Business Problem Solving and Strategy Manga For Success 1St Edition Takayuki Kito Full Chapter

Business Problem-Solving and
Strategy: Manga for Success 1st

Edition Takayuki Kito
Visit to download the full and correct content document:
https://ebookmass.com/product/business-problem-solving-and-strategy-manga-for-su
ccess-1st-edition-takayuki-kito/
M ASNGCESAS
F OR UC
BUSINESS
PROBLEM-SOLVING
AND STRATEGY
AUTHOR
TAKAYUKI KITO
KEISUKE YAMABE
ARTWORK BY
ENMO TAKENAWA
Copyright © 2023 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.
Published simultaneously in Canada.
Copyright © 2014 Takayuki Kito, Keisuke Yamabe, Enmo Takenawa. All Rights
Reserved.
Original Japanese edition published by JMA Management Center Inc.
English translation rights arranged with JMA Management Center Inc. through
The English Agency ( Japan) Ltd.
This translation © 2023 John Wiley & Sons, Inc., published under license from
JMA Management Center Inc.
English translation Copyright © 2022 JMA Management Center Inc.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or

transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of
the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission
of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy
fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA
01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 750-4470, or on the web at www.copyright.com.
Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions
Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201)
748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permission.
Trademarks: Wiley and the Wiley logo are trademarks or registered trademarks
of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and other
countries and may not be used without written permission. All other trademarks
are the property of their respective owners. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. is not
associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.
Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have

used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations
or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of
this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability
or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended
by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies
contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with
a professional where appropriate. Further, readers should be aware that websites
listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was
written and when it is read. Neither the publisher nor authors shall be liable for
any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to
special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.
For general information on our other products and services or for technical
support, please contact our Customer Care Department within the United States
at (800) 762-2974, outside the United States at (317) 572-3993 or fax (317) 572-
4002.
Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that
appears in print may not be available in electronic formats. For more information
about Wiley products, visit our web site at www.wiley.com.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is Available:

ISBN 9781394176168 (Paperback)
ISBN 9781394176175 (ePub)
ISBN 9781394176182 (ePDF)
Cover Design: JMA Management Center Inc.

Cover Images: JMA Management Center Inc.
© ShEd Artworks/Shutterstock
CONTENTS
Preface
10
PROLOGUE
What Is a Business Strategy?
STORY
1 Help Me, Senpai! 14
1 What Is a “Strategy”? 26
Strategies Are Everywhere 26
Strategy Is a Road Map to Success 26
Resource Allocation: Decide Where to Focus Your
Organizational Resources 27
Strategy Is Nothing without Execution 31
The Correct Way to Create a Strategy 31
Business Strategy Is a Blueprint for Your Business
Success 33
2 The Many Pitfalls of a Business Strategy 34
Building Strategy the Right Way Is Tough 34
Framework and Concepts: Make or Break the
Strategy 34
Can Looking at the Task at Hand from the Opposite
Angle Constitute a “Strategy”? 35
A Strategy Cannot Ignore the Front Line 36
A Fake Strategy in Purple Prose 37
Failing to Grasp the Current Situation May
…I Lead to Mistakes 37
CAN’T. The Risk of Homogenized Strategies 38
I CAN’T 3 Preparations to Build the Correct

JUST Strategy 39
ABANDON
EVERYONE
Take the Right Steps to Analyze 39
WHEN MAT-
SUI-YA IS IN
TROUBLE!
Use Frameworks and Concepts Wisely 40
Have a Unique Point of View, Think Outside of the
Box 40
Support the Front Line 41
Emphasis on Essence and Mechanism 43
Bring in a Key Person 44
4 Create a Dynamic Strategy! 45
Four Steps in Building a Strategy 45
Step 1 - Analyze the Situation 45
Step 2 - Formulate Strategic Options 47
Step 3 - Review and Select Options 47
Step 4 - Translate Strategic Options into Plans of
STEP
Action 48
1 Analyze the Situation

STORY
2 Knowing Your Enemy Is Knowing Yourself 50
1 The Essentials of Situation Analysis 74

Analyzing the Situation Is The First Step in Building a
Strategy 74
Only a Handful of Corporations Truly Understand the
Current Situation 74
Methodology and Frameworks: A False Sense of
Completing the Situation Analysis 76
Three Keys in Understanding the True
A BUSINESS
STRATEGY
Situation 76
THAT CANNOT The Basics of Situation Analysis: SWOT
BE EXECUTED Analysis 78
IS NOTHING
BUT A PIE IN
THE SKY.
2 OT Analysis 83
OT Analysis: Three Core Elements 83
The Five Forces Analysis 85
Analyzing the Five Points 87
Positioning Analysis and Competition Analysis 89
Client Analysis 93
Key Sucess Factor (KSF) Analysis 95
3 SW Analysis 99
Deciding Pros and Cons Based on Relativity 99
Achievements and Performance Analysis 100
Positioning Analysis 104
Business Model Analysis 106
Marketing, Value Chain, and Organizational
Analysis 108
Tangible and Intangible Asset Analysis 109
Understanding the Structures of the Issue at Hand 110
4 Organizing SWOT 113
Keeping the Impact on Your Business in Mind 113
I’VE GOTTEN IT’S A

A LOT OF VERY FIRST,
POSITIVE VALU- WE ANA-
FEEDBACK ABLE LYZE THE
ON OUR ASSET. SITUA-
RED-BEAN TION. AND
PASTE REMEMBER TO
ALWAYS SHARE
THE RESULT OF
BUSINESS
PARTNERS AND THE SITUATION
CLIENTS ALIKE, ANALYSIS.
THEY ALL COM-
PLIMENT ANN.
STEP
2 Forming Strategic Options

STORY
3 How to Save a Company in Trouble? 118
1 What Are Strategic Options? 140

Options Mean Choices 140
Considering a Variety of Options 140
2 Make Objectives and Issues Clear 142
What Is the Objective of Strategy Building? 142
What Are the Issues in Building a Strategy? 144
Decipher Objectives and Issues from the Result of
SWOT Analysis 146
Organizing the Structure of an Issue 150
Lay Out the Options 1: Growing Potentials for the
3
Preestablished Company 154
Aim to Grow Preestablished Business Models and
Positioning 154
Consider Strategic Options for the Long Run 156
Change the Positioning 156
Coming Up with Growth Options by Changing the
Positioning 158
WE ARE
Changing the Business THAT’S EASY
THE ONES
WHO COME
Model 160 FOR YOU TO
SAY… YOU JUST
FACE-TO-FACE
WITH THE
GIVE OUT OR-
Pairing the Positioning DERS.
CLIENTS. IT’S
NOT ALWAYS
and the Business Model ABOUT RATIO-
NALITY.
162
Coming Up with Growth Options by Changing the
Business Options 165
Lay Out the Strategic Options 2: Options for the
4
Newly Established Businesses 167
Analyze from the Market Point of View 167
Analyze from the Value Chain Point of View 171
Analyze from the Asset Point of View 172
Analyze from the Business Model Point of View 174
Change the Rules of Competition, Think Outside of
the Box 175
5 Lay Out the Strategic Options 3: Improve Profit 177
Options to Lower Cost and Improve Gross Profit
Margin 177
Options to Lower Managing Cost 179
Options to Improve Efficiency 179
Improve Ways to Manage and Improve Profit
Structures 180
6 Summarizing Strategic Options 181
Organizing All Available Options 181
Coming Up with Growth Options and Scenarios by
…I WILL Organizing Strategic Options 181

HAVE A
WORD WITH
THE CEO
MYSELF
REGARDING
THIS.
STEP
3 Review and Select Options

STORY
4 All for One, One for All 186
1 Reviewing Options 206

How to Review Options 206
Three Perspectives in Reviewing Options 206
Reviewing with Both a Cool Head and Burning
Passion 208
2
Reviewing and Selecting Options 1: Rationality 209
The Main Points in Reviewing Rationally 209
How to Review Each Point 213
3
Reviewing and Selecting Options 2: Feasibility 215
The Main Points in Reviewing the Feasibility 215
How to Review Each Point 223
Reviewing and Selecting Options 3: The Intents and
4
Expectations of the Parties Involved 225
Fostering Agreement and Understanding with “Face-
to-face Discussions” 225
The Groundwork Discussions:
Situation Analysis and Strategic
Options 226
BUT… Which Reviewed Points to
TIME HAS
CHANGED.
Prioritize 227
How to Understand and Decide
on the Results 229
How to Expand Options 229 IF EVERY-
ONE AGREES,
THEN I’D LIKE
TO ASK FOR
YOUR COOP-
ERATION!
Making Decisions Based on What You
Want to Do 230
Always Have a Plan B Ready 230
STEP
How to Translate Options into
4 Plans and Actions
STORY
5 What Becomes of a Strategy 232
LET’S 1 How to Translate Strategic Options into a

