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"From ancient battlefields to the modern business landscape, competitors have tried innumerable approaches to conquering adversaries. Success for the victors has taken many forms and traveled many paths, but at its heart, winning strategy can be boiled down to ten universal principles. When learned and implemented, these principals become powerful drivers of business excellence. Renowned strategy expert William A. Cohen, whose considerable experience in the military, corporate, and academic sectors forms the basis for "The Art of the Strategist," presents the timeless lessons of:
* commitment to a definite objective
* seizing and maintaining the initiative
* economization to mass (concentration of resources)
* positioning
* surprise
* multiple simultaneous alternatives
* the indirect approach
* simplicity
* timing
* exploiting success
With examples including the conquests of Hannibal and Alexander the Great, the political triumphs of Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, and the business successes of internet giant VeriSign and other high-profile companies, "The Art of the Strategist" proves how superior strategy trumps other factors in almost every competitive arena. The ten lessons in turn form a roadmap to decisive victory in business."
* commitment to a definite objective
* seizing and maintaining the initiative
* economization to mass (concentration of resources)
* positioning
* surprise
* multiple simultaneous alternatives
* the indirect approach
* simplicity
* timing
* exploiting success
With examples including the conquests of Hannibal and Alexander the Great, the political triumphs of Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, and the business successes of internet giant VeriSign and other high-profile companies, "The Art of the Strategist" proves how superior strategy trumps other factors in almost every competitive arena. The ten lessons in turn form a roadmap to decisive victory in business."
- GenresBusiness
Paperback
First published June 1, 2004
About the author
William A. Cohen
94 books30 followersWilliam A. Cohen, Ph.D. (Pasadena, CA) is an authority on leadership and strategy formulation and deployment. He gives speeches and seminars for the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, the Air War College, the FBI Academy, all four armed services, and corporations from Boeing to The Cheesecake Factory. He is the author of many books including The New Art of the Leader, The Wisdom of the Generals , and How to Make It Big as a Consultant (978-0-8144-7073-2).
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 26, 2008
The Art of the Strategist: 10 Essential Principles for Leading Your Company to Victory
William A. Cohen
AMACOM
In this volume, Cohen responds to questions such as these:
1. Why is strategy the key to success in any enterprise?
2. What are the essential principles of strategy?
3. Why and how must strategy be tailored to the given competitive environment?
4. How to seize a decisive advantage and then sustain it?
5. How to use strategic positioning?
6. How to formulate multiple, simultaneous alternatives prior to a major initiative?
7. How to practice timing and sequencing?
8. How to respond to a crisis?
9. How can the essential principles of strategy be applied most effectively?
10. To what extent are these principles universal?
To Cohen’s substantial credit, he devotes relatively little attention to the “what” of organizational effectiveness and concentrates almost entirely on how to achieve it. In the Preface, he asserts that “tactical implementation should be directed toward implementing the right thing – a good strategy. Good implementation of a bad strategy is doing the wrong thing in the right way. It is optimizing the kind of approach that will eventually lead to defeat, not to triumph.” In the business world, an inappropriate strategy (however effectively it may be implemented) will eventually lead to failure, not success. I especially appreciate Cohen’s provision throughout his narrative of dozens of real-world examples to illustrate his key points. As I read this book and others he has written, I view him as a companion on my journey of discovery. Without ever being intrusive, Cohen proceeds from one chapter to the next, connecting ideas and refining insights with both rigor and sensitivity. He believes (and I agree) that effective leadership is both an art and a science. What he refers to as the “art” of the strategist suggests a level of thinking that can only be reached after formal training in both induction and deduction as well as mastery of various skills such as situation analysis and problem solving. The analytical process becomes art only when it has formulated and then transcends meticulous craftsmanship.
William A. Cohen
AMACOM
In this volume, Cohen responds to questions such as these:
1. Why is strategy the key to success in any enterprise?
2. What are the essential principles of strategy?
3. Why and how must strategy be tailored to the given competitive environment?
4. How to seize a decisive advantage and then sustain it?
5. How to use strategic positioning?
6. How to formulate multiple, simultaneous alternatives prior to a major initiative?
7. How to practice timing and sequencing?
8. How to respond to a crisis?
9. How can the essential principles of strategy be applied most effectively?
10. To what extent are these principles universal?
To Cohen’s substantial credit, he devotes relatively little attention to the “what” of organizational effectiveness and concentrates almost entirely on how to achieve it. In the Preface, he asserts that “tactical implementation should be directed toward implementing the right thing – a good strategy. Good implementation of a bad strategy is doing the wrong thing in the right way. It is optimizing the kind of approach that will eventually lead to defeat, not to triumph.” In the business world, an inappropriate strategy (however effectively it may be implemented) will eventually lead to failure, not success. I especially appreciate Cohen’s provision throughout his narrative of dozens of real-world examples to illustrate his key points. As I read this book and others he has written, I view him as a companion on my journey of discovery. Without ever being intrusive, Cohen proceeds from one chapter to the next, connecting ideas and refining insights with both rigor and sensitivity. He believes (and I agree) that effective leadership is both an art and a science. What he refers to as the “art” of the strategist suggests a level of thinking that can only be reached after formal training in both induction and deduction as well as mastery of various skills such as situation analysis and problem solving. The analytical process becomes art only when it has formulated and then transcends meticulous craftsmanship.
January 7, 2016
Strategy is a knowledge to be used in every aspect in our life to seek success and the most benefits of the event or situation. This book explains the important of such skills also how it can be used in business with clarifying details and examples. also can be a reference book to refer to from time to time, for business strategist planing or related issues.
July 22, 2013
کتاب بسیار خوبی است.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews