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Napoleon on Project Management: Timeless Lessons in Planning, Execution, and Leadership
What is it about Napoleon Bonaparte that has led recognized leaders such as General George S. Patton to study his principles-and countless books on management and leadership to quote his maxims? What lessons can today's project managers and leaders learn from Napoleon's successes and failures? Napoleon on Project Management explores the key principles behind Napoleon's successes, the triggers that led to his downfall, and the lessons to be learned from his ultimate demise-and applies these lessons to modern-day project management and leadership at all levels.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2006
22 people are currently reading
105 people want to read
About the author
Jerry Manas
8 booksWhether writing about leadership lessons from historic figures and other icons, or musing on organizational culture and management, Jerry Manas has a knack for combining history, science, and a variety of other topics to bring fresh and entertaining perspectives to what could otherwise be dry subjects.
A thought leader in organizational project and resource management, Jerry is frequently cited by leading voices in the world of business, including legendary management guru Tom Peters (In Search of Excellence), who often references Jerry’s best selling work, Napoleon on Project Management, for its insights on simplicity and character. Jerry’s work has been highlighted in a variety of publications, including Leadership Excellence, The National Post, The Globe and Mail, The Chicago Sun Times, The Huffington Post, and The Houston Chronicle. He has written numerous books and articles and appeared on radio programs nationwide.
Jerry’s newest book, The Resource Management and Capacity Planning Handbook (McGraw-Hill, Sept 2014), offers benchmarks, guidelines, and tools for maximizing the value of organizational “people” resources. Max Wideman, considered by many to be the “father of project management,” says of the book, “Author Jerry Manas steps nimbly through this minefield with solid evidence and practical advice—all laced together in an easy-to-read style and light-hearted humor. ”
In Napoleon on Project Management, Manas drew insightful parallels between Napoleon’s strategic brilliance and success in today’s organizational and business worlds. The prestigious Kirkus Reviews called it “the ultimate case study in effective project management,” and called his research “impeccable.” The book has been published in eight languages and has been course adopted in universities around the world, including in Iceland where Jerry appeared on National TV applying the lessons to the country’s economic recovery.
Jerry’s book Managing the Gray Areas, which brought new perspectives on resolving the most common leadership dilemmas, was hailed by Pat Williams, Senior VP of the Orlando Magic basketball team, as “a new path for leaders.” Project Lessons from the Roman Empire was a natural follow-up to the Napoleon book, and examines lessons in leadership, planning, and communication from the rise and fall of Rome. Jerry was also a co-author of the bestseller, 42 Rules for Creating WE, which Angela Ahrendts, CEO of Burberry, called “today’s greatest guide for team success.”
In addition to his books on management and leadership, Jerry writes fiction books as J.B. Manas. His debut sci-fi thriller, The Kronos Interference, with co-author Edward Miller, received a starred review in Kirkus Reviews, who called it “impressively original” and [a] “tour de force.” The book was named to Kirkus Reviews’ Best of 2012. Visit the authors’ blog at www.millerandmanas.wordpress.com.
An active voice in the field, Jerry considers himself an “organizational architect.” Besides his writing, he is senior editor and research consultant at the market leading enterprise portfolio management firm, Planview, where he applies his passion to developing and evangelizing best practices in the areas of leadership, planning, execution, and value delivery.
He is also a founding member of The Creating We Institute, an international thought leadership community dedicated to fostering WE-centric thinking in organizations through research in neuroscience and psychology. The institute is partnering with the National Constitution Center on exciting and transformative leadership programs to be announced in 2014.
In addition, Jerry is a founding member of the Project Management Institute’s New Media Council, created to boost PMI’s presence and awareness with regard to new media, as well as the co-founder of the popular project portfolio management blog PMThink!. He served on the leadership team for the first editions of PMI’s international standards for portfolio and
A thought leader in organizational project and resource management, Jerry is frequently cited by leading voices in the world of business, including legendary management guru Tom Peters (In Search of Excellence), who often references Jerry’s best selling work, Napoleon on Project Management, for its insights on simplicity and character. Jerry’s work has been highlighted in a variety of publications, including Leadership Excellence, The National Post, The Globe and Mail, The Chicago Sun Times, The Huffington Post, and The Houston Chronicle. He has written numerous books and articles and appeared on radio programs nationwide.
