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Executive Summary

I feel that the reason that this book was written was to answer, “Why is it that a request stated in a certain way will be rejected, while a request that asks for the same favor just stated in a slightly different way will be successful?”

In nature and in people, we all have fixed-action patterns that cause us to go on automatic pilot or click whir as the author tells. The story goes that a mother turkey hears her baby go cheep cheep and she will take care of it. If she hears a polecat go cheep cheep she will take care of it even though it is her natural enemy. Besides the fixed action pattern there is usually a trigger and in this case it is the sound of the baby. In the case of people, it can be that they have an innate desire to be seen as consistent or that they feel they must do something for you since you did something for them or perhaps someone in authority is telling them to do something. We all have our triggers that put the principles of consistency, reciprocation, social proof, authority, liking and scarcity into play without us even realizing it.

We all have automatic behavior patterns that serve us well so that we don’t have to think about every little thing we do, but at the same time they can make us vulnerable to anyone who knows how to use them against us.

The Ten Things Managers Need to Know from Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion

1.    What are the 6 weapons of influence? They are 6 automatic responses or short-cuts that we use for saying yes to requests. They can be used to our advantage or used to exploit us.

2.    The principle of reciprocation states that we should try to repay, in kind, what another person has provided us. For example, if someone buys you lunch, you feel obligated to buy them lunch the next time.

3.    The principle of consistency and commitment states that once we have made a choice or taken a stand we will encounter personal and interpersonal pressures to behave consistently with that commitment. An example would be of someone who is in a miserable marriage but won’t divorce because they made a public commitment in their oath “til death do us part”.

4.    The principle of social proof states, one means we use to determine what is correct is to find out what other people think is correct. This is just like monkey see, monkey do. If we don’t know proper protocol we look to see what the majority is doing.

5.    The principle of liking states that most people prefer to say yes to the request of someone they know and like. When people feel comfortable they tend be more positive, buy more, and obviously agree to more. So, if you want someone to comply to a request try to get on their good side.

6.    What determines liking? Compliments, cooperation, association, similarity, contact, and physical attractiveness all aid in getting someone to like you. If managers have or can attain some of these qualities to better get along with employees, it will only aid in success for the business.

7.    The principle for authority states that people tend to follow authority figures. We are taught from a very young age to respect our elders. Con artists exploit authority figures all of the time by dressing like them.

8.    The principle of scarcity states that opportunities seem more valuable to us when their availability is limited. Anything with a dead line or a limited time offer makes it seem a little more important to us because of its time availability.

9.    How can you use the principles to your advantage? Use the rejection-then –retreat technique for reciprocation in order to get the request you want. For commitment, get your target to write down their commitment to you because it makes them stick to it better. For social proof, let your target know which item is most popular and they’ll likely buy that one. For authority, act as though you are some big hot shot and you may get away with it. For scarcity, use limited time offers to up the value. With the liking principle all one must simply so is dish out complements.

10.    Exploitation-The book talks about going with your gut when faced with possibility of feeling exploited by a commissioner. When something is wrong most people usually know something is up, you just have to make sure that you are attentive when you are in these situations. 

Dr. Robert Cialdini Asw10 (Photo credit: Dave Dugdale)

Full Summary of Influence

The author, Robert B. Cialdini, discusses what makes us do the things we do. Why do we ask a question a certain way and are rejected but tweak the question and ask in a slightly different way and are successful? Why do we respond or react in certain ways?

The book is broken up into “weapons of influence”: reciprocation, commitment, social proof, liking, authority, and scarcity. The author shows us how these principles are used to exploit unsuspecting people by convincing them to comply, donate, vote, purchase, and etc.

Chapter 1

We all grow up learning and believing that certain situations should be handled certain ways and that certain people should be treated according to how they are viewed. We call this stereotyping but Cialdini, the author, says that we are preprogrammed and use the “click,whirr” formula. This means that, “click” and the appropriate automatic internal tape is activated; “whirr” and out rolls the standard sequence of behaviors. We respond this way because something triggers us to do so; it’s the way the preprogrammed tapes are activated. Cialdini called this aspect of the formula the trigger feature. He says that if you recognize this, you can use it to your advantage by getting people’s internal tapes to play at the wrong time. He demonstrates with a few examples.

An experiment done by Harvard social psychologist, Ellen Langer, proves that people are more successful at getting favors done for them when they provide a reason rather than without one. She demonstrated this unsurprising fact by asking a small favor of people waiting in line to use a library copying machine: Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the Xerox machine because I’m in a rush? 94% let her skip ahead. Compare this success rate to the results when she made the request only: Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the Xerox machine? This time only 60% complied with her. Now when you see the first part of this study, you automatically assume that the reason of the decreased percentage between questions was because of the difference in the additional information but the rest of the study proves otherwise. This time instead of using a real reason for compliance, Langler’s third type of request used the word “because” and then, adding nothing new, merely restated the obvious: Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the Xerox machine because I have to make copies? The result was nearly all (93%) agreed, even though no real reason was given and no new information was added to justify their compliance. Langer proved our automatic response and that the trigger factor here was simply the word, “because”. Click, whirr! Chapters 2-7 are the actual “weapons of influence” that show the click, whirr formula in use and how trigger features can be used to our benefit and what to pay attention to in order to avoid being the victim of them.

Chapter 2

    In chapter two Cialdini describes the first and one of the most potent weapons of influence around us as being the rule for reciprocation. The rule states that we should try to repay, in kind, what another person has provided us. A small scale example of this rule is from a university professor a few years ago who implemented a Christmas card experiment. He sent the Christmas cards to a sample of perfect strangers. He said that he expected some reaction but was not expecting what he got in return-holiday cards addressed to him came pouring back from people who had never met nor heard of him. They received his holiday greeting card, click, and, whirr, they automatically sent one in return.

It’s human nature that we feel obligated to return a favor even when a favor is placed upon us that we didn’t ask for. This “power” is one of the reasons reciprocation can be used so effectively as a device for gaining another’s compliance. Cialdini states, “The rule possesses awesome strength, often producing a “yes” response to a request that, except for an existing feeling of indebtedness, would have surely been refused.” Dr. Dennis Regan of Cornell University performed experiments to test this “power”. The first was the impact of the reciprocity rule on compliance. Regan set up a scenario where his assistant, Joe, was posing as a rater of some paintings as part of an experiment on “art appreciation”. Another person was in on the experiment as an unsuspecting guinea pig. They had a two minute break and Joe came back to the room with two cokes for him and the subject in one scenario and came back empty handed in the other. Joe then asked each subject to do him a favor by purchasing some raffle tickets from him so that he could win a new car and if he sold the most tickets he could win a fifty dollar prize. The major finding of the study was that Joe was more successful in selling his raffle tickets to the subjects who had received his earlier favor. This feeling that they owed him something apparently caused them to buy twice as many tickets as those who had not been given the prior favor.

Regan was also interested in how liking for a person affects the tendency to comply with that person’s request. He came to know that for those who owed Joe a favor from the coke that was given to them, it didn’t matter whether they liked him or not because they felt they had an obligation to repay him, and they did. Those who disliked Joe, in that condition, bought just as many tickets as those who did like Joe. The reciprocation rule was so strong that it overwhelmed the liking for the requestor, a factor that would normally affect the decision to comply.

The reciprocation rule also enforces uninvited debts. For example, a certain religious group solicits donations in airports by forcing a flower upon unsuspecting people, either by pressing it in their hands or quickly pinning it on their shirt. When the people say they don’t want it the religious group insists that they keep it as a gift and then ask for a donation. The unsuspecting people now feel obligated to give some amount of money to the group because of the “gift” that was put upon them.

The reciprocity rule can also trigger unfair exchanges that allow it to be exploited for profit. The rule demands that one sort of action be reciprocated with a similar sort of action. A favor is met with another favor; it is not to be met with neglect, and certainly not with attack. For example, some girls do not let guys buy them drinks in a bar because they don’t want there to be tension of obligated sexual favors.

Reciprocal concessions are the second way to implement the reciprocity rule to get someone to comply with a request. It’s called rejection-then-retreat technique. Suppose you want someone to agree to a certain request, one way to do this is to first make them a larger request that they will likely turn down. Once they turn down the request, you make the smaller one, the one you originally wanted them to comply with in the first place. The way to say no to the reciprocation weapon of influence is to try to recognize who is initiating the favor and what their intentions are.

Chapter 3  

Chapter three lectures on the second weapon of influence- consistency and commitment. Why is so powerful a motive? Society recognizes consistency as being valued and adaptive. Cialdini says, “A high degree of consistency is normally associated with personal and intellectual strength. It is at the heart of logic, rationality, stability, and honesty.” Because it is typically in our best interest to be consistent things can get very habitual for us, even when it isn’t the sensible way to be. Blind consistency, however, allows for shortcuts through life. We don’t have to think about pros and cons of everything, we simply just do it because it was consistent with an earlier decision. Mindless/automatic consistency also helps to ease the mind by knowing that once the final decision is made that everything will be okay for a little while because there is no more worrying about what decision to make anymore. Exploiters, however, will use this automatic reaction to their requests for our compliance. How do they exploit us? They know what the click is that will, in turn, make us whirr. The click is commitment because once a stand is taken there is a natural tendency to behave in ways that are stubbornly consistent with the stand.

    A good example of this in the book is when a toy store runs ads of the hottest new toy right before Christmas and demand spikes. The kids ask their parents for the toy for Christmas and when the parents go to the store to get the toy it is in “short supply”. The parents pick out another toy for the kids but because the parents made a commitment to their children, they go buy the toy after Christmas when the store, miraculously, has plenty in stock. This is no coincidence; the toy store knows the power of commitment and uses this as a strategy to boost sales after Christmas.

    Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.” This means that consistency, even though it’s good, can become automatic and its force can be used to exploit you. How do you avoid exploitation? The same way you do in reciprocation; you will get a feeling that the person who is trying to get you to comply isn’t being genuine. When you get that gut feeling, think about the commitment principle and apply it to your situation. Train yourself to be attentive and you will be able to avoid these types of scenarios completely.

Chapter 4

Walter Lippman said, “Where all think alike, no one thinks very much.” That quote directly correlates with the principle of social proof which states that, one means we use to determine what is correct is to find out what other people think is correct. There are many studies of social proof. Canned laughter is a perfect example of this because we laugh when we hear it on television even though we know it isn’t real. A night club that had a particularly long line had social proof that the club would be worthwhile.  Kids who were deathly afraid of dogs would overcome their fear if they saw other kids playing with the dogs, even if it was just a video. The closer in age of the kids on the video to the fearful child, the greater the impact was. The same sort of exposure process was done to unsociable children. They were shown a 23 minute video of 11 scenes where an isolated child slowly became more active with others until it finally was able to join in with other kids. The children who watched the video, just once, became very sociable. This shows how powerful a force social proof is if it can alter a socially awkward child’s way of thinking towards interacting with others.

