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Art of the Strategist, The: 10 Essential Principles for Leading Your Company to Victory

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Strategy (like leadership) might well be typified in the same way Mark Twain described the weather: Everybody's talking about it, no one is doing anything about it.

While there is already a bountiful harvest of materials covering the strategy landscape, retired Air Force Major General William A. Cohen, Ph.D., has made a valuable, highly readable, and practical addition to the strategist's arsenal.

Perhaps surprisingly, General Cohen is an avid contrarian; very early in the book he rightfully takes on the silly notion of likening business to war. (A topic I also wrote about in 1996.) And he rails against the folly of trying to divine strategy from either statistical analysis or simplistic market stratification.

While there *are* fascinating accounts of military history in this general's book, they appear alongside equally well-researched tales from the contemporary business world (with some personal and historical political tales as well). The anecdotes serve to illustrate instructive strategic brilliance and stupidity, not as blueprints of strategies to imitate.

As Cohen relates early in the book, he "researched the greatest strategists and strategic thinkers of the millenia [including] strategists from both East and West over a period spanning more than 7,000 years of recorded history, in almost every country on earth...."

Well, the "almost every country on earth" part does seem to be a stretch, but beyond this hyperbole the book is well grounded in a wide variety of useful examples from many fields, places and times.

DECEPTIVE SIMPLICITY
As I remind my own clients, the critical part of strategy is to do strategic *thinking* before undertaking strategic planning. And Dr. Cohen's ten universal principles prime the strategic thinking pump.

Admittedly, a quick skimming of these principles might well elicit a ho-hum response. After all, 'Keep Things Simple' and 'Exploit Your Success' just don't scream "ground breaking." But to dismiss these principles as either obvious or old hat would be a mistake.

As with most clearly stated principles, Cohen's are easy to grasp superficially, more difficult to appreciate at a deeper level of meaning, and far more challenging to actually put into faithful practice.

Fortunately, Cohen puts substantial meat on these little bones. He offers bountiful food for thought in a book that is engaging, frank, wide ranging and highly digestible.

Read this book to gain valuable and useful against-the-norm insights into forming and applying strategy.

Don Blohowiak
author, Strategy Clarified And Simplified, available exclusively on Amazon.com (ISBN: B00008OHT1)

William A Cohen succeeds in his declared objective of establishing ten principles for leading a company to victory. He first provides a case for why strategic thinking is needed. He then introduces the ten principles within the context of some past research and the application of the principles. Ten chapters follow with each chapter elaborating one of the principles through additional detail and examples. The books end with an argument to establish the ten principles as universal principles that can be applied in all spheres of life.

The book read with ease, is well structured and the content can be summarised without much effort. Information is presented in a way that it is easy to find information or to drill down to a specific topic. Supporting notes is at the back of the book with references within the chapters to guide the interested reader to additional information sources. The index is comprehensive and easy to use.

Each chapter is ended with a concise summary that captures the essence of the chapter. Throughout the book the author keeps to the same recipe of clarity, simplicity and supporting anecdotes. The anecdotes are primarily based on the author's insights of war scenario's, battles and business cases. The author is seems to be more acquainted with war strategies than with business strategies. The principles are easy to grasp with broad based relevancy to business strategies. Although examples are given of the application of these strategies its correct application still will have to be mastered through experience.

The content can hardly be described as revolutionary but can most definitely be commended for its clarity. It is not the equivalent of Sun Tzu's "Art of war" but it does capture key strategic elements with explicit clarity. Every strategist can use the book to create a checklist against which he can evaluate his strategies. The book effectively highlights several alternative approaches that are at the disposal of a strategist. This book might help to increase the life span of CEO's if they succeed to apply the ten principles in business.

This is a very enjoyable book. It is clear that (you pick the title) Cohen is passionate about the subject of strategy. He brings strong opinions and illustrative examples to the text. I could care less about leading any company to victory or becoming a strategy expert. I am interested in new perspectives that can broaden my view of how to get things done well - strategic thinking in this case. This book delivers to my interests. Again very enjoyable and enlightening. His passion is refreshing.

The art of the strategist. The book title was correctly chosen. My way of understanding it, is something like this:

- it is not a recipes book, it may look like one if you see it as a list of ten principles to be used while developing a strategy.

- the problem is that the skill of the strategist will not be in knowing the list of principles, but in the choice of what principles to use and when.

It is easy to read, it is the type of book that should be kept close so you can read it from time to time, for inspiration or for advice.

If you are in a position to develop a strategy for your business or even for your career, the principles presented in this book will be of great help.

To complement the concepts presented in this book it is interesting to read The Logic of Business Strategy by Bruce Henderson.

Reading it is worth the price and the time spent.

William Cohen's wide range of interests is explained by the variety of positions he has held throughout his career thus far. Currently, he is founder and president of The Institute of Leader Arts. He is also a retired major general from the U.S. Air Force Reserve. After graduating from West Point, Cohen flew 174 combat missions in A-26 aircraft in the Vietnam War. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the Distinguished Flying Cross with three oak leaf clusters, and the Air Medal with eleven oak leaf clusters. He has written 53 books, including The Stuff of Heroes, The New Art of Leader and The Art of the Strategist. His latest is A Class with Drucker. He also has an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago and M.A, and Ph.D. degrees from Claremont Graduate University.

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. In this context, I am again reminded of what Cohen's graduate school professor and mentor, Peter Drucker, observed in 1963: "There is surely nothing quite so useless as doing with great efficiency what should not be done at all."

I especially appreciate Cohen's provision throughout his narrative of dozens of real-world examples to illustrate his key points. Within each chapter devoted to a specific essential principle, he includes a list o0f suggested action steps to achieve a specific objective. In Chapter 2, for example, here is what he recommends to ensure that an organization gains, and keeps, its competitive advantage:

1. Analyze the situation carefully.

2. Seek hidden opportunities and new solutions.

3. Act now!

4. Act boldly.

5. Keep the pressure on.

Granted, none is a head-snapping revelation. Cohen is a pragmatist who places greatest emphasis on achieving the desired result(s). He explains each of the previously listed five points within a context and cites a specific situation that illustrates the importance of that point. Each chapter begins with one or more appropriate quotations. In Chapter 7 in which he explains how to prepare multiple, simultaneous alternatives (i.e. a scenario of contingencies), he offers these quotes:

From Genesis 13.9: "If thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right, then I will go to the left."

Mao Tse-Tung: "To achieve victory we must as far as possible make the enemy blind and deaf by sealing his eyes and ears, and drive his commanders to distraction by creating confusion in their minds."

Obviously, Mao Tse-Tung had read Sun Tzu's The Art of War, one of Cohen's favorite sources.

To assist his reader's understanding, he also concludes each chapter with a "Strategist's Log" section that serves as a summary of those points and thus facilitates a review of them later. From the beginning, Cohen establishes a personal rapport with his reader, functioning as a tutor whose approach is informal and supportive rather than highly structured and pedantic. He prefers to identify options and suggest possibilities rather than insist or even assert. 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.

In this context, I am again reminded of an observation by Oliver Wendell Holmes: "I would not give a fig for the simplicity this side of complexity, but I would give my life for the simplicity on the other side of complexity." Cohen's purpose in this brilliant volume is to accompany his reader during a journey of exploration within the dimensions of strategy. The ultimate destination? The other side of strategy's complexity.

Bon voyage!

Cohen is a consultant, speaker, and seminar leader with a PhD and significant military leadership experience (retired major general, US Air Force Reserve). His books (plural) bring helpful information to focus for leaders of all kinds of organizations.

My first impression of this book is that it is designed well. The text begins with a positioning of Strategy in the leader's tool kit, then dives right into a listing and explanation of Cohen's ten essential principles of strategic leadership.

The first is a no-brainer-or should be: Commit Fully to a Definite Objective. Remember the old adage: "If you don't know where you're going, any path will take you there." Your focus must be clear...and shared with team members. Next, Seize the Initiative and Keep It. Economize to Mass Your Resources. The list continues, with a solid chapter on each theme. The presentations are illuminated by examples and stories that help the reader understand how the principles have been applied over history. This approach builds interest and variety for the reader, enhancing the value of the book.

The third section of the book addresses action steps to put the principles to work. Readers will learn how to link their plan to their environment, what to do when things go wrong (you know they will-Murphy is still with us!), and how to apply the universal principles.

This handbook is good reading, and will also be a valuable tool for leaders of any kind of organization.

I am skeptical of all books promoting N principles/rules for subject X, whereas N ususally is 10 and X is either leadership or any term identical with improvement. However, I cant help myself from reading them coz the supporting cases/stories are always interesting and readable, especially the war/battle ones. This book written by a retired general is no exception. I dont think the principles are easily adaptable to a company, which the author admit so. However, his writing is smooth. His cases and quotes are good. Readable, for sure. Helpful or not, depends.

p.s. Below please find my favorite passages for your reference.

The very word Strategy comes from the Greek word "strategos" which mean the art of the general. pg 10

It is not enough to be busy....the question is: What are we busy about? - Thoreau pg 27

Have you got a problem? Do what you can where you are with what you've got. - Roosevelt pg 43

While Casanova pursued a woman, he concentrated on that woman alone, and thought of nothing and no one else until the conquest was complete, whether this took days or months. pg 69

NASA noted that if every single part in one of their space systems was 99.9% reliable, they couldnt launch it because tthe overall reliability would be less than 50%! pg 102

Timing is always important..but so is sequencing. pg 147

Always interested in what men who have done time in both the military and world of business have to say on strategy. Maj.Gen Cohen (ret) has in writing this book kept things simple (his sixth principle). A joy to read. The preface is worth much. I agree with the author's stand against the proponents of "business is war". I particularly agree with the paragraph "Years ago, another academic strategist, writing about marketing strategy, claimed that good tactical implementation can overcome a bad strategy. That notion is ridiculous. If the strategy is bad or wrong, the only thing good tactical implementation will do is make a bad strategy result in something worse. The bad strategy may succeed, but it would be better if it failed".