting write-up to look at business/management as a battle ground and use military strategy/tactics to achieve your goals. As the name suggests, this book is based on the war manual by Sun Tzu. Authors have broken down the manual into different themes and for each theme, they have provided a real time example from the business world around how that military strategy helped to realize the business goals. After the real time examples, there is a short summary of how managers can leverage that particular tactic to achieve her goals.

The only thing that I did not like was that the write up in the book seems little less interconnected with lot of repetition which obviously makes the book too long and reader tends not get a feel of an interconnected story. I would prefer this book to be much shorter and crisper.