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Alexander the Great's Art of Strategy
A rousing biography that shows how to put the tactics and insights of history’s greatest conqueror to work for you.
Throughout the ages, Alexander the Great has been celebrated for building an empire that spanned from Greece to India by the time he was thirty-three. Today he continues to inspire business, government, and military magnates—and leaders from Ted Turner to Norman Schwarzkopf have brought his techniques and vision to boardrooms and battlefields in achieving their success. In Alexander the Great’s Art of Strategy, Partha Bose follows Alexander’s life and military campaigns and shows how you can employ his leadership lessons to conquer today’s challenges in commerce, politics, and life. Bose combines his preeminent knowledge of the business world with his passionate study of Alexander to bring to life case studies of winning corporations—such as Dell, General Electric, and Wal-Mart—that have followed the example of one of history’s greatest leaders.
Part biography and part management guide, Alexander the Great’s Art of Strategy is a compelling and insightful book that should be read by leaders everywhere.
320 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
July 30, 2016
Alexander, indeed, was and will be the greatest conqueror and King mankind will ever come to know.
It's a wonderful book which talks about every important moment in Alexander's life and talks about his military expeditions and all the difficult feats he carried out in his short career. It definitely wouldn't have possible without Alexander's revolutionary strategies and deception skills and his will to unite the world. I thank Mr. Bose for such a wonderful book which ephasises on importance of strategy, planning not just attack but retreat also. He also cites lots of battles economic and military those happened after Alexander. The book has definitely a lot to my knowledge of history.
A wonderful read, a must read and a worth buy.
It's a wonderful book which talks about every important moment in Alexander's life and talks about his military expeditions and all the difficult feats he carried out in his short career. It definitely wouldn't have possible without Alexander's revolutionary strategies and deception skills and his will to unite the world. I thank Mr. Bose for such a wonderful book which ephasises on importance of strategy, planning not just attack but retreat also. He also cites lots of battles economic and military those happened after Alexander. The book has definitely a lot to my knowledge of history.
A wonderful read, a must read and a worth buy.
January 8, 2023
A hagiography of an admittedly great man. The author clearly has a limited knowledge of many of the people he uses as example, getting basic facts wrong such as saying Gandhi opposed racisms in all forms in South Africa whereas in reality he saw black South Africans as sub-human. A poor attempt was made at linking military strategy to business with all example too obscure to be of value.
February 22, 2021
Great read about leading from the front
June 8, 2022
Fascinating read. Combine my favorite topics of history, strategy, and business/leadership in one compelling book chronicling the strategy of Alexander the Great.
July 31, 2025
[...]I. TRAINING THE MIND TO THINK.
Applying the Socratic method of teaching, Aristotle taught Alexander and the other Companions to look for facts and patterns among a variety of sources and integrate them in an integrated and insightful manner that was useful for solving the specific problem they were grappling with.
2. THE IMPORTANCE OF CHARACTER BUILDING.
To help them think through the moral implications of their decisions, Aristotle forced Alexander and the others to undergo multiple rounds of self-inquiry and instilled in them a moral purpose that would shape their role as empire builders, generals, and political leaders.
3. LESSONS FOR EMPIRE BUILDING.
At Mieza an impressive group of students learned how to make decisions to that women enable them not only to conquer the entire then-known world, but also using what they had learned in there, to set up great em- pires such as the Ptolemaic in Egypt and the Seleucid in Asia.
4. A CULTURE OF RISK TAKING.
By cultivating qualities such as analogical reasoning, self-criticism, and intellectual honesty, a culture of critical thinking and risk taking was de- veloped wherein everything and everyone was open to being challenged and questioned.
5. THE ART OF ASKING GOOD QUESTIONS.
Aristotle inculcated a taxonomy of questions, which these boys, as com- mander and leaders, would use to triangulate information, get new infor- mation, and seek exactly the information they were after. As has been taught to teachers of the Harvard Business School, the art of asking good questions is often the most important of managerial tasks.
[...]
Applying the Socratic method of teaching, Aristotle taught Alexander and the other Companions to look for facts and patterns among a variety of sources and integrate them in an integrated and insightful manner that was useful for solving the specific problem they were grappling with.
2. THE IMPORTANCE OF CHARACTER BUILDING.
To help them think through the moral implications of their decisions, Aristotle forced Alexander and the others to undergo multiple rounds of self-inquiry and instilled in them a moral purpose that would shape their role as empire builders, generals, and political leaders.