    Cialdinin states, “When we are unsure of ourselves, when the situation is unclear or ambiguous, when uncertainty reigns, we are most likely to look to and accept the actions of others as correct.” Miss Genovese was stabbed to death while 38 people witnessed it. No one did anything because everyone was thinking that someone else had probably reported it already. Everyone around, however, was looking for social proof on what to do. So, if you ever need help in the midst of a group, make sure you call someone out directly and don’t just yell help in hopes of someone doing so because they’re all thinking someone else already has.

    When a suicide makes the front page of a paper, the social proof can be frightening. Research shows that the number of people who die in commercial air-lines increases by 1000% and automobile accidents spike. This happens because some people feel that when bad things happen that they should just end everything too. People become paranoid and start making safety mistakes in their jobs. This causes failures in cars, planes, boats, etc. and a rise in deaths. When an airplane pilot calls it quits they will make sure that it looked like an accident so that their loved ones can get insurance money and possibly save the family from embarrassment. This is called the Werther-Effect, rates of suicide increase in a surrounding the geographical areas where a front page suicide was highly publicized. This unsettling act of social proof shows us that people decide how they should act based on how some other troubled person has acted. Research found that, on average, 58 more people kill themselves in the two months after a front-page suicide. The wider the publicity of the suicide, the more people that kill themselves.

Chapter 5

    Clarence Darrow said, “The main work of a trail attorney is to make a jury like his client.” It is unsurprising to many that most people prefer to say yes to the request of someone they know and like which brings us to the principle of liking. How would a Tupperware party fit into this principle? It is the “quintessential American compliance setting”. Reciprocity-you get prizes for games played at the beginning of the party and everyone gets a prize. Commitment-everyone is urged to talk about how much they love their Tupperware they currently own. Social proof-once the buying begins it makes you feel that the product is good and you need more. Finally, liking-your friend asked you to have the party and if your friends buy they know you will get more hostess favors.

    Going along with the liking principle, research shows that we automatically assign favorable traits as talent, kindness, honesty, and intelligence to good-looking people. We make these judgments, most of the time, being unaware that attractiveness plays a role in the process. Good-looking doesn’t necessarily mean good but we somehow see it that way and it is present in our legal system. Research shows that attractive men receive significantly lighter sentences. It is very noticeable, in society today, that pretty people have huge social advantages. Teachers even expect cuter kids to be more intelligent than those who aren’t as cute.

    “We tend as a rule to believe praise and to like those who provide it oftentimes when it is clearly false. In fact positive comments produced just as much liking for the flatterer when they were untrue as when they were true.” That is true but we must also look at the other end of the spectrum when you are continually exposed to someone who is unpleasant. That constant negative condition leads to less liking. It’s human nature for a person not to like someone because of the unpleasant nature of their news and that’s why advertisers try to connect themselves or their products with things that we like.

    Research shows that we assume that we have some of the same personality traits as our friends. You like things/people that are most like you so it only makes since that people naturally root for their own sex, culture, and locality. Whoever you root for represents you, so when that contestant that you voted for on American Idol goes through to the next round, you win!

    Make sure you recognize those who try to use the liking principle against you and make you do things you wouldn’t ordinarily do. Car salesmen are bad about that so be aware and make sure you’re complying to requests at your own free will.

Chapter 6

    The principle of authority states that when a person in a position of authority tells you to do something, most of the time you do it. We were brought up to respect and obey our elders so we all have some deep-rooted notion to “just do” when an authority tells us to, without any other considerations. A doctor had prescribed R EAR drops to a patient with a sever ear infection. Neither the nurse nor the patient questioned the doctor and the drops were injected into the patient’s rear! The doctor wrote R EAR for Right Ear but it didn’t matter because the authority had spoken.

    Sometimes you only have to appear as though you are an authority to get people to do what you want. Those types of people are called con-artists and can exploit you by having fake titles, clothing, and other authoritative accessories. Some people who are an actual authority try to cover it up when they don’t need to be in that position because that title can make others act differently around you. A professor hid his title because he noticed people would sensor themselves around him and he didn’t like that.

When others see you as an authority they automatically add 2.5 inches on you because authority figures are thought of as tall. Clothing deals a lot with authority; showing less skin makes you seem more legitimate. Wearing glasses makes you seem more intelligent and the color navy makes you seem more business-like.

It’s obviously pretty easy for someone to act like an authority to get one over on you, but the more aware you are of these people, the less likely you are to get exploited.

Chapter 7

    “The way to love anything is to realize that it might be lost.”-G.K. Chesterson. The principle of scarcity states that opportunities seem more valuable to us when their availability is limited. A good example of this is when you’re in the middle of talking to someone and they just cut you off because their phone started ringing. That call could’ve been really important because it was scarce, it didn’t matter how rude they thought they were in their mind. Another example would be that homeowner who are told that they could lose money by not installing proper insulation were more likely to do so rather than those who were told they would save money by installing proper insulation in their house. Retail uses a limited tactic to get you to buy. They only put out so much merchandise so it makes you feel you need to buy it right then and there.

Summary

    We’ve gotten so accustomed to our short-cuts in life that we tend to only see one piece of available information. With the hectic schedules of our day to day lives we need those short-cuts, however, and when someone tries to use them against us we should be aware of what they’re doing and know how to retaliate.

The Video Lounge

This video gives a little background on Robert Cialdini and allows him to briefly touch on the 6 weapons of influence and their meaning. A few ads will play throughout to help better explain a particular concept Dr. Cialdini is speaking on.

Personal Insights

I think that Robert B. Cialdini is one of the most brilliant people around because he took everyday concepts that we normally overlook and showed us how they were being used to exploit us and how we can prevent it. He broke down the reasons we are influenced into 6 principles of reciprocation, commitment and consistency, social proof, liking, authority, and scarcity. Once you read how he explains we are influenced it makes you more aware of the power of these principles. Using them as short-cuts for everyday life is efficient but it made me realize that I should be more attentive to all other available external information when I find myself in those influential situations so that I am able to defend myself properly.

• If I were the author of the book, I would have done these three things differently:

1.    If I were the author of this book I would definitely put more reader’s reports in it. The reports were real life scenarios sent as letters to the author. The examples in that the author gave were good but it always helps when there’s something you can actually relate to.

2.    The book is over 300 hundred pages and could’ve been summed up in about 20.  A lot of the topics were just overkill and I had to drudge through a lot. The values learned from the principles were very valuable if you could get through all of the clutter.

3.    I would’ve taken out the “How to Say No” sections in each chapter because they were just redundant. Being able to say no to commissioners was the same for all principles, that being you need to recognize and be aware of the people requesting favors from you and use your gut to determine their intentions.

• Reading this book made me think differently about the topic in these ways:

1.    I never thought about how I was actually influenced to do certain things. Cialdini said that these principles were automatic responses for us to cut through the everyday hassles and I now realize it in hindsight. It made me question if there were other preprogrammed things in my life that I should pay more attention to.

2.    Now that I’m aware of the exploitation that can occur from those taking advantage of our short-cuts (6 principles), it makes me wonder about the intentions of some whom I have complied with. I will, most likely, over think a favor from now on.

3.    If changing the way you ask a question completely changes another person’s attitude toward their response I will always consider “influencing” a strategic tactic. I never gave it much thought before but when I thought of the word influence and what it meant, I immediately thought of bribery and that was it. My thought process of the word has been completely wiped out and transformed into something I now consider an art form. I strongly believe that there should be a business elective dedicated to the teachings of persuasion and influence rather than personal selling.

• I’ll apply what I’ve learned in this book in my career by:

1.    Because I work in sales this book will definitely come in handy. The rejection-then-retreat technique was a good sales tactic for me to learn. It states that to increase your chances for someone to agree to a certain request, offer them a larger request, one that they will most likely turn down. After they refuse, make the smaller request that you were initially interested in all along and most of the time they will comply with it.

2.    I believe that because I can now acknowledge influential principles it will help me to advance in my field of marketing. Most marketing careers are based on getting a motion out of others and if I know what makes them tick then I will be one step above the rest.

3.    If I become a manager of some sort, I plan to teach my staff how they can apply these principles to their life. I believe the more people who know about the power of the influences will aid in the decrease of exploitation.

Here is a sampling of what others have said about the book and its author:

    There have been nothing but rave reviews for this book; I even searched for negative comments but nothing was published that I could find. Every review was in sync with one another about how strongly they felt that this book is a must read. If you plan to go into sales or have a degree in marketing, all critics felt that it would be in your best interest to read this book especially if you want to get ahead and stay ahead in the ever-changing business world. George Abler, executive partner with Garnter Executive Programs, says that he was able to continually relate the principles and examples to experiences in his life (Ambler, 2012).

    All review also concurred that they wouldn’t have expected anything less from Dr.Robert Cialdini, judging by his first two books: Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to be Persuasive and Influence. They all admit to have been in a situation of influence where the advice of Dr. Cialdini would’ve been nice to have at the time. The principles taught are considered necessary, by most of the critics, to have in everyday life, not just for business aspects. They all thoroughly enjoyed the book, as did I, and would highly recommend it to anyone wanting to collectively advance or better themselves.

Bibliography

Ambler, G. (2012, September 5). Book Review: Influence – The Psychology of Persuasion. George Ambler – Leading in Turbulent Times. Retrieved April 15, 2013, from http://www.georgeambler.com/book-review-influence-the-psychology-of-persuasion/

Cialdini’s Six Principles of Influence – Communication Skills Training from MindTools.com. (n.d.). Mind Tools – Management Training, Leadership Training and Career Training. Retrieved April 15, 2013, from http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/six-principles-influence.htm

Cialdini, R. B. (2007). Influence: the psychology of persuasion (Rev. ed. ; 1st Collins business essentials ed.). New York: Collins.

Reeves, J. (2009, June 29). Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion Book Review. Kaizen Marketing, Inc.. Retrieved April 15, 2013, from influence-the-psychology-of-persuasion-book-review

Rieck, D. (n.d.). Influence and Persuasion: How to Trigger the “Yes” Response. Direct Creative. Retrieved April 15, 2013, from http://www.directcreative.com/influence-and-persuasion-how-to-trigger-the-yes-response.html

Stephens, R. (2012, August 20). Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion Book Review | Ryan Stephens Marketing. Ryan Stephens Marketing: Bulding Intimate Business Relationships. Retrieved April 25, 2013, from http://ryanstephensmarketing.com/blog/influence-the-psychology-of-persuasion-book-review/

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Contact Info

To contact the author of this article, “A Summary and Review of Influence by Alexi Ingraffia,” please email alexi.ingraffia@selu.edu or lexi.ingraffia09@gmail.com.

