Napoleon was a masterful strategist and leader who employed innovative tactics to defeat his enemies. He believed in surprise attacks and dividing enemy forces. Napoleon also stressed the importance of flexibility, a strong supply chain, and keeping troops well-trained and motivated. His strategic leadership and tactical innovations, like exploiting the weakest points of the enemy line, allowed him to overcome larger armies and change the face of modern warfare.

1. Napoleon:
The Master Strategist
By Nisha Hariyani

2. Introduction
• The modern era trade could be called the
“warfare”. Of business people as they
maneuver for increased revenues on the
battle field of commerce.
• Winning the business war could depend
upon many factors such as
– Focus in creating a plan
– Flexibility
– Good people skills & equipment
– A good leader

3. Napoleon
• Napoleon Bonaparte used these factors to
win his battles.
• Napoleon’s “la Grande Armee”
• This case correlates napoleon's warfare
strategies with modern era business
situations.
• Napoleon provides several insights to
corporate strategist and today’s managers

4. Pedagogical objectives
• To link the N warfare Strategies vis a vis
modern era strategies
• To discuss the concept of strategic
leadership
• To analyze innovation strategies and first
mover advantage
• To understand flanking movements of
offensive strategy

5. Napoleon: the Master Strategist
• “You must not fight too often with one
enemy; or you will teach him all your art of
war”
Napoleon always believed
in attack, speed maneuver
and surprise

6. The Napoleon Story
• Born on 15th aug 1769, on island of
Corsica
• In his childhood, every morning before
goin to school, he was given a piece of
white bread. He used to give it to a soldier
in exchange for a piece of coarse brown
bread. When asked why??
• Napoleon replied “if I am going to be a
soldier I must get used to eating soldier’s
bread”

7. Napoleon’s Military Life &
Strategies
• In 1784 he was admitted at a military
school in paris
• In 1793, Corsica declared independence
but napoleon broke all ties with his home
town and remained loyal to France

8. Leadership
• He was considered as masterful soldier,
an excellent administrator and a brilliant
individual in the history.
• Napoleon adopted a strategy of “divide &
surprise:
• He use to practice this by dividing and
surprise enemy at battle field
• Napoleon’s behavior boosted spirits of
soldiers
• His leadership skills changed a weak army
into a brave one

9. Leadership & management
Lessons
• He made sure that his army were well
trained and before every battle he set on a
very high level morale for his troops
• He knew how to speak to the soul
• He mentioned that “men are moved by two
levers only: Fear & Self Interest
• He started giving material rewards &
promotions
• He used deliberate conceited measures to
bend men to his will

10. Surprise the Enemy
• In march 1798, the French army started
assembling along the English channel
coast awaiting planned invasion
• But quick inspection of the preparations
he realized that his army is not strong
enough to fight them.
• He suggested a new plan to strike at
Britain's source of wealth and her sea
trade.

11. Napoleon sought the weakest
point of the enemy’s lines and
threw all his strength against
that point at the decisive
moment

12. Advantage through Innovation
• “strategy is the art of making use of time
and space. I am less concerned about the
latter than the former. Space we can
recover, lost time never” – Napoleon
• In comparison to European army Naoleon
army traveled faster due to his great
logistic sense. Increasing his army’s
speed
• Which helped them implement tactics
faster then enemy

13. • Napoleon mentioned – “an army marches
on its Stomach”
• To properly execute his plans he
managed to take the local people’s help to
supply him provisions
• He created a network of skilled and
mastered man to provide him the fastest
and most flexible logistics support

14. Napoleon victories depended on
his personal leadership and his
tactical innovations

15. • Napoleon introduced a new era of wars of
maneuver and made use of these
innovations to the greatest possible
advantage.

16. “I see only one thing, namely the
enemy’s main body. I try to crush it,
confident that secondary matters
will then settle themselves”
Napoleon Bonaparte