CORPORATE COMBAT

THE ART OF MARKET WARFARE ON THE BUSINESS BATTLEFIELD

Nick Skellon

WHEN BUSINESS IS WAR, THESE ARE THE RULES OF COMPETITIVE STRATEGY

"Corporate Combat provides a rich and fertile array of interesting ideas. Mr Skellon has given us an eminently useful combination of lessons from military history and current business trends. A 'must read' book for modern executives who want to compete effectively."
Donald G Krause, author of the bestselling Art of War for Executives

"War...is not the action of a living force upon a lifeless mass... but always the collision of living forces."
Karl von Clausewitz

In other words, the competition always fights back... Michael Porter meets Sun Tzu in this essential guide to beating the competition on the business battlefield.

The language of the military has long been an integral part of business vernacular - we 'defend market share', 'go on the offensive' and use 'killer apps'.

Corporate Combat adds the historical context and modern business application to the 'business is war' metaphor. It presents a fascinating interweaving of real military operations with actual business successes to demonstrate how millennia years of military strategy can be used to build a competitive business strategy for the next century.

From the triumphs of the great Roman armies to the major battles of the American Civil War, from guerilla warfare in IndoChina to the strategic genius of Alexander the Great, the author shows how to apply and adopt the actual strategies of centuries of military campaigns to your business in order to beat the competition.

In a book that will appeal to anyone involved in business strategy from mid- to top-management, Nick Skellon demonstrates that the three lessons of successful military operations - possession of an effective SWAT, a high force-space ratio and a strong defensive position - are directly transferable to obtaining competitive advantage.

A thorough understanding of the lessons will enable any company, of any size, to determine which of four fundamental strategies is the most successful one to pursue. With examples from companies as diverse as Wal-Mart, Dyson, Microsoft and Honda, Nick Skellon shows that with the right strategy, deployed at the right time, your company can compete with the giants even though it may not be one, turn its competitors into followers and thrive in the competitive market.

Nick Skellon is a highly successful speaker and consultant whose acclaimed 'Corporate Combat' presentation shows how to use the principles of warfare to beat the competition. An ex-army officer, he spent 15 years in major companies including Mars, Duracell and Rothmans, in various sales and marketing roles, from rep to board level.