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The events recounted in Boule de Suif are part of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. The hated, feared and very militaristic Prussians have begun their attack on French society and, as part of the wider events, a small force takes over and occupies a small French community and the collection of middle and upper class individuals (what in the UK we would call ‘people of quality’) who happen to be there. Owing to unanticipated circumstances, the Prussians must stay overnight and the people of quality are concerned about possible outrages on their persons and their property.

To find a way to buy their safety, the leaders of this little community attempt to persuade Boule de Suif to sleep with the Prussian leader, without charge if required, so that he will be distracted and not order any mischief. Boule de Suif herself is unwilling: she is as patriotic as the next person, more so perhaps, and expresses her outrage at what the Prussians have done. However, she is eventually persuaded that it would be better for society as a whole if she sacrifices herself in this way to protect the remainder of society (or at least the people of quality – there is little concern from anyone concerning what happens to the people of no quality). Thus, she goes off to seduce the Prussian officer, with the required degree of success.

Alas for Boule de Suif, the next day, having sacrificed all of her principles, not to mention her commercial integrity, she is shunned by the good people of society as not just a fallen woman but someone akin to being a traitor. The situation reveals the nature of society and its hypocrisy: readers will immediately think of the French Revolution a century before and the subsequent use of terror against those accused of hypocrisy. However, there is scarcely a country in the world which does not suffer from its own surfeit of double standards and hypocrisy by the rulers and the morally repugnant elites of every society.

However, there was certainly a more serious aspect to this social change. While people might worry about the need for refinement, good taste and proper attire in public society, they were still not safe from the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. Indeed, the very means that had enabled this class to emerge (e.g. better infrastructure, faster vehicles and communications) were also the means by which those people could be brought into danger. This is perhaps best seen in Guy de Maupassant’s wonderful short story ‘Boule de Suif.’ In this story, a community of the French bourgeois/minor aristocracy is occupied by a fearsome Prussian military force as part of one of the world’s first genuinely modern conflicts (i.e. the Franco-Prussian War of 1870). For various reasons, the Prussians are required to stay overnight and the unwilling French hosts must find a way of dealing with them in a proper way – it is like being polite to a wild animal, of course.

To preserve their own safety, the aristocratic leaders convince a young sex worker, the eponymous Boule de Suif (which is a nickname meaning something like Ball of Lard) to sleep with the leading Prussian officer. While he is so engaged, the Prussian soldiers will not be put to any mischief and the society can continue as if in normal conditions. Boule de Suif herself is as patriotic as the next person and initially refuses but is finally persuaded that it is in the greater good of the country that she should consent.

However, once the girl has done her duty and the Prussian menace leaves, she is then shunned by the respectable French society she has saved from possible ruin. Here, the comic and the tragic mix.

Why is it assumed that anyone intelligent or cultured will automatically laud Shakespeare? I am bored of statements that he is the world’s finest writer – it seems people regurgitate this view rather than thinking for themselves. Have they read all the other writers then? Theatre and literature have to include him and revere him. Well here’s someone whose both cultured, a writer and has 3 degrees and has the courage to say:

I disagree.

Since he appeared at the start of purpose built theatres, it is likely that some of his superlative titles and appeal dates from that. We often award classic status to those who are at the beginning of an era. It makes it hard for those writers who come later, as if the best has already happened.

Why has he endured and not others? I am wondering…

Shakespeare is often seen as highbrow, though I have just realised that his own audiences were very cross sectional. Trying to please a wide audience is part of his downfall. The fights, the silliness, the crudeness are major reasons why I dislike him. Apart from bawdiness, it is much like the early episodes of TV Wonder Woman and Titanic: including a little bit of everything, and the mix is often not successful.

I’ve just rewatched Shakespeare in Love and find myself softening to a film that I have always felt vehemently against.

‘Shame that the view that came to me at its release was that it was full of in-jokes for puffed up intellectuals.  I believe, having listened to both DVD commentaries, that this would disappoint its makers. It’s not mean to be snobby – the intention is the reverse. Title role actor Joseph Fiennes said the film will infuriate academics (now I’m interested!) One of its co-authors said the film takes Shakespeare off his pedestal but ends by putting him back as you see why he’s there. Comments from cast and crew as to what they love about Shakespeare felt genuine rather than conforming to the expected sycophancy.

The other aspect of Shakespeare I especially hate is this intense young  love with quick consummation and swoony sickness. True love endures and has to take in practicalities as well as transcendent passions. Titanic being called Shakespearean is right and also why I don’t get that movie. Time spans a few days are not enough to establish a love that I’m interested in and will root for and get upset about. Powerful emotions can be felt instantly on meeting someone, but they need to last much longer to be something worth celebrating, where passion exists with connection and companionship. Poetry and fornication are not enough.

I especially hate Romeo and Juliet for their killing themselves over the loss of each other. I have always believed that one’s  life and happiness is not dependent on the presence or approval of anyone or thing. It’s a ridiculous and dangerous tenet to posit the reverse. Will and Viola in Shakespeare in Love (and Rose in Titanic) are given something better from their brief encounter – an understanding that has helped me appreciate both stories. But I am not impressed by the all too common motifs of love at first sight in films – usually over a dance. In Shakespeare in Love, I don’t like the marriage vow break on both sides. And I don’t like grabbing balls of Sam the girl boy actor and then Mr Tilney master of revels (Simon Callow) showing them to theatre – a grave offence for either man or woman and worse that its’ meant to be funny. I also strongly object that torture especially over debts is meant to be funny.

However, there is redemption in the theatre for the torturer’s boss as falling in love with theatre changes Mr Fennyman (it’s shame his thug Lambert doesn’t), and the rivalry of the two theatres is also buried in a common cause as The Curtain offers its stage to the Rose’s actors.

I have gripes over filming location matters. Director John Madden in the commentary got Hatfield House’s date wrong: he mentioned it was Queen Elizabeth’s home but forgot to say, not the bit they filmed. That was made 30 years after her death, in a different style of architecture. Hatfield stands in for Greenwich Palace – the original is wrongly said on to have been on site of the Millennium Dome (now O2); it was actually closer to the Royal Naval College.

The wrong kind of stone is used for set of the theatres/Elizabethan London – they’ve chosen Welsh looking grey stone that isn’t in the London area. Brougham castle, used for the De Lessop’s home, is also the wrong kind of stone for a London house. It should have been somewhere made of red brick or flint.

I hated the American new world end and baulked even more at the director’s suggestion of putting Manhattan skyline in the clouds as Viola walks up an English beach. It’s as if some of the film makers forgot whose country Shakespeare belongs to and was trying to please American audience too much. The American producer had the grace to say that her insistence to change a sequence which she said an American audience wouldn’t accept was rightly ignored. I think America insults itself sometimes with its low self expectations of its people.

Due to the nature of the love it shows and the lack of spirituality in the film, it remains unable to reach the levels of profundity it may have aimed for. The royal wager about plays showing true love was most certainly lost.

But this week’s rewatching (and reading) of Shakespeare in Love has at least removed the snobbery belief, and it’s made me wonder about Shakespeare and willing to give him another try. I like that a non academic wrote to please a wide range of society – and the egalitarianism alone is endearing. I doubt I’ll ever appreciate Romeo and Juliet unless I find some subversive reading of it; but I am open to finding Shakespeare plays that are self evidently worth at least some of the accolades attributed to them. But it’s also important to remain free to say so if I don’t.

‘Two households, both alike in dignity, in fair Verona, where we lay our scene. From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. From forth the fatal loins of these two foes, a pair of star-crossed lovers take their life,” writes William Shakespeare in “Romeo and Juliet”; the enduring tale of love, hate and passion.

It is no wonder why Shakespeare chose to set the stage for his play in Verona, Italy. The northern Italian city is an enchanting blend of old and new. Although Romeo and Juliet may have brought worldwide intrigue to the city, Verona is a historical jewel, worthy of recognition on its own. Take one look at Verona and you will feel like you are stepping into a medieval painting, one that shimmers in the sunlight, with lush greenery, rainbow colored villas, and cobble stone streets.

Enjoy one of the many piazzas or town squares located in the heart of city to absorb the sights and sounds of Verona. Although Verona is a popular tourist spot, Piazza’s like the Piazza delle Erbe are truly authentic. You can drink espresso with friends or take a leisurely stroll, stopping by outdoor markets that sell enticing fresh herbs and spices. Verona also sells Italian fashion right off the runways and has high-end Italian designer shops throughout the city.

Consider stopping into one of Verona’s many chic clothing stores if you plan on seeing an opera or ballet at the Arena Di Verona, an ancient outdoor theatre with stone seats; a thriving Mecca for concerts. The arena’s 89th season of their annual opera festival will start in June this year, and is widely acclaimed for being one of the best venues in the world.

After a visit to the opera, you can wine and dine at one of the many popular or smaller family-owned restaurants. Meats are typically boiled and are served with a fruit, wine or cheese sauce, accompanied by rice, gnocchi (potato filled dumplings), or risotto.

A Veronese staple, Pastisada de Caval is a stew with an unusual main ingredient, horse meat. Another essential dish is a donkey stew, Stracotto d’asino that is mixed with traditional Veronese wine. If horse or donkey stew sounds a bit too adventurous, you could also try a milder dish, Risi e bisi. This dish primarily uses rice and peas, incorporated into a soup like consistency. Dolce di Tagliatelle is a unique dessert that uses noodles with apples, almonds and raisins with a heavy cream sauce. Make sure to pair your meal with one of Verona’s finest wines such as the dry red wine, Amarone or white wine, Soave.

You can capture quintessential elements of Verona into your everyday cuisine as well. Make your own non-labor intensive Veronese meal with Rise e bisi by combing chicken stock, olive oil, garlic, rice, peas and top with Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. For dessert, bake your own Dolce Di Tagliatelle, a wonderful substitute for a cobbler or pie, and pair with a dry wine.

Cover of Leadership

Executive Summary

The book “Leadership” by Rudolph Giuliani is a great instrument for directing new comers into the position of a leader. For people entering the leadership position for the first time can have difficulty understanding what is expected of them. Without the appropriate understanding a person can without doubt be overcome by becoming a leader. By reading the book “Leadership” this will be of assistance to train a person to under successful leadership strategies.

To develop into a great leader you have got to understand the work it takes. As a leader you will expected to formulate high-quality decisions for the corporation. It will be your responsibility to communicate the mission of the corporation to your employees. You will be obligatory to employ people to accomplish the undertaking of the business in the most well-organized and accurate approach. When dealing with a customer you will be require to recognize how and why you will need to guard yourself and company.