Plan
COME UP
WE ARE
ON THE
WITH SPECIFIC 252
HOMESTRETCH EXECUTIONS
NOW.
AND ACTIONS
BASED ON
The Necessary Process in Executing the
THESE
PRINCIPLES. Strategy 252
2 How to Apply Strategy to Execution 254
How to Apply Strategy to Execution 254
Setting Priorities 257
3 How to Carry Out Strategic Options 258

Beyond the Possibility: Feeling and Determining 258
IN REGARDS TO
THE FUTURE LOAN,
The First Step in Strategic Execution 260
INAHO BANK IS
DEMANDING YOU
4 Create a Plan of Action 263
RESIGN FROM The Master Plan: The Plan of Action for Strategic
YOUR POSI-
TION. Execution 263
Coming Up with a Realistically Applicable Plan 265
5 How to Execute with Certainty 268
Build a Promotion System 268
Implement a Thorough PDCA 269
Postscript 276
Preface
What would you do if you were assigned to come up with a

business strategy out of the blue? Maybe some of you readers
are already racking your brains day and night trying to come
up with one.
What is a business strategy, and how do you make an effective

one? Regardless of your background, if you have picked up
this book, you are probably facing such tasks and challenges.
A business strategy is important as it can greatly influence

a company’s future. However, it is very difficult to truly
understand its core elements and apply them to think up
a strategy that has a competitive edge. It’s only natural to
get baffled by how complex it is. There is no such thing as a
single correct answer, and no deus ex machina that can solve
all your problems.
For 15 years, we have been assisting various companies as

professional business consultants. Even for those of us who
specialize in this field and constantly think of our clients’
business strategies, we keep getting stumped and hit numerous
walls. Creating a business strategy and executing it to achieve
the desired result is certainly not an easy task.
10
There are many books and articles out there on business
strategies providing beneficial hints and suggestions. However,
as consultants who have helped many companies with their
strategies, we know that being able to deal flexibly with
situations on the front line is not an easy feat.
This book is about offering tips on creating a business strategy

that is applicable on the front line. If you are looking for
brand-new concepts, frilly terms, or groundbreaking ideas,
then we believe this book is not for you. However, if you are
a business operator or a team manager, or you are involved
in business planning and development and need to come up
with a good applicable business strategy, you will find this book
very useful. Even if you’re not directly involved in strategy
building, this book will help you gain a better understanding
of how a company executes their strategy and how it might
influence your everyday tasks.
Additionally, this book might also provide some insights for

those interested in business consulting, as it is a culmination
of our on-site experiences and what we have learned from
day-to-day operations as business consultants. By reading this
book, you will learn the point of view of a business consultant
and gain a better understanding of how to support your clients
in building business strategies.
11
The ultimate goal for this book is to provide our readers with
tools to create a business strategy that can be executed and
yield the desired result. We have written the tips and tricks
of the trade as plainly and straightforwardly as possible. Of
course, it is not an easy task. Building a business strategy is
a complicated task that requires more than just reading a
book. However, it is exactly because of that, we decided that
we wanted this book to be more practical so that it can help
readers in creating a realistically applicable business strategy.
As we mentioned before, there are a lot of books on business

strategy out there. We simply feel that most of them do not
offer anything that is directly applicable. With that in mind,
we have written a book that can offer you practical ideas
applicable on the front line right away. Regardless of whether
you decide that this book meets its goal or not, we hope to
be able to contribute even just a little bit to the development
of your business.
Roland Berger LLC

Partner Takayuki Kito
Partner Keisuke Yamabe
12
STEP
00
PROLOGUE
What Is a
Business
Strategy?
STORY
1 Help Me, Senpai!
A BUSINESS
STRATEGY
THAT CANNOT
BE EXECUTED
IS NOTHING
BUT A PIE IN
THE SKY.
…I
CAN’T.
I CAN’T
JUST
ABANDON
EVERYONE
WHEN
MATSUI-
YA IS IN
TROUBLE!
JAPANESE
CANDY
MANU-
FACTURER
MAT-
SUI-YA THIS IS
HEAD- USELESS.
QUAR-
TERS
STOR
Y1
HELP
M
SENP E,
AI!
FLU-
YOU CAN’T
CALL THIS
MP
A BUSINESS
STRATEGY,
MISS. BUSINESS
IS NOT A
CHILD’S
... PLAY.
I
KNEW I
BIT OFF
MORE
THAN
I CAN MATSUI-YA
CHEW!! HEAD OF BUSINESS
PLANNING
KAZUMI MATSUI
14
CHA I DON’T
TTE - KNOW WHY ARE
R WHAT TO YOU COM-
FRESH FISH
DO… PLAINING
TO ME?
I DO
WANT TO
PROTECT THE
CHA-
COMPANY
TTER
MY FATHER
STARTED,
BUT ...
YOU’RE MY
ONLY HOPE,
TAKEDA- AD~ VANCE
SENPAI!
I’VE WIT- …FIRST

MY TENURE
NESSED OF ALL,
AT KIKUTANI’S
YOUR GREAT WHY DID
BUSINESS
ACCOM- YOU TAKE
PLANNING
PLISHMENTS ON THE
DEPARTMENT
WHILE I PROJECT?
WAS ONLY 3
WAS STILL
MONTHS, BUT
WORKING
I HAVE GREAT
AT KIKUTA-
RESPECT FOR
NI! YOU COULD
YOU. HAVE SAID
NO IF YOU
THOUGHT MAJOR FOOD MAKER KIKUTANI
YOU WERE BUSINESS PLANNING
DEPUTY MANAGER
IN OVER
YOUR HEAD. TAKEDA
YOU
EXAGGER
ATE. -
I…
I COULDN’T
SAY NO TO SOB
ALL THE SOB
WORKERS NOT
WHO HAVE BUT I SOB EVEN A
LOOKED UP HINT OF
WAS TOO GUILT, I
TO ME AS I
OPTIMISTIC. SEE.
GREW PRO-
FESSION- I WAS
ALLY. HOPING
THAT MY
EXPERIENCE
WORKING OH, I
AT KIKUTANI MIGHT AS
COULD BE WELL. CAN
APPLIED… I SEE IT? YES!
W- WHAT I
… DO YOU REALLY
PUT ALL MY
THINK?
EFFORTS
INTO IT…
WHAT DID WE
YOU LEARN CAN’T CALL
WORKING
THIS A
FOR ME FOR
3 MONTHS? BUSINESS
STRATEGY.
THIS IS
NOTH-
WHAT?!
ING BUT
A BARE
FRAME-
WORK.
16
“PROFIT
IS
“SUSTAINING
DOWN.”
SUPPORT FOR
WHY IS
PRODUCT.”
THAT?
WHICH PRODUCT?
“STRENGTH WHERE WILL
IN SALES.” THAT SUPPORT
BASED ON COME FROM?
WHAT?
“IMPROVE
THE BRAND
IMAGE.” USING
WHAT FUNDS?
USING WHAT
POLICY AND
BASED ON
WHAT?
THERE ARE
TONS OF UN- NO ONE WILL A BUSINESS
STRATEGY THAT
ANSWERED BE CONVINCED
CANNOT BE
QUESTIONS, BY THIS. AND EXECUTED IS
EVEN BY IF NO ONE IS
CONVINCED, YOU NOTHING BUT A
A CASUAL PIE IN THE
CAN’T MOVE IT
GLANCE… FORWARD. SKY.
CORPORATE
LOWER
PLANNING
CAN’T FORCE A
STRATEGY WITH-
COST
OUT KNOWING BUT
WHAT’S GOING YOU CAN’T BE
ON ON-SITE. SWAYED BY THE FIRST OF
ON-SITE ALL, WHAT IS
DETAILS AND A BUSINESS
SLOW DOWN STRATEGY?
THE BUSINESS.
17
A BUSINESS
STRAT-
EGY IS A
BLUEPRINT IT’S ALSO
AND A SCE- A FRAME-
NARIO FOR WORK FOR
STRENGTH- THE ALLO-
ONLY
ENING AND CATION OF AFTER
YOU THEN YOU
SUSTAIN- ALL, YOU
HAVE TO CAN CALL IT THE LIMIT-
ING THE
PRESENT A A “BUSINESS ED RE- CAN’T PUT
COMPANY’S
STRATEGY STRATEGY.” SOURCES. EVERY-
PRIORITIES.
PROPOSAL THING IN
THAT MOTION
EVERYONE ALL AT
FROM THE
ONCE.
TOP DOWN
CAN AGREE
ON BY
INCLUDING
REALISTIC
EXECUTION
PLANS…
YOU HAVE
TO MAKE
A CLEAR
DISTINCTION
OF WHAT’S
IMPORTANT
AND WHAT’S
NOT.
IN ORDER YOU ALSO HAVE

