Business Is Combat [Unabridged] [Audio Cassette]

Blackstone Audiobooks Inc. (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2002

I am going to turn you into a modern business warrior ... equipped in every way to fight and win I am going to turn you into a modern business warrior...equipped in every way to fight and win the vital battles that are a daily part of your business life. Your transformation from sheep to lion will require a change in your attitude, and that change involves your understanding that business really is combat, in the most visceral and urgent sense. To win, you must be absolutely prepared.

-- James D. Murphy

Your pulse quickens. Your mind focuses. The mission is clear, the maneuvers rehearsed, and there are no second chances. You are about to engage in supersonic jet combat at 45,000 feet ...

. . or maybe you're about to enter a fierce sales battle with your toughest corporate competitor.

These two scenarios are more closely related than they might appear. Business today moves faster than ever. The competition is ruthless, the pressure intense, the stakes dizzyingly high. Companies that lag behind or lose sight of their goals can self-destruct almost overnight.

What can you do to survive? James Murphy, one of America's top fighter pilots, has the answers. In Business Is Combat he shares the wisdom of his Afterburner Seminars, training you in the military techniques that have made the United States Air Force one of the most formidable organizations in the world. His key concepts, applied to both businesses and the individuals who make them work, include:

The Fighter Pilot Way

Learn that confidence inspires confidence, that discipline keeps it from going to your head, and that camaraderie will keep your company sharp.

Leaning Forward

To win, you'll have to fight the next war--not the last one. Accept and prosper from the conviction that change is good.

The Value of Intelligence

Know both yourself and your enemy before planning any attack. A little research saves lives on the battlefield and dollars on the bottom line.

Six Steps to Mission Planning

Includes a preflight checklist, from identifying the threat to setting your timing to planning for contingencies.

The Art of Execution

How to make the kill without losing your cool.

Task Saturation

A primary obstacle to flawless execution. Learn to channel and compartmentalize pressures and stress.

By combining the cool calculation of a four-star general and the hot-blooded nerve of a combat pilot, Murphy's "modern business warrior" is uniquely qualified to prioritize, maintain focus, assess risk, and develop the kind of teamwork necessary for long-term success. Whatever your mission, whatever your battle, Business Is Combat provides a blueprint for the kind of success every warrior seeks--absolute victory.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Advocating the use of military training techniques in motivating sales people, Murphy walks his talk as a sales consultant and F15 fighter pilot for the Air National Guard. Having started in sales as a high school student working for a family office-supplies business, he contends that he has successfully divided his time between work and the military for a number of years because of the similarities between the two fields. In his view, both fighter pilots and sales people require mission statements that "must be absolutely clear and understandable measurable achievable and must support the overall objectives of the organization." In addition, just as fighter pilots must take a specific sequence of steps in the course of each flight, sales people need a concrete action plan for accomplishing their goals, such as focusing on their key objective and eliminating the unnecessary clutter: "Listen, don't talk. Know when to abort and establish a sense of value to the mission." Writing in a friendly, anecdotal tone, rather than that of a military commander, Murphy offers some helpful advice, although it would be more effective if he had supplemented his own experiences with additional examples from the real world of sales. 50-city radio tour. (Apr.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Murphy, a former military officer and salesman, has turned his military experiences into a successful business. The founder (in 1996) and president of Afterburner Seminars, he uses his expertise and that of other military pilots to create a unique training program, to which both large and small firms have sent employees to improve their personal and business skills. This book is essentially a manual to help individuals and companies improve business and communications skills. The author explains how each step in planning and executing a combat mission can be adapted to the business world and includes his "six steps to combat mission planning," which is a very useful tool. The text is quite readable, and the combat anecdotes and real-life scenarios should speak to most readers. Enjoyable if just for its combat stories, this book is recommended for public libraries. (Readers may even consider taking the seminar.)-David M. Alperstein, Queens Borough P.L., Valley Stream, NY
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Blackstone Audiobooks; Unabridged edition (March 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786119853
• ISBN-13: 978-0786119851
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,138,390 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

James D. 'Murph' Murphy, the Founder & CEO of Afterburner, Inc., has a unique and powerful mix of leadership skills in both the military and business worlds. Murph joined the U.S. Air Force where he learned to fly the F-15. He logged over 1,200 hours as an instructor pilot in the F-15 and accumulated over 3,200 hours of flight time in other high-performance aircraft. As the 116th Fighter Wing's Chief of Training for the Georgia Air National Guard, Murph's job was to keep 42 combat-trained fighter pilots ready to deploy worldwide within 72 hours. As a flight leader, he flew missions to Central America, Asia, Central Europe and the Middle East.