Image via Wikipedia

This book “Leadership” furnishes a lot of techniques on the appropriate method to become a great leader. It will make clear how being prepared will assist you in the ability to formulate immediate decisions by having a plan of action previously established. It will educate you to pull from your history to comprehend how you feel about different circumstances and demonstrate to you that you must voice this to your employees so that they will be familiar with what you expect. This book will also instruct you that you must hold people accountable for their mistakes but at the same time make you be aware of why it is not good to jump to conclusions before you collect the whole chronicle from all resources. You will get accommodating knowledge of how you should take care of people in a business atmosphere. This book will channel you into looking deeper at potential new employees to make certain they are a good quality equivalent to what you require and would like as an employee. When it comes to dealing with customers this book enlightens you how you can assist yourself in avoiding losing while taking care of the customers that cannot are will not stand behind what they declare they will do.

I believe that every person entering into a leadership responsibility ought to be especially knowledgeable in the ability of leading. This is a book that can launch you on the right pathway of the knowledge required. Investing your time in reading this book will be well worth it. After reading “Leadership” by Rudolph Giuliani you will have a great start on the knowledge needed to develop into a flourishing leader. “Leadership has taught me a number of valuable lessons that as the proprietor of a small business will help to steer me in the construction of a superior and well-built company.

The Ten Things Managers Need to Know from “Leadership”

1. Preparation is essential in being a good leader. As a leader you will be called upon to formulate immediate decisions. If you have planned for every circumstance that you can think about and carry out those scenarios to perfection, you will be able to identify precisely what to do when a predicament takes place. This will allow you to concentrate on those tribulations that you have not considered to put together your responses.

2. Look at your history through your life time and draw from your past to recognize the type of person you are. Embrace your viewpoints powerfully and let people that you are leading be familiar with those viewpoints. Stand sturdy to your viewpoints and only modify them when you have learned that you have been inaccurate.

3. Have a purpose for what you are trying to accomplish. Organize your resources to efficiently complete your assignment. Having a purpose will help to energize those needing to bring together all the phases of a project

4. Be accountable for your actions if you have not accomplished what you were charged with doing. Keep those whom you employ accountable for their actions. Do not rush to a conclusion about something an employee is accused. Make certain that you have all the facts of a situation to ascertain fault.

5. Do not attempt to act like someone you are not. Once you begin acting like someone else you will be expected to continue to act that way. You have got to be the person you actually are so that you will not have to do things that are in opposition to your viewpoints. People possibly will not be fond of the true you but they will respect you for being true.

Image via Wikipedia

6. Make sure you surround yourself with the best possible person to work for you. Having people around you with the same viewpoints will help to have people that expect a similar outcome of the duties. Having the most qualified people on your team will assist in giving you the best chance for success.

7. Loyalty starts with the leader. A leader ought to be loyal to his employees and the company. You cannot expect to just be given loyalty you have got to earn loyalty. Your employees will see the loyalty you give to them they will and in turn they will be more likely to return that loyalty to you as their leader

8. Do not be afraid of people whom try to threaten you. Stand firm and do not give in to their threats. Let people know that you will not be pushed around.

9. Just when you think you know everything about a subject something new will develop. Education is a never ending process in these days of technology it is rapidly changing. To be a good leader you must take the initiative to step up and continue to learn. It is up to you to continue your education no one else can do it for you.

10. Know the people you are dealing with in your daily business. Make sure that you only deal with those people that can and will complete what they have agreed to accomplish. If you are not certain that the people you are dealing with make sure you have a written contract to attempt to force them to do what they have agreed upon. Do not be afraid to just not doing business with them.

Full Summary of “Leadership”

Mayor Rudolph Giuliani tells how he wrote this book based on his life. He discusses his experiences from his childhood to becoming an adult. How his experiences shaped him into the man he is today and lead him throughout his time as Mayor of New York

• September 11, 2001

This chapter discusses the attacks on the twin towers in New York City and the event that began to unfold during that day in September 11, 2001. It also tells that to be a leader imperative to be prepared and organized to make immediate decisions. There are points in a leader’s career that you do not have time to think, you will have to decide instantly and alone for everyone will be looking to you for answers.

• First Things First

This chapter informs how Mayor Giuliani set forth that there should be a meeting among leaders in an organization on a daily basis. This is to insure that every person in management is well well-versed on what is anticipated from their departments and to have the capability to communicate information on potential problems that have taken place to the Mayor. This chapter also discusses how problems should be attacked at its smallest element to quickly obtain results then to construct way on which to deal with the larger problems one step at a time.

• Prepare Relentlessly

This chapter presents the perception that as a leader you are required to be prepared for anything that comes about. Preparation in advance for possible problems ought to be completed and communicated to subordinate management. Preparation by itself is not sufficient, practice is also required to establish whichever plans that have been prepared will in reality work and provide the opportunity to work out any predicaments that may perhaps get in the way of the objectives to be accomplished. As a leader you can by no means, be too prepared for an upcoming situation, yet with additional preparedness you will have the ability to be quicker and more efficient when it comes to making decisions. You will be competent to formulate a decision when matters are critical and feel confident that you have made the accurate decision.

• Everyone is Accountable All of the Time

Mayor Giuliani uses the philosophy of “I’m responsible”. In taking this philosophy the mayor held his staff to the identical standards that he held himself. To give surety to the mayor that these standards were being accomplished he set up a statistics system that evaluated his managers and their departments to discover inefficiencies that may exist. The mayor would then hold the manager accountable to give explanation for the problems and lay down strategy to correct the inefficiencies. This strategy set for by the mayor not merely placed his managers forward to be accountable but it facilitated managers to observe the inefficiencies they had in their departments letting them identify what area required to be targeted for correcting problems.

• Surround Yourself with Great People

Leaders ought to investigate to discover the paramount individual to work for them. In every area of business department managers ought to be selected on their capability and knowledge. This is an approach to give surety that responsibilities are accomplished in the most excellent method. As a leader you will be familiar with the fundamentals of the situations needing to be accomplished in a assignment but that does not indicate you will do the job superior than someone else. So to be a leader you have got to position an individual in management that you can trust to complete an assignment in an efficient and professional manner.

• Reflect Then Decide

Constructing decisions can be exceptionally troubling to leaders. Leaders ought to take their time in making decisions. If you are not certain of what needs to be done it is ok to wait to the last minute to formulate a decision. Do the research to search out as much information as possible to compose a knowledgeable decision. On occasion decisions do require to be completed quickly so it is the leaders’ responsibility to be prepared.

• Under Promise and Over Deliver

Don’t make a promise that you can’t keep. This means that if you are not certain of the conclusion you should not notify someone that it to come to pass. Sometime it is better to put into operation a plan to observe how it works before you make public than to have to give explanation why you made a pledge that you could not keep. If things go wrong with something you pledge even if it is the blunder of someone else, you as the leader will be held answerable to your pledge.

• Develop and Communicate Strong Beliefs

Leaders ought to develop into a thinker and pull from your past to discover your individual ideas. These ideas are what make you who you are as a person and a leader. These ideas can be utilized to set a principle for getting things accomplished. Accede to the people you are leading the knowledge of your viewpoints, so that they can be aware of what you are trying to accomplish. As you go throughout life you may perhaps determine that your viewpoints are incorrect. You should to maintain an open mentality to transform your viewpoints and then stand by what your new belief is.

• Be Your Own Man

Be true to yourself and act the way you know. In other words don’t endeavor to be someone you are not. You are the individual that has to answer to what you do. If you try to perform like something someone would like you to be you will never get it correct. To achieve respect as a leader from others, you have got to be who you are and not attempt to try to be like someone else because you believe that is what people want to perceive and take notice of. People would much rather deal with a genuine person instead of a fake, even if they do not like what you are doing. Being who you are has gotten into the leadership position you are in, changing that will simply tear down the reputation you have labored so rigidly to obtain.

• Loyalty: The Vital Virtue

Loyalty is earned not given. Loyalty can make are break a leader. It is not so to a great extent the loyalty you receive that can break you nevertheless it is the loyalty you provide to your employees. You should to be loyal to your employees giving them the benefit of the doubt when problems come up. Just because you provide them the benefit does not represent that you do hold them accountable for something they did wrong. Make certain you have all the particulars first before you make a judgment. If you are not loyal to your employees and it turns out that they are not guilty of the infraction then you will lose the loyalty of each and every one of your employees. No one would be enthusiastic to stand up for you if you are not prepared to stand up for them. Like the old saying goes “Do on to other as you would have them do on to you”.

• Weddings are Discretionary, Funeral are Mandatory

As a leader it is a good practice to be there for your employees during the dire times in life. This demonstrates you to be a strong leader who appreciates their employees. If for various rationales you are incapable to be there for your employee in their time of need, have someone in management go to their assistance in your place. Throughout the good times people may become displeased with you for not being there for them, but during the bad times it will make them believe as if they did not mean anything to their leader. This will cause other employees to perceive you in the same manner lowering the moral of everyone working for you. Even though you may hate being around for someone during their bad times, it can be the best time to receive mass amounts of admiration and devotion from your employees.

• Stand Up to Bullies

Stand up to people who make threats to you and do not back down. If an employee threatens you that he or she is going to quit if he does not acquire an increase in wages, benevolently convey appreciation to them and accept their resignation. You may possibly be losing an outstanding employee although it will lay down the tendency for the remainder of your employees that you will not give in to intimidation. If you give in to intimidations be prepared to be meet head-on by many more of the same intimidating threats.

• Study Read Learn Independently

Learning should on no account stop in your lifetime. You should at all times be open to gain knowledge of new things about the world around you. This will assist you shelter yourself from people who are trying to defraud you into something. If you have a assignment that is approaching that you are not an authority on you need to do research on the subject matter so that you will not be entering into the assignment not having some variety of comprehension.

• Organize Around a Purpose

In business you have got to have a purpose for what you are attempting to accomplish. If you do not have that purpose then you have no proper goals. You have got to discover a motivation for what you are attempting to get accomplished. Once you comprise your purpose then you can place together an arrangement of the best technique to complete your mission. Development of a plan is essential to organizing a project. You ought to make use of every apparatus or advantage that is obtainable to you. With organization you will discover that projects will be more efficient, saving you time and money in the project. Construction of a purpose in the wake of the project you are attempting to accomplish will have a tendency to motivate the individuals in charge of making the assignment work.

• Bribe Only Those Who Will Stay Bribed

Only deal with individuals that are true to their word. You will not always be able to trust the individuals you are dealing with in business so make sure that you place every element down into a written contract so that you can force the person to complete what they declare they will carry out. If you identify that the individuals you are endeavoring to deal with cannot follow through with their portion of the agreement then do not deal with them. Stay away from individuals who cannot or will stand good to their agreement.

• The Recovery

When things go bad you cannot bring to a halt working. As a leader you have got to be the individuals to stand strong. It is your job to reorganize and initiate a program to move forward. Pool your resources and organize your manager in assessing matters that are most important. After you know what is needed start with the most important task and the work to least important. Do not be afraid to accept help from those that offer. Troubled time in a business can cause extreme mental pressure on its leader. So do not be scared or fell you will not be respected if you step away from the problem and take some personal time to reflect on the lighter times. Having a clear mind will allow you to step back into the situation and concentrate to accomplish your task more efficiently.

