Cambridge Business Association
Patton on Leadership
Book

Patton on Leadership

Strategic Lessons for Corporate Warfare

Alan Axelrod
Prentice Hall Press, 2001
First Edition: 1999
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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Applicable

Recommendation

In times of great crises, countries turn to uncompromising leaders like George S. Patton. Patton’s knowledge of momentum, morale, timing and tactics made him an almost irrepressible force in World War II, and author Alan Axelrod explains how you can adopt his theories in your own business competition. getAbstract.com recommends this book to anyone in business, including those without a taste for war-themed literature, for its penetrating insights into the mind of an unparalleled leader.

Summary

A Constant Advance

"I don’t want any messages saying we’re holding our position. We’re advancing constantly and we’re not interested in holding onto anything except the enemy. We’re going to hold onto him by his balls and kick the hell out of him all the time. We’re going through him like crap through a goose."

Those words of General George S. Patton prove that the controversial World War II leader did not exactly have the bedside manner of a field-hospital nurse. If you were choosing someone to lead an army fighting to save western civilization, however, Patton would be on your short list. It is Patton’s accomplishments on the battlefield that provide his most powerful testament. Among them:

  • He was an architect of modern tank warfare.
  • He transformed a defeated and demoralized American army in North Africa into the force that defeated the most brilliant military leader the Nazi’s had: Erwin Rommel, the heralded "Desert Fox."
  • He successfully invaded Sicily and did so with few casualties.
  • His breakneck assault across France and into Germany liberated more towns that any other unit in the history of American arms.
  • His northward...

About the Author

Alan Axelrod is the author of the bestseller, Elizabeth I CEO, and has written many books on management, business and career development, as well as works of military history and historical biography.

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