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The Art of Business: In the Footsteps of Giants

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The Art of Business is one of the most entertaining business books I've ever read, especially considering its topic-strategy-which can prove dry and uninteresting except to the academically inclined, under the best of circumstances. What I found most fascinating was the discussion of strategy, broken down into five "arts," is just as applicable to my personal life as it is to my business life.

The book starts out with some Zen-type prose about doing business, which had me wondering whether this was going to be a good book or not, but then it moved into the stories and that's when it really took off. The authors outlined five different arts: possibility, timing, leverage, mastery, and leadership.

All of these apply to business. What really struck me were the arts of possibility, leverage and leadership. In the chapter about possibility, the authors really made me step out of my comfort zone. They ask, "How will your business make a difference in the world?" or "What is your dream?" In terms of my personal life, it got me wondering, "What is my dream?" I have what my mother calls, `gypsy feet,' so it got me wondering about my wandering, what is my dream? How do I want to make a difference in the world and my own life? The other aspect of the art of possibility is the art of thinking big. I especially like the story about Grameen Bank, where the professor has the dream of eliminating poverty. How big a dream is that!? It gets me thinking that anything I want to achieve is possible. I just have to dream it first.

Then in the leverage section, they further bring to light the fact that I can create everything that I dream about-I just have to leverage everything around me. They gave this formula: first identify what you want, then figure out where it exists, and finally figure out how to get it. I was a little stumped at first, but then began to see how it works. They cite the story of an ancient general who ran out of arrows halfway through the battle. What did he do? He figured out that the enemy army was really jumpy and would shoot arrows at anything coming. He waited until a foggy morning then sent over ships filled with straw men wearing army uniforms. The enemy shot the straw men full of arrows and presto, the general had arrows again. I began to see that I could apply that kind of cleverness and resourcefulness to what I want in my personal life. Plus, there's a real sense of fun in that kind of clever art.

Finally, leadership was a great concept to really make me think. I've always thought about leadership in terms of leading groups of people, but in reading I began to realize that I could become the leader of my own life. The way these authors write about it, leadership is about not letting my ego get in the way of my vision. It's about humility and service, concepts about which I've learned the hard way, both of which have benefited my life greatly. I never realized the extent to which these qualities are leadership qualities. The good news is, I now know I am the leader of my own life.

As I got further into the book, got used to the Zen aphorisms I actually started to like them. I realized that this book is just as much about the Art of Life as it is about the Art of Business!

Sincere thanks to the authors,
Paula Goodro

The authors of The Art of Business seem to know that work can be total drudgery for the average Joe. Whether you own your own business or work for someone else, the daily grind can be really hard to face day in and day out, year in and year out. What the authors do that is so great is add purpose, vitality, and fun into the workplace.

Even though this book is ostensibly about strategy, I would say that the true purpose of this book is to give meaning to work. The stories in this book demonstrate that when you have meaning in your work, it turns the dull day-to-day stuff into something that you really want to do. When they talk about Herb Kelleher, Chairman of Southwest Airlines, going out on "Field Days" and moving luggage around do he can stay in touch with the daily activities of the people that work for him, that really touched and moved me. That was meaning in work-when the execs really care and they show it through action, not just through words.

The five arts show us that even if we work for other people, we can bring meaning and strategy to the work that we do, and it will help not just us but also the people we work for. For instance, in the Leverage chapter, they talk about all the ways we can bring all the resources we want and need to us with leverage. Well, you don't have to be your own boss to do that. If you work for someone, they will appreciate you being resourceful and leveraging everything in your environment to get the job done. Plus, that kind of leverage allows for creativity and actual enjoyment in the workplace.

Finally, the leadership chapter is staggering. It makes me feel that I can be a leader no matter what I am doing and who I am working for. Leadership is seven qualities: big dreams, commitment to the vision, excellence, vulnerability (allowing others to help you), humility, peace of mind, and strong values. I'm learning from the stories in this book, which outline not just the leaders but also the followers of great companies, that I can be a leader, and how that's important because only companies that are companies of leaders truly succeed.

I'm not always sure how I might implement all the principles talked about in this book--it sometimes brings up more questions than it answers. But it does show me where I need to be looking for answers.

It's an astonishingly inspiring book for a business book, and gives me hope for meaning in the daily routines of life in business.

I love this book and you will too.

The ART OF BUSINESS is a spirtual blend of eternal wisdom gleaned from super successful companies and laser-like insight from Ray Yeh. The stories he tells and the way he tells them will help anyone interested in improving the organization - from the family to Fortune 500 companies!