3. LESSONS FOR EMPIRE BUILDING.
At Mieza an impressive group of students learned how to make decisions to that women enable them not only to conquer the entire then-known world, but also using what they had learned in there, to set up great em- pires such as the Ptolemaic in Egypt and the Seleucid in Asia.
4. A CULTURE OF RISK TAKING.
By cultivating qualities such as analogical reasoning, self-criticism, and intellectual honesty, a culture of critical thinking and risk taking was de- veloped wherein everything and everyone was open to being challenged and questioned.
5. THE ART OF ASKING GOOD QUESTIONS.
Aristotle inculcated a taxonomy of questions, which these boys, as com- mander and leaders, would use to triangulate information, get new infor- mation, and seek exactly the information they were after. As has been taught to teachers of the Harvard Business School, the art of asking good questions is often the most important of managerial tasks.
[...]
August 29, 2024
História e Estratégia.
Que maravilha de leitura. Partha Bose nos traz, em 315 páginas, uma luz sobre a história, a personalidade, as conquistas e o legado de Alexandre o Grande.
O livro começa contando o ambiente em que Alexandre cresceu. Filho de outro grande conquistador, mas em escala bem menor, Filipe e discípulo de Aristóteles (palavras para quê?), Alexandre teve a escola necessária para se tornar a grande lenda que é.
Após o assassinato do pai, Alexandre toma as rédeas dos reinos gregos e decide expandir o império até à Índia. Assim, é contada a sua trajetória, suas dificuldades e sua capacidade de superação.
Sempre a inovar, Alexandre colocou em prática estratégias que até hoje são replicadas quer por outros grandes conquistadores como Júlio César ou Napoleão, quer por grandes empresas como a Honda ou a J.P. Morgan.
Para mim, que gosto de estudar história, estratégia e natureza humana foi uma leitura bastante aprazível. Com qualidades e defeitos, Alexandre foi mesmo grande e mudou os destinos da humanidade.
Que maravilha de leitura. Partha Bose nos traz, em 315 páginas, uma luz sobre a história, a personalidade, as conquistas e o legado de Alexandre o Grande.
O livro começa contando o ambiente em que Alexandre cresceu. Filho de outro grande conquistador, mas em escala bem menor, Filipe e discípulo de Aristóteles (palavras para quê?), Alexandre teve a escola necessária para se tornar a grande lenda que é.
Após o assassinato do pai, Alexandre toma as rédeas dos reinos gregos e decide expandir o império até à Índia. Assim, é contada a sua trajetória, suas dificuldades e sua capacidade de superação.
Sempre a inovar, Alexandre colocou em prática estratégias que até hoje são replicadas quer por outros grandes conquistadores como Júlio César ou Napoleão, quer por grandes empresas como a Honda ou a J.P. Morgan.
Para mim, que gosto de estudar história, estratégia e natureza humana foi uma leitura bastante aprazível. Com qualidades e defeitos, Alexandre foi mesmo grande e mudou os destinos da humanidade.
April 15, 2020
Good read. I enjoyed stories of Alexander's great battle exploits.
April 24, 2013
Strategy is still an art than science. Despite consistent focus on it over the last centuries, there always seems to be a few personalities from each century who seems it know and see a lot more than their contemporaries. Alexander the Great is definitely one among them. Any attempt to study him and his achievements will be incomplete and based on deductions at best. Lack of systematic facts is the biggest challenge. The political undercurrents at that time must have decided our view of Alexander and his era.
The Author nevertheless has tried hard in dissecting him as a leader and deducing learning which could be potentially mapped to the modern world. The canvas is vast and the research is extensive and relevant. This makes it easier for the readers to understand the reasoning.
However, it is impossible to make such a study unless the researcher adopts a sympathetic stance towards Alexander’s life. This is very oblivious throughout the book. Interpretations of incidents from his life are at times very positive whereas similar incidents from other time periods are analyzed less sympathetically. The supporting facts are not presented consistently either. The presentations of supporting arguments are incomplete towards the last chapters.
How for any student of strategy this book is very insightful. Rather than a definitive book for the modern manager, this book should be read as an analysis of one among the biggest military achievements in history.
