Napoleon Quotes on Victory, Leadership and the Art of War

Book excerpt: When the book was prepared, our example was Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" book. Like the timeless work of Sun Tzu, Napoleon's comments on the art of war were selected, edited and categorized.These comments are from the memories of the people who were with Napoleon until his last moments. These memories were studied and Napoleon's ideas on the art of war and leadership were selected. These selections were categorized in the sixteen chapter.Here are the 16 chapters:1.NAPOLEON ON VICTORY AND GLORY(According to Napoleon, to live without victory and glory is to die every day.)2.NAPOLEON ON BOLDNESS, AUDACITY, AND COURAGE(According to Napoleon, bold resolutions enable a commander to emerge victorious from an uneven struggle.)3.NAPOLEON ON PLANNING, PREPARATION, AND CALCULATION(According to Napoleon, the great actions must proceed from a calculation.)4.NAPOLEON ON CIRCUMSTANCES AND FLEXIBILITY(According to Napoleon, the plan must be modified according to the circumstances and therefore, a commander must be flexible!)5.NAPOLEON ON CONCENTRATION AND CENTER OF GRAVITY(According to Napoleon, a commander must concentrate his forces on a single point.)6.NAPOLEON ON COORDINATION AND COMMUNICATION(According to Napoleon, a commander must not allow corps to act separately, without communication with each other.)7.NAPOLEON ON VELOCITY AND NOT LOSING TIME(According to Napoleon, the rapidity increases the means of the victory.)8.NAPOLEON ON DECEPTION, SURPRISE AND EXAGGERATING YOUR FORCES (According to Napoleon, in war, in order to surprise an enemy, deception is a must! Also, according to Napoleon, a commander must always exaggerate the numbers of his forces.)9.NAPOLEON ON DISCIPLINE(According to Napoleon, without discipline there is no victory.)10.NAPOLEON ON DETERMINATION, CONSTANCY, AND RESOLUTION(According to Napoleon, how many things apparently impossible have nevertheless been performed by resolute men who had no alternative but death!)11.NAPOLEON ON PAYING ATTENTION TO DETAIL(According to Napoleon, the slightest circumstance decides the issue of a battle. Therefore, a commander must pay attention to details.)12.NAPOLEON ON COOL HEAD, SOUND REASONING, AND SOUND JUDGMENT(According to Napoleon, the foremost quality of a commander is to keep a cool head, to receive accurate impressions of what is happening.)13.NAPOLEON ON SIMPLICITY(According to Napoleon, the art of war is like everything that is beautiful and simple. The simplest moves are the best. )14.NAPOLEON ON INTELLIGENCE AND GETTING PRECISE INFORMATION(According to Napoleon, in order to get detailed information, a commander must study the problem from every angle. Intelligence is crucial.)15.NAPOLEON ON SECRECY(According to Napoleon, in war the first principle of a commander is to conceal what he is doing.)16.NAPOLEON ON LEADERSHIP(According to Napoleon, in war men are nothing; one man is everything. The presence of a commander is indispensable. Also, according to Napoleon, a commander is the head, the whole of an army. An army is nothing without the head.)We believe that Napoleon's these thoughts and comments on leadership and the art of war which we selected, edited and classified into 16 chapters, will lead commanders, businessmen/women, and individuals to victory when they face struggles.ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Mete Aksoy is teaching the art of war in Turkish Military Academy. He is a graduate of Mechanical Engineering and holds a master's degree in leadership at the University of San Diego (USD). He has also received courses on negotiation and leadership at Harvard University and at M.I.T. For eighteen years, Aksoy has deepened his experience in multinational corporations in many countries of the world and is now a management consultant for various companies.