Ray Yeh obviously did more than write a book - he made a contribution to us all. The book will force you to ask yourself questions you may not have ever thought about before:

Am I doing the right thing?

Am I doing the right thing....right?

Am I contributing to the world? How?

What difference do I make?

I love this book because its so much more than a book; its a journey and Yeh comes along to make sure we stay on the path.

Who ever said "Nice guys finish last"? Not Ray Yeh! He makes the clear statement that we can contribute to the world and profit at the same time. Its inspiring work that everyone will enjoy and benefit from.

People have told me that strategy is important and, as a small business owner, while I agree with them theoretically, I never knew how to apply it to my own business. I've attended lots of workshops and read lots of books on business, but strategy was just the vague thing that "I should do." That's what I love about this book. It breaks down strategy into five specific arts, and it helps me see where I am making headway and where I am not. The five arts of strategy that the authors talk about are:

1)Art of Possibility: This is about defining a vision and a dream that makes you leap out of bed every morning. The authors assert that lots of companies have good visions, but they aren't big enough or good enough to motivate not just the business owner but everyone in the company. The case studies are about businesses that are on more of a crusade than just following a vision. They bring to life the power of what a vision really could be like. They review Medtronic (a medical electronics firm), Grameen Bank, and Southwest Airlines. I found the stories inspiring, but also a little daunting, because how can a small business owner really meet those very, very high expectations? This feeling is slightly alleviated at the end by a list of key points about how to create and keep the vision alive.

2)Art of Timing: This is about being at the beginning of the wave rather than at the end. It's about being at the right place at the right time, and determining which opportunities will help and which will not. The authors outline three ways to deal with the future: predict and respond accordingly to the future, predict and influence the future, and co-create with the forces of the future. The case studies demonstrate how successful companies can take any of the three roles, though they end with the conclusion that the co-creating option is ultimately the most successful. The information is very solid and sound here, and makes the reader ask questions about the driving forces and timing for their own industries.

3) Art of Leverage: This is the most stunning chapter in the book. The authors lay out many ways businesses can leverage their partners, suppliers, customers, employees, and most of all, competitors to achieve success. I had to stop every few paragraphs in this chapter to make notes. They give a formula whereby companies can identify the resources they need (money, customers, market share), identify where those resources are and who controls them, and devise ways to channel those resources to themselves. Very inspiring, highly practical stuff.

4) Art of Mastery: This is more about being better, cheaper, and faster. I believe that the material in this chapter is adequately covered in even much earlier books about reengineering and process innovation (Hammer and Champy and company, From Good to Great, etc.). One redeeming factor about this chapter is that the authors argue for the need to balance the growth in all directions of the company: process, infrastructure and culture. They make a strong argument, but there's not enough room in this chapter to cover what it really takes to get mastery.

5) Art of Leadership: This is another knockout chapter. The authors profile three leaders (Earl Bakken of Medtronic, Herb Kellher of Southwest Airlines, and John Wooden of the UCLA Bruins). Like the other stories, they are inspiring, but again, daunting. We know that these three "giants" have had incredible backgrounds and lives, but what about those of us who grew up in middle class America, who didn't have all these trials and tribulations to define their character? Luckily, the authors define the seven qualities of leadership at the end of this chapter. That defines in a very clear way what factors comprise leadership, and that's a big help. Leadership is a concept that's a lot like strategy: it's vague until someone defines the components for you. With those seven leadership qualities, I have something to measure my own leadership by. Good stuff.

The authors do a good job defining strategy in a way that the average business person can understand. The style of writing is much like that of Robert Kiyosaki in "Rich Dad, Poor Dad," simple language that's easy reading, but also lots of impact. You can read the book in a day or two because of its simple language, but will want to re-read to take notes. The book is packed with inspiration, but also real hard core guidance.

The best lesson in this book is the big picture. Entrepreneurs generally have no strategy, it's all about raw passion and lots of hours. From reading this book, I can see the importance of using all five arts at once. I'm often making headway with one or two arts, but never all five.

The second best lesson in this book is that business people have to be making a difference while having fun. The leaders in this book actually have fun (even when their business is dead serious). For me, fun and business never went into the same sentence. This book shows how some of the best leaders in the world are successful because they love what they do. It's an eye opener.

This is a foundational book for any business person's library. Don't look for it to tell you how to run your business, but to expand your horizons a lot. It helps business people get above the noise and chatter of daily work life, and see something bigger. For implementation though, you'll need to read some other books.

Yeh is one of several business thinkers who have learned a great deal from Sun Tzu's The Art of War. In this volume, he rigorously examines "five strategic arts," devoting a separate chapter to each of the five, focusing on those organizations and individuals that best illustrate the values which Sun Tzu affirmed more than 2,500 years ago. Here they are: The Art of Possibility (Medtronic, Grameen Bank, and Southwest Airlines), The Art of Timing (Royal Dutch/Shell, Intel, and Southwest Airlines again), The Art of Leverage (Wal-Mart, Dell, and yes, Southwest Airlines again), The Art of Mastery (Singapore, the U.C.L.A. Bruins men's basketball team, and indeed Southwest Airlines again), and finally, The Art of Leadership (Coach John Wooden of U.C.L.A, Earl Bakken who co-founded Medtronic, and of course, Herb Kelleher of Southwest Airlines). When discussing his primary objective for JetBlue Airlines, CEO David Neeleman replied that he and his crewmembers (not employees nor even associates) were determined to "bring humanity back to air travel." That is one of Yeh's key points in this book. He insists that the best organizations "have a soul and they find a way to make a profit consistently, while also serving the community." That was a lesson which Neeleman learned during his brief association with Southwest Airlines. It is no coincidence that year after year, the companies identified by Fortune magazine as being "The Most Admired" are also the most profitable in their respective industries.

What sets this book apart from so many others which have addressed many of the same issues is the fact that in it Yeh brilliantly correlates and sometimes blends Eastern and Western concepts of business success and personal fulfillment. Not only organizations but each of those within those organizations has a soul and must find (or be provided with) a way to achieve financial success while also serving the community. In essence, the "art of business" is really the art of having standard of living and quality of life in proper balance. The greatest leaders throughout human history have helped others to do so. Hence the importance of having VPV: vision, purpose, and values. A great leader inspires others with a vision and mobilizes them to pursue a shared future (the Art of Possibility); she or he initiates or responds effectively to change, especially to a crisis (the Arts of Timing, Leverage, and Mastery); and he or she can innovate constantly because values-driven leadership has developed and nourished both talent and integrity throughout the entire organization (the Art of Leadership).

According to Yeh, in addition to having a soul which creates meaning for its people, a great organization must also "know where it is going and somehow always seem to [in italics] flow with the changing world, arriving at its destiny in perfect synchrony. A great organization cleverly [in italics] leverages everything in its environment, including competitors, to effectively and efficiently utilize its resources. It is also the [in italics] master of its trade, constantly treading on the leading edge while maintaining effective balance. Finally, a great organization is made of [in italics] leaders who help to actualize the organization's vision by aligning their dreams to it." Long ago, Isaac Newton explained his own exceptional foresight by noting that he had been able to stand atop the "shoulders of giants." Today's great leaders are those upon whose shoulders others will be privileged to stand in years to come.

Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to check out Sun Tzu: The New Translation by J. H. Huang (The Art of War), The Book of War: Sun-Tzu's "The Art of War" & Karl Von Clausewitz's "On War," David H. Maister's Practice What You Preach: What Managers Must Do to Create a High Achievement Culture, James O'Toole's The Executive's Compass: Business and the Good Society, Mark R. McNeilly's Sun Tzu and the Art of Business: Six Strategic Principles for Managers, and Robert L. Cantrell and Lionel Giles's Understanding Sun Tzu On The Art Of War.

I've read a lot of books that talk about Sun Tzu's strategies in the Art of War and I have to say that most of them are junk. I picked up this book and expected the same thing-lots of Eastern mumbo-jumbo and not a whole lot of content, especially since this book opens up with a Zen story.



I was pleasantly surprised to discover that this is actually quite a good read. I was 1/3 of the way through it before I realized that this was a pretty good strategy book. The book is disarming because it presents all the case studies as stories. Every story is an engaging read - kind of like a novel - so I didn't expect real content. But it's there. For instance, when it comes to vision, which is a topic that's been overdone in every book, the authors list five key points that, while they are common sense, really make it easy to get the feel for what a good vision should be:



1) Celebrate successes because celebrations acknowledge the vision being followed and lived on a daily basis

2) Go back to the beginning (meaning you should always revisit the initial spark or reason for the business being started-this mostly applies to companies where the founders are no longer present)

3) Dignity because unless the vision makes everyone associated with the organization more human and dignified it's not worth the time

4) Hire to fit the vision because trying to cram someone with all the right skills and all the wrong attitudes into a corporate vision is a failed experiment

5) Cultivate culture because it doesn't happen by itself (the authors profile exactly how some of the top companies do this)



None of this is rocket science, but the point of the book is that business shouldn't be rocket science either. If the strategy is sound then the business should be sound as well. This book is more like on-the-job training for strategy than a comprehensive strategy manual. The stories give you a taste of what good strategy is and how it should look and feel, but it's definitely not a beginner's guide. Overall an entertaining read and an insightful glimpse into what really goes on behind closed doors in some of the world's best companies. A for entertainment, B+ for actual strategy content.