The Author nevertheless has tried hard in dissecting him as a leader and deducing learning which could be potentially mapped to the modern world. The canvas is vast and the research is extensive and relevant. This makes it easier for the readers to understand the reasoning.
However, it is impossible to make such a study unless the researcher adopts a sympathetic stance towards Alexander’s life. This is very oblivious throughout the book. Interpretations of incidents from his life are at times very positive whereas similar incidents from other time periods are analyzed less sympathetically. The supporting facts are not presented consistently either. The presentations of supporting arguments are incomplete towards the last chapters.
How for any student of strategy this book is very insightful. Rather than a definitive book for the modern manager, this book should be read as an analysis of one among the biggest military achievements in history.
December 3, 2010
4.5 stars
Fantastic descriptions and run-throughs of his Vision, use of the Companions and his trust of them, his strategy, perspectives of battle and situations from his POV, what he took advantage of for maximum effectiveness, foresight, hubris, and the key battles themselves. The way he compared more modern leadership and corporate action was more to my liking and interesting than how others have applied principles. Recommended for anyone desiring to learn when to push and when not to in our regular lives, how to consider, how to respect your trusted teams AND rivals, how to JUST ACT on the proactive offensive, and how to strategize for anything, extrapolating what is taught and shown by example in the campaigns and life of young Alexander of Macedon. Engaging material.
Fantastic descriptions and run-throughs of his Vision, use of the Companions and his trust of them, his strategy, perspectives of battle and situations from his POV, what he took advantage of for maximum effectiveness, foresight, hubris, and the key battles themselves. The way he compared more modern leadership and corporate action was more to my liking and interesting than how others have applied principles. Recommended for anyone desiring to learn when to push and when not to in our regular lives, how to consider, how to respect your trusted teams AND rivals, how to JUST ACT on the proactive offensive, and how to strategize for anything, extrapolating what is taught and shown by example in the campaigns and life of young Alexander of Macedon. Engaging material.
March 26, 2013
Balances history of Macedonia well and then ties military campaigns in with contemporary case studies at American companies.
I would say it is harder to adopt some of the ideology for anything less than a medium-sized organization.
Small businesses, it's still more militia man-style.
Alexander's father was King Phillip. So he started off training and getting involved from a young age in what his life's calling was to be.
Like Tiger Woods, or Britney Spears or other performers and athletes. Only Alexander's "art" was military leadership.
Mine was the audio version. Loved it.
I would say it is harder to adopt some of the ideology for anything less than a medium-sized organization.
Small businesses, it's still more militia man-style.
Alexander's father was King Phillip. So he started off training and getting involved from a young age in what his life's calling was to be.
Like Tiger Woods, or Britney Spears or other performers and athletes. Only Alexander's "art" was military leadership.
Mine was the audio version. Loved it.
May 4, 2010
Pretty interesting book; author is ex-McKinsey, ex-Monitor; so brings in a rich analogy of military strategy and business contexts; also the historical details are pretty rich. Lot of stuff I had never read in history lessons in high school
Overall, definitely a good read- for a general reader or (rather...more than for )business reader
Overall, definitely a good read- for a general reader or (rather...more than for )business reader
September 26, 2011
The idea to mashup a biography of Alexander with business strategy may have been sound, but only a few of the business strategy examples really seemed to fit with the story of his life. The storytelling was good, and the business strategy examples were interesting; they just weren't very well connected.
July 25, 2015
Was expecting more of a Business slant and comparisons/applications. While there were a occasional ones I felt more like I was reading a biography on Alexander the Great, which I did thoroughly enjoy though, just not what I anticipated when making the book selection.
December 6, 2019
Great historical lessons to be gleaned from this one. Perhaps the most impressive empire expansion of all time, how can you not learn something. Author does a great job getting to the point and relaying relevant history.
January 25, 2010
You imagine yourselves to be in the battlefield.
Read
March 4, 2011Timeless lessons from one of histories great conquerors.
June 7, 2012
Good insights about Alexander the Great and there is a nice tie through to other companies and civilizations. A little slow at times but overall good.
July 1, 2012
Absolutely outstanding!
April 14, 2013
Interesting idea, and clearly a clever author, but reads a bit too much like an MBA exercise. A little more imagination and art would have gone down well.
July 20, 2015
Amazing perspective on strategy and planning.
December 29, 2018
Excellent merger of Alexander's ingenious methods of war within todays business tactics!
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews