The Art of Action: How Leaders Close the Gaps Between Plans, Actions and Results
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- Create Date：2022-05-21 08:52:26
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Stephen Bungay
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Summary
The 10th Anniversary Edition of the Leadership Classic
The surprisingly common sense approach to leading a global company， based on a theoretical framework first used by the nineteenth-century Prussian Army。
For over a decade the approach known as 'mission command' has been taught at the leading HULT Ashridge International Business School and has been applied in transforming businesses as diverse as pharmaceuticals and F1 racing。
What do you want me to do？ This question is the enduring management issue， a perennial problem that Stephen Bungay shows has an old solution that is counter-intuitive and yet highly practical。 The Art of Action is a thought-provoking and fresh look at how managers can turn planning into execution， and execution into results。
Drawing on his experience as a consultant， senior manager and a highly respected military historian， Stephen Bungay takes a close look at the army which built its agility on the initiative of its highly empowered junior officers， to show business leaders how they can build more effective， productive organizations。
The surprisingly common sense approach to leading a global company， based on a theoretical framework first used by the nineteenth-century Prussian Army。
For over a decade the approach known as 'mission command' has been taught at the leading HULT Ashridge International Business School and has been applied in transforming businesses as diverse as pharmaceuticals and F1 racing。
What do you want me to do？ This question is the enduring management issue， a perennial problem that Stephen Bungay shows has an old solution that is counter-intuitive and yet highly practical。 The Art of Action is a thought-provoking and fresh look at how managers can turn planning into execution， and execution into results。
Drawing on his experience as a consultant， senior manager and a highly respected military historian， Stephen Bungay takes a close look at the army which built its agility on the initiative of its highly empowered junior officers， to show business leaders how they can build more effective， productive organizations。
Reviews
Boni Aditya
，
The book is a good read overall。The book starts off from the very roots of strategy in military and then draws parallels between military strategy and business strategy and then tries to drive the point of directed opportunism。The author praises the prussian and later german strategy that allows the military to act independently， the same art that Napoleon has mastered before the prussians。 With all that being said。 The book has too many pages。 The first half of the book is not completely releva The book is a good read overall。The book starts off from the very roots of strategy in military and then draws parallels between military strategy and business strategy and then tries to drive the point of directed opportunism。The author praises the prussian and later german strategy that allows the military to act independently， the same art that Napoleon has mastered before the prussians。 With all that being said。 The book has too many pages。 The first half of the book is not completely relevant to business。 The examples provided by the author are squarely off and very superficial。 None of the examples really drive the point that the author is trying to make。I can contrast this book with Good Strategy and Bad Strategy。 The case studies provided in Good Strategy and Bad Strategy make each point crystal clear。 But with Art of Action it is more of a story， the author starts off from the origin on story and its evolution。 Mechanical management to biological management and then armies and peter drucker。 The author starts off with an analysis of gap between the intentions in the plans versus execution。 Effects Gap， Knowledge Gap and Alignments Gap， which cause differences in actions， plans and outcomes。The author introduces Directed Opportunism as his strategic approach towards killing these gaps。The Author then spends， three full chapters talking about each of these gaps at length。The author actually tries to derive strategy rather than focus on how to devise strategy， i。e。 he tries to go to the history of strategy， to its very roots and demonstrate how the strategy evolved over a period of time。The author talks about mission command， and then contrasts it with directed opportunism。His answer to the knowledge gap was to limit direction to defining and expressing the essential intent; he closed the alignment gap by allowing each level to define what it would achieve to realize the intent; and he dealt with the effects gap by giving individuals freedom to adjust their actions in line with intent。 The result is to make strategy and execution a distinction without a difference， as the organization no longer plans and implements but goes through a “thinking–doing cycle” of learning and adaptingHe dedicates each chapter for addressing each of these gaps and tries hard to provide solutions for each of them。 The author uses vonmoltke repeatedly in the first half of the book。 But then he jumps to the second half and tries to give the example of an airline worker Tracy and her dilemma and how strategy should work。 Another attempt made by the author to give the case study of Joe again falls flat with it being extremely theoretical and conveniently falls in place according to the wishes of the author at every juncture。 The examples provided in the book， except those related to the war were made up and are extremely annoying at times。 The book is super theoretical needless to say。 The author talks about Strategy briefing and back briefing， which is great。 The author then gives an example of handling a fire， to drive how to handle the effects gap。 All the examples that he comes up with are clearly made up and fail to be effective。The author has discovered three important gaps in executing strategy， i。e。 getting things done or in this case - the art of action。 The author then goes on to provide one technique each to attack each of these， so that is a total of six tools in an entire book of over 280+ pages。 Yes the book is extremely bloated， with non interesting， non relevant examples in an attempt to drive the point clearer， the author just makes the book very dull and uninteresting。 I had to trudge through this book very hard。But is the book useless？ Of course not。 This must be a standard reference book for strategy and strategists。 Why？ The book lays the foundation well， this book changes the mindset and the way you approach strategy。 The book talks about pitfalls of strategy or how a strategy breaks and that let's you create your own strategies and game plans to attack these pitfalls。The author gave his best in some really interesting insights。This one struck a chord with me， as I have seen this happen in the startups i work。The reason many companies do this sort of thing is that they fall prey to the temptation of replacing clarity with detail。I have seen a founder do this， assuming that by capturing updates and reports， everyday， every week， on three different places from everyone will give him extreme clarity about what is happening everyday， but alas， it only increased the number of updates and did not really amount to any increase in clarity。METRIC FETISH and REPLACING CLARITY WITH DETAILThe Last Chapter is the best chapter of them all - The author talks about the management trinity - Conceptual， human and technical。Command - Leadership and Management。 Intellectual， emotional and Physical。 。。。more
Peter Bennett
，
Bungay has helped me see Clausewitz' notion of "friction" in a completely new light。 Before reading this book I used to think more in terms of minimizing the possibility of friction but it's now clear to me how futile an endeavour that is。 We must simply accept friction as a fact of life and understand that， when friction strikes in real time， we have to deal with whatever the source of friction is in a way that still gets us to the higher intent， i。e。 the main overarching objective of strategy Bungay has helped me see Clausewitz' notion of "friction" in a completely new light。 Before reading this book I used to think more in terms of minimizing the possibility of friction but it's now clear to me how futile an endeavour that is。 We must simply accept friction as a fact of life and understand that， when friction strikes in real time， we have to deal with whatever the source of friction is in a way that still gets us to the higher intent， i。e。 the main overarching objective of strategy that we are trying to get to。 Incidentally， I also wonder if Bungay has ever read Wylie's Military Strategy: A General Theory of Power Control。 Bungay endorses a sequential approach to goal attainment in order to bridge what he terms the knowledge gap。 Of the two approaches to strategy which Wylie discusses in his book， the sequential approach is really the only one with an air of intentionality and calculatedness。 I had always thought of sequential strategy as a way to approach the larger problems in life - simply because they are too massive to attack head on - but I now have an added appreciation for sequentialism as a means to guard against a dynamic constantly changing milieu by only thinking one sequence at a time。 That said， one still needs to have a rough view of what the eventual destination looks like。CODA:Upgrading to 5 stars。 I can personally vouch that Directed Opportunism， properly applied， and with a bit of patience， can lead to outcomes that are perhaps best described as miraculous。 。。。more
Eduardo Xavier
，
This is not like other leadership books though the author encompasses war’s history。 This book shows how a Prussian General Clausewitz was the first military in history who change from command-control to mission-command and then won battlers against Napoleon forces。 He also describes how modern military embrace mission-command and shows how and organization should organize plans and action throughout a chain of hierarchy or levels。 The author also discusses about how to detail in each level and This is not like other leadership books though the author encompasses war’s history。 This book shows how a Prussian General Clausewitz was the first military in history who change from command-control to mission-command and then won battlers against Napoleon forces。 He also describes how modern military embrace mission-command and shows how and organization should organize plans and action throughout a chain of hierarchy or levels。 The author also discusses about how to detail in each level and how to use metric right。This is the most important leaderships book I read to this day。 Not just because the leadership concepts but make it clear about how to deal with lot project management issues。 。。。more
Rob
，
Solid concepts for leading a business/company。 Bungay draws direct parallels from the Prussian military of the 19th century to give great advice on how to centralize but still empower leaders。 I listened to the 10th anniversary edition on Audible and the new preface was maybe the best chapter （I will admit I am a softare/agile development individual）。 Like most business books， the core points and anecdotes could have been pleasantly explained in 1/3 or at least 1/2 the number of pages which were Solid concepts for leading a business/company。 Bungay draws direct parallels from the Prussian military of the 19th century to give great advice on how to centralize but still empower leaders。 I listened to the 10th anniversary edition on Audible and the new preface was maybe the best chapter （I will admit I am a softare/agile development individual）。 Like most business books， the core points and anecdotes could have been pleasantly explained in 1/3 or at least 1/2 the number of pages which were present in this book。 Too dense and repetitive to go more than 3 stars。 But certainly some great take-aways。 。。。more
Jay Yeo
，
There is a lot to unpack here， and worthy of a re-read。 He believes that organizations succeed when “directed opportunism” exists， a “top-down meets bottom-up” approach instead of micromanagement or uncoordinated spinning of wheels。 Each level of strategy， operations/execution， tactics is more detailed than the last to achieve the overall vision， and backbriefing allows for alignment and buy-in。 This requires empowerment， flexibility and creativity especially at the middle layer to act in servic There is a lot to unpack here， and worthy of a re-read。 He believes that organizations succeed when “directed opportunism” exists， a “top-down meets bottom-up” approach instead of micromanagement or uncoordinated spinning of wheels。 Each level of strategy， operations/execution， tactics is more detailed than the last to achieve the overall vision， and backbriefing allows for alignment and buy-in。 This requires empowerment， flexibility and creativity especially at the middle layer to act in service of the strategy even when not specifically directed。 He also goes into detail on the knowledge gap， alignment gap and effects gap， which all cause uncertainty and unpredictability。 。。。more
Eleanor Sturdy
，
Not a game changer， and rather outstripped by all the new thinking on flexibility。
Juuso
，
Drawing from military history， Bungay arrives at something very much in line with modern agile， empowered product teams and OKRs。Academic frameworks are balanced with illustrating stories from both business and war， giving the book rigor without making it too dense to enjoy。 That said， Bungay's writing occasionally sacrifices clarity for wit。Lots of take-aways here for execs。 Highly recommended。 Drawing from military history， Bungay arrives at something very much in line with modern agile， empowered product teams and OKRs。Academic frameworks are balanced with illustrating stories from both business and war， giving the book rigor without making it too dense to enjoy。 That said， Bungay's writing occasionally sacrifices clarity for wit。Lots of take-aways here for execs。 Highly recommended。 。。。more
Ahmad hosseini
，
Executing strategy is main theme in the book。 Most of the time， managers know right strategy。 Based on selected strategy， they plan， specify actions and tasks but they cannot achieve the desired outcome at the end。 Based on the book there is three gaps that prevent you from achieving the desired outcomes:KNOWLEDGE GAP - It is the difference between what we would like to know and what we actually know。 It means that we cannot create perfect plans。ALIGNMENT GAP - It is the difference between what Executing strategy is main theme in the book。 Most of the time， managers know right strategy。 Based on selected strategy， they plan， specify actions and tasks but they cannot achieve the desired outcome at the end。 Based on the book there is three gaps that prevent you from achieving the desired outcomes:KNOWLEDGE GAP - It is the difference between what we would like to know and what we actually know。 It means that we cannot create perfect plans。ALIGNMENT GAP - It is the difference between what we would like people to do and what they actually do。 It means that even if we encourage them to switch off their brains， we cannot know enough about them to program them perfectly。EFFECTS GAP - It is the difference between what we hope our actions will achieve and what they actually achieve。 We can never fully predict how the environment will react to what we do。 It means that we cannot know in advance exactly what outcomes the actions of our organization are going to create。And author provides some principles for addressing these gaps:Decide what really mattersGet the message acrossGive people space and supportAuthor explains these topics based on a very easy and simple model at the first chapters of the book。 In the following chapters， he examines each of the gaps separately and describes the solution to overcome each of them。The book also has its weaknesses。 The book contains a lot of information about historical wars and most of the points made about the strategy are explained based on them。 That's why you need to study very carefully and understand the relevant tips and information yourself。 On the other hand， this style of writing makes the book look like a historical book at first glance。 But the book is so informative and I recommend you to read it。 。。。more
Onyx
，
Helping young dreamers of business
Michael Remy
，
Seldom have I considered a correlation between old Prussian effort in war to business strategy。 This author presents an appealing argument for turning effort into business actions。 The book is well written with eloquent syntax。
M Fathoni
，
Insightful book and a must read for everyone who still have conservative approach managing teams。
Christina
，
This book outlines a process for achieving success by adopting historical strategy methods rather than using more recent engineering methods。 Engineering methods are not flexible enough to accomodate the dynamic world we live in today。 It is better to teach your team to focus on the outcome and adapt their actions as necessary to achieve the outcome。
Matt
，
Probably the best book on leadership that I've ever read。 Foundational for understanding concepts like Strategy， Strategy Deployment， Flight Levels， Leadership at Every Level and Aligned Autonomy。 Probably the best book on leadership that I've ever read。 Foundational for understanding concepts like Strategy， Strategy Deployment， Flight Levels， Leadership at Every Level and Aligned Autonomy。 。。。more
Gerard Chiva
，
The title could be misleading。 This is a book about strategy around the three gaps which cause businesses to fail in defining and executing their strategy under unpredictable environments: the knowledge gap， the alignment gap and the effects gap。The author explains how businesses can benefit from 200-year old teachings from the military。In recent years everybody is talking about OKRs to fix the alignment gap， however most businesses still fail to do what is most important: to design and continuo The title could be misleading。 This is a book about strategy around the three gaps which cause businesses to fail in defining and executing their strategy under unpredictable environments: the knowledge gap， the alignment gap and the effects gap。The author explains how businesses can benefit from 200-year old teachings from the military。In recent years everybody is talking about OKRs to fix the alignment gap， however most businesses still fail to do what is most important: to design and continuously evolve a winning strategy。 OKRs without a sound strategy becomes just fancy goal-setting。The book contains some quite good advice and ideas I will be using， however to much history and text for my liking。 I think I can summarize the key concepts in two pages ;） 。。。more
Jason Donohoe
，
Some powerful mental modelsA great book overall。 The core concepts come together nicely to provide a very useful mental model for navigating the crazy world of organisations trying to execute on their mission。
Marco
，
As a non native English reader， this book was sometimes hard to follow。 The structure seems to be more academical than practical。 Having almost one sixth of notes and index is a good indicatiin for that。However I liked to find similarities from different domains and compare or adapt them， in this case the military。 The author created a triangle of directing， managing and leading， with a bit more focus on directing or command in military speak。
Mihai Bogdan Volosincu
，
O carte care oferă soluții la multe provocări din viata profesionala， un foarte bun ghid în management， organizare și conducere （leadership）。 După citirea acestei cărți dacă ar fi sa retrăiesc unele evenimente din trecut din viata mea profesionala cu siguranță as aborda diferit cursul și unele situații din viata proiectelor și echipelor din care am făcut parte。 Autorul s-a inspirat din experienta armatei prusace din secolul 19， experientă actualizată la circumstanțele prezentului， o sursa foarte O carte care oferă soluții la multe provocări din viata profesionala， un foarte bun ghid în management， organizare și conducere （leadership）。 După citirea acestei cărți dacă ar fi sa retrăiesc unele evenimente din trecut din viata mea profesionala cu siguranță as aborda diferit cursul și unele situații din viata proiectelor și echipelor din care am făcut parte。 Autorul s-a inspirat din experienta armatei prusace din secolul 19， experientă actualizată la circumstanțele prezentului， o sursa foarte bună în ceea ce privește organizarea și conducerea unei afaceri， a unui proiect sau coordonarea unei echipe/companii。 "Most of us spend most of our waking hours working for an organization。 How we spend that time matters to the organization and it also matters to us。 We spend it engaged in activity。 Directed opportunism is the art of turning activity into thoughtful， purposive action。 Doing so does not only help organizations。 It also alleviates the misery of the maligned middle manager and lightens the burden of the resented senior executive。 It shows respect for individuals and allows them to grow。 It enriches people’s lives。" 。。。more
Cyril Danthi
，
The commander in chief always develops a strategy to win the war。 All though it is taken for granted that the soldiers in the field will obey the chief as planned to ensure they defeat the enemy。 The chain in command and alignment becomes very important so that they know Why， What and How it has to be done。 Business is an interaction between human organizations。 It is competitive， highly dynamic， complex and risky。 Organizations develop strategy and review it every year。 Command is as unavoidabl The commander in chief always develops a strategy to win the war。 All though it is taken for granted that the soldiers in the field will obey the chief as planned to ensure they defeat the enemy。 The chain in command and alignment becomes very important so that they know Why， What and How it has to be done。 Business is an interaction between human organizations。 It is competitive， highly dynamic， complex and risky。 Organizations develop strategy and review it every year。 Command is as unavoidable in the business world as it is in the military one。 Strategy is dynamic as it only defines the path that management has chosen。 At times the organizations fail to execute the strategy。 The Art of Action is a thought-provoking and fresh look at how managers can turn planning into execution， and execution into results。 The book is based on the historical knowledge of military campaigns going back to Napoleonic times and moves forwards into the 21st Century military application of strategy in the Western world。 The author draws parallels to application of the Mission Command approach in private and public sector organisations today。 In war everything is very simple， but simplest thing is difficult as for the complex organizations。 Creating great organizations and devising great strategies is not a science but an art。 In science our knowledge grows and builds on the past。 The big issue is not strategy， but executing strategy and times organization appear to reward compliance rather than initiatives or creativity resulting into non-participation and fear。 A strategy is fundamentally an intent; a decision to achieve something now in order to realize an outcome; that is a， “What” and a “Why”。 The steps of the staircase define the organizations “main efforts: at a strategic level。 Even if a strategy is not watertight， energetic leadership can make it work， however business strategy encounters frictions of uncertainty， errors， accidents， technical difficulties， the unforeseen and their effects of decisions， morale and actions。 These result into 3 types of gaps （gaps in terms of expected results and reality: outcomes， actions， plans）。 The gap is described as the difference between what we know and we can do， as the gulf between plan and execution。 They areKnowledge Gap: The gap between plans and outcomes concerns Knowledge; it is the difference between what we would like to know and what we actually know。 This means that we cannot create perfect plans。 So the need is to formulate the strategy as an intent rather than a plan。 Knowledge gap is to limit direction to defining and expressing the essential intent。 Alignment Gap: The gap between plans and actions concerns alignment; it is the difference between what we would like people to do and what they actually do。 The need is to be clear on the intentions with the employees。 The alignment gap is to allow each level to define what it would achieve to realize the intent。 Effect Gap: The gap between action and outcomes concerns effects; it is the difference between what we hope our actions will achieve and what they actually achieve。 We can never fully predict how the environment will react to what we do。 It requires the boundaries that are broad enough to take decisions for themselves and act on them。 The effect gap is providing individuals freedom to adjust their actions in line with the intent。 The result is to make strategy and execution a distinction without a difference， as the organization goes through PDCA cycle。 A gap in alignment is often pointed to top level frustrations and lower-level confusion。 Top –level managers feel increased pressure to specify exactly what they wanted people to do。 The lower level imitates and identify problems on their own， which results in local initiatives。 These result in creating dilemmas over what to do。 Junior people lose the trust in decisions of seniors and they start delegating upwards。 Top level frustration goes up a notch as people thereby demonstrate that they really cannot decide anything for themselves and so the cycle goes on。 A gap of effect is typically responded by increase in control。 The favourite control mechanism is metrics。 Controls have a cost。 Overhead builds up around the controllers， and the reporting burden increases for the controlled。 