TO DO THAT, TO HEAR OUT
YOU HAVE TO THOSE IN- YOU
ANALYZE AND VOLVED INSIDE MUST
MATCH UP AND OUTSIDE ALWAYS
DATA BY TRIAL OF THE COM- BACK-UP
AND ERROR, PANY, GRASP ANALYSIS
WHICH IS INVENTORY WITH
THE LOGICAL AND DEMAND, DATA.
PART OF THE WHICH IS THE
PROCESS. FIELD WORK.
18
...IT IS A
DEMANDING
WORK. NO ONE IF YOU
WOULD NEED THINK IT’S
A CONSULTANT TOO MUCH,
YOU SHOULD …I
IF IT COULD
BACK OUT, CAN’T.
BE DONE BY
THE SOONER,
ANYBODY. THE BETTER.
I CAN’T
JUST ABAN-
DON EVERY-
ONE WHEN
MATSUI-YA
IS IN TROU-
BLE!
I IM-
PLORE HEY,
WHAT’S
YOU, GOING
ON?
SENPAI. PLEASE
HELP ME
WITH THE PLEASE
BUSINESS
LEND ME
STRATEGY!
…EVEN
YOUR
JUST A HAND…!
HINT!
…YOUR
ENTHUSI-
ASM.
I WISH YOU
STAYED LONGER …!
WITH KIKUTANI.
19
ALL RIGHT,
THEN. LET’S
BREAK DOWN
Y- YES,
HOW TO CREATE
A BUSINESS SIR!
STRATEGY INTO
4 STEPS.
SWOT ANALYSIS - OT ANALYSIS (OPPORTUNITIES

STEP 1 FOR GROWTH, POSSIBLE THREATS TO GROWTH)
ANALYZE THE 5 FORCES ANALYSIS

SITUATION • POSITIONING ANALYSIS
• COMPETITION ANALYSIS
• CLIENT (CONSUMERS, CORPORATIONS)
ANALYSIS
• SUCCESS ELEMENTS (KSF) ANALYSIS
SWOT ANALYSIS - SW ANALYSIS

• ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS
• POSITIONING ANALYSIS
• BUSINESS MODEL ANALYSIS
• MARKETING (4P) ANALYSIS
• VALUE CHAIN AND ORGANIZATIONAL ANALYSIS
• TANGIBLE AND INTANGIBLE ASSET ANALYSIS
• GOALS AND POINTS OF CONTENTION FOR

STEP 2 STRATEGY SELECTION
FORMULATE • GROWTH OPTIONS FOR EXISTING
BUSINESSES
STRATEGIC OPTIONS
• OPTIONS FOR NEWLY ESTABLISHED
BUSINESSES
• OPTIONS FOR IMPROVING PROFIT
• EVALUATE RATIONALITY
STEP 3 • EVALUATE PROBABILITY
EVALUATE AND • GATHERING INTENSIONS AND
ENTHUSIASM OF THE PARTIES INVOLVED
SELECT OPTIONS
• TRANSLATING INTO A PLAN

STEP 4 • TRANSLATING INTO ACTION
• ORGANIZING THEM INTO EXECUTABLE
TRANSLATE
PLANS
STRATEGIC OPTIONS • BUILD A STRUCTURE TO OVERSEE
INTO PLANS OF PROGRESS
ACTION
20
WHY A
YEAH, YOU BUT ANALYZIN M I
UM… SO G THIS…
?
MANY CAN JUST KEEP IT
LOOK AT IN MIND
ITEMS…
THEM FOR AS A
NOW. WHOLE
SHOC PICTURE. OTHER-
K WISE, YOU’LL
GET LOST IN
THE SEA OF
STRATEGY
CREATION.
THE ULTIMATE
GOAL IS ALWAYS
MAKING KEEP THAT
PRIORITIES IN MIND SO
CLEAR, AND YOU DON’T
THUS KNOW FALL INTO
WHAT TO THE TRAP
FOCUS ON. OF OVERAN-
ALYZING.
WHY?
I SEE…
I DIDN’T SOMETIMES
THINK OF IT IN PEOPLE PUT FILLING
SUCH BROKEN TOO MUCH OUT THE
DOWN STEPS… EMPHASIS ON FRAMEWORK
METHODOLOGY IS JUST A
AND MEANS. DON’T
FRAMEWORK, LOSE SIGHT OF
TURNING YOUR
THAT INTO A GOAL.
GOAL.
21
I’LL
EXPLAIN
EACH STEP
QUICKLY.
STEP 1
ANALYZE
THE
SITUATION THIS
IS THE STEP TO
ANALYZE AND
STUDY EVERY
LITTLE DETAIL
OF YOUR OWN THROW
COMPANY, OUT YOUR
THE MARKET, PRECONCEPTIONS.
AND YOUR KEEP IN MIND
COMPETITORS. YOU CAN SAY
TO REMAIN
THIS IS THE MOST
OBJECTIVE
IMPORTANT STEP.
AND GATHER
QUALITATIVE
INFORMATION.
STEP 2
Opt
BASED
FORMULATE ON THE
MAKE SURE
TO COME UP
STRATEGIC
ions
SITUATION WITH STRATEGIC
OPTIONS ANALYSIS, OPTIONS THAT
COME CAN DEAL WITH
UP WITH EACH AND EVERY
VARIOUS SITUATION THAT
OPTIONS. IF THE SITUATION
MAY ARISE IN THE
ANALYSIS IS
FUTURE.
CORRECT, ISSUES
AND POSSIBILITIES
WILL PRESENT
THEMSELVES.
22
THIS IS WHERE
YOU CHOOSE BY CREATING
STEP 3 THE MAIN AND
EVALUATE PILLARS PRIORITIZING
OF YOUR OPTIONS.
AND SELECT STRATEGY
OPTIONS FROM VARIOUS
OPTIONS
YOU’VE COME
UP WITH.
MAKING
Go
KEEP IN
MIND, A SITUATION CLEAR THE
MAY ARISE WHERE REASON FOR
!!
YOU MAY NEED AN CHOOSING OR
OPTION THAT YOU NOT CHOOSING
DIDN’T CHOOSE.
IS VERY
IMPORTANT.
Phas
e 1
Phas
STEP 4 e 2
APPLY THE Phas
OPTIONS
HERE YOU HAVE
TO APPLY VERY e 3
SELECTED SPECIFIC AND
REALISTIC ACTION
TO THE PLANS BASED ON
PLAN AND THE TIME FRAME.
EXECUTE
AGAIN, THE
FINAL GOAL OF STRATEGY
SELECTING A THAT CAN’T BE
STRATEGY IS EXECUTED IS
THE ACTUAL MEANINGLESS.
EXECUTION.
23
SO, HOW
TO CHOOSE
A TOP-
“ENEMY” DOESN’T
NOTCH “YOURSELF” IS
NECESSARILY
BUSINESS YOUR COMPANY
MEAN YOUR
STRATE- AND FRONT LINE,
COMPETITORS.
GY? HERE’S EVERYTHING THAT
IT CAN INCLUDE
A QUOTE PERTAINS TO YOU.
ANYTHING FROM
FROM SUN HAVE A CLEAR AND
THE MARKET TO
TZU'S THE REALISTIC UNDER-
THE COMPETITORS,
ART OF STANDING OF THE
BUT ALSO THOSE
WAR. FRONT LINE’S OUT-
WHO MAY BE
PUT. OTHERWISE
ON YOUR SIDE.
YOU WILL NOT BE
CONSIDER IT AS
ABLE TO OPERATE
“ALL EXTERNAL
PROPERLY IN THE
“IF YOU ELEMENTS.”
EXECUTION STEP.
KNOW THE
ENEMY AND
KNOW YOUR-
SELF, YOU
NEED NOT
FEAR THE
RESULT OF
A HUNDRED
BATTLES.”
IN MANY CASES,
THE COMPANY
DOES NOT HAVE BECAUSE
AN ACCURATE “WE CAN DO IT SITUATIONS,
GRASP OF THE BECAUSE THEY’VE ISSUES,
MARKET. DONE IT” IS A TRAIN RESOURCES
OF THOUGHT YOU DIFFER
HAVE TO WATCH FOR EVERY
OUT FOR. COMPANY.
24
I- IT’S A LOT
OF WORK, BUT
I FEEL I CAN
IT’S IDEAL COME UP WITH
DISCUSSING
TO BRING A BUSINESS
EACH AND
IN ALL
EVERY TOPIC STRATEGY
INVOLVED THAT
FACE-TO-
PARTIES
TO THE
FACE TO EVERYONE CAN
COME TO AN AGREE ON!
SELECTION
AGREEMENT
PROCESS IN
IS IMPORTANT.
ORDER TO
SHARE THE
ANALYSIS
RESULTS.
ALL
RIGHT,
I’LL DO
IT!
I HAVE
TO DO
IT!
APPLAUSE
F
…SO, WHERE L
O
DO I START?
P
25
1 WHAT IS A “STRATEGY”?
▶ Strategies Are Everywhere

What do you think of when you hear the word “strategy”?
The word “strategy” is ubiquitous. I’m sure you have heard about
a lot of different types of strategy, such as business strategy, brand
strategy, marketing strategy, sales strategy, organizational strategy,
HR strategy, so on and so forth. It is often used as a noun, but
it’s also common to find it used as an adjective, such as strategic
development, strategic employee deployment, and strategic retreat.
When you hear “XX strategy” or “Strategic YY,” it gives the

impression of something well-thought-out and meticulously
planned. Both the noun “strategy” and the adjective “strategic”
are often used to cover up a lack of content and depth, causing
them to lose their original meaning.
The media such as newspapers and magazines

are saturated with the words “strategy” and FIRST,
“strategic,” and even the plans revealed by big THE
DEFINITION
corporations are peppered with this word. OF THE
So what exactly is a “strategy”? What is its WORD!
substance? What does the theme of this book,
“Business Strategy,” mean?
▶ Strategy Is a Road Map to Success

Obviously, a company’s end goal is to beat its
competitors, increase sales and profits, and
26
Prologue ◦ What Is a Business Strategy?
prove its value to its clients, employees, and stakeholders, and on

top of that, to largely contribute to society. In case of a corporation,
it is also equally important to distribute profits to its stockholders
as a return on their investment.
In order to succeed and increase sales and profit, you will of course
have to beat your competitors. In this capitalist society, the free
market is full of ever-expanding competitors. The company must
first survive in such environment in order to have the possibility
to come out on top.
So what do you need to beat your competitors? You need to have

a competitive edge over them in your selected market in order
to survive and succeed. It sets you apart from your competitors
and lets you gain advantage over them.
In order to build your competitive edge, you need to first choose

your battlefield (in this case, market) to compete in. Then decide
where to focus and distribute your limited resources in order to
develop an edge by providing different and/or superior values
over your competitors’.
The key essence of a strategy is coming up with a plan and laying

down a road map to succeed by choosing your battleground,
developing an edge by providing varied and superior values,
and deciding how and where to focus your limited resources (see
Diagram 1-1). Remember, strategy is all about choices and focus.
▶ Resource Allocation: Decide Where to Focus Your

Organizational Resources
When it comes to the term “resource allocation,” you probably
think of the allocation of the three main resources: manpower,
27
Diagram 1-1 What Is a Strategy?
The world is full of XX strategy and strategic YY…
Management Brand
Strategy Strategy
Sales Organizational
Strategy Strategy
Strategic
Strategic
Employee
Retreat
Deployment Strategic
Development
The true essence of strategy

• Making clear which field (in
Where to compete? this case, market) to compete
Road map to success
in.
• How to win in the chosen

What edge is
market by developing an edge
necessary to win?
over the competitors.
• Coming up with a plan for

How to distribute the most efficient use and
resources? directions of your limited
resources.
28
supplies, and funds. Of course, it is very important to consider

where and how to distribute these main resources in the strategy.
But in order to come up with an actual strategy, you will have
to think of the resource allocation in a broader sense. One vital
part of resource allocation is coming up with specifics of how and
where to focus your organizational power.
For example, a “thorough cost cutting” is one type of a strategy.

By focusing your organizational resources to cost cutting, you
will come up with the lowest cost, which will provide you with a
competitive edge. This is a very valid strategy.
Another example would be if you want to beat the competition by

setting your product apart. Therefore, you focus more resources
and people to the research and development team. That is also
another form of resource allocation.
How about utilizing open innovation knowledge developed by

outsiders to set your product apart? This might be different
from resource allocation that you have in mind. But this, too, is
a strategy. You are enriching your limited internal resources by
adding external, oftentimes superior resources. This allows you to
keep the resources spent for your own research and development
down as you replaced it with external resources.
As you can see, resource allocation, which is a vital part of the

strategic framework, is not just about the distribution of your
own resources, but also about how to decide where to focus your
manpower, as well as coming up with how to supplement resource
shortages (see Diagram 1-2).
29
Diagram 1-2 Resource Allocation
Cost Cutting
Strengthening
Product Value/ Improving
Product Output
Development
＄
Manpower
#
Product
Funds
Organizational
Power
Time
Function
etc.
Strengthening Established
Marketing Venture
Supplementary? Supplementary?
New Venture
External External
Resources Resources
How and where to allocate resources in

order to develop a competitive edge?
30
▶ “Strategy” Is Nothing without Execution

Another key factor when it comes to the core of strategy is this:
Even well-thought-out marketing choices, competitive edge, and
resource allocation are not enough in building an effective strategy.
Strategy is not only about beating the competition but coming

up with a blueprint for execution and actually putting that plan
into action. Therefore, a strategy that cannot be executed or
put into motion is not a strategy. This is an essential thing to
remember.
▶ The Correct Way to Create a Strategy

Keeping these key elements in mind, a business strategy must
include: (1) choosing which market/region/clientele to target; (2)
comparing and creating an edge over the competition by standing
out and offering different/better value; and (3) how best to allocate
your resources.
If you think about it, as long as these key factors are kept in mind,
you can have a strategy in your everyday life, too. Strategy is an
important part of the job-hunting process. You choose your own
market, which is the job type or field, and determine how to set
yourself apart from your competitors by appealing to companies
with your strengths. Managing, or allocating, your limited time
efficiently is also a strategy.
An XX strategy or a strategic YY without these essential factors

are only incomplete plans that contain the word “strategy” or
“strategic” in order to make unfocused or underdeveloped plans
look good.
31
Diagram 1-3 Resource Allocation
Sales Job-hunting
Golf Strategy
Strategy Strategy
What is your What type of What level to

target clientele? company to aim for?
∘ Attribute target? ∘ Competitions,
∘ Region ∘ Industries single-digit
∘ ..... ∘ Job types handicaps
Market
∘ ..... ∘ Under 100

strokes
∘ .....
How to stand How to stand What gives you

out from your out from other an edge?
Competitive Edge
& Differentiation
competitors? applicants? ∘ Distance

∘ Flexibility ∘ Experience ∘ Accuracy
∘ Ideas ∘ Personality ∘ Stability
∘ ..... ∘ ..... ∘ .....
How and what How to use What steps to

to allocate the time most take in order to
Resource Allocation
in marketing efficiently? improve?

resources? ∘ Research and ∘ Take lessons
∘ Improve training preparation ∘ Practice
process ∘ Seek advice ∘ Play rounds
∘ Review ∘ Create a ∘ .....
employee checklist
allocation ∘ Interview
∘ ..... ∘ .....
32
▶ Business Strategy Is a Blueprint for Your Business

Success
Let’s go back to this book’s theme, business strategy, with those
points in mind. Understanding what is the essence of strategy
will lead to an understanding of the meaning of business strategy.
In order to beat the competition, you must first select the market;
second, create an edge over competitors (by offering better and/or
different values); and third, consider how best to allocate limited
resources.
You must also consider, fourth, how best to execute the above and
put them into motion. This, too, is an essential part of a business
strategy.
Diagram 1-4 What Is a Business Strategy?
Creating an Creating
Targeting Resource Business
market
× edge over × allocation
× a plan of = Strategy
competitors action
33
2 The Many Pitfalls of a Business
Strategy
▶ Building Strategy the Right Way Is Tough

Sorry to start on a negative note, but building a business strategy
is not an easy task. In fact, it is very difficult. That’s why I suppose
there is such a specialized title as a business strategy consultant.
One of the reasons why it is so difficult to create a strategy lies in

its many pitfalls and traps. These pitfalls and traps often result in
a strategy that is not efficient or executable. The first “strategic”
idea Kazumi created also fell into these pitfalls and traps and was
deemed useless by the executives.
Before moving on to the specific steps of building a business

strategy, let’s look at what kinds of pitfalls and traps are there
(Diagram 1-5).
▶ Framework and Concepts: Make or Break the Strategy

There are many frameworks to consider when creating a
strategy or strategic concepts that follow
certain patterns or formulas. Frameworks LET'S
REVIEW THE
such as SWOT, Five Forces, and Positioning COMMON
are well known, and so are the concepts of the MISTAKES
ANYONE CAN
three basic strategies (cost leadership strategy, MAKE.
differentiation strategy, and niche strategy).

