dispatches from the new world of work

More Grant

Another Comment worth lifting! Richard Cauley added this absolutely fabulous Grant quote to my "U.S. Grant" file:

"The art of war is simple enough. Find out where your enemy is. Get at him as soon as you can. Strike at him as hard as you can and as often as you can, and keep moving on."

Thanks, Richard!

(Incidentally, sounds eerily like Bill Gates in days gone by.)

Tom Peters posted this on 07/19/06.

Comments

I love this quote by Napolean - "You must not fight too often with one enemy, or you will teach him all your art of war.â€

Posted by K.Sriram at July 20, 2006 3:55 AM

Great points. Another ONE that I heard: The Japanese art of war includes frequent references to winning over yourself before winning over anyone else. Perhaps this is the step that is necessary to become one with the market. There is no need to win if you are part of everything else. On the other hand, there is a lot to lose if you lock your company in a box.

Posted by Stefan Engeseth at July 20, 2006 12:09 PM

Mental note: first of all find out it's a him :-)

Posted by Andre Googe at July 21, 2006 5:54 AM

I just finished reading B Liddel Hart's book on strategy. I'm not sure that Napolean and Grant make the best role models. Napolean got himself mired down in Russia, Grant's casualty rates were very high. Hart makes the point that causing your opponent to lose even before fighting the first battle can be superior. Hart would probably like OODA. But a key is that manuever and pressure on the rear (sensitive areas) can prevail over a direct frontal attack (consider World War I).

Yes, I believe much of Hart's book is still applicable to business.

Posted by Steve Prevette at July 24, 2006 11:38 AM

Hey Tom,

Reading the summer 2006 MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History, I came across this quote in an article entitled "General Grant's Winning Ways " by Williamson Murray:

"Rosecrans came into my car and we held a brief interview, in which described very clearly the situation in Chattanooga , and made some excellent suggestions as to what should be done. My only wonder was that he had not carried them out."

This is from Grant's autobiography, and I believe it fits your Grant/Execution thesis perfectly: To much talk, to little do. I belive this quote would serve as a good slide . . .

I am a Revolutionary History buff, so I am not an authority on Grant or the Civil War, but the article states that Grant sacked Rosecrans as soon as he was able. Seems his was a bit of a fan of execution himself.

S. Anthony Iannarino

Posted by S. Anthony Iannarino at July 25, 2006 9:18 PM