Jerry’s newest book, The Resource Management and Capacity Planning Handbook (McGraw-Hill, Sept 2014), offers benchmarks, guidelines, and tools for maximizing the value of organizational “people” resources. Max Wideman, considered by many to be the “father of project management,” says of the book, “Author Jerry Manas steps nimbly through this minefield with solid evidence and practical advice—all laced together in an easy-to-read style and light-hearted humor. ”
In Napoleon on Project Management, Manas drew insightful parallels between Napoleon’s strategic brilliance and success in today’s organizational and business worlds. The prestigious Kirkus Reviews called it “the ultimate case study in effective project management,” and called his research “impeccable.” The book has been published in eight languages and has been course adopted in universities around the world, including in Iceland where Jerry appeared on National TV applying the lessons to the country’s economic recovery.
Jerry’s book Managing the Gray Areas, which brought new perspectives on resolving the most common leadership dilemmas, was hailed by Pat Williams, Senior VP of the Orlando Magic basketball team, as “a new path for leaders.” Project Lessons from the Roman Empire was a natural follow-up to the Napoleon book, and examines lessons in leadership, planning, and communication from the rise and fall of Rome. Jerry was also a co-author of the bestseller, 42 Rules for Creating WE, which Angela Ahrendts, CEO of Burberry, called “today’s greatest guide for team success.”
In addition to his books on management and leadership, Jerry writes fiction books as J.B. Manas. His debut sci-fi thriller, The Kronos Interference, with co-author Edward Miller, received a starred review in Kirkus Reviews, who called it “impressively original” and [a] “tour de force.” The book was named to Kirkus Reviews’ Best of 2012. Visit the authors’ blog at www.millerandmanas.wordpress.com.
An active voice in the field, Jerry considers himself an “organizational architect.” Besides his writing, he is senior editor and research consultant at the market leading enterprise portfolio management firm, Planview, where he applies his passion to developing and evangelizing best practices in the areas of leadership, planning, execution, and value delivery.
He is also a founding member of The Creating We Institute, an international thought leadership community dedicated to fostering WE-centric thinking in organizations through research in neuroscience and psychology. The institute is partnering with the National Constitution Center on exciting and transformative leadership programs to be announced in 2014.
In addition, Jerry is a founding member of the Project Management Institute’s New Media Council, created to boost PMI’s presence and awareness with regard to new media, as well as the co-founder of the popular project portfolio management blog PMThink!. He served on the leadership team for the first editions of PMI’s international standards for portfolio and
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
January 25, 2023
I am no manager. I can hardly manage myself! Nonetheless, this book, specially the sections about Napoleon was an interesting read.
October 8, 2019
A very enjoyable book on leadership (and of course management) which functions as a Napoleon appreciation book.
This book is basically part biography part instruction manual for leadership. It is a wonderful book if this very niche genre. It should be placed on the shelf near Goodwin's leadership. It though differs in style and function.
Goodwin's book serves to explain the presidency, Manas' serves to explain how to be a good manager.
Overall: I recommend this for people interested in the Napoleonic era and want some inspiration on being pragmatic
This book is basically part biography part instruction manual for leadership. It is a wonderful book if this very niche genre. It should be placed on the shelf near Goodwin's leadership. It though differs in style and function.
Goodwin's book serves to explain the presidency, Manas' serves to explain how to be a good manager.
Overall: I recommend this for people interested in the Napoleonic era and want some inspiration on being pragmatic
October 31, 2016
Worth reading if you routinely manage projects, whether formally or not. The book provides a decent outline of the soft skills associated with project management and names numerous other tools one can look up for further information on particulars.