In addition, there is the dominant strategy,
the Lancaster strategy, the Blue Ocean or
Red Ocean strategy, etc., There is no end to
examples of strategic concepts.
34
These frameworks and concepts can be great tools when utilized

correctly. But when applied incorrectly, they can ruin a strategy.
Unfortunately, the latter is the case more often than not.
Common mistakes anyone can make are creating a strategy with a

skeletal framework and/or borrowing concepts without adapting
them. This can never become a fluid, dynamic strategy, and will
just be a cookie-cutter strategy. These often do not function
properly, either. Each company has its own unique needs, so
these frameworks or concepts are not able to meet expectations
because they are too standardized.
▶ Can Looking at the Task at Hand from the Opposite

Angle Constitute a “Strategy”?
You see many “strategies,” such as cutting costs because costs are too
high, differentiating to create a competitive edge, or strengthening
Diagram 1-5 Strategic Pitfalls and Traps
Homogenization Filled out framework/

risk borrowed concept
without depth
Reversing
issues
Incorrect
situation
analysis
Ignoring the
front line Flowery words
35
marketing power because it is weak. These initiatives only present
the reverse side of the issues and don’t present real solutions.
Cutting costs because the costs are too high doesn’t delve into
the core of the issue, the reason behind the high costs. Without
understanding the true reason behind the issue, you can’t come
up with a realistic solution. You don’t know if the high costs are
the result of you not having a competitive edge. You can’t even tell
if the cost cutting is really needed to create a competitive edge.
A business is normally faced with a lot of issues. It is virtually

impossible to resolve each and every issue. You have to consider
what really needs to be changed or improved in order to create a
competitive edge and determine the true cause of the issue. Only
when all those factors are thoroughly considered can you create
a true strategy. None of these initiatives that attempt to reverse
an issue take all these points into consideration and therefore
represent a lack of critical thinking.
▶ A Strategy Cannot Ignore the Front Line

A strategy based solely on secondhand information, data, or
hearsay will not truly contribute to creating a competitive edge
and therefore cannot be considered a true strategy. A strategy
like this, or an armchair theory, lacks practical and realistic
expectations and fails to rally support from the on-site workers.
A strategy, no matter how great, that can’t prompt involved parties

to put it into action exists only on paper. A “strategy” that can’t
be executed is not actually a strategy. A strategy full of borrowed
frameworks and concepts often tends to fall into this trap.
36
▶ A Fake Strategy in Purple Prose

Another popular pitfall is a strategy embellished with trending
concepts and keywords, making it look good but lacking
depth. The business world comes up with new key phrases and
buzzwords all the time. Omnichannel* is a primary example
from recent years. Concepts such as SCM, CRM, Web2.0, and
freemium are classic examples.
Of course, using these key phrases and buzzwords as hints when

building your strategy is not an issue, as long as the true meaning
behind them is understood. (In fact, you can use them to your
advantage.) But just listing these words causes them to lose their
meaning and does not contribute to your strategy.
▶ Failing to Grasp the Current Situation May Lead to

Mistakes
Not having an accurate grasp of the situation can also lead to a
pitfall or a trap when creating a strategy. An incorrect situation
analysis, of course, leads you to an incorrect strategy.
As a case in point, mistakes such as overestimating your strength,

incorrect market structure analysis, or underestimating your
competitors can be fatal.
Miscalculating issues and organizational structures can also be

a fatal mistake. Resolving an issue of habitually high costs can
become a point of contention. But misreading the true reason
for this habitual spending will result in costs never being lowered
and can render the strategy useless.
37
Another frequent mistake is increasing product quantities in order
to increase profit, thus saturating the market. Increased quantity
normally results in decreased efficiency and puts a strain on
profitability. This could result in a slight increase in sales at the
cost of profitability, creating a vicious cycle. This, too, is a result
of a strategic mistake stemming from not grasping the situation
accurately.
▶ The Risk of Homogenized Strategies

It is true that understanding the situation accurately and thinking
logically could lead to a standardized strategy similar to that of
others. This is the risk of homogenized strategies. Of course, even
with similar strategies, superior execution can give you an edge
over the competition, making you come out on top. On the other
hand, a homogenized strategy could mean you are competing with
similar strategies, which, in the end, becomes all about financial
strength and sustainability.
In order for a financially inferior company to come out on top,

you must avoid a homogenized strategy at all cost. A financially
superior company may still have a chance to beat the competition
even with a homogenized strategy. You may consciously choose
a similar strategy to that of your financially inferior competitors
to drive them out of the market. A leading corporation, such as
Toyota, often uses such a strategy.
*Omnichannel: Creating and providing a streamlined channel to shop by combining

different sales platforms such as brick-and-mortar and online shops, where consumers
can seamlessly make purchases without consciously selecting channels.
38
Preparations to Build the Correct
Strategy 3
▶ Take the Right Steps to Analyze
So how can we avoid these pitfalls and traps? It is important to
keep the following six points in mind (Diagram 1-6).
First, take the right steps to accurately analyze the situation. A

strategy cannot be built overnight, nor is an idea enough to create
a brilliant strategy. Normally, you must consider various elements
and follow a complex thought process in order to end up with a
functional strategy.
Of course, a standardized process does exist, a formula, if you

will. It is important to go through these basic processes with care.
Don’t expect to get to a strategy by skipping these steps.
Diagram 1-6 Points in Creating a Functional

Strategy
Go through an
Emphasis on on-site MAKE
accurate analysis
situation
process SURE TO
KEEP THESE
SIX POINTS
Emphasis on
IN MIND.
Using frameworks and
“essence” and
concepts wisely
“mechanism”
Have an unique point

Involve a “key
of view, think outside
person”
of the box
A formula for these processes and proper consideration is exactly
what we want you to take away from this book. You can master
the basics of strategy building by reading all of this book.
▶ Use Frameworks and Concepts Wisely

We told you that frameworks and concepts can make or break a
strategy. Meaning, frameworks and concepts can be great tools
when utilized wisely. So how do we use them wisely? The key is
to think for yourself by using these as hints.
Filling out a framework or following a concept alone will not do.

Frameworks and concepts provide hints but do not do the thinking
for you. For example, they can provide a broad point of view when
coming up with a strategy. It is hard to create a strategy from
scratch. By using frameworks and concepts as stepping stones,
you won’t have to come up with things to consider or points of
contention from scratch.
Frameworks and concepts are the culmination of knowledge

from predecessors and can give you a great advantage when
applied wisely.
▶Have a Unique Point of View, Think Outside of the

Box
It is important to view things from different angles and sometimes
even doubt common sense in order to avoid a homogenized
strategy. In fact, having a unique point of view and thinking
outside of the box can lead to great success.
One example is the “Ore no French”* restaurants, which broke the

concept of fine French cuisine being expensive. Breaking such
*Ore no French: A first-class restaurant where top-class chefs serve high-end French cuisine
at reasonable prices. Managed by the Ore no Corporation.
40
preconceived notion and making efforts to do so allow room for a

unique strategy and execution.
Uniqlo is another example. At first, it owed its growth to the

American apparel company The GAP’s SPA model. However, in
order to compete with foreign competitions such as ZARA and
H&M, Uniqlo shifted its focus onto functionality, which is often
overlooked within the apparel industry, thus developing a specific,
unique niche market and a competitive edge over its competitors.
The same goes for the grocery chain Oozeki in the Tokyo area.
While generally a grocery store operates by hiring part-timers in
order to keep the operational cost low, Oozeki mainly operates by
hiring full-time employees in order to foster in-depth knowledge
of customer needs, improve inventory control and decrease food
loss, and generate repeat customers. These allow them to not only
cover the higher operational cost but also create surplus profit.
Having different points of view and thinking outside of common
sense can lead to a unique strategy that actually works. You and
your competitors might start from the same starting line, but you
can still set yourself apart by thinking and looking at the situations
from different angles.
▶Support the Front Line

When building a business strategy, you absolutely need an accurate
understanding of the current situation. A situation can include,
but is not limited to, the strengths and the weaknesses of your
company and how your company is structured, as well as the
current market, competitors, and how the industry works.
41
To understand it correctly, you must not depend on secondhand
information and hearsay. You must see, hear, and feel the actual
situation on the front line by actually studying the on-site field
yourself. Secondhand information can be obtained by just about
anyone, but information obtained by being on-site can provide
you with vital information other people or companies may have
missed. It can also provide you ideas for a unique point of view,
or how to think outside of the box.
Sato Camera in Tochigi Prefecture holds the top market share

in camera sales in the region, beating electronics giants such
as Yamada Electronics and Yodobashi Camera. While it doesn’t
necessarily offer the lowest price or a strong customer reward
program like other big chain stores, 80% of the customers who
made a purchase at Sato Camera become repeat customers. Their
profit margin increased up to 40% from its previous 25% or so after
they eliminated unrealistic discount and point rewards programs.
What sets Sato Camera apart is its motto of “Beautifully Preserving
Memories,” providing very specific customer services tailored
to each and every customer’s camera needs. They encourage
customers to come back anytime even after purchase if they
need help operating the camera. Customers coming in to print
out photos can wait and relax on comfortable couches as well.
At a glance, Sato Camera’s approach seems very inefficient.

However, everyone at Sato Camera, from the CEO to the on-
site sales clerk, came up with this strategy by interacting directly
with customers, learning their needs and issues and what would
make them happy. Mr. Sato, the CEO, stated: “We all learn from
everyone including complete novices, from the grandma next
door to an elementary student.”
42
▶ Emphasis on Essence and Mechanism

It’s also important to focus on the essence and the way things
work. For example, if restructuring the cost is the key point in
strategy, you must have an intimate understanding of what is
causing the high cost structure, as well as the issues and reasons
for them. You cannot make improvements without accurately
understanding the issues at hand.
When we were assisting a food manufacturer with their strategic

growth plans, cost rate was a big point of contention. Back then,
the company thought the increasing cost was caused by the
decreased output and increased ingredient cost. However, our
analysis revealed that other factors, such as product selections,
also played into the issue. A product with a low cost rate generally
has a lower sales ratio. The large increase in product types was
causing issues in manufacturing, loss of ingredients, and employees’
proficiency, causing the cost rate for each product to increase.
The cause of this was their strategy of churning out new products
one after another.
As you can see, without truly understanding the essence and
mechanism of things, you cannot create a strategy that will trigger a
change. In the case of this food manufacturer, lowering ingredient
cost and improving production output alone were not enough
to turn things around. You need to start by having a clear plan to
increase profit with a set number of products and come up with
a plan to improve the sales ratio of products with low cost rate.
Only then can you lower the cost rate.
Understanding the rules of market competition is also important.

There are many frameworks that can help you understand specific
markets, such as Five Forces or Advantage Matrix. It is only
43
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
very lady. They found the body picturesquely disposed in a pool of
blood, the unconscious hand still grasping the hilt of the sword that
had been drawn in honor of the maiden. “Ah, beauteous friend!”
exclaims the lady, “how dearly hast thou paid for my love! The good
and the joy we have shared have only brought thee death.
Beauteous friend, courteous and wise, valiant, heroic, good knight in
every guise, since thou has lost thy youth for me in this manner, in
this strait, and in this agony, as it clearly appears, what else remains
for me to suffer for thy sake, unless that I should keep you
company? Friend, friend, thy beauty has departed for the love of me,
thy flesh lies here bloody. Friend, friend, we were both nourished
together. I knew not what love was when I gave my heart to love
thee,” &c., &c., &c. “Young friend,” continues the lady, “thou wert my
joy and my consolation: for to see thee and to speak to thee alone
were sufficient to inspire joy, &c., &c., &c. Friend, what I behold slays
me, I feel that death is within my heart.” The lady then took up the
bloody sword, and requested Melyadus to look after the honorable
interment of the knight on that spot, and that he would see her own
body deposited by her “friend’s” side, in the same grave. Melyadus
expressed great astonishment at the latter part of the request, but as
the lady insisted that her hour was at hand, he promised to fulfil all
her wishes. Meanwhile the maiden knelt by the side of the dead
knight, held his sword to her lips, and gently died upon his breast.
Gyron said it was the wofullest sight that eye had ever beheld; but all
courteous as Gyron was, and he was so to such a remarkable
degree that he derived a surname from his courtesy, I say that in
spite of his sympathy and gallantry, he appears to have had a quick
eye toward making such profit as authors could make in those days,
from ready writing upon subjects of interest. Before another word
was said touching the interment of the two lovers, Gyron intimated
that he would write a ballad upon them that should have a universal
circulation, and be sung in all lands where there were gentle hearts
and sweet voices. Gyron performed what he promised, and the
ballad of “Absdlon and Cesala,” serves to show what very rough
rhymes the courteous poet could employ to illustrate a romantic
incident. Let it be added that, however the knights may sometimes
have failed in their truth, this was very rarely the case with the ladies.
When Jordano Bruno was received in his exile by Sir Philip Sidney,
he requited the hospitality by dedicating a poem to the latter. In this
dedication, he says: “With one solitary exception, all misfortunes that
flesh is heir to have been visited on me. I have tasted every kind of
calamity but one, that of finding false a woman’s love.”
It was not every knight that could make such an exception. Certainly
not that pearl of knights, King Arthur himself. What a wife had that
knight in the person of Guinever? Nay, he is said to have had three
wives of that name, and that all of them were as faithless as ladies
well could be. Some assert that the described deeds of these three
are in fact but the evil-doings of one. However this may be, I may
observe summarily here what I have said in reference to Guinever in
another place. With regard to this triple-lady, the very small virtue of
one third of the whole will not salubriously leaven the entire lump. If
romance be true, and there is more about the history of Guinever
than any other lady—she was a delicious, audacious, winning,
seductive, irresistible, and heartless hussy; and a shameless! and a
barefaced! Only read “Sir Lancelot du Lac!” Yes, it can not be
doubted but that in the voluminous romances of the old day, there
was a sprinkling of historical facts. Now, if a thousandth part of what
is recorded of this heart-bewitching Guinever be true, she must have
been such a lady as we can not now conceive of. True daughter of
her mother Venus, when a son of Mars was not at hand, she could
stoop to Mulciber. If the king was not at home, she could listen to a
knight. If both were away, esquire or page might speak boldly without
fear of being unheeded; and if all were absent, in the chase, or at the
fray, there was always a good-looking groom in the saddle-room with
whom Guinever could converse, without holding that so to do was
anything derogatory. I know no more merry reading than that same
ton-weight of romance which goes by the name of “Sir Lancelot du
Lac.” But it is not of that sort which Mrs. Chapone would recommend
to young ladies, or that Dr. Cumming would read aloud in the Duke
of Argyll’s drawing-room. It is a book, however, which a grave man a
little tired of his gravity, may look into between serious studies and
solemn pursuits—a book for a lone winter evening by a library-fire,
with wine and walnuts at hand; or for an old-fashioned summer’s
evening, in a bower through whose foliage the sun pours his adieu,
as gorgeously red as the Burgundy in your flask. Of a truth, a man
must be “in a concatenation accordingly,” ere he may venture to
address himself to the chronicle which tells of the “bamboches,”
“fredaines,” and “bombances,” of Guinever the Frail, and of Lancelot
du Lac.
We confess to having more regard for Arthur than for his triple-wife
Guinever. As I have had occasion to say in other pages, “I do not like
to give up Arthur!” I love the name, the hero, and his romantic deeds.
I deem lightly of his light o’love bearing. Think of his provocation both
ways! Whatever the privilege of chivalry may have been, it was the
practice of too many knights to be faithless. They vowed fidelity, but
they were a promise-breaking, word-despising crew. On this point I
am more inclined to agree with Dr. Lingard than with Mr. Hallam.
Honor was ever on their lips, but not always in their hearts, and it
was little respected by them, when found in the possession of their
neighbor’s wives. How does Scott consider them in this respect,
when in describing a triad of knights, he says,
“There were two who loved their neighbor’s wives,

And one who loved his own.”
Yet how is it that knights are so invariably mentioned with long-

