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The Art of Action: How Leaders Close the Gaps between Plans, Actions and Results by [Stephen Bungay]

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Stephen Bungay

The Art of Action: How Leaders Close the Gaps between Plans, Actions and Results Illustrated Edition, Kindle Edition

by Stephen Bungay (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

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What do you want me to do? This question is the enduring management issue, a perennial problem that Stephen Bungay shows has an old solution that is counter-intuitive and yet common sense. The Art of Action is a thought-provoking and fresh look at how managers can turn planning into execution, and execution into results. Drawing on his experience as a consultant, senior manager and a highly respected military historian, Stephen Bungay takes a close look at the nineteenth-century Prussian Army, which built its agility on the initiative of its highly empowered junior officers, to show business leaders how they can build more effective, productive organizations. Based on a theoretical framework which has been tested in practice over 150 years, Bungay shows how the approach known as 'mission command' has been applied in businesses as diverse as pharmaceuticals and F1 racing today. The Art of Action is scholarly but engaging, rigorous but pragmatic, and shows how common sense can sometimes be surprising.

ISBN-13

978-1857885590
Edition

Illustrated
Sticky notes

On Kindle Scribe
Publisher

Nicholas Brealey
Publication date

Feb. 16 2011
Language

English
File size

1626 KB
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Product description

About the Author

Stephen Bungay is a Director of the Ashridge Strategic Management Centre in London and teaches on several executive programmes at Ashridge Executive Education. After completing his studies at Oxford and the University of Tubingen, he worked in the London and Munich offices of The Boston Consulting Group for 17 years and now works as an independent consultant and teacher and is a sought-after conference speaker. The approach described in The Art of Action has been adopted by a wide range of his clients ranging from mid-cap digital technology companies to major global corporates. An acclaimed military historian, Stephen has published two books in that field,The Most Dangerous Enemy: A History of the Battle of Britain and Alamein, both with Aurum Press, and is a frequent contributor to television programmes, having appeared on Channel 4, Channel 5, BBC2, BBC4, and a range of satellite and cable channels around the world.,
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--This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Review

What do you get if you cross a military historian with a management consultant? You get this fascinating book by Stephen Bungay. Bungay is a comfortable with management as he is with history and here cleverly draws on his knowledge of the latter to influence his thinking. This is a refreshing take on a well-covered area. A must-read for any would-be strategist. (DIRECTOR)

Review Author: Poul Bukh, Managing Partner, Core Strategy

Review Content:“In our experience senior executives in large corporations find the approach described in this book to be a tremendously helpful way of getting to the core of issues, setting direction and aligning the organization behind it. The techniques may have been developed 150 years ago, but they could not be more relevant to business today.”

Review Author: David Roblin, Senior Vice President, Pfizer Global R&D

“Stephen Bungay’s career as CEO, management consultant and historian enables him to bring a unique clarity to leadership and the art of making strategy happen. His study of the chastened Prussian military machine analyzing why it was defeated by Napoleon’s peasant army is illuminated with anecdotes from his career in business. It is this blend of evidence from the military to the business environment which makes this book so useful to the modern-day practitioner!"

Review Author: Martin Bean, Vice Chancellor, The Open University

“All too often, strategies fail to be implemented because they do not make tough choices between priorities and therefore leave people confused.The eminently pragmatic techniques described in this book area great way of sharpening up the thinking, the communication and the sense of accountability needed to get an organization moving. The ideas sound simple, but they are very powerful.”

Review Author: Eliot Forster, CEO, Solace Pharmaceuticals

Review Content:“The Art of Action is a must for anyone in business who takes their leader ship responsibilities seriously. Stephen Bungay draws upon his deep understanding of business strategy and military history and describes principles in his book that will have a real impact for thosewho adopt them. The Art of Action is the strategic handbook for today built on the insights of yesterday. This will be compulsory reading for all of my unit heads.”

Review Author: Jonathan Stevenson, Professor of Strategic Studies, U.S. Naval War College

Review Content:“We live in an age of strategic failure across the board – in international relations and economic affairs, on the battlefield as well as in the market place. Inventively and incisively, Stephen Bungay draws on Clausewitz's wisdom, military history, business literature, and common sense to develop the notion of ‘directed opportunism’ for breaking the ominous cycle of frustration.”

Patrick Forth, Senior Vice President, The Boston Consulting Group

Review Content:“Organizational alignment remains one of the biggest challenges for leaders of large corporations. Many have fine strategies but ‘the troops won't march in tune.’ Stephen Bungay delves into military history to provide a stimulating insight into how to arm leaders with a powerful concept which gets strategy off the PowerPoint presentation and into action. It is a simple, but profound and entertaining read.”

Review Author: Tom Glocer, CEO, Thomson Reuters

Review Content:“Leadership is an intangible value. What sets Stephen Bungay apart is that he draws upon his deep knowledge of historical military campaigns to highlight key leadership principles and then sets them in the context of modern business with an understanding of the particular challenges faced by each company he works for. The first part greatly entertains and captivates the audience and the second part really brings home the teachings we wish to impart. The results have been very good.”