The Video Lounge

[youtube= http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Udu7HPql3zU]

Personal Insights

Why I think:

• With business conditions today, what the author wrote is still true because: the concept of leadership has not changed since the writing of this book. Leaders need to be strong and ready to make quick decisions in the business world. As a leader you still need to have a purpose for the job you are trying to accomplish.  

• If I were the author of the book, I would have done these three things differently:

1. I feel this book was somewhat disorganized in its sequences. The author seemed to not be able to transition from one chapter to the next. This caused the book to be somewhat hard to follow with the quick changes in topics from chapter to chapter.

2. The authors references to different times in his childhood that in some ways does not stick with the theme of the chapter topic being discussed. He would have been better off making his references more consistent to the topic matter. If the memory he was recalling did not quite fit his topic he should have left it out completely or come up with a different memory.

3. The introduction to this book was a real attention grabber. But this is a book about leadership and the introduction was basically about the attacks on New York City on 9/11. This introduction would have been better utilized as a chapter within the book instead of the introduction. Its subject matter was captivating and should have been used as the climax of the book.

• Reading this book made me think differently about the topic in these ways:

1. This book made me take a deeper look into the detail required to be a leader. It made me realize that planning is a major part of leadership. The more planning you do the better you will be prepared to handle situations as they arise.

2. This book made me rethink my ideas about employee selection. My philosophy was to find an employee with the ability to do a job well. After reading how the author looked at the subject I feel that an employee should be also matched to the position according to their personal views and beliefs as to that of the company.

3. This book made me realize my views on resources. My thought was very narrow to the resources available. It made me realize that it is ok to pull from out sources to make sure you can get a project completed.

• I’ll apply what I’ve learned in this book in my career by:

1. I will use the ideas of finding the right employees for my company. I will look for people that will match the mission of my company along with have the ability to accomplish task given to them.

2. After reading this book it has given me a desire to enter into the world of politics. I have had friends try to talk me into politics but until reading this book I would always tell them no. Now I feel that this book has given me some special insight that will allow me to become a great leader of people.

3. This book has taught me the importance of planning. I will use what I have learned to prepare for events that could be detrimental to my company and have a plan of action set up for every plan I can think of that could occur. If events occur that I have not planned for I will be able to not worry about the other things going on and concentrate on the problem at hand.

• Here is a sampling of what others have said about the book and its author:

Wally Bock review of this book says that it is a good read and gives great points about leadership. It has points that are worth reading to help guide you as a leader. It is a book that will captivate you with the stories of 9/11. Although he fells the book does not tell the whole story about the failure he experienced in his time as a Mayor of New York City.
Andy Beckett for The Guardian views this book as not telling the true story of leadership. He feels that the book talk about the politics in New York City and this is not a true way to relate to business. He feels that this book “Giuliani’s tone becomes pious, and his account of how he led the city’s recovery becomes bogged down by the contradictory need both to thank subordinates and to place himself constantly at the centre of the action.”

The publisher of Leadershipnow.com feels this is a very good book that will help those in leadership. He feels this book relates the job of a leader of a business is discussed in a manner that can also be used in politics. The publisher also feels the book uses good references to the happenings of the writer that can be helpful to other leaders.

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Contact Info

To contact the author of this article, “A Summary and Review of “Leadership” by Rudolph Giuliani for Thinking Executives – and Those Who Want to be One,” please email billie.mccartney@selu.edu .  

About the Publisher

David C. Wyld (dwyld.kwu@gmail.com) is the Robert Maurin Professor of Management at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, Louisiana. He is a management consultant, researcher/writer, and executive educator. His blog, Wyld About Business, can be viewed at http://wyld-business.blogspot.com/. He also serves as the Director of the Reverse Auction Research Center (http://reverseauctionresearch.com/), a hub of research and news in the expanding world of competitive bidding. Dr. Wyld also maintains compilations of works he has helped his students to turn into editorially-reviewed publications at the following sites:

• Management Concepts (http://toptenmanagement.blogspot.com/)
• Book Reviews (http://wyld-about-books.blogspot.com/) and
• Travel and International Foods (http://wyld-about-food.blogspot.com/).                 

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On January 11, in 1693, Mt. Etna in Sicily erupted, about 30 yrs after after a very famous Sicilian died. Who is the famous Sicilian?..earthquakes may erupt when more and more people come aware of the fact that the famous Sicilian is none other than Michelangelo Florio…three clues now.. Who was Michelangelo Florio?

Here are some clues:

*He was thought to be born in England

*One of the most famous playwrights who is nicknamed ‘the Bard”

*Changed his Italian name to a British one and moved to England because of his family’s persecution when his father wrote and published documents speaking against the Vatican and the Catholic Churh.

Still stumped..

William Shakespeare is the answer

There is a strong body of evidence that was presented at last year’s (2010) book Festival in Turin Italy by retired Professor Martino Iuvara that William Shakespeare was indeed born in Sicily. His mother’s maiden name was Crollolanza which means Shakespeare in Italian. Shakespeare was known to have a different accent by colleagues and people that met him. In that time Sicily was well known for its’ expertise in set designing for the theater and Shakespeare brought this art to Italy. He married a talented translator Anne Hathaway.

He traveled throughout Italy before reaching England and his experiences were used for some of his wonderful masterpieces.

In 1564, Michelangelo Florio was born to Dr. Florio and Guglielma Crollalanza. The inquisiton was on the trail of Dr. Florio because of his heretical ideas against the Vatican. They went to Treviso which is near Venice. They bought a villa named Casa Otello that was built by a retired Venetian mercenary named Otello, who local rumor had it, killed his wife out of jealousy.

Michelangelo studied in Venice, Padua, Mantua and also traveled to Spain, Greece and Austria. He befriended philosopher Giovanni Bruno he was burned at the stake as a heretic in 1600.

Michelangelo used Bruno’s ties to British nobility and went to England under their patronage. His mother Signora Crollalanza had a cousin in Stratford who had already translated name Crollalanza into it;s English equivalent ‘Shakespeare’. The cousin also had a child that died very young named William. The Bard took this name and William Shakespeare, aka Michelangelo Florio ,was created!

Ray Bradbury’s novel Fahrenheit 451 was originally published in serial form in Playboy Magazine. It depicts a society of the future in which books are outlawed. The official reason is that books make people unhappy. This world is supposed to be a Utopia: unhappiness has been eradicated; equality has been established and everyone lives a life of leisured consumption. However, the novel exposes the inherent contradictions of a utopian society. The world is ruled by a totalitarian state, and the real reason books are banned is that they encourage individuality, independent thought and creativity – all of which make people difficult to control.

The film was largely shot in England against a backdrop of Modernist architecture. It thereby contributes to the discourse of Modernism in popular culture. The film featured the Alton housing estate in Roehampton, South London and also Edgcumbe Park in Crowthorne, Berkshire. The monorail sequences were filmed at the French SAFEGE test track, in Châteneuf-sur-Loire near Orléans. This was a 1.4 km monorail line constructed in 1959. Interiors were shot at Pinewood Studios in England.

Modernist architecture had always been controversial in Britain, but by the 1950s it had become the official architecture of the Welfare State. Towns and cities had been devastated during the war. The need to build thousands of new homes had given Modernism a central role in post-war public policy. Alton East and West estates in Roehampton were pioneering examples of British Modernism. The design was an homage to Le Corbusier. Both estates stand in Richmond Park, an area of green space on the outskirts of London. The tower blocks are set amongst trees and parkland, just as Le Corbusier had envisioned.

Roehampton, South London

Alton West imported a version of Le Corbusier’s Unité d’Habitation to Britain. The original Unité included recreational facilities, meeting rooms and a central enclosed ‘street’. At Alton West, the plans were less ambitious, but still included gallery access to each of the five blocks in the estate. The aesthetic is based on harsh concrete. There were problems with the environment. Alton East and West were isolated from decent transport infrastructure, and suffered from vandalism in the 1970s.

Roehampton as it appears in the film

The film is significant for the way it portrays Modernist architecture. By the 1960s Modernism was seen as a revolution that went wrong. There was a popular and critical backlash. Modernist environments were seen as dehumanising and impersonal. The film taps into these concerns. Modernist environments are associated with a repressive regime in which individuality has been crushed.

Montag lives in a Modernist suburbia. The houses are regimented and identical. This was filmed at Edgecumbe Park in Berkshire. The interiors are also significant. Montag’s house is full of modern consumer goods. They have a wall screen which features only one programme, The Family. The programme creates the illusion that viewers can interact with it. The dream is to have four wall screens to be completely immersed in the programme, which suggests that it’s used for brain washing and propaganda. This is not too dissimilar from our preference for wide-screen TVs and reality shows.

Edgecumbe Park, Berkshire

The film’s sinister TV announcer

In contrast, Clarisse lives in a quaint Tudor-style house, which looks like a relic in the context of the film. They do not have a TV (Montag notices that there is no aerial on the roof). Instead, the inhabitants talk to each other, which suggests close family relationships. Montag’s relationship with his wife seems emotionally and sexually distant (even though she’s played by Julie Christie). The other characters who continue to read books live in old houses as well. The past is associated with emotion, independence and freedom.

The dystopian world of the film contrasts with the popular culture of the period. The 1960s experienced a cultural revolution. People were able to express themselves in fashion, music and behaviour. One scene shows a youth being apprehended in the street and having his head shaved because his hair is too long. This parallels the way hippies were treated by some sections of the public. The uniforms worn by the fireman are black and sinister, reminiscent of Nazi stormtroopers. Of course, book-burning did take place once in history: the Nazis burned books by Jewish or left-wing authors as part of their hysterical crusade against ‘cultural bolshevism’. The act of burning books is synonymous with barbarism and ignorance.

The ban on literature suppresses independent thought and imagination. Everyone is docile and childlike. Another method of state control is medication. Linda controls her emotions through self-medication. The drugs are not labelled; they are simply colour-coded like children’s sweets. This emphasises the notion of a naïve, docile populace controlled by a paternalistic authority. The state also uses propaganda. The state controls the media and broadcasts fake footage of Montag’s capture to show that transgressions are punished.

The public perception of Modernism was that it was authoritarian, repressive and that it denied individuality, so the film reinforces this perception. It used British Modernism as a backdrop of a repressive, totalitarian regime in which individuality has been crushed. The film suggests that a utopian, rationally-planned environment inevitably becomes a repressive dystopia.

