Strategy, 5 feet 2 inches tall

The little corporal

"Ambition is never content,

even on the summit of greatness."

—Napoleon Bonaparte

Napoleone di Buonaparte was born on 15 August 1769, in the town of Ajaccio on Corsica, France. Neither he nor his family was of noble origins. Yet he was destined to be the french emperor due to his military and startegic acumen.at age nine, Napoleon was admitted to a French military school at Brienne-le-Château, a small town near Troyes. He had to learn French before entering the school, but he spoke with a marked Italian accent throughout his life and never learned to spell properly.Upon graduation from Brienne in 1784, Bonaparte was admitted to the elite École Royale Militaire in Paris, where he completed the two-year course of study in only one year.Upon graduation in September 1785, he was commissioned a second lieutenant in La Fère artillery regiment and took up his new duties in January 1786 at the age of 16.

Napoleonic Wars

1789–1802 - French Revolutionary wars

It was during the French recolution that saw the end of French monachry and Louis XIV of France.Bonaparte returned from Egypt to France on August 23, 1799, and seized control of the French government on 9 November 1799 in the coup of 18 Brumaire, replacing the Directory with the Consulate. He reorganized the French military and created a reserve army.

1803–1814 - War between Britain and France

This war was big earning for Napoleon. He had to struggle against an army with an advantageous position and using gurella warfare. After these wars Bonaparte declared France an Empire on May 18, 1804 and crowned himself Emperor at Notre-Dame on December 2.

1805–1809 The coalitions

These wars were aimed for supermacy of Europe, between the French and the British. The French crushed major powers such as Russians, Purussians, Dutch, Spanish, Austrians. France emerged as the archrival of the British and it Royal navy. In 1810 the French Empire reached its greatest extent. On the continent, the British and Portuguese remained restricted

Battle of Waterloo

The Battle of Waterloo, fought on 18 June 1815, was Napoleon Bonaparte's last battle. His defeat put a final end to his rule as Emperor of the French.

Napolean was a one man army who made France an European superpower.

Napoleon's Mantras

”One bad general is worth two good ones”

Napoleon was referring to the importance of being single-minded in both process and purpose. Trying to be all things to everyone is a recipe for disaster. A great market position not only informs the target audience whom you are for, it proclaims as emphatically whom you are NOT for. The best example of such a disaster is the Southwest airlines which wanted to be both Economy & Luxury, in the process loosing focus and customer. This is what Al Ries too quotes in his book 'Focus'.

"Strategy is the art of making use of time and space. I am less concerned about the later than the former. Space we can recover, lost time never."

Napoleon might well be referring to the struggle all businesses have in managing scarce resources. Although a lost market can be recaptured but a lost opportunity cannot be milked.

"It should not be believed that a march of three or four days in the wrong direction can be corrected by a countermarch. As a rule, this is to make two mistakes instead of one."

Once again, Napoleon was referring to focus and intent.

Entrepreneurial companies are strongly at risk for this error in strategy. Often as not, their verve and early success came as the result of the individual force of presence of a creative founder or president. Harnessing this energy and not allowing it to loses focus is a great challenge. More often than not, patience, focus, and absolute commitment lead to success.

"If I always appear prepared, it is because before entering an undertaking, I have meditated long and have foreseen what might occur."

In this axiom Napoleon asks strategists to be foresighted about an opportunity in future. The ability to analyze risk, uncover opportunity, and plan to exploit the breech are the skills that every marketing department needs to foster.

Finally my favorite Napoleon quote

"Between a battle lost and a battle won, the distance is immense and there stand empires."

Sources: http://www.stealingshare.com/ and Wikipedia

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