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ONCE UPON A time, a young man from the Midwest was living in New York in a boardinghouse and working at a low-level job in a large company. He had come from an average background and had only a high school education. He had little confidence in himself or in his long-term ability to accomplish very much in life. For almost three years, he got up in the morning, went to work, did his job, socialized with his few friends, and just accepted that this was the way things were supposed to be.
One day, an elderly stranger moved into the boardinghouse. The older man had traveled widely and claimed not only to be able to tell fortunes but also to tell people who they had been in their previous lives. The young man and the stranger met and spoke regularly as they came and went to and from their daily routines. One day, the stranger sat down with the young man and told him that he had had a revelation about the young man’s previous life, and that about these things, he said, he was never wrong.
He told the young man that in a previous life, he had been Napoleon Bonaparte. He had been one of the great statesmen, generals, and leaders of history. As Napoleon Bonaparte, he had risen from humble beginnings on the Island of Corsica, developed himself through hard work and application, become an officer in the French army, and eventually risen to become emperor of France.
The older man seemed to know of the young man’s life as Napoleon in great detail. He went on to tell the young man that Napoleon Bonaparte had led his armies in hundreds of battles all over Europe and Egypt and had achieved incredible victories against overwhelming odds. He had completely transformed the government of France and gone down in history as one of the greatest leaders of all time.
The young man was extremely skeptical. He didn’t really believe the stranger, even though he was flattered and intrigued by the idea of having been powerful and famous in a previous life. But as the weeks went by, the boarder kept adding new details about the young man’s life as Napoleon Bonaparte and his qualities of leadership, character, and personality. Eventually, the stranger’s wealth of detail and absolute conviction that the young man had actually been Napoleon in a previous life convinced the young man that the story was indeed true.
From that point forward, the young man began looking into himself for any indication that he might have the qualities of a great leader. He began to study the life and exploits of Napoleon. The more he studied Napoleon and the qualities of leadership, generalship, and the power of command that Napoleon exerted over his armies, the more the young man noticed that he also had the same qualities deep within him.
He began to study other generals as well. He studied military history. He studied books on leadership, both in business and in warfare. Repeatedly, he noticed occasions when he exhibited many of the same qualities that leaders everywhere had demonstrated throughout history. And the more he thought about these qualities, the more he began to walk and talk like a leader in his work.
He volunteered for assignments and took on additional responsibilities. He spent his spare time studying and upgrading his skills. He took the initiative to solve problems, make decisions, and get things done at his company. He held nothing back. Bit by bit, his fears and doubts were replaced by confidence and courage.
His superiors noticed the changes in the young man. They began to give him tasks and responsibilities commensurate with his increasing competence. Each time he was given something more to do, the young man embraced the opportunity and threw himself wholeheartedly into doing the job in an excellent fashion. As a result, he became more knowledgeable and experienced. He was soon paid more and promoted repeatedly.
By the time he was thirty, he was a different person from when he had moved from the Midwest. He had completely transformed from a shy young man to a bold, confident executive. He made ever greater and more important contributions to his company. Eventually, he rose to the top of his field and became a leading figure in his industry.
Whether or not this story is true doesn’t matter. The lesson of the story is this: if you think and act like a leader—if you learn the qualities and behaviors of great leaders, and you apply them in your daily life—you will inevitably evolve and mature into a leadership position in whatever you do. By taking complete charge of your life and your future, you will put yourself onto the fast track in your career.
Throughout history, some of the finest examples of leadership have been shown by generals who achieved victory in chaotic situations, often against great odds. Often, the decision of a single officer at one critical moment has decided the outcome of a battle, and even the fate of an empire. The incredible stress and confusion of the clash of armies often brings out the very best in a person.
Modern life is a battle as well. You are constantly competing in your work and business against uncertain forces in a turbulent environment. You face a never-ending succession of problems and crises. And while soldiers fight in only a few battles during their lifetimes, your battles never end.
Our uncertain world needs leaders now more than at any other time in history. There is perhaps no better decision that you can make than to be a leader—in your work, your family, your community, and your personal life. Your job is to step forward and take command. Your job is to accept responsibility and get things done.