November 22, 2012
Didn't learn much more than I already knew about Napoleon, but this book takes lessons learned from his military and political career and puts them into an easily digestible business context.
Napoleon's six winning principles:
Character
Exactitude
Speed
Moral Force
Simplicity
Flexibility
Four critical warning sings Napoleon began to ignore around the time he invaded Portugal and beyond:
Power
Overzealousness
Scarcity of Effective Leaders
Unbalanced Lifestyle
Napoleon's six winning principles:
Character
Exactitude
Speed
Moral Force
Simplicity
Flexibility
Four critical warning sings Napoleon began to ignore around the time he invaded Portugal and beyond:
Power
Overzealousness
Scarcity of Effective Leaders
Unbalanced Lifestyle
October 20, 2021
I really love the idea of the book comparing PM and Napoleon’s life, easy reading and interesting
October 20, 2024
My main knowledge of Napoleon is from fiction ranging from Les Misérables to Bugs Bunny, so I learned some history here. More importantly, I actually got some useful lessons from this creative book that blends history and managment self-help.
The main thing for me was understanding how much detailed preparation went into every battle. Napoleon was famous for his coup d'oeil (ability to make battlefield decisions in the blink of an eye). This boook made clear how the coup d'oeil depended on previous research into terrain, enemy forces, weaponry, etc. etc. etc. Napoleon collected detailed data, making spreadsheets, etc. The research included cultural aspects of the countries being fought against, so that the inhabitants would welcome him as a liberator.
The lessons from his downfall are also interesting, going back to his great victory at Austerlitz, as opposed to starting with the Russia debacle. Basically, Napoleon got cocky and stopped following the thorough systematic approach that led to his astounding rise. He overextended himself, distancing himself from his generals and peoples. And then as that began creating problems, he worsened the vicious cycle by micromanaging and expanding wars instead of taking time to research properly and then inspire and empower his team while negotiating with enemies.
Counterfactual histories are easy to make up, but the author's arguments hold together, and the resulting tips for project management seem valid.
The book is painfully redundant at times, but this is typical for the mangement manual genre.
The main thing for me was understanding how much detailed preparation went into every battle. Napoleon was famous for his coup d'oeil (ability to make battlefield decisions in the blink of an eye). This boook made clear how the coup d'oeil depended on previous research into terrain, enemy forces, weaponry, etc. etc. etc. Napoleon collected detailed data, making spreadsheets, etc. The research included cultural aspects of the countries being fought against, so that the inhabitants would welcome him as a liberator.
The lessons from his downfall are also interesting, going back to his great victory at Austerlitz, as opposed to starting with the Russia debacle. Basically, Napoleon got cocky and stopped following the thorough systematic approach that led to his astounding rise. He overextended himself, distancing himself from his generals and peoples. And then as that began creating problems, he worsened the vicious cycle by micromanaging and expanding wars instead of taking time to research properly and then inspire and empower his team while negotiating with enemies.
Counterfactual histories are easy to make up, but the author's arguments hold together, and the resulting tips for project management seem valid.
The book is painfully redundant at times, but this is typical for the mangement manual genre.
December 20, 2022
It's more history than a business book, but it's a good thing I like both.
February 24, 2025
One of the only business books I've ever managed to read by the pool, because it was THAT good! I generally don't like history either, but the author's writing style made it easy to read and enjoy.
May 9, 2012
Worth browsing if your job involves managing projects. The blurbs oversell the history component, but the thin treatment here may whet your appetite to learn more about the French revolution and its aftermath, which triggered a bow wave of anti-monarchial military expansion. The valuable content is leavened with generous dose of repetition (not, unfortunately, atypical of the business genre).
July 28, 2010
This book was a twofer! Great info on some project management, but was even greater was the history of Napoleon.
December 4, 2011
Read this for my Project Management class this semester. An interesting combination of history and PM basics.
November 18, 2021
Nice to read, but I frankly prefer to keep things separately... even though there is a huge assimilation between PM and how generals/conquerors must behave.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews