The Influence of Military Strategies to Business
M.D. White
HUGEOrange Publication Review
The Influence of Military Strategies to Business is a good read on how to apply the philosophies of the Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu (ca. 500 BCE) to modern day business ‘warfare’. Anyone in business today, whether with a corporation, small business, or an entrepreneur can understand that concept. You have to strategize and fight for growth and progress for your business to get ahead of the competition and thrive.
The determination by a firm as to how it assesses its competitive position relative to the industry it competes in, its competition, forces in the industry, and future trends are generic considerations for both military and civilian applications.
Author M. D. White compares sections of Sun Tzu’s Art of War to specific business strategies in an understandable and logical way. He also gives plenty of examples and experiences of well-known companies including FedEx, car makers, major airlines, Home Depot and many more.
The conventional concept of defense is closely related to the reinforcement of the fort. Almost all forts in history have failed in war situations. This strategy is one of the riskiest military strategies. The best counterpart to this concept in the business world is marketing myopia. According to this view, the biggest mistake that a powerful brand can make is to believe that growth and profitability will continue.
The author also discusses concepts of marketing, innovation, systems and business models, and plenty more. There is also a chapter that specifically addresses the comparisons of each principle of Sun Tzu’s Art of War with business strategies, one by one.
To engage in business model warfare, managers cannot be internally focused on products, services, or administration to excluding the critical relationships between these elements and the even more crucial interactions between a company and its customers.
This book is interesting for those looking for success in the business world, there are helpful tips and suggestions. For those just interested in the concept of war and business, it’s a fun read in itself.