Prior to his service in the U.S. Air Force, Murph had a successful career in imaging equipment sales, where he helped increase his company's sales by 500%. Years later, he became Director of Sales for a small paint company. The concepts he developed and utilized in business and the U.S. Air Force would become known as Flawless Execution®. Applying Flawless Execution's continuous cycle of planning, briefing, executing, and debriefing, he increased his new employer's sales from $5 million to $52 million per year. Realizing that all companies and organizations could benefit from these same concepts, Murph started Afterburner Incorporated in early 1996.

Through his leadership, Afterburner landed on Inc. Magazine's "Inc. 500 List" twice. Murph has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, Inc. Magazine, Newsweek, Meetings & Conventions Magazine and has appeared on CNN, Fox News, and Bloomberg News. He was also named as one of Atlanta's top 50 entrepreneurs by Catalyst Magazine. To date, the Afterburner team of elite military professionals has led over 1 million executives, sales professionals, and business people from every industry through Afterburner's Flawless Execution Model℠, and its unique, high-energy programs.

Murph and Afterburner have shared the podium with notable speakers like Bill Clinton, Condoleezza Rice, Marcus Buckingham, Colin Powell, J.W. Marriott Sr. and Terry Bradshaw. Murph serves as a panel member of the League of Extraordinary Minds with business and self-improvement gurus such as Tony Robbins and Stephen Covey. He is the author of the groundbreaking books Business Is Combat and Flawless Execution through Harper Collins publishing and has spoken at many of the world's most notable business schools to include Harvard, Wharton, Cornell, Emory, Duke and Fudan University in Shanghai, China.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best ROI in 2000!, March 8, 2001

By 

Kris A. Ervin (Jacksonville, Florida United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Business is Combat (Paperback)

I purchased James Murphy's book in 2000, we just completed our financials and I am pleased to report that we doubled our revenues. We contribute this increase to a single statement we found in the book, Business is Combat. "All of our resources in the Air Force are alligned like a shaft of a spear, pushing the "pointy end forward". We did that in our business and the results were dramatic. We have become great planners, we execute efficently and we now debrief, all of this we learned from Mr. Murphy's book. I keep it on my desk and refer to it often because it makes us money.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mach 2 to the Real Deal, March 9, 2000

By 

"whauckiii" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Business Is Combat: A Fighter Pilot's Guide to Winning in Modern Business Warfare (Hardcover)

This book is true to it's title; full speed and no holds barred. A fast, easy read. The lessons here stop you from thinking "it's impossible" and jump right to "I can do this". It's a simple, sound set of actions. Inspiring, particularly for those of us in corporate America. --'scuse me, I'd write more, but have a mission to plan.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Aviation & Business Go Together, May 17, 2000

By 

Bob Rohr (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Business Is Combat: A Fighter Pilot's Guide to Winning in Modern Business Warfare (Hardcover)

As a former Air Force Weapons Crew Chief and a 25 year businessman, I thought Business Is Combat was not only an informative and exciting read but one that is absolutely accurate in its analogies, lessons and promise of success. The fighter jock is cool, calm and collected not just because he is who he is but because he is confident in his abilitiy to do what he does. This can only come from preparation, repetition and more repetition. As Jim Murphy points alludes, to loose focus for an instant can be the difference between returning home safely or trying out the handle on the ejection seat.

The stakes are just as important in business (perhaps more so since a leader is also responsible for the people under his charge). Attention to detail and flawless execution has no substitute. I believe this book is a great read and a reference for winning teams