Art of .combat

By Shawn P. McCarthy

A tactical field guide to the landscape of the e-business world The Art of .Combat examines the internal workings of both the high-tech world and the Internet business development process, providing a... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0471415197
• ISBN13: 9780471415190
• Release Date: April 2001
• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Inc
• Length: 238 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.5" x 0.6" x 7.6"

Customer Reviews

The lessons stick with you

I read this book about a month ago. I find myself thinking back to it in different business situations. Hey, does that mean I learned something? One of the better Internet books I've read in a while.

Good mix of old ideas and modern applications

I found some good details in this book about spotting trends and knowing when it's the right time to make your move. McCarthy highlights how .com isn't dying so much as morphing into something else, with both entertainment and supply chain management emerging as key pieces to the new puzzle. I get sick of CEO books written by top-level guys who were more lucky than wise. Sometimes it's nice to read a book from someone in the trenches who has to deal with the nuts and bolts of product development and making things work.

Building an online brand takes a series of corrective steps

After reading this book, I'm now going back to the first three chapters and using them as a sort of workbook to tweak my business plan for the next two years. Like many folks who jumped onto the Internet band wagon a few years ago, the .com company I work for is now in financial trouble. Yet, we have a good product, and we make SOME revenue. How do we leverage our strengths, strip out that which is bringing us down, and know how we stack up against our competition? I like how this book forces you to assess your strong and weak points and your opponents strong and weak points before you make your move. The foundation for the wisdom is ancient, and well known. But, packaged like this, it makes you recognize the obvious flaws in the so-called "new economy," and tells you how to meticulously plan to dig out of your hole. (However, you still need to do the work.)

Surprisingly Educational - opened my eyes

This book talks about things like proper timing and building allies. But to me the real lesson was how online markets evolve, and how you can position yourself to take advantage of the ebb and flow of their progress. It's a gem that I'll likely re-read sometime this summer.

Elegant and understandable

In terms anyone can understand, this book lays out just how markets evolve and how players can position themselves to capture market share. Online positioning is a different animal from traditional business. These may be ancient lessons, but they needed to be restated for the strangely different business realm of the Net. I never fully understood the differences, even when I worked for a .com company (which ended up in financial trouble) so I found this volume extremely enlightening. I can now see where the mistakes were made.