Controls add costs， slow things down further， and increase rigidity。 People become demotivated and keep their attention firmly fixed on their KPIs which they were supposed to measure。 People on the front lien are the ones who ultimately crate value since they are the one who determine the kinds of experience that the company generates for its customers。 The higher the level of command， the shorter and more general the orders should be。 The next level down should add whatever further specification it feels to be necessary and the detail of execution are left to verbal instructions or perhaps a word of command。 This ensures that everyone retains freedom of movement and decisions within the boundary of their authority。 The real challenge is how to create an organization which enables average people to turn out above average performance。 Most organizations could improve that performance significantly if they could unlock the potential to their existing people， whether or not they are unusually talented。 Organizations can use OGSM technique， this starts with the corporate centre defining its Objectives and Goals and its Strategies and Measures。 These are then translated down into business and functional levels instead of MBO。 High performing organizations tend to have a strong culture。 The Morale drops when organization wastes people’s time。 Using an effective briefing technique renders the motivational task of leadership far easier by making the connections between the individual and the collective and forming the basis of mutual respect。 The organizational culture is set by two most important organizational processes， budgeting and performance appraisal。 They form part of corporate body language。 Scorecard is only one source of information from which that picture can be formed。 A scorecard should be used to support strategy execution by monitoring the effects actions are realizing， not to supplant strategy。 。。。more
Phil
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Heavy going in parts and often a bit laborious in others， but contains some absolute gems which I’ll incorporate in the teams I work in， and work with。
Denis Vasilev
，
Книга начиналась как провал， а вышла на хорошую орбиту。 Смесь исторических и бизнес историй с выводами по применению военного оперативного искусству к бизнесу。 По военной стратегии и оперативному искусству понятно есть намного более дельные книги。 У автора же получилось задать и попробовать ответить на один， но важный вопрос - что находится между благими пожеланиям， когда сотрудники не понимают что в итоге делать и микроменеджментом не оставляющим возможности подчиненным быть менеджерами и соуча Книга начиналась как провал， а вышла на хорошую орбиту。 Смесь исторических и бизнес историй с выводами по применению военного оперативного искусству к бизнесу。 По военной стратегии и оперативному искусству понятно есть намного более дельные книги。 У автора же получилось задать и попробовать ответить на один， но важный вопрос - что находится между благими пожеланиям， когда сотрудники не понимают что в итоге делать и микроменеджментом не оставляющим возможности подчиненным быть менеджерами и соучастниками， а не винтиками 。。。more
David
，
This was a difficult one for me。 The content is spot on and I went away with reinforced and new principles， that make a lot of sense to me。 I liked the systematic approach of laying down the 3 fundamental gaps and the friction that’s invited by them and then providing possible ways to close them。Much of this reiterated what I took away from other books on leadership in the military realm like “extreme ownership” and “turn the ship around”。 On top it added new dimensions and provided an angle dif This was a difficult one for me。 The content is spot on and I went away with reinforced and new principles， that make a lot of sense to me。 I liked the systematic approach of laying down the 3 fundamental gaps and the friction that’s invited by them and then providing possible ways to close them。Much of this reiterated what I took away from other books on leadership in the military realm like “extreme ownership” and “turn the ship around”。 On top it added new dimensions and provided an angle different enough to allow mental compaction of what I knew before。 I also took some very practical advise for me which I am going to try out in the field。 Why only 3 stars then？ Well， the content is great but the delivery is not for me。 I think this could have been condensed a great deal and the key points could have been driven home more succinctly。 I found myself reading page after page at some point asking myself what relevance this all had。 It may ultimately be me and how my brain works though。 。。。more
parastimo
，
One of the sure signs of a good book is that it gives something to bring to table even in casual conversations。 "Oh， you lost a family member in a war？ I just read a book that was based on a military genius' ideas of how not to lose！"Oh well。Seriously， though， The Art of Action did bring into my attention new tools for analysing organisational problems， and noticing problematic patterns that might have gone unseen for long， while also giving solution guidelines that could be used to remedy situa One of the sure signs of a good book is that it gives something to bring to table even in casual conversations。 "Oh， you lost a family member in a war？ I just read a book that was based on a military genius' ideas of how not to lose！"Oh well。Seriously， though， The Art of Action did bring into my attention new tools for analysing organisational problems， and noticing problematic patterns that might have gone unseen for long， while also giving solution guidelines that could be used to remedy situations with as well。 Couldn't ask for more for now。 。。。more
Bruno
，
A very good book on strategy and how to make it happen。I slightly disagree on some parts related to complexity。 At times it sounds a bit too much adherring to current organizational structures， a bit too much top-down-and-back。 Of course the 'and-back' part alone would be a vast improvement in many businesses， not to mention a focus on intent instead of orders。The most important contribution are the 3 gaps （knowledge， alignment， effects）， I'd say。 A very good book on strategy and how to make it happen。I slightly disagree on some parts related to complexity。 At times it sounds a bit too much adherring to current organizational structures， a bit too much top-down-and-back。 Of course the 'and-back' part alone would be a vast improvement in many businesses， not to mention a focus on intent instead of orders。The most important contribution are the 3 gaps （knowledge， alignment， effects）， I'd say。 。。。more
Jens Comiotto-Mayer
，
"The Art of Action" is one of the most edutaining books I've read so far， and it still bears some new insights reading it a second time。 Highly recommended。 "The Art of Action" is one of the most edutaining books I've read so far， and it still bears some new insights reading it a second time。 Highly recommended。 。。。more
Stefan Kanev
，
It's a book about execution in organisations。 And a fairly good one too。The title is a reference to The Art of War。 The author is a British historian and a management consultant。 He makes a lot of parallels between how armies operate efficiently and how organisations should follow their example。 Initially that felt wrong to me。 Then I learned I didn't know anything about armies。It's about operating in uncertainty， about giving clear direction instead of detailed instructions and about empowering It's a book about execution in organisations。 And a fairly good one too。The title is a reference to The Art of War。 The author is a British historian and a management consultant。 He makes a lot of parallels between how armies operate efficiently and how organisations should follow their example。 Initially that felt wrong to me。 Then I learned I didn't know anything about armies。It's about operating in uncertainty， about giving clear direction instead of detailed instructions and about empowering people to make decisions and change course when the situation calls it。 It's not specifically about software development， but it echoes a lot of the Agile ideals。There are four points in getting something done: （1） figuring out where you want to be， （2） making a plan， （3） performing some actions and （4） getting a result。 He identifies the three gaps inbetween and how to bridge them。 The intuitive solution people have is often counter-productive and a different approach should be taken。* The Knowledge Gap is the difference between what you know now and what you need for the perfect plan。 You don't have perfect information， however。 Waiting to get more information is rarely a good idea。 Instead， one should plan to the horizon one can observe and be prepared to improvise。 In military terms， "no plan survives the first contact with the enemy"。* The Alignment Gap is the difference between what people have been planned to do and what they actually do。 The intuitive （and counter-productive） "fix" is to give people more detailed instructions。 However， that rarely works。 Instead， one should be very clear about the desired outcome （providing goals and anti-goals） and let people own how to approach it。* The Effects Gap is the difference between the result you wanted and what you actually got。 The intuitive （and counter-productive） "fix" is to implement more controls。 What gets measured gets done， but there is a lot of risk in measuring the wrong thing and thus getting the wrong thing done。 A better approach is empowering people， even junior ones， to take initiative and change course。 Knowing the objective and being closer to the situation， they are better positioned to make the decisions that can lead to the desired result。A big theme in the book is strategy。 What it is and the role it plays。 It should be clear， short and have no unnecessary detail。 It should enable execution， not tell people what to do。If you're running an organisation （or are interested in how to run one）， this book is worth reading。 It's has a lot of proper thought about when things work and then they don't。 It takes a stab at Taylorism and dated approaches to management。 It genuinely addresses knowledge work in an organisation。The only caveat is the style。 While not hard， it could be easier to read and more engaging – it often felt like a history book。 But if you endure it， you'll be rewarded a lot of valuable insight。 I certainly can benefit from a rereading。 。。。more
Justus
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This hybrid book is neither fish nor fowl。 The basic thesis is "the German military from ~1870-1945 was awesome and businesses should learn from how they did things"。 The problem is that the military history part of the book is so deep it is likely to alienate anyone who isn't a military history fan。 But it is too shallow to be really satisfactory for a military history fan。 They're probably better served by something like Robert Citino's The German Way of War。 Likewise， the business side of thi This hybrid book is neither fish nor fowl。 The basic thesis is "the German military from ~1870-1945 was awesome and businesses should learn from how they did things"。 The problem is that the military history part of the book is so deep it is likely to alienate anyone who isn't a military history fan。 But it is too shallow to be really satisfactory for a military history fan。 They're probably better served by something like Robert Citino's The German Way of War。 Likewise， the business side of things is too shallow to really satisfy a business leader。It doesn't help that， in the first few pages， Bungay admits that nothing in his book is new or novel。 That business people since at least Jack Welch in the early 1980s have been drawing the same comparisons between the German military and business。Ultimately， the lesson is to try to create an organisation that is loosely coupled but highly aligned。 Make sure everyone has the same vision -- knows what the overall big goals are -- but then give them the freedom & resources to achieve those goals however they think is best。 Above all don't micromanage with detailed orders because you won't be able to predict every eventuality and your people won't feel they have the ability to take initiative on their own when problems arise。This is hardly groundbreaking advice。 I think it is what every business I've been part of in my three decades （so far） of working tries to do， especially in the post-Peter Drucker knowledge worker economy。 Or at least， gives lip service to。 So what we really need is a more in-depth treatment of why this is so hard -- Bungay admits that despite everyone thinking the German military is awesome， virtually no militaries around the world （except some special forces） have really adopted their methods。 Likewise， there is surprisingly little examination of the problems that occur under this philosophy -- German generals ignoring high command & strategic objectives and causing problems in order to pursue their own initiative is practically a stereotype at this point。I ended up fairly disappointed with this because it all felt a bit too theoretical。 I think it would be better if the detailed German history stuff was stripped down substantially and there were more case studies from real businesses in the modern world。 。。。more
Julio Lopes
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Fierce follower of van Moltke。 It brings so much clarity into the what we think are the lean methodologies of the startup world。It's essentials are super similar to management by objectives thought it retains it's essences and strips it of the unecessary bureaucracy。 Fierce follower of van Moltke。 It brings so much clarity into the what we think are the lean methodologies of the startup world。It's essentials are super similar to management by objectives thought it retains it's essences and strips it of the unecessary bureaucracy。 。。。more
Adrian
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I have enjoyed the book and found it captivating， even I struggled a bit with too much details on various historical events。The reality of organizational challenges is stated in a way that perfectly resonated with me and the cause very nicely clarified。 The rest of the book focuses on solutions， and I particularly appreciated the alignment section as well as the command-lead-manage concept。
Niki Agrawal
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If you like history and you like business， this book is 100% for you。 If you like only one of those things， then half of this book is for you。 The author compares history to business， chapter-by-chapter， but I would have preferred a focus on just one。For the business side of affairs （my cup of tea）， there are several gems of wisdom on leadership with vivid examples you won't soon forget。 How do processes at a company turn an average employee into an outstanding one？ This is what this book will h If you like history and you like business， this book is 100% for you。 If you like only one of those things， then half of this book is for you。 The author compares history to business， chapter-by-chapter， but I would have preferred a focus on just one。For the business side of affairs （my cup of tea）， there are several gems of wisdom on leadership with vivid examples you won't soon forget。 How do processes at a company turn an average employee into an outstanding one？ This is what this book will help you answer。 I recommend （half of） this book to anyone who wants to improve company efficiency。 。。。more
Wally Bock
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