This was a great little marketing book for entrepreneurs. It detailed how to choose and position your product for maximal effect.
The major points of the book (70%) of the content were:- Know your market
"If you know the enemy and know yourself you need not fear the results of a hundred battles."
"If ignorant both of your enemy and yourself, you are certain to be in peril." - Do what is best for your customers
"The good fighters of old first put themselves beyond the possibility of defeat, and then waited for an opportunity of defeating the enemy." - Choose your battles (and enemies) to ensure you are always winning
"Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win."
"He who knows when he can fight and when he cannot, will be victorious."
- Motivating employees and customers to become evangelists (These were really side-effect of #2 and #3)
"Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys; look on them as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you even unto death." - Starting small (with focus)
"Opportunities multiply as they are seized."
"Pretend inferiority and encourage his arrogance."
There was some other minor points, but the above points account for ~85% of the book.
They seem obvious, but most companies don't follow point #2 and get bogged down in something. I see it mostly when customers are treated as post-sale liability, instead of as a relationship asset. Others get stuck in creeping feature-ism, spending time and effort making sure that they have some check-boxes filled in for their product, even though it doesn't matter to the end user.
I found point #3 to be interesting. By being an upstart, you can define your success on your own terms, and you can use your victories as motivation to improve.
