Sun Tzu for Execution: How to Use the Art of War to Get Results

Having read Sun Tsu's "Art of War" numerous times... this translation was a little redundant...(first 1/2 of the book...) BUT... the second 1/2 of the book was "A very SOLID READ..." This is one of the best applications of the premises, ideas, strategy of Sun Tsu's classic work and ties them together into good leadership and business applications. This is a must read and must add to any leaders inventory of tools. Dr. Faron Boreham

Steven W. Michaelson has written an interesting but somewhat odd book. Its first section consists of a translation of Sun Tzu's classic Chinese text on military strategy, The Art of War. The second section, which takes up most of the volume, focuses on how to apply Sun Tzu's ideas to business. Nearly all the chapters open with a quotation from Sun Tzu, but Michaelson also refers to other military and business leaders. You could benefit from his comments on how to implement your business strategy without ever referring to the translation. That said, the principles Michaelson extracts are sound, and he shares with Sun Tzu the ability to provide clear, broad concepts to guide business strategists in a variety of situations. We recommend this book to executives who want to improve their ability to think strategically and who find it useful to boil down the process of strategizing to a few fundamental rules.

The first half of the book is great; the second half of the book begins to be repetitive, and by the time the last section is tackled ("Towering Strength"), it is weak...ironic, given that it's all about "execution." The book just sort of peters out....

This book consists of two parts: first, a complete translation of Sun Tzu's The Art of War by Pan Jiabin and Liu Ruixiang (from People's Republic of China); and then "The Art of Execution" in which Michaelson focuses on five "people management principles" of effective execution: Simplicity, Create Alignment, People Always, Flexibility, and Have Towering Strengths. Readers will especially Michaelson's skillful use of various devices which facilitate, indeed expedite a review of key points later. For example, an "In Summary" section at the conclusion of each chapter and the provision in all chapters of checklists, bullet points, and bold face. Michaelson's purpose is to provide what amounts to detailed annotations of his primary text, suggesting the relevance of Sun Tzu's admonitions to the 21st century business world. Quite properly, he places greatest emphasis (as does Sun Tzu) on effective execution by whatever means necessary, preferably under most favorable conditions. In the Introduction, Michaelson shares an anecdote that reveals how Sun Tzu reputedly achieved specific objective. "The king gave Sun Tzu his 100 concubines and challenged him to apply his theories and practices of training soldiers to managing the concubines. The concubines, as you might expect, were untrained in the matters of marching and drills and performed poorly. Sun Tzu decided to try a more decisive tactic - he beheaded the king's favorite concubine. The rest of the concubines, realizing that Sun Tzu was, indeed, serious about having his directives carried out, immediately began to execute his orders exceedingly well." Granted, this is a somewhat extreme example of "execution," especially given today's preoccupation with "empowering" employees, a term which - by the way - makes me feel as if my body were covered with caterpillars. However, Sun Tzu's action did achieve the desired objective. Credit Michaelson with providing a lively, thoughtful, and practical analysis of a classic source, The Art of War.