winded laudation by Romish writers—always excepting Lingard—
when they desire to illustrate the devoted spirit of olden times? Is it
that the knights were truthful, devout, chaste, God-fearing? not a jot!
Is it because the cavaliers cared but for one thing, in the sense of
having fear but for one thing, and that the devil? To escape from
being finally triumphed over by the Father of Evil, they paid largely,
reverenced outwardly, confessed unreservedly, and were absolved
plenarily. That is the reason why chivalry was patted on the back by
Rome. At the same time we must not condemn a system, the
principles of which were calculated to work such extensive
ameliorations in society as chivalry. Christianity itself might be
condemned were we to judge of it by the shortcomings of its
followers.
But even Mr. Hallam is compelled at last, reluctantly, to confess that
the morals of chivalry were not pure. After all his praise of the
system, he looks at its literature, and with his eye resting on the tales
and romances written for the delight and instruction of chivalric
ladies and gentlemen, he remarks that the “violation of marriage
vows passes in them for an incontestable privilege of the brave and
the fair; and an accomplished knight seems to have enjoyed as
undoubted prerogatives, by general consent of opinion, as were
claimed by the brilliant courtiers of Louis XV.” There was an especial
reason for this, the courtiers of Louis XV. might be anything they
chose, provided that with gallantry they were loyal, courteous, and
munificent. Now loyalty, courtesy, and that prodigality which goes by
the name of munificence, were exactly the virtues that were deemed
most essential to chivalry. But these were construed by the old
knights as they were by the more modern courtiers. The first took
advantages in combat that would now be deemed disloyal by any but
a Muscovite. The second would cheat at cards in the gaming
saloons of Versailles, while they would run the men through who
spoke lightly of their descent. So with regard to courtesy, the knight
was full of honeyed phrases to his equals and superiors, but was as
coarsely arrogant as Menschikoff to an inferior. In the same way,
Louis XIV., who would never pass one of his own scullery-maids
without raising his plumed beaver, could address terms to the ladies
of his court, which, but for the sacred majesty which was supposed
to environ his person, might have purchased for him a severe
castigation. Then consider the case of that “first gentleman in
Europe,” George, Prince of Wales: he really forfeited his right to the
throne by marrying a Catholic lady, Mrs. Fitzherbert, and he freed
himself unscrupulously from the scrape by uttering a lie. And so
again with munificence; the greater part of these knights and
courtiers were entirely thoughtless of the value of money. At the Field
of the Cloth of Gold, for instance, whole estates were mortgaged or
sold, in order that the owners might outshine all competitors in the
brilliancy and quality of their dress. This sort of extravagance makes
one man look glad and all his relatives rueful. The fact is that when
men thus erred, it was for want of observance of a Christian
principle; and if men neglect that observance, it is as little in the
power of chivalry as of masonry to mend him. There was “a perfect
idea” of chivalry, indeed, but if any knight ever realized it in his own
person, he was, simply, nearly a perfect Christian, and would have
been still nearer to perfection in the latter character if he had studied
the few simple rules of the system of religion rather than the stilted
and unsteady ones of romance. The study of the latter, at all events,
did not prevent, but in many instances caused a dissoluteness of
manners, a fondness for war rather than peace, and a wide
distinction between classes, making aristocrats of the few, and
villains of the many.
Let me add here, as I have been speaking of the romance of
“Lancelot du Lac,” that I quite agree with Montluc, who after
completing his chronicle of the History of France, observed that it
would be found more profitable reading than either Lancelot or
Amadis. La Noue especially condemns the latter as corrupting the
manners of the age. Southey, again, observes that these chivalric
romances acquired their poison in France or in Italy. The Spanish
and Portuguese romances he describes as free from all taint. In the
Amadis the very well-being of the world is made to rest upon
chivalry. “What would become of the world,” it is asked in the twenty-
second book of the Amadis, “if God did not provide for the defence of
the weak and helpless against unjust usurpers? And how could
provision be made, if good knights were satisfied to do nothing else
but sit in chamber with the ladies? What would then the world
become, but a vast community of brigands?”
Lamotte Levayer was of a different opinion. “Les armes,” he says,
when commenting upon chivalry and arms generally; “Les armes
detruisent tous les arts excepté ceux qui favorisent la gloire.” In
Germany, too, where chivalry was often turned to the oppression of
the weak rather than employed for their protection, the popular
contempt and dread of “knightly principles” were early illustrated in
the proverb, “Er will Ritter an mir werden,” He wants to play the
knight over me. In which proverb, knight stands for oppressor or
insulter. In our own country the order came to be little cared for, but
on different grounds.
Dr. Nares in his “Heraldic Anomalies,” deplores the fact that mere
knighthood has fallen into contempt. He dates this from the period
when James I. placed baronets above knights. The hereditary title
became a thing to be coveted, but knights who were always held to
be knights bachelors, could not of course bequeath a title to child or
children who were not supposed in heraldry to exist. The Doctor
quotes Sir John Ferne, to show that Olibion, the son of Asteriel, of
the line of Japhet, was the first knight ever created. The personage
in question was sent forth to battle, after his sire had smitten him
lightly nine times with Japhet’s falchion, forged before the flood.
There is little doubt but that originally a knight was simply Knecht,
servant of the king. Dr. Nares says that the Thanes were so in the
north, and that these, although of gentle blood, exercised the offices
even of cooks and barbers to the royal person. But may not these
offices have been performed by the “unter Thans,” or deputies? I
shall have occasion to observe, subsequently, on the law which
deprived a knight’s descendants of his arms, if they turned
merchants; but in Saxon times it is worthy of observation, that if a
merchant made three voyages in one of his own ships, he was
thenceforward the Thane’s right-worthy, or equal.
Among the Romans a blow on the ear gave the slave freedom. Did
the blow on the shoulder given to a knight make a free-servant of
him? Something of the sort seems to have been intended. The title
was doubtless mainly but not exclusively military. To dub, from the
Saxon word dubban, was either to gird or put on, “don,” or was to
strike, and perhaps both may be meant, for the knight was girt with
spurs, as well as stricken, or geschlagen as the German term has it.
There was striking, too, at the unmaking of a knight. His heels were
then degraded of their spurs, the latter being beaten or chopped
away. “His heels deserved it,” says Bertram of the cowardly Parolles,
“his heels deserved it for usurping of his spurs so long.” The sword,
too, on such occasions, was broken.
Fuller justly says that “the plainer the coat is, the more ancient and
honorable.” He adds, that “two colors are necessary and most highly
honorable: three are very highly honorable; four commendable; five
excusable; more disgraceful.” He must have been a gastronomic
King-at-Arms, who so loaded a “coat” with fish, flesh, and fowl, that
an observer remarked, “it was well victualled enough to stand a
siege.” Or is the richest coloring, but, as Fuller again says, “Herbs
vert, being natural, are better than Or.” He describes a “Bend as the
best ordinary, being a belt athwart,” but a coat bruised with a bar
sinister is hardly a distinction to be proud of. If the heralds of George
the Second’s time looked upon that monarch as the son of Count
Königsmark, as Jacobite-minded heralds may have been malignant
enough to do, they no doubt mentally drew the degrading bar across
the royal arms, and tacitly denied the knighthood conferred by what
they, in such foolish case, would have deemed an illegitimate hand.
Alluding to reasons for some bearings, Fuller tells us that, “whereas
the Earls of Oxford anciently gave their ‘coats’ plain, quarterly gules
and or, they took afterward in the first a mullet or star-argent,
because the chief of the house had a falling-star, as it was said,
alighting on his shield as he was fighting in the Holy Land.”
It is to be observed that when treating of precedency, Fuller places
knights, or “soldiers” with seamen, civilians, and physicians, and
after saints, confessors, prelates, statesmen, and judges. Knights
and physicians he seems to have considered as equally terrible to
life; but in his order of placing he was led by no particular principle,
for among the lowest he places “learned writers,” and “benefactors to
the public.” He has, indeed, one principle, as may be seen, wherein
he says, “I place first princes, good manners obliging all other
persons to follow them, as religion obliges me to follow God’s
example by a royal recognition of that original precedency, which he
has granted to his vicegerents.”
The Romans are said to have established the earliest known order of
knighthood; and the members at one time wore rings, as a mark of
distinction, as in later times knights wore spurs. The knights of the
Holy Roman Empire were members of a modern order, whose
sovereigns are not, what they would have themselves considered,
descendants of the Cæsars. If we only knew what our own Round
Table was, and where it stood, we should be enabled to speak more
decisively upon the question of the chevaliers who sat around it. But
it is undecided whether the table was not really a house. At it, or in it,
the knights met during the season of Pentecost, but whether the
assembly was collected at Winchester or Windsor no one seems
able to determine; and he would impart no particularly valuable
knowledge even if he could.
Knighthood was a sort of nobility worth having, for it testified to the
merit of the wearer. An inherited title should, indeed, compel him
who succeeds to it, to do nothing to disgrace it: but preserving the
lustre is not half so meritorious as creating it. Knights bachelors were
so called because the distinction was conferred for some act of
personal courage, to reward for which the offspring of the knight
could make no claim. He was, in this respect, to them as though he
had been never married. The knight bachelor was a truly proud man.
The word knecht simply implied a servant, sworn to continue good
service in honor of the sovereign, and of God and St. George. “I
remain your sworn servant” is a form of epistolary valediction which
crept into the letters of other orders in later times. The manner of
making was more theatrical than at the present time; and we should
now smile if we were to see, on a lofty scaffold in St. Paul’s, a city
gentleman seated in a chair of silver adorned with green silk,
undergoing exhortation from the bishop, and carried up between two
lords, to be dubbed under the sovereign’s hand, a good knight, by
the help of Heaven and his patron saint.
In old days belted earls could create knights. In modern times, the
only subject who is legally entitled to confer the honor of chivalry is
the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland; and some of his “subjects” consider it
the most terrible of his privileges. The attempt to dispute the right
arose, perhaps, from those who dreaded the exercise of it on
themselves. However this may be, it is certain that the vexata
questio was finally set at rest in 1823, when the judges declared that
the power in question undoubtedly resided in the Lords Lieutenant,
since the Union, as it did in the viceroys who reigned vicariously
previous to that period. According to the etiquette of heraldry, the
distinctive appellation “Sir” should never be omitted even when the
knight is a noble of the first hereditary rank. “The Right Honorable Sir