Review Author: Aidan Walsh, Partner, Ernst & Young

Review Content:"This is not just another book about strategy. The Art of Action does not only present a radical, counter-cultural solution to the impasse business is facing today but it is grounded in real strategic execution in a fascinating organisation. It is the ‘Reengineering the Corporation’ of the 21st century. I intend to send a copy to all my clients --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B004CRSN2O
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Nicholas Brealey; Illustrated edition (Feb. 16 2011)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1626 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 306 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #96,206 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #73 in Business Systems & Planning (Kindle Store)
- #73 in Systems & Planning (Kindle Store)
- #121 in Business Decision-Making & Problem Solving (Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews:
249 ratings

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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5

249 global ratings

5 star		72%
4 star		20%
3 star		7%
2 star 0% (0%)		0%
1 star		1%

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Top reviews from Canada

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David Bellerive

Read this book

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on May 7, 2015

Verified Purchase

Written exactly as he prescribes; clear simple direction to move you forward. This is the best leadership book I have ever read. The lessons can be applied to business as a whole, but I also see some great opportunities in day to day work.

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on June 9, 2016

Verified Purchase

Good book.

Helpful

Ovidiu Nanuti

Un excellent livre de stratégie en combinant la stratégie d'affaires avec ...

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on March 30, 2016

Verified Purchase

Un excellent livre de stratégie en combinant la stratégie d'affaires avec la stratégie militaire et l'histoire.
Je le recommande fortement !!!

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Jason

A truly brilliant book!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on December 8, 2021

Verified Purchase

An in-depth analysis of, basically, how to get good results in what we do: whether in business, command or just everyday life. If you are in a hole, and need to get out, this book will give you some principles of how to get good “outcomes” from bad situations.
You may find the terminology easier to understand than some management books. In fact, this book is more about leadership, and effective leadership, than management.
There are some chapters which I found more difficult than others. But the military terminology, and the adaptation of strategy, was absolutely spot on. It explains that strategy is something that evolves and cannot always be planned for.
It’s not cheap, but that will reflect the potential value of such a book. It may very well change your life. It’s certainly a clear guide to help deal with the problems that life throws at us.
Invest in this book if you want to be a good leader.

2 people found this helpful

T. CHAPMAN

Best business book ever

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on December 31, 2013

Verified Purchase

This is a fascinating read - a superb bringing together of business leadership theory with the military equivalent. As I read it, I kept on excitedly spotting things that need to be improved in the organization in which I work. It goes beyond the trite business management fare and reveals that between "leadership" and "management" there is a much more important facet called "direction" - which makes excellent sense. The book offers many other similar insights that has greatly helped me to understand how organizations should thrive, and how to enthuse everyone to contribute.

It is also very engagingly written - Mr Bungay is also a great story teller, and so unusually for a management book, it leaves you wanting to keep turning its pages. His two historical books are also excellent reads too, and very revealing of the underlying strategic issues about how those battles were fought and won.

Not only is it the best business book I've ever read, it is the only one I've ever finished!

7 people found this helpful

steve black

Perceptive analysis of what's wrong with most business strategy advice

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on September 11, 2013

Verified Purchase

There are very few good books on business strategy and Bungay's isn't the best of that small list. But it is probably the only one that talks about how things need to be organised for strategy to be effectively implemented.

Bungay's insights, derived from military history, undermine a great deal of shallow conventional thinking on business strategy (his precision demolition of many very popular ideas is very welcome). It is particularly good to see a clear analysis of why too much planning can be bad for organisations and why "just follow the plan" is such dangerous advice. Great organisations are not machines that precisely follow instructions: they are adaptable to circumstances at every level.

How you organise makes a great deal of difference to how much success you are likely to have.

6 people found this helpful

Julian W.

Learning from History - a lesson in common sense

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on January 4, 2015

Verified Purchase

It's often the case that the answers to today's problems can be found in the past. In this book, Stephen Bungay bridges his work as both a management consultant and a military historian to look at the ways in which the Prussian (and later German) armies performed so effectively and shows how the same approach can be applied to make organisations more effective. Rather than expound a single 'big idea' as a 'silver bullet', the solution set out is - quite literally - common sense.

In a world where organisations seek to exert more and more control by setting performance metrics, KPIs etc as well as exerting control over staff 'behaviours', this book suggests the common sense alternative. Set the objectives at the top of the organisation (the 'what' and 'why') and let teams and individuals work out how best to achieve them, allowing them to react to changes in circumstances, opportunities etc without waiting for permission to be granted from 'above'. The examples provided and the suggested approach provide a fascinating insight into how team performance can be improved by putting responsibility back into the hands of individuals.

5 people found this helpful

Dettingen

Useful for civilian and military alike

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on November 6, 2019

Verified Purchase

Very good book taking Von Moltke's work around the idea of what today is known as 'mission command' and applying its lessons to wider practice in leading non-military organisations. In doing so though, it helps military people unpack and reconsider the base principles of something really important but drowned in military jargon and assumptions.

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Follow the Author

The Art of Action: How Leaders Close the Gaps between Plans, Actions and Results Illustrated Edition, Kindle Edition

Product description

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Review

Product details

About the author

Stephen Bungay

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