The Art of War for Small Business: Defeat the Competition and Dominate the Market with the Masterful Strategies of Sun Tzu PDF
Preview The Art of War for Small Business: Defeat the Competition and Dominate the Market with the Masterful Strategies of Sun Tzu
THE ART OF WAR FOR SMALL BUSINESS THE ART OF WAR FOR SMALL BUSINESS Defeat the Competition and Dominate the Market with the Masterful Strategies of SUN TZU Becky Sheetz-Runkle Bulk discounts available. For details visit: www.amacombooks.org/go/specialsales Or contact special sales: Phone: 800-250-5308 E-mail: [email protected] View all the AMACOM titles at: www.amacombooks.org American Management Association: www.amanet.org This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional service. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought. © 2014 Becky Sheetz-Runkle. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA Sheetz-Runkle, Becky. The art of war for small business : defeat the competition and dominate the market with the masterful strategies of Sun Tzu / Becky Sheetz-Runkle.—1 Edition. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-0-8144-3381-2 ISBN-10: 0-8144-3381-2 1. Small business—Management. 2. Strategic planning. 3. Leadership. I. Title. HD62.7S5254 2014 658.4’012—dc23 2014005358 This publication may not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in whole or in part, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of AMACOM, a division of American Management Association, 1601 Broadway, New York, NY 10019. The scanning, uploading, or distribution of this book via the Internet or any other means without the express permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions of this work and do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials, electronically or otherwise. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated. About AMA American Management Association (www.amanet.org) is a world leader in talent development, advancing the skills of individuals to drive business success. Our mission is to support the goals of individuals and organizations through a complete range of products and services, including classroom and virtual seminars, webcasts, webinars, podcasts, conferences, corporate and government solutions, business books, and research. AMA’s approach to improving performance combines experiential learning—learning through doing—with opportunities for ongoing professional growth at every step of one’s career journey. Printing number 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 To my husband, David Runkle. He deserves a medal. CONTENTS Acknowledgments Introduction PART 1—SEIZE THE ADVANTAGE WITH SUN TZU 1. About Sun Tzu and The Art of War 2. The Power of Applying The Art of War for Small Business PART 2–UNDERSTANDING: ESSENTIAL SUN TZU 3. Understand Yourself 4. Understand the Enemy 5. Understand the Market 6. Sun Tzu for Customers and Business Alliances PART 3—PRINCIPLES FOR THE BATTLEFIELD 7. Embody the General 8. Perseverance 9. Focus 10. Unity PART 4—ADVANCED SUN TZU: STRATEGY FOR YOUR SMALL BUSINESS 11. Maneuvering 12. Adaptation 13. Spirit 14. Deception 15. Sun Tzu and the Future of Your Business Appendix: Key Sun Tzu Passages for Small Business Notes Bibliography Index About the Author Free Sample Chapter from Do It! Marketing by David Newman ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The Art of War for Small Business relies on Lionel Giles’s translation as its primary source. I am also deeply indebted to Thomas Huynh for his translated and annotated The Art of War: Spirituality for Conflict, published by SkyLight Paths Publishing, and for generously allowing me to use many passages from his work here. Thomas has been a source of encouragement and understanding of Sun Tzu, and his perspective brings a more nuanced view of the philosopher- general. I’ve made some reference to the popular translation by Samuel B. Griffith of Oxford University, as well as the version presented to Steven Michaelson in Beijing at a symposium of the Research Society of Sun Tzu’s Art of War. I also relied on J. H. Huang’s Sun-Tzu: Art of War—The New Translation, published by Harper Paperbacks, for some translations as well as difficult-to-find historical context. I am grateful to each of these authors for their contributions to the Sun Tzu literature and for their guidance in developing The Art of War for Small Business.
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