Hugh Percy, Duke of Northumberland,” would have been the proper
heraldic defining of his grace when he became Knight of the Garter,
for it is a rule that “the greater dignity doth never drown the lesser,
but both stand together in one person.”
A knight never surrendered his sword but to a knight. “Are you knight
and gentleman?” asked Suffolk, when, four hundred years ago, he
yielded to Regnault: “I am a gentleman,” said Regnault, “but I am not
yet a knight.” Whereupon Suffolk bade him kneel, dubbed him
knight, received the accustomed oaths, and then gave up his old
sword to the new chevalier.
Clark considered that the order was degraded from its exclusively
military character, when membership was conferred upon
gownsmen, physician, burghers, and artists. He considered that civil
merit, so distinguished, was a loss of reputation to military knights.
The logic by which he arrives at such a conclusion is rather of the
loosest. It may be admitted, however, that the matter has been
specially abused in Germany. Monsieur About, that clever
gentleman, who wrote “Tolla” out of somebody else’s book, very
pertinently remarks in his review of the fine-art department of the
Paris Exhibition, that the difference between English and German
artists is, that the former are well-paid, but that very few of them are
knights, while the latter are ill-paid and consequently ill-clothed; but,
for lack of clothes, have abundance of ribands.
Dr. Nares himself is of something of the opinion of Clark, and he
ridicules the idea of a chivalric and martial title being given to
brewers, silversmiths, attorneys, apothecaries, upholsterers, hosiers,
tailors. &c. He asserts that knighthood should belong only to military
members: but of these no inconsiderable number would have to be
unknighted, or would have to wait an indefinite time for the honor
were the old rule strictly observed, whereby no man was entitled to
the rank and degree of knighthood, who had not actually been in
battle and captured a prisoner with his own hands. With respect to
the obligation on knights to defend and maintain all ladies,
gentlewomen, widows, and orphans; the one class of men may be
said to be just as likely to fulfil this obligation, as the other class.
France, Italy, and Germany, long had their forensic knights, certain
titles at the bar giving equal privileges; and the obligations above
alluded to were supposed to be observed by these knights—who
found esquires in their clerks, in the forensic war which they were for
ever waging in defence of right. Unhappily these forensic chevaliers
so often fought in defence of wrong and called it right, that the actual
duty was indiscriminately performed or neglected.
It has often been said of “orders” that they are indelible. However
this may be with the clergy, it is especially the case with knights. To
whatever title a knight might attain, duke, earl, or baron, he never
ceased to be a knight. In proof too that the latter title was considered
one of augmentation, is cited the case of Louis XI., who, at his
coronation, was knighted by Philip, Duke of Burgundy. “If Louis,”
says an eminent writer (thus cited by Dr. Nares), “had been made
duke, marquis, or earl, it would have detracted from him, all those
titles being in himself.”
The crown, when it stood in need of the chivalrous arms of its
knights, called for the required feudal service, not from its earls as
such, but from its barons. To every earldom was annexed a barony,
whereby their feudal service with its several dependent duties was
alone ascertained. “That is,” says Berington, in his Henry II., “the
tenure of barony and not of earldom constituted the legal vassal of
the crown. Each earl was at the same time a baron, as were the
bishops and some abbots and priors of orders.”
Some of these barons were the founders of parish churches, but the
terms on which priest and patron occasionally lived may be seen in
the law, whereby patrons or feudatarii killing the rector, vicar, or clerk
of their church, or mutilating him, were condemned to lose their
rights; and their posterity, to the fourth generation, was made
incapable of benefice or prelacy in religious houses. The knightly
patron was bound to be of the same religious opinions, of course, as
his priest, or his soul had little chance of being prayed for. In later
times we have had instances of patrons determining the opinions of
the minister. Thus as a parallel, or rather in contrast with measures
as they stood between Sir Knight and Sir Priest, may be taken a
passage inserted in the old deeds of the Baptist chapel at Oulney. In
this deed the managers or trustees injoined that “no person shall
ever be chosen pastor of this church, who shall differ in his religious
sentiments from the Rev. John Gibbs of Newcastle.” It is rather a
leap to pass thus from the baronial knights to the Baptist chapels,
but the matter has to do with my subject at both extremities. Before
leaving it I will notice the intimation proudly made on the tombstone
in Bunhill Fields Cemetery, of Dame Mary Page, relict of Sir George
Page. The lady died more than a century and a quarter ago, and
although the stone bears no record of any virtue save that she was
patient and fearless under suffering, it takes care to inform all
passers-by, that this knight’s lady, “in sixty-seven months was tapped
sixty-six times, and had taken away two hundred and forty gallons of
water, without ever repining at her case, or ever fearing its
operation.” I prefer the mementoes of knight’s ladies in olden times
which recorded their deeds rather than their diseases, and which told
of them, as White said of Queen Mary, that their “knees were hard
with kneeling.”
I will add one more incident, before changing the topic, having
reference as it has to knights, maladies, and baptism. In 1660, Sir
John Floyer was the most celebrated knight-physician of his day. He
chiefly tilted against the disuse of baptismal immersion. He did not
treat the subject theologically, but in a sanitary point of view. He
prophesied that England would return to the practice as soon as
people were convinced that cold baths were safe and useful. He
denounced the first innovators who departed from immersion, as the
destroyers of the health of their children and of posterity.
Degeneracy of race, he said, had followed, hereditary diseases
increased, and men were mere carpet-knights unable to perform
such lusty deeds as their duly-immersed forefathers.
There are few volumes which so admirably illustrate what knights
should be, and what they sometimes were not, as De Joinville’s
Chronicle of the Crusades of St. Louis—that St. Louis, who was
himself the patron-saint of an order, the cross of which was at first
conferred on princes, and at last on perruquiers. The faithful
chronicler rather profanely, indeed, compares the royal knight with
God himself. “As God died for his people, so did St. Louis often peril
his life, and incurred the greatest dangers, for the people of his
kingdom.” After all, this simile is as lame as it is profane. The truth,
nevertheless, as it concerns St. Louis, is creditable to the illustrious
king, saint, and chevalier. “In his conversation he was remarkably
chaste, for I never heard him, at any time, utter an indecent word,
nor make use of the devil’s name; which, however, now is very
commonly uttered by every one, but which I firmly believe, is so far
from being agreeable to God, that it is highly displeasing to him.” The
King St. Louis, mixed water with his wine, and tried to force his
knights to follow his example, adding, that “it was a beastly thing for
an honorable man to make himself drunk.” This was a wise maxim,
and one naturally held by a son, whose mother had often declared to
him, that “she would rather he was in his grave, than that he should
commit a mortal sin.” And yet wise as his mother, and wise as her
son was, the one could not give wise religious instructors to the
latter, nor the latter perceive where their instruction was illogical.
That it was so, may be discerned in the praise given by De Joinville,
to the fact, that the knightly king in his dying moments “called upon
God and his saints, and especially upon St. James, and St.
Genevieve, as his intercessors.”
It is interesting to learn from such good authority as De Joinville, the
manner in which the knights who followed St. Louis prepared
themselves for their crusading mission. “When I was ready to set
out, I sent for the Abbot of Cheminon, who was at that time
considered as the most discreet man of all the White Monks, to
reconcile myself with him. He gave me my scarf, and bound it on me,
and likewise put the pilgrim’s staff in my hand. Instantly after I quitted
the castle of Joinville, without even re-entering it until my return from
beyond sea. I made pilgrimages to all the holy places in the
neighborhood, such as Bliecourt, St. Urban, and others near to
Joinville. I dared never turn my eyes that way, for fear of feeling too
great regret, and lest my courage should fail on leaving my two fine
children, and my fair castle of Joinville, which I loved in my heart.”
“One touch of nature makes the whole world kin,” and here we have
the touch the poet speaks of. Down the Saône and subsequently
down the Rhone, the crusaders flock in ample vessels, but not large
enough to contain their steeds, which were led by grooms along the
banks. When all had re-embarked at Marseilles and were fairly out at
sea, “the captain made the priests and clerks mount to the castle of
the ship, and chant psalms in praise of God, that he might be
pleased to grant us a prosperous voyage.” While they were singing
the Veni Creator in full chorus, the mariners set the sails “in the
name of God,” and forthwith a favorable breeze sprang up in answer
to the appeal, and knights and holy men were speedily careering
over the billows of the open sea very hopeful and exceedingly sick. “I
must say here,” says De Joinville, who was frequently so disturbed
by the motion of the vessel, so little of a knight, and so timid on the
water as to require a couple of men to hold him as he leant over the
side in the helpless and unchivalrous attitude of a cockney landsman
on board a Boulogne steamer—“I must say,” he exclaims—sick at
the very reminiscence, “that he is a great fool who shall put himself
in such dangers, having wronged any one, or having any mortal sins
on his conscience; for when he goes to sleep in the evening, he
knows not if in the morning he may not find himself under the sea.”
This was a pious reflection, and it was such as many a knight,
doubtless, made on board a vessel, on the castle of which priests
and clerks sang Veni Creator and the mariners bent the sail “in the
name of God.” But whether the holy men did not act up to their
profession, or the secular knights cared not to profit by their
example, certain it is that in spite of the saintly services and
formalities on board ship, the chevaliers were no sooner on shore,
than they fell into the very worst of practices. De Joinville, speaking
of them at Damietta, remarks that the barons, knights, and others,
who ought to have practised self-denial and economy, were wasteful
of their means, prodigal of their supplies, and addicted to
banquetings, and to the vices which attend on over-luxuriant living.
There was a general waste of everything, health included. The
example set by the knights was adopted by the men-at-arms, and
the debauchery which ensued was terrific. The men were reduced to
the level of beasts, and wo to the women or girls who fell into their
power when out marauding. It is singular to find De Joinville
remarking that the holy king was obliged “to wink at the greatest
liberties of his officers and men.” The picture of a royal saint winking
at lust, rapine, and murder, is not an agreeable one. “The good king
was told,” says the faithful chronicler, “that at a stone’s throw round
his own pavilion, were several tents whose owners made profit by
letting them out for infamous purposes.” These tents and tabernacles
of iniquity were kept by the king’s own personal attendants, and yet
the royal saint winked at them! The licentiousness was astounding,
the more so as it was practised by Christian knights, who were
abroad on a holy purpose, but who went with bloody hands, unclean
thoughts, and spiritual songs to rescue the Sepulchre of Christ from
the unworthy keeping