The Art of ‘Ware [version 2.0] by Bruce F. Webster
[Copyright (c) 1995, 2008 by Bruce F. Webster. All rights reserved. Last updated: 04/30/08]
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In Suntzu pingfa, Sun Tzu only wrote the maxims. Commentary was added through the centuries and millennia by other military leaders, philosophers, and writers. They interpreted and expanded upon his thoughts, often providing military anecdotes to support (or challenge) a particular concept.
I would like this second edition of The Art of ‘Ware to grow into a compilation of insight, observations and wisdom from the industry itself. To that end, I am soliciting commentary for all the maxims in this book, adding to or replacing the ones I have already written. You can start by posting comments to the individual chapters (via the blog’s mechanism) or by e-mailing me; from those, I’ll select ones to be integrated into the text of the book itself. Much as in editions of Suntzu pingfa, each commentary will be individually credited (i.e., your name given), and there can be multiple commentaries for a single maxim.
Here’s the fine print, right up front (or, in this case, right at the end). First, acceptance and inclusion (or exclusion) of a given commentary is entirely at the discretion and whim of myself and (should The Art of ‘Ware make it back into print form) the publishers. Second, you won’t get paid anything. Third, you’ll assign the necessary rights (on a non-exclusive basis) to me and/or the publishers; if the book does go into print, you may have to sign and return a form to that extent. On the other hand, I will have a page up front in the print edition listing all the commentators, most likely sorted alphabetically (though I reserve the right to sort it some other way).
So have at it. ..bruce..
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[Copyright (c) 1995, 2008 by Bruce F. Webster. All rights reserved.]
5 Comments on An Invitation
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I don’t know where Parker CO is, but are you ever free for lunch? Thank you for your work on this! Magnificent! You won’t hear me coming…
Parker is about 20 miles SW of downtown Denver, and yes, I’m often free for lunch.
..bruce..
Wow! A great concept, well executed.
I don’t have any war stories that I can contribute, but I do have a question. In Chapter 7 you wrote:
“If you don’t understand the pitfalls of development, the channels and paths of distribution, and the barriers to customer acceptance, you cannot correctly position your company or your products.”
So that’s development, distribution and marketing.
You reiterate this trio in Chapter 11:
“If you don’t hire experienced developers and marketers, you cannot fully exploit development technologies, distribution channels, and market opportunities.”
The rest of your book has a lot to say about development and marketing, but almost nothing about distribution. What gives?
Peter:
Great catch. My short answer is that Sun Tzu is largely focused on (a) what you do and (b) what your enemy does, and distribution doesn’t fall much into either category. But since I’m bringing it up in at lest two different places (most likely because of my own background in commercial software), I should see how it might fit in more with the maxims themselves and not just my commentary. ..bruce..
[...] I’m going to start posting on this web site maxims from The Art of ‘Ware (Version 2.0), which is a revision of my original book. I’m doing this for two reasons. First, I plan to use these postings to expand my own commentary on the maxims. Second, I am actively soliciting commentary on the maxims themselves. Here’s what I had to say elsewhere. [...]