Customer Reviews

The Way of Go: 8 Ancient Strategy Secrets for Success in Business and Life

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

Very good book by Mr. Anderson. I am 6-dan Go player and businessman in Japan. His Go and business are the real thing. But the English is very difficult. I spend days translating with a dictionary. Please make a Japanese version.

What I like best is the story of my business. He never knows my business, but his story captures my business exactly. He is like a ghost visiting. He knows the inside challenge and issue without ever being there. Surprising!

Other review is not true. Mr. Anderson does not say Go comes from Japan. He says it comes from China.

As Anderson says in a section of the book called, "So What," the game of Go and the application of the 'way' in business is about seeking and improving more than it's about applying some new set of discoveries or rules to get a certain result.

What I like about this book is that the connections Anderson makes between strategic themes in GO and strategic themes in business are thought provoking - not forumulas for the lastest biz shtick (workshops to follow).

I found the discussion of shifts in strategy at different phases - beginning, middle game and end game - particularly stimulating.

This is a great book to give to a colleague or client to start some converstations worth having.

* lisa kimball, Executive Producer, Group Jazz http://www.groupjazz.com

I love this book. I checked it out from the library, then bought it. The book doesn't teach you much about the game of GO itself, but shows you examples of how to apply the fundamentals in Business and personal development. The selling point for me was when the author started talking about Aikido and Frank Doran. I am a member of Aikido NW in Portland, OR. Frank Doran is my teacher's teacher. He still teaches today near San Francisco, CA. If you ever want to see some great aikido, look for one of his seminars [all over America and the Globe]. If you enjoy the game of GO, I would definitely recommend this book to broaden your perspectives.

Not sure what I was expecting, but certainly not this. Some of the tips on Go are nice, though not terribly original. The tips on business, life, etc. are hardly secrets - they are repackaged cliches (at best). The best thing about the book is the mnemonic used to organize the structure. Overall, disappointing and of little interest to any one but the serous Go player (and then there are far better volumes).

A quote taken from the book "Shibumi" by Trevanian.

After reading this said about the game of Go, needless to say, I was curious. What could after all, be the spirit/object/lesson/point to inspire such a statement?

Troy Anderson collects a number of rules and ideas related to the game of Go and extrapolates them to the world of business, personal relationships, government and also draws parallels to of all things, Aikido. The last one, I found interesting.

In spirit, I must agree with the principle ideas. That is to say, the objective of the game of Go is the same behind any human enterprise, to gain the most while exercising the least. I would rate this book higher had it been better written, in other words, Andersons passion is apparent as well as his desire to demonstrate ideas through generous analogies. Where this book falls short in in the editing.

This book could have been half its length and driven home the same points in a more effective manner had the author consulted/recruited expertise rather than to try and relate his own experiences. On one hand, stating personal reasons for ones' enthusiasm are great, but the entire book drones on about the authors great exploits as a Stanford Football player in Japan, gifted in the play of Go.

Nevertheless, the gist of the games value as a metaphor are summarized well, in a clever acronym: GORULES. The book is patterned after these rules and it is a meaningful framework for problem solving and staying centered while making decisions.

Altogether a useful and intelligent book which could have been better presented.

Far older than chess, the Asian game of Go is played by millions of all ages, all around the world, leading to company tournaments, competition for millions in prize money, and interest: so why should CEOs and non-players care? Because many of the strategies of Go translate well into corporate strategies, creating important parallels between the major rules and mindset of Go and real-life business success. From maximizing limited time and resources to increasing focus and flexibility alike, The Way of Go : 8 Ancient Strategy Secrets for Success in Business and Life provides many important foundation lessons for both the game and business.

The author's view is that the game of Go is an ancient Japanese game.But we all know this game came from Ancient China and then Japanese brought into their country.So,the game of Go is an ancient Chinese game, not ancient Japanese one.