Your success in life is largely determined by your ability to get results, to follow through in the face of adversity. The more difficult and important the results you achieve, the greater the glory and rewards you will receive for achieving them.
The quality of your life is determined by the quality of your thinking. The better you think, the better results you get. The more you identify with and emulate leaders, both past and present, the more you become like them. The more you think like a leader, the more you take the actions that leaders take and the more you get the results that leaders get.
Over the centuries, we have studied great military leaders and analyzed their battles. Thousands of historians and researchers have devoted themselves to finding the common denominators of victory or defeat in warfare. They have concluded that successful commanders win largely because of boldness, speed, surprise, and their resolute determination to achieve victory.
From the days of Thucydides and his History of the Peloponnesian War , the core principles of military strategy have been identified. These principles have then been taught to subsequent generations of officers in the armed services and military schools worldwide.
There are twelve basic principles of military strategy, which are necessary to assure victory and to avoid defeat. Each one of these principles by itself has been responsible for victories or defeats. Each of them is as applicable to business and personal success as to warfare.
These twelve principles, around which this book is written, are the principles of the objective, the offensive, the mass, maneuver, intelligence, concerted action, unity of command, simplicity, security, economy, surprise, and exploitation. In a tight contest, violation of any one of these principles can lead to defeat. The practice of any one of these actions can lead to victory.
Your goal as an entrepreneur, executive, sales professional, parent, employee, committee member—whatever your area of endeavor—is to learn and practice these principles in your business and your personal life. This book will show you how you can apply each one of these strategic thinking concepts to getting better results, faster perhaps than you ever imagined possible. These key ideas will show you how to achieve victory in any area!
The twelve principles of military strategy explain victory or defeat, success or failure—on the battlefield or in business or personal life. In addition, there are force multipliers , which can dramatically change the odds and improve the likelihood of victory or success in any competitive situation. A force multiplier enables a smaller force to increase its hitting power and impact at a critical point where victory is possible.
By applying one or more force multipliers to your situation, you can gain an advantage that enables you to defeat your enemy or outperform your competition. Some of these force multipliers are:
These are all factors that you can develop and apply to your business and personal life. How many of them do you use already?
Each of the principles of military strategy can be learned, and each of the force multipliers can be developed, thereby enabling you to multiply your own effectiveness and that of your organization.
Just as young officers are taught in the various military academies to think and take actions consistent with these principles and force multipliers, you can learn and practice these principles in the rough-and-tumble of daily life.
In your personal and work life, the stakes may not be as high as they are on the battlefield, where life and death hang in the balance. Nevertheless, men and women who achieve great things are those who take their responsibilities and their situations seriously. They leave nothing to chance. They study and prepare themselves so that they are ready to perform consistently well in the critical battles and key moments of life and work. In the famous words of Abraham Lincoln, “I shall study and prepare myself, and someday my chance will come.”
Your goal is not just to make a living, but also to make a great life. Your goal is to fulfill your potential as a person in every area, and to become everything that you are capable of becoming over the course of your life and career. As the army recruiting poster says, “Be all that you can be.” And to paraphrase famous Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi, “Winning is not a one-time thing; it’s an all-the-time thing.”
The great mistake that most people make is not realizing one key point: the failure to commit to excellence, to victory, leads by default to the subconscious acceptance of mediocrity, underachievement, and eventual defeat.
This book is written for the ambitious, energetic, determined, success-oriented individual, from executives, entrepreneurs, professionals, and other business leaders to leaders of all descriptions in all walks of life, who are absolutely determined to win big in life and work.
In the pages ahead, you will learn how to apply each of these key military principles of strategy in everything you do. You will learn how to think and plan strategically, focus and concentrate your talents and resources, take advantage of opportunities, protect against setbacks, work more effectively with others, and maximize all your abilities to achieve extraordinary success. You will learn how to achieve personal victory in whatever you choose. You will learn how to win the key battles, the ones that really matter. You will learn how to accomplish more in the next couple of years than most people accomplish in a lifetime.