Books by Stephen Bungay

Based on a theoretical framework which has been tested in practice over 150 years, Bungay shows how the approach known as 'mission command' has been applied in businesses as diverse as pharmaceuticals and F1 racing today. The Art of Action is scholarly but engaging, rigorous but pragmatic, and shows how common sense can sometimes be surprising.

'The magnitude and vital importance of the Battle of Britain has found a superb chronicler in Stephen Bungay' Andrew RobertsStephen Bungay's magisterial history is the definitive book about this central event in Britain's history and mythology. Unrivalled for its synthesis of all previous historical accounts, for the acuity and intelligence of its strategic analysis and its sheer narrative drive, it is a book ultimately distinguished by the trenchancy of its conclusions -- that it was the British in the Battle who displayed all the virtues of efficiency, organisation and even ruthlessness we habitually attribute to the Germans, and they who fell short in their amateurism, ill-preparedness, engineering sub-standards and even in their old-fashioned notions of gallantry.An addictive read and gripping throughout, this book is a classic of military history.Stephen Bungay is Director of the Ashridge Strategic Management Centre in London. He is the author of Alamein (Aurum) and Making Strategy Happen (Nicholas Brealey 2009.) Since the first publication of The Most Dangerous Enemy in 2000, the author has become a respected authority in television documentaries, and lectures on the Battle to the RAF itself.

"Hvad vil du have, jeg skal gøre?“De fleste ledere mener, at problemet med at eksekvere strategi består i at få folk til at gøre, som der står i planerne. Medarbejdere bliver handlekraftige og motiverede, hvis lederen skaber tydelig retning og fokus og samtidig giver medarbejderne udstrakt frihed til at nå i mål. Hvordan kan ledere lykkes med at lukke videnkløften (hvad vi ideelt set burde vide vs. hvad vi faktisk ved), retningskløften (hvad lederne ønsker medarbejderne skal gøre vs. det medarbejderne gør) og resultatkløften (hvad vi forventer at vores handlinger afstedkommer vs. resultatet)? Når vi ikke opnår de ønskede resultater, er vi tilbøjelige til at reagere ved at gå endnu mere i detaljer og udøve strammere kontrol. Det gør bare tingene værre. Det, vi har brug for, er ikke flere detaljer, men større klarhed, ikke strammere kontrol, men en klarere retning. For at kunne eksekvere effektivt er vi nødt til at gå væk fra vores praksis med mange målsætninger og beslutte os for, hvad vi virkelig vil have; formidle budskabet ved at fortælle folk, hvad de skal opnå og hvorfor, og spørge dem, hvad de har tænkt sig at gøre som følge af det; samt give dem handlefrihed inden for nærmere definerede grænser.

Stephen Bungay has succeeded admirably in a most ambitious undertaking.'___ British Journal of Aesthetics .

El Alamein was the World War II land battle Britain had to win. This book analyses the logistics of keeping desert armies supplied with petrol and reappraises the combat strategies of Montgomery and Rommel. It ranges from the domestic political pressures on Churchill to the aerial siege of Malta.