Executive Summary

Throughout my life I have played many sports such as baseball, basketball, football in the backyard, and even ping-pong and tennis occasionally for fun.  No matter what sport it was or the importance of the game I was always the type of person that gave it 100 percent and never quit.  Of all the sports that I have competed in throughout my life baseball was the one that had my interest the most; I loved it so much that after I graduated high school I continued to play baseball at the junior college level at Baton Rouge Community College. 

The preface of this book starts off in the life of Venus Williams who is a talented tennis player as well as a successful business woman.  She starts the book with a quote about how “Just when other young professionals are peaking, hitting their stride, and consolidating their skills, we’re starting, if we’re smart, to think of our future, one that doesn’t depend on our athleticism and our injury prone bodies to pay the rent.”  I believe this is true and what most young athletes should be doing, whether are not your in high school planning to play at the college level or in college planning to play at the professional level you should always have a backup plan or a plan to do both at one time such as Venus.  Venus also speaks about the role her mother Oracene and her father Richard played in her becoming the successful woman she is today.  Her father always preached to her and her siblings to “Think entrepreneurially”, and I believe this is very important for any young kid to think, it’s never too early for someone to start thinking about their future because before you know it the future is the present. 

Before reading this book I never really thought my love for the game of baseball or other sports in that matter would mean much to me after they were finished.  What I mean by this is that all my life my coaches have preached to me about how important the games we play are, and that what we do in the gym or on the field will better us in our everyday walk, but most of those speeches went in one ear and out of the other.  But this book “Come to Win”, by Venus Williams changed the way I look at my situation.  This book is compiled of 46 business executives, political leaders, professional athletes, doctors, actors and actresses’ vision of how sports laid the foundation to the stardom, credibility, and success they have accomplished so far in their lives.  This book contains quotes and stories about the lives of famous athletes such as Roger Staubach and Earvin “Magic” Johnson.  As well as locals such as Dr. James Andrews who was a graduate from Louisiana State University, and Robin Roberts who played basketball and graduated from our very own Southeastern Louisiana University.  This book is great for the reader because it not only gives you an insight of what these famous men and women’s contributions were on the playing field, but it gives you a detailed description of what their lives were like before they became famous, it shows us as everyday people the type of attitudes it takes to become successful in the business world.  It showed me the work ethic and drive that Earvin Johnson had and what we had to overcome in order to become who we all know now as “Magic” Johnson.  This book is full of stories about what hard work can do for a person.

This book is a genius piece of work put together by Venus Williams and Kelly E. Carter, which was created from a compiled list of former athletes (not all of whom played professionally) made by Venus, but these athletes and well known people are not in this book because of their successes on the playing field they are in this book because they are now at the top of their professions.  This book is not a book to inform you on how many career points “Magic” had or the amount of Super bowl rings Roger Staubach has, it is to inform you on the hard work and effort they put in to get to those points in their careers and how that same hard work and effort led them to be successful in the business realm as well.

The Ten Things Managers Need to Know from Come to Win

1.            “Never be afraid to put extreme effort in.  If you don’t do your absolute best, then you can’t expect to achieve anything different from what anybody else has done.” – Sarina Bratton- Founder and Managing Director of Orion Expedition Cruises

2.            “I really feel that sports gave me an incredible advantage.  I had the tools.  I had what it takes to work with people, to solve problems.- Robin Roberts- Good Morning America

3.            “Share the Credit and Take the Blame”- The credit should go to the team, and the blame for failure should be on you.

4.            “Pushing Through Comfort Barriers”, is important when working internationally or in places where you aren’t comfortable.

5.            Bring lessons learned on the court into the meetings whether they are with potential clients, your team, or suppliers.

6.            “Don’t Make the Same Mistake Twice”- If you make a mistake one time, be sure that you don’t let it happen again.

7.            “Unspectacular Preparation Yields Spectacular Results”- The more you prepare the better your end results will be.

8.            “Never give up. Work harder.  Whatever you think your limit is, you can go further.  You can push it.- Denzel Washington

9.            Making Assists- Helping people on the court is the same as helping people in the business world or in life in general, you can always benefit from this.

10.            Discipline-  Being discipline will help you to face obstacles that will encounter in business.

Full Summary of Come to Win

 “Come to Win”

Imagine that there is 10 seconds left in game 7 of the NBA finals, and the ball is in your hands.  Everyone in the arena knows that you’re going to take the final shot.  Down by two points you know the pressure is all on you to make this shot, but because of the obstacles you have faced prior to this opportunity you know that you have what it takes to make your dreams and the dreams of your fans come true.  You dribble down and shoot the three point shot, as the shot goes in every ounce of blood, sweat, and tears flash before your eyes.  Every moment that accounted for you to be right here right now has come back to you in an instant.  Then as your feet hit the floor you feel an awkward twist in your knee, and hear it pop.  This twist and pop has just led to your final game as an NBA player, before you can ever celebrate the championship you just brought to your team your career is over.  What happens next?  In this book “Come to Win”, by Venus Williams and Kelly E. Carter she writes about what should come next.  The next step of this athlete’s career should be just as successful as the picture I just painted.  Because you have worked so hard to be successful in a given sport these same traits and qualities that brought success to you should bring you success in the business world as well.

Preface

She starts the book with a quote about how “Just when other young professionals are peaking, hitting their stride, and consolidating their skills, we’re starting, if we’re smart, to think of our future, one that doesn’t depend on our athleticism and our injury prone bodies to pay the rent.”  I believe this is true and what most young athletes should be doing, whether are not your in high school planning to play at the college level or in college planning to play at the professional level you should always have a backup plan or a plan to do both at one time such as Venus.  Venus also speaks about the role her mother Oracene and her father Richard played in her becoming the successful woman she is today.  Her father always preached to her and her siblings to “Think entrepreneurially”, and I believe this is very important for any young kid to think, it’s never too early for someone to start thinking about their future because before you know it the future is the present. 

Image via Wikipedia

Venus Williams is a successful tennis player she has won many matches and tournaments in her career, but her proudest works may be the two companies that she currently owns.  In this book Venus depicts that hard work, sacrifice, effort, the ability to win, and also the ability to lose are just as important in business as they are on the playing field.  This book contains excerpt from 46 different people most of which are well- known.  These people are actors, athletes, designers, political leaders, doctors and many other highly qualified business men and women.  In this summary I will explain what these people went through in order to be where they are today.  Venus believes that sports gives you a foundation that is transferrable, and how if you’ve played (at any level, professional or amateur), you are carrying around knowledge that you can use effectively in other fields, and after reading the book “Come to Win”, I have a much clearer image of what she is saying here.  Venus also says that some of the benefits she has received due to sports are character, strength of body and mind, confidence, and a sense of value and validation, which are all things that managers of businesses should acquire if they plan to be successful. This book contains quotes and stories about the lives of famous athletes such as Roger Staubach and Earvin “Magic” Johnson.  As well as locals such as Dr. James Andrews who was a graduate from Louisiana State University, and Robin Roberts who played basketball and graduated from our very own Southeastern Louisiana University.  This book is great for the reader because it not only gives you an insight of what these famous men and women’s contributions were on the playing field, but it gives you a detailed description of what their lives were like before they became famous, it shows us as everyday people the type of attitudes it takes to become successful in the business world.  It showed me the work ethic and drive that Earvin Johnson had and what we had to overcome in order to become who we all know now as “Magic” Johnson.  This book is full of stories about what hard work can do for a person.

The Power of Reinvention

            In the section of the book entitled The Power of Reinvention Venus Williams writes about a woman by the name of Vera Wang.  As you may know Vera Wang is a very successful designer, but what you may or may not know is that she had some hardships along the way.  Vera’s first love was the sport of ice skating, as a young girl she thrived to be an Olympic figure skater.  Vera loved to skate, she spent numerous hours and hard work towards trying to compete professionally, one of the main reasons for this was because of her mother which was diagnosed in her 30’s with Hodgkin’s disease, which is cancer of the blood loved to watch her skate.  Vera claims that her skating is what kept her mother alive in which she lived to be 89 years old.  After Vera failed to become a professional skater she went on to new things, not leaving behind the qualities she gained from this sport.  Vera started off as an assistant for a magazine company by the name of Vogue, later she was given the opportunity to become editor and was the youngest in the history of the magazine.  At 23 years of age she became full editor of the magazine and remained there until she was 38.  After that she went on to pursue a career for the company by the name of Ralph Lauren where she became the design director for women’s accessories.  Vera quotes that, “Were it not for what I learned through skating, I could never have reached my dream of becoming a designer.  Those principles of discipline, desire, and hard work are one hundred percent responsible for my success.”  Vera also claims that she never really go what she wanted most in life which was be on the podium collecting a medal at the Olympics.  She also said that a lot of her accomplishments in life happened by default, because she didn’t achieve what she had hoped for.  One of her most prized accomplishment was when was accepted into the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame for her costume designs for Olympic skaters Nancy Kerrigan and Michelle Kwan.

Natural Ability Will Take You Only So Far

            The next section Natural Ability Will Take You Only So Far is an excerpt from Academy Award winning actor Denzel Washington.  As a kid Denzel played baseball, basketball, and football, where he went on to play college basketball at Fordham University in the Bronx, New York.  Denzel claims that when he was young he had no desire to act, and that he really didn’t even know what it was.  Denzel says that he wasn’t the biggest of kids, but he was the fastest, and to be smaller and still have success in a sport such as basketball his natural ability theory is correct, because even if your small, but have the more hard than the bigger guys you will go farther than they could ever dream.  Denzel Washington’s quote” Never give up.  Work harder.  Whatever you think your limit it is, you can go further.  You can push it.  You can push it.” Is very important when it comes to sports, but I believe that it is just important in the business aspect, because if you are willing to push harder than your competitors then you are always one step ahead. 

Discipline

            Later on in the book it talks about a woman by the name of Robin Roberts who graduated and excelled in basketball at our very own Southeastern Louisiana University.  Robin Robert is currently host of the morning show Good Morning America.  Roberts claims that discipline is the key to anyone trying to succeed in anything whether it’s a sport or your profession.  Discipline made her the player she strived to be on the court, and discipline is the reason she’s able to wake up at 5:30 every morning to be on Good Morning America.  Roberts says “ The greatest thing she learned from sports is that you always get another chance to prove yourself.  There’s always another game.”  This quote is very true, and I believe she is right about this point.  Not only did sports give Robin the ability to be successful in her profession, it gave her the ability to defeat anything life threw her way, even when she was diagnosed with cancer.  At first she was upset because she thought that her athletic body had let her down, but the doctors told her that by her being fit the way she was it was one of the reasons she was able to defeat the cancer.  So sports not only helped Robin Roberts become a very successful woman it also saved her life. 

Making Assists

            Making Assists is based on the Earvin “Magic Johnson, Magic is in the NBA Basketball Hall of Fame, and is considered to be one of the greatest basketball players of all- time.  In this book Magic claims that making assists in the world is far more important to him than making assists on the court ever was, but by learning to be discipline on the court helped him to carry that over to his two successful businesses and his efforts to make the lives of  people with  lower privileges happy.  Throughout live Johnson was faced with doubt from critics many times.  The first time came when he entered the draft after his sophomore season at Michigan State University, yet he went on to be a very successful NBA player.  People also began to doubt him when he claimed that he wanted to start up his own business, but nobody really thought that his success on the court would lead to success in business, but as you see throughout this book this is not true.  Being successful in sports can lead a person to have more success in the business world.  Magic Johnson faced even more doubt when he was diagnosed as being HIV- positive, then again his critics didn’t think he would be able to survive this disease, but he is still alive and well today and able to give the testimony of his life as an athlete and businessman, and his ability to defeat the odds no matter the circumstance he is given.

            In conclusion, I believe that the book “Come to Win” is a very inspiring story.  To be able to read about the lives of all these famous people is a great thing.  It has definitely inspired me.  Throughout my life I have always enjoyed playing sports, whether it was baseball, basketball or just out in the backyard playing football I have always thrived to be the best at what I played.  The love of my life is baseball, as long as I can remember I have loved to play baseball.  I played varsity baseball in high school claiming All-District and All-State honors, and after graduation I went on to play at Baton Rouge Community College.  I can’t really envision a life without sports because I love it so much.  I always thought that after I was done playing organized sports that would be the end of it.  But after reading this book I realize that entering into the world of business is the same as playing sports, and through my successes in sports I have the characteristics to make a great leader as well.  Leadership is a very important quality to have as a manager of a business.  The ability to lead people from the bottom to the top is an important factor in a successful business.  After reading this story I have more appreciation for the sports I played that I ever had before, because I know that they have shaped me to become successful in the real world as well.  All my life my coaches have preached to me about how important the games we play are, and that what we do in the gym or on the field will better us in our everyday walk, but most of those speeches went in one ear and out of the other.  But this book “Come to Win”, by Venus Williams changed the way I look at my situation.   This book is a genius piece of work put together by Venus Williams and Kelly E. Carter, which was created from a compiled list of former athletes (not all of whom played professionally) made by Venus, but these athletes and well known people are not in this book because of their successes on the playing field they are in this book because they are now at the top of their professions.  This book is not a book to inform you on how many career points “Magic” had or the amount of Super bowl rings Roger Staubach has, it is to inform you on the hard work and effort they put in to get to those points in their careers and how that same hard work and effort led them to be successful in the business realm as well.  I plan to use what I have learned from this inspirational book, and from theses very successful to better prepare me for what’s to come next for me in my efforts to become a successful businessman.

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The Video Lounge

In this video,  Venus Williams explains what her new book “Come to Win” is all about.

Personal Insights

Why I think:

·      The author is one of the most brilliant people around because:  She takes the time to interview theses people, and find out the many obstacles they faced on their road to success.  This book is great for the reader because it shows them that even these very famous people are human, and had to travel the same exact paths that any normal man or woman will have to travel in order to find success.

·      If I were the author of the book, I would have done these three things differently:

1.            Went into a little more detail about the lives of these people she’s chosen.

2.            Tried to interview bigger named business people such as Bill Gates or Donald Trump.

3.            Tried to interview more athletes.

·      Reading this book made me think differently about the topic in these ways:

1.            I gained more respect for the sports I played.

2.            I gained more respect for the lessons I learned through sports.

3.            I gained more respect for the coaches and leaders that have taught me these important qualities.

·      I’ll apply what I’ve learned in this book in my career by:

1.            Being Discipline

2.            Becoming a Leader

3.            Being Ethical

·      Here is a sampling of what others have said about the book and its author:

Venus Williams has become a household name after her book “Come to Win”.  This book is just another success by Venus Williams to go along with her success in the sports world, and also her success in business.  It is a very inspiring book to young people entering into the business world.

Bibliography

Venus Williams. Kelly E. Carter. Come to win business leaders, artists, doctors, and other visionaries on how sports can help you top your profession

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Contact Info: To contact the author of this “Summary and Review of Come to Win,” please email daniel.berthelot@selu.edu.

Biography

David C. Wyld (dwyld.kwu@gmail.com) is the Robert Maurin Professor of Management at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, Louisiana. He is a management consultant, researcher/writer, and executive educator. His blog, Wyld About Business, can be viewed at http://wyld-business.blogspot.com/. He also serves as the Director of the Reverse Auction Research Center (http://reverseauctionresearch.blogspot.com/), a hub of research and news in the expanding world of competitive bidding. Dr. Wyld also maintains compilations of works he has helped his students to turn into editorially-reviewed publications at the following sites:

·      Management Concepts (http://toptenmanagement.blogspot.com/)

·      Book Reviews (http://wyld-about-books.blogspot.com/) and

·      Travel and International Foods (http://wyld-about-food.blogspot.com/).                

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Cover via Amazon

Executive Summary

            The introduction by the translator uses both the I Ching and the Tao-te Ching as the basis. The I Ching and the Tao-te Ching are works of Taoists. In the introduction, Cleary refers to many works of Taoists, because it sets a more formal tone for Sun Tzu. 

            In the Art of War, Sun Tzu writes about many strategies and the usage of them in perspective of generals. One could apply the same idea in the manner of today’s managers. Tzu’s book takes place on the battlefield and he talks about the environment in a more general form.

            In the beginning chapters, Tzu is clear on not fighting to win a war. Tzu stress the assessment of strategies in order to be prepared before war ever begins. The one who will lose is the one who is not readily prepared for it.

            One idea that comes from the later chapters is the idea of formlessness. This idea derives from the element form of water. Water has no real form and its strength is in the ability to change and adept to whatever environment it is held in. This is a key factor in how Tzu construct his plan around this ideology because once a general has master this formlessness then he is able to become all things around his enemy and is able to attain complete victory.

            The idea of victory is different to Tzu. One would often believe that to become victorious, you would have just beaten your opponent in a physical battle. Tzu’s overall view is completely different, almost to a point where it seems Tzu would rather not fight if he can prevent it at all. Tzu often describes physical battle as a last resort; he would ready his men only as an abundance of caution.

            The main idea of how Tzu would plan accordingly is when he knows exactly what he needed to plan for his enemies. Tzu would never let his own self defeat him because he is able to prevent it. Preparation has been the factor when it came to having the upper hand once you in war. Tzu states in order to win the battle; you must win it before the battle even begins. In this type of mindset, you would ready your men physical, while the general and leaders would ready themselves mentally. Tzu also allows for a significant time period in this phase because once you are rushing through, then you allow mistakes to take a greater impact.

            Although, Sun Tzu’s The Art of War is a book that took place over two thousands year ago, you can easily transition the applicable ideas into today’s work environment. Managers should read this book in order to grasp the simple idea of how to protect one’s business from attack. Once a manager is able to understand a few of Tzu’s methodology, then the manager can do without rather than with and will attain more keen sense of business.

The Ten Things Managers Need to Know from The Art of War

1.            Sun Tzu states that in order gain victory, you will need to win at your headquarters, the place where you will design all your strategies. The one with the most depth and thought-out strategy, then when you win, you will win by that much more.

2.            If you are planning to fight a battle, make sure it is short and decisive. People or soldiers in a long battle will burn themselves out like a fire.

3.            Take three months to prepare your technical strategy and three months for your overall takeover strategy to be complete. When you are planning a takeover, it is best to keep the company intact.

4.            Form alliances with knowledge rather than profits.

5.            Use formlessness as a form of adaptation.

6.            Use the materials of other, so you can save expending your own company’s resources.

7.            Defeat your competitors without fighting.

8.            Find out what your competitors are planning.

9.            Make a comparison report between you and your competitors so you can assess the weakness and strengths.

10.            Exploit their weakness while you strengthen your weaknesses.

Full Summary of The Art of War

Translator’s Preface/Introduction

            In the preface, the translator, Thomas Cleary, gives a quick history overview of the book’s impact for over two thousand years. Cleary also stress the great work of Taoists; I Ching, which is translated to the Book of Changes, and the Tao-te Ching which is translated to the Way and Its Power.

            Cleary begins his introduction with an old Chinese story, which depicts a tale about two brother physicians and how their differences can be related to the Art of War. Cleary continues with references from the I Ching and the Tao-te Ching. It is important to stress the understanding of Taoism from Cleary’s point of view.

            Cleary, lastly introduces a standard collection of eleven interpreters: Cao Cao is the most distinguished military figure in Chinese history. Meng Shi is known for his time during civil war and massive suffering. Jia Lin is known be to the only for his commentary on the Art of War. Li Quan was a devotee of Taoism as well as the martial arts. Du You served as an official military advisor, war councilor, and military inspector. Du Mu was known as a knight of unflinching honesty and extraordinary honor. Zhang Yu was apart of the Sung Dynasty. Mei Yaochen served in both lock and central government of the Sung Dynasty. Wang Xi was a scholar in the Hanlin and author of two books on the Spring and Autumn Annals. Chen Hao was known for his extraordinary personal independence and his great aspirations. Ho Yanxi was known for his commentary on The Art of War.

Strategic Assessments

                        “Military actions is important to the nation-it is the ground of death                                     and life, the path of survival and destruction, so it is imperative to                                     examine it”… Tzu, S.

            Sun Tzu begins by addressing the weight on war on a nation. It is necessary to assess one’s surrounding in the terms of the way, weather, lay of the land, leadership, and discipline.

            Sun Tzu first wants to induce the people to have the same mindset, which is describe as the way. Tzu talk about the use of the weather because Tzu understood that soldiers would lose limbs to frostbites and died from the plagues during the winter and the summer.

            Tzu would gain knowledge of the terrain because he would be able to assess the amount of time, soldiers, and difficulty of the travel. Furthermore, Tzu emphasize on a leader with five virtues: intelligence, trustworthiness, humaneness, courage, and sternness. Tzu believes once a general can balance the five virtues then he can truly lead effectively. Also, the discipline talks about organization, chain of command, and logistics.

            In the chapter about strategic assessment, Tzu believes one is able to win the battle at their headquarter. Tzu is through in his assessment of enemies, so he is able to pre-determine their motive and exploit their weaknesses. In Tzu’s preparedness, Tzu determines which has more strategic favors and the determine victor of battle from his assessment. All before the battle has taken place.

Doing Battle

            Sun Tzu describes the many different elements taken place in the midst of battle. One main element being address is the overall length of the battle. Once you are in battle, even if you are winning, if you continue for a long time, then you will exhaust your army and your supplies will be depleted.

            First, you would not want to raise your troops more than once. By gathering your troops more than once in a given period, then you will be exhausting supplies at a rate where you will be expensing the cost to your nation. Also, you will cause the nation’s citizens to be weary and arise bitterness.

            After depleting the nation’s resources then you will have to increase taxes and the nation’s people are being charged for a leader’s misstep. Therefore, a wise general would gain resources off the enemies. Now a quick and decisive victory is often consider vastly important in battle.

Planning A Siege

            In the process of planning a siege, Tzu’s general rule for the use of the military is that it is better to keep a nation intact than to destroy it.

                        It is better to keep an army intact than to destroy it, better to keep a                                     division intact than to destroy it, better to keep a battalion intact than                                     to destroy it, better to keep a unit intact than to destroy it… Tzu, S.

This method allows Tzu to continue to build an empire rather than destroy two.

            After the planning the siege, Tzu instruct on how you should attack the opposing enemies. You should strike while your enemies are planning. Next, you should destroy alliances, then you should attack their army. Tzu address attacking a city, Tzu declares that siege of a city is only done as a last resort because armies will cause many unforeseen casualties. 

Formation

            In the chapter about formation, Tzu explain that to see the inner conditions of opponents by measuring their external formation. Tzu allows another strategy to guide one to victory; defend yourself when you don’t have enough and attack when you have a surplus.

            Tzu decides on patience being a key factor in gaining a more favorable outlook in a battle. In another sense, Tzu declares when it is time to defeat your enemies, then you should defeat your enemies. Tzu describes how bad warriors lose battles with their pride and ego.

Force

                        Force means shifts in accumulated energy or momentum. Skillful                                     warriors are able to allow the force of momentum to seize victory for                                     them without exerting their strength… Tzu, S.

            Tzu decides that it is better to fight with a large number as if you are fighting with a small amount. Breaking down a large army into a division, then further breaking it down to groups, and to cells. Overall, this will allow the momentum to have a far greater impact in a battle.

            Once, the momentum of the army is at their high point, then the force is swift should be considered fast and decisive in battle. The idea of force is considered to be vastly different because it makes the use of both unorthodox and orthodox methods.

Emptiness and fullness

            In this chapter, Tzu begins to discuss the advantages and disadvantages at any given time in battle.

                                    So when opponents are at ease, it is possible to tire them.                                                 When they are well fed, it is possible to starve them. When they                                     are at rest, it is possible to move them… Tzu, S.

            First, Tzu explains what strategy to employ for the given situation. Secondly, Tzu allows for a comparison between the enemy and one’s self because it is prudent in determining the areas in which either you or the enemy is sufficient. In this manner, a general is able to flesh out information of the enemy and therefore you are able to attain formlessness.

            The idea of formlessness is an act of both offense and defense because without a form how can the enemies design a plan of attack or a plan to defend. Tzu compares this idea to the element of water; water has no definite form but it carries it’s strength in accordance with its form.

Armed Struggle

            This has a double meaning, because struggle means struggle for advantage; those who get it first, wins. In order to gain the advantage, one would go great length if it means to secure the victory. If the travel length were long, then you would wear out your soldiers and ensure your defeat. Now, you would want to take advantage of going to battle at the unknown, use the knowledge of the local in place of what you do not know.             

                        The ordinary rule for use of military force is for the military c                                                command to receive the orders from the civilian authorities,                                                 then to gather and mass the troops, quartering them together.                                                 Nothing is harder than armed struggle…Tzu, S.

Adaptations                                   

                        The general rule for military operations is that the military                                                 leadership receives the order from the civilian leadership to                                                 gather armies. Let there be no encampment on difficult terrain.                                     Let diplomatic relations be established at borders. Do not stay                                                 in barren or isolated territory. When on surrounded ground,                                                 plot. When on deadly ground, fight.

            In Tzu’s chapter about adaptation, his tone has change to a more survival type of view. At first, Tzu has declared to only fight when it’s a last resort, now he begin to stretch the possibility of fighting once you are in a position in which you are surround and has to fight in order to survive.

            The five dangerous traits in generals are: Those who are ready to die can be killed, those who are intent on living can be captured, those who are quick to anger can be shamed, those who are puritanical can be disgraced, those who love people can be troubled. Enemies easily exploit these traits, so Tzu is keen on how one should prepare for this. Tzu explains the faults in general by not allowing the generals to subject themselves to jovial feelings rather act accordingly to the events.

Maneuvering Armies

            After assessing the situation and determining your advantages, you would choose to use the most advantageous strategy.

            The strategy should take into consideration the following:

Terrain

            It is in the best interest of the general to understand the form of the land. One would be consider a basic lesson for the general. Then the general should be able to sort through his troops, divide them among skilled and unskilled.

Nine Grounds

                        According to the rule for military operations, there are nine kinds of                                     ground. Where local interests fight among themselves on their own                                     territory, this is called a ground of dissolution… Tzu, S.

            You must first understand which type of grounds you are on because it can depict what type of action you will need to take next. You have the ground of contention, this land is advantageous to you because you got it and advantageous to your enemy if they got it. A trafficked ground is land where you and other can come and go. Intersecting ground is land that is surrounded on three sides by competitors. When you enter deeply into others’ land, past many cities and towns, this is called heavy grounds. When you traverse mountain forests, steep defiles, marshes, or any route difficult to travel, this is called bad grounds. When the way is in narrow and the way out is circuitous, so a small enemy force can strike you, even thought your numbers are greater, this is called surrounded ground. When you will survive if you fight quickly and perish if you do not, this is called dying ground.

            Once you understand and assess your situation then you are able to quickly determine the course of action you will take. In any manner, time is a factor and acting quickly should be a priority.

Fire attack/On the use of Spies

            The use of both fire attack and the use of spies should be use sparingly. If not, then you risk the chance of being defeated by an error on the general’s part.

                        One cannot use spies without sagacity and knowledge, one cannot use                                     spies without humanity and justice, and one cannot get the truth from                                     spies without subtlety. This is a very delicate matter indeed. Spies are                                     useful everywhere… Tzu, S.

            In the strategy of using spies, you must account for the off chance that they will betray you in order to preserve themselves. If you cannot do without the information then you are placing yourself in harm’s way.

            One useful tactic would be the use of the enemies’ mistreated spies. They would have more incentives other than to further enrich themselves. Give a spy more than just riches and they will be able to provide more than just knowledge, they will be able to provide the key to victory.

The Video Lounge

1. In this clip, the businessman is talking about applying the strategies of Sun Tzu to help failing businesses.

2. It is clear, both of the failing businesses had let the other people capitalize on their ideas.

Personal Insights

-             Why I think the author is one of the most brilliant people around

            Sun Tzu’s The Art of War has been around for over two thousand years. It still encompasses many of the ideas and problems the current manager face today. Tzu’s mentality transcends his environment because he was able take any situation and give one’s self the advantage and the ability to be successful. Even in another one thousand year, Tzu’s work will still be applicable.

- With business conditions today, what the author wrote is because:

            Competition is becoming more widespread than ever. In business today, we are face with global competition at an exponential rate. The information era has given competitors the means of a cheap but powerful resource to gain advantages. We are currently seeing new and different ways, that competitors are using it to assess strategic plans.

Then, all of the following bullet-items are mandatory to write about:

·      If I were the author of the book, I would have done these three things differently:

1.            I would write in a more structure manner. Tzu’s style of writing has no definite meaning rather it meant for others to drawn their own conclusion.

2.            I would reference actual events in a more personal way.           

3.            I would had include my own introduction rather, I would let the reader know that it would be best to read both I Ching and Tao-te Ching first.

·      Reading this book made me think differently about the topic in these ways:

1.            A manager has much more to think about when it comes to mergers or acquisition.

2.            The people who will work for me in the future means a lot in order for me to be successful.

3.            After a takeover, it is best to keep a company intact rather than take it apart.

·      I’ll apply what I’ve learned in this book in my career by:

1.            Giving myself enough time before I commit to a takeover or acquisition.

2.            Plan thoroughly before I do anything because everything is decided in the war room rather than on the battlefield.

3.            Attain the formlessness in order to fool my competitors and exercise complete control.

Here is a sampling of what others have said about the book and its author:

Heartland Reviews

As a retired military intelligence professional and conflict theorist, I must say this is the best interpretation of Sun Tzu’s classic work I have read. The author focuses on the meanings behind this ancient Chinese war philosopher’s writings. He puts them into a modern context, making them easy to understand. Apparently the Department of Defense agrees with me on this, since they have selected Mr. Cantrell’s book as a text for the National War College in Washington DC. This is a must read for all military officers and business leaders. It rated a perfect five hearts.

Bob Spear

Publisher and Chief Reviewer for Heartland Reviews, Leavenworth, KS

Midwest Book Reviews (Reviewer’s Choice Selection)

Robert L. Cantrell’s Understanding Sun Tzu On The Art Of War contains both the complete translated text of Sun Tzu’s enduring classic on battle strategy, and a modern-day interpretation packed with advice on leadership, learning to keep one’s intentions a secret from one’s opponents, leveraging advantages as the key to victory, and a great deal more. An excellent resource for anyone seeking self-improvement through internalizing Sun Tzu’s wisdom, Understanding Sun Tzu on the Art of War is thoughtful and thought-provoking reading of the highest order.

  Sonshi.com, the largest online resource for The Art of War

Your book was extremely thorough in its explanation and presentation and is the standard on which all other analyses of Sun Tzu should be based.

            The many, different individuals who have read the Art of War has range from managers, military generals, kings, princes, your everyday entrepreneur. In the vastly change world of business today, Sun Tzu’s The Art of War has been to attain the formlessness. For over two thousand years, Tzu’s words have been able to translated and understood by countless people and it will still continue in the same fashion. We often think how did true leader do what they did thousands of year ago without the aid of technology, but we should think on how mimic them because one individual has survive through the ages without a wrinkle.

Bibliography

The Art of War. (2006).  Retrieved November 08, 2010 from Understanding the Art of War: http://www.artofwarsuntzu.com/.

Tzu, S. (1988). The Art of War. (T. Cleary, Trans.). Boston, Massachusetts: Shambhala.

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Contact Info: To contact the author of this “Summary and Review of The Art of War,” please email peter.hoang@selu.edu.

Biography

David C. Wyld (dwyld.kwu@gmail.com) is the Robert Maurin Professor of Management at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, Louisiana. He is a management consultant, researcher/writer, and executive educator. His blog, Wyld About Business, can be viewed at http://wyld-business.blogspot.com/. He also serves as the Director of the Reverse Auction Research Center (http://reverseauctionresearch.blogspot.com/), a hub of research and news in the expanding world of competitive bidding. Dr. Wyld also maintains compilations of works he has helped his students to turn into editorially-reviewed publications at the following sites:

·      Management Concepts (http://toptenmanagement.blogspot.com/)

·      Book Reviews (http://wyld-about-books.blogspot.com/) and

·      Travel and International Foods (http://wyld-about-food.blogspot.com/).             

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