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Executive Warfare: 10 Rules of Engagement for Winning Your War for Success

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With Michele Owens, David D'Alessandro has written another book whose title and subtitle suggest direct correlations between the battlefield and the business world. What sets this book apart from almost all of the others is the fact that he includes no references to Sun Tzu's The Art of War nor to Carl von Clauswitz' On War. I also appreciate the fact that D'Alessandro establishes, develops, and then sustains a direct rapport with his reader. The informal, indeed conversational tone is precisely appropriate and brilliantly sustained. For example: "The single greatest reason why otherwise talented people get stuck in mid-career is because they believe that the same rules that applied for the first part of their careers still apply. They don't. You have to master a much subtler set of rules. You'll need to learn how to acquire the global perspective your peers lack, when and how to deliver bad news, when to take a shot at your rivals and when to be gracious, and, most important, how to handle the many new influences on your [career] trajectory...Intelligence, imagination, and cunning are all required here - but not underhandedness...I don't believe you need to be devious to succeed. In fact, I think being excessively political is a mistake."

D'Alessandro focuses on the adjustments any executive must make as she or he assumes increased responsibilities during an incremental ascension to higher levels of management. His observations and suggestions indicate that he is an empiricist in that he is especially alert to context as well as to significant details, a pragmatist who prefers to focus on what does - and does not - work and has little, if any patience with "woulda/coulda/shoulda," and he has a unique ability to recognize what is most important among whatever options may be available. He seems determined to share what he has learned so that his reader will be able to balance impeccable integrity with "street smarts." His advice concerns do's and don'ts of when responding to challenges such as these:

Managing increasing complexity at various stages throughout a "career trajectory"

Excerpt: "It's not just that the pyramid narrows and the competition toughens as you rise. It's that the game changes fundamentally...[and, to repeat] In my experience, the single greatest reason why otherwise talented people get stuck in midcareer is because they believe that the same rules that applied for the first part of their career. They don't. You now have to master a much subtler set of rules."

Dealing with rivals

Excerpt: "It is far better to be a steady incremental player who wins, in the end, by impressing people all along the way than to be the kind of hothead who tries to force a quick culmination." Years ago, someone whose name I do not recall invoked a metaphor to make the same point: "Be a Bunsen burner, not a sparkler."

Building a team

Excerpt: "If you are not picking your own team, you are going to be handed some turkeys. When one of those turkeys screws up, you own the turkey...Having a reputation as somebody who not only can build a strong team but also can bring in people who can build strong teams is extraordinarily valuable...The most valuable employees are those willing to rain on your parade when it's necessary - willing even to rain on a parade they organized themselves."

Earning the trust of direct-reports

Excerpt: "Most of your rivals will treat the people who work for them like children. You can win incredible loyalty simply by treating people like adults who can accept the truth. You will also build a team that way because your key people now all share the same information and can work together to act on it...It's important that your employees see that you are [decisive but] not heartless."

Rising into the senior ranks

Excerpt: "You must become a person of presence." How? "First of all, you have to offer something substantial and not just self-importance. Second, "you have to be true to yourself and the things you believe in." And thirdly, "is perspective - and you cannot develop perspective if your entire life revolves around your job...To get to the top - and stay there - you need to be able to lead human brings. And, the only way to learn how to lead is to live."

I realize that these brief excerpts are taken out of context and that D'Alessandro's key points may seem simplistic. They are offered merely to suggest the thrust of his insights and the flavor of his prose. Moreover, I hasten to add that his observations and suggestions are fully developed within an extended narrative that is both cohesive and comprehensive. Also, although much of his advice concerns challenges that C-level executives face, those who do not as yet occupy a position at that level will nonetheless derive a substantial benefit from understanding those challenges because (a) such understanding will improve their relationships with C-level executives in their own organization, and (b) they can prepare themselves adequately for a time when they most respond to them.

David D'Alessandro begins his book with a disclaimer that also serves as an appropriate conclusion to this review: "If you are not interested in success, put down this book and buy a latte."

Executive Warfare provides a valuable insight into what it takes to make it to the top, and ways to survive the onslaughts along the way. The way to the top is filled with pitfalls and dangerous routes, and this book teaches us to avoid or survive them to fight another day. It teaches us which battles are worth fighting and winning to ensure that we win the war.

The key item here is to remember that the rules we know to get to where we are are no longer applicable when we are aiming for the corner office. The same skillsets, aptitudes, and mindsets must now be replaced and re-trained toward the new goal. It's focusing on making sure that we take the right steps, such as:

1. Making a win-win business deal with our bosses along the way.
2. Taking appropriate & calculated risks.
3. Winning enough support from our peers and subordinates.
4. Mastering our behaviors, thoughts, and emotions, since the stakes are now high and our competitors will do anything in their power to win.
5. Knowing our strengths and making sure that we find the right place at the right time to improve our chances to shine the brightest.

As indicated in the introduction of this book, if you are already happy with your current position, then there are other readings available. On the other hand, if you're interested in getting to the next level, and eventually to be the one in charge, this book is a must have.

I would put this in my top five favorite books for management just behind Hubbard's How to Measure Anything: Finding the Value of "Intangibles" in Business and Taleb's The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable.

D'Alessandro has written a sort of The Art Of War for upper management. Everything I read in his book is something I can directly relate to my own experiences and probably would have been good advice at the time. Executive Warfare is a little touchy-feely after a read like Hubbard's How to Measure Anything: Finding the Value of "Intangibles" in Business, but Hubbard would probably even agree that, at some point, it's not all about measurements and advanced methods. No matter how competent and sophisticated a manager method's are, some issues are about raw survival. While it might seem there are many books on a similar topic, only D'Alessandro seems to capture all the key issues of avoiding corporate exile and the slow death of a manager.

Make no mistake: David D'Alessandro knows what he's talking about. His previous "Warfare" book, the excellent Career Warfare: 10 Rules for Building a Sucessful Personal Brand on the Business Battlefield, laid out the steps to a successful career for anyone working as a white collar professional. "Executive Warfare," however, is more narrow in its aim: It is focused exclusively on senior managers and executives. Are there really enough executives out there to make this a bestseller? I believe that many customers who buy this book may aspire to be executives, but aren't there yet...rendering much of the book somewhat useless.

Besides the limited focus, D'Alessandro covers many of the same success tips as he did in "Career Warfare." If you're going to read one of the two books, I would recommend skipping this newest book and picking up "Career Warfare" instead.

I have enjoyed all of D'Alessdandro's books but this offering is surely the best. It's filled with insights into the people who can make or break us as we make we our way through the office jungle. D'Alessandro masterfully turns the office landscape into a chess board and gives you the other side's moves in advance. It's full of LOL tales of careers gone wrong before a single napkin is unfurled at the ubiquitous business lunch and valuable after the game analysis of every situation you've ever encountered and later found yourself left dazed wondering what happened.

D'Alessandro's message isn't that the office is a battlefield to vanquish enemies and conqour the masses. Rather, it's a lesson in being human and undertsanding the complexities and social dynamics of the people you work with and for; as well as the ones you hope to replace.

This book does'nt attepmt to glorify or breed a culture of machiavellian manipulation. Executive Warfare synthesizes and assimilates all of lifes truisms, every thing you've known all along but just didn't understand why it mattered or how to use it in your favor.

Well worth the time especially in today's climate. Knowing the secrets to help you stand out from your peers, demonstrate leadership and add value could be your insurance policy against a pink slip.

If you want to rise to the top of your organization, read this book. Many times.

The ideas in this book (if properly executed) are worth $1 million to $100 million (or may be more).

Also recommended: Career Warfare.

I would be happy to pay good money for any work by D'Alessandro and Michele Owens. I hope the next book by the duo is about how to hunt (for business).

In the book David D'Alessandro thanks his father and his father's namesake, which I thought was most interesting.

David D'Alessandro is an expert at climbing the corporate ladder. More importantly, he is also an expert in explaining how you can, too. In this book, D'Alessandro gives the good, the bad and the ugly. He offers solid, tactical advice about how to manage and advance your career through the executive ranks, with the following ten principles:

1. Attitude, Risk, and Luck
2. Managing your Boss
3. Understanding your Peers
4. Defeating your Rivals
5. Assembling a Team
6. Motivating others
7. Dealing with Outsiders with Influence
8. Finding your Position
9. Understanding work Culture
10. Better Bosses

For D'Alessandro, developing your career is a constant battle of either shrewdly planning the next move or skillfully defending your current position. For anyone looking to build their career, this book should be required reading.

You've read all the self-help books that espouse that having a good work ethic and a positive mental attitude will get you where you want to go in life, but wonder why the Pharaohs haven't promoted you.

David tells you to put on your helmet and man your foxhole. It's your career and you have a finite amount of time to win the war before you retire at 1/3 of what you can't live on now, so get moving.

Working for the good of the corporation is akin to everyone being trained in fire suppression at sea. When on the boat, you've got to keep it afloat. Plan for port, and when at port, find the right boat for you. Capt Ahab does exist, as does Leona Helmsley. David's advice is real and as practical as having a condom to keep the dust out of the barrel of your rifle. Wisdom pops from every page without the sugary coating that is so much the cereal of the ever hopeful.

Thanks David!

This book is easily read and understood and generally a necessity for anyone entering a job no matter what. Perfect for people just out of college entering the work world aiming for the corner office. How are you bosses and coworkers viewing you? Are you presenting your image properly? Do you even know what kind of image you want to display?

Essentially unless your parents were executives and you know the ins and outs of corporate behavior, this book can add to your career.

The author KEEPS IT REAL!!!! Very unconventional advice that is both grassroots wisdom and ivy league insider quality!! I will this book over and over again.