There are a lot of books out there which are geared toward the businessman that can mold their corporation around a universal example which may be obtainable in both theory and practice; however for a small enterprise like mine finding a business book that quotes examples relative to the scope of my organization are impossible to find. In order to utilize my experience from reading The Art of Business I found it necessary to throw out most of the physical examples and concentrate on the underlining theories.
Perhaps the most dramatic jump I was able to make was at the example of Singapore. From the books example Singapore's only natural resource was its uneducated and untrained population. I was able to implement the Singapore model by evaluating my workers ability to receive and implement education and advanced training. The resulting workforce became an in-house force of loyal employees.
Personally I can only recommend this book to those who can think outside the corporate box. If that happens to be who you are get a copy and don't follow the examples to the letter. Allow your business to flow through the examples till you find one that works.

There are many rewards to be found in The Art of Business. The timely comparisons between Sun Tzu's Art of War and current trends in business enable the reader to gain an intense understanding of how the Art's of War are mastered in today's market place. The vast information in The Art of Business is a collection of corporate biographical stories and personal testimonials by their founders and CEO's. This stimulating/quick read allows the reader to capture the driving spirit or Tao of thirty various industry leaders.
Each of Sun Tzu's five Arts of War are given their own chapter.
Art of Possibility: Fruition of enterprise vision.
Art of Timing: Creating and capitalizing on the future.
Art of Leverage: Identify and exploit all points of leverage.
Art of Mastery: Discipline breeds passion, confidence and the balance to execute with wisdom and grace.
Art of Leadership: Live and perform for a higher purpose where extreme profits are only a by-product.
It is a rare occurrence when a book, especially a business book, comes along that has the hidden value to be a compendium for both business and living.

Simply put this book is outstanding. I have given two copies to direct reports and would not hesitate to recommend.

"The Art of Business: In The Footsteps Of Giants" is a feel-good business book. That's meant in a nice way. It's not a `do it this way and you'll be wildly successful, then you'll feel good' book. It's a `here are some great stories' book that you'll feel good about after you read it, but also be able to practically apply whether you're a one-(wo)man band or leading a division of hundreds.

In this book, Yeh successfully marries Eastern life philosophy with Western business philosophy. One of Yeh's inspirations in writing this book was Sun Tzu's "The Art of War", an immensely influential ancient Chinese book on military strategy. Early on in his career, Yeh said he noticed that many top Japanese executives read "The Art of War." Yeh's other inspiration in writing this book was his frustration with the cold, systematic approaches outlined in so many popular management books. By blending these two cultures, Yeh is able to apply the Eastern ideas of balance and organic wholeness with Western business management ideas.

In the prologue, Yeh states: "Although many books attempt to translate Sun Tzu's wisdom into systematic guidelines for business, the wisdom of this ancient teacher actually needs to be experienced rather than simply analyzed. To offer you, the reader, that experience, I have chosen to present Sun Tzu's teachings in story format. These stories describe how the best companies in the world have put Sun Tzu's strategies to work, allowing you to follow in the footsteps of giants...". And that's exactly what Yeh delivers in "The Art of Business: In The Footsteps Of Giants".

Yeh divides the book into five sections: The Art of Possibility; The Art of Timing; The Art of Leverage; The Art of Mastery; and The Art of Leadership. At the beginning of each of the major sections, Yeh spends some time laying out his ideas of the topic and their relationship to both Eastern and Western ideals. Then he tells three different stories about three different organizations (or in the case of The Art of Leadership, people) that all relate to the topic at hand. The stories aren't prescriptive; they're illustrative, giving great examples of his ideas in action. The stories are easy reads, like reading a good novel instead of a `here's what's good for you, do this, do that' run-of-the-mill management book.

As someone that has read many business and management books, some chosen for me and many chosen by me, I would rate this book in the top-tier, primarily because of its simple, eloquent way of bringing balance to business. It's worth the time and money you'll invest in it, and worth keeping in your library to re-read in the future.