The art of action
by Stephen Bungay · first published 2011
6mentions
6recommended by
6HN commenters
2019–2026first – last mentioned
100% recommend
Why HN recommends it
Explains how military leaders make decisions without perfect information, drawing on Auftragstaktik and management by intent; useful for managers and engineers who want to improve how plans turn into action.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Perhaps the best business book I've ever read: analyzes leadership into its components and failures to adapt -- and how to avoid them. von Clausewitz's On War reformulated in practical terms for business. Highly recommended.
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…battlefield faster than your opponent. The Lean Startup describes basically the same thing but for civilian companies, and where the opponent is "the market" rather than a more well defined enemy. "The Art of Action" by Stephen Bungay is also a very good book on this subject.
on “The OODA Loop: How Fighter Pilots Make Fast and Accurate Decisions” ↗"The Art of Action: How Leaders Close the Gaps between Plans, Actions and Results"
on “Ask HN: Best Books for CTO” ↗I recommend reading The Art of Action by Stephen Bungay on this particular topic. A line in this presentation about loosely coupled, highly aligned teams is a major idea straight out of this book. I saw some questions in threads here about…
on “Coordination Headwind: How Organizations Are Like Slime Molds” ↗I really like "The Art of Action" by Stephen Bungay, who's a military historian/management consultant. It's interesting to compare the Taylor vs. Drucker view on management against the Bülow vs. Clausewitz view on war.
on “The first non-bullshit book about culture I've read” ↗I‘ve done a book summary on The Art of Action by Stephen Bungay where he applies military principles to civilian life and it‘s one of the best ones in this field that I‘ve read: https://www.lostbookofsales.com/notes/book-summary-art-of-ac...
on “US Army Field Manual on Leadership (1990) [pdf]” ↗There is a good book on that subject by Stephen Bungay called "The Art of Action". He explains the concept of Auftragstaktik. Great book, although a bit hard to read.
on “How Y Combinator made it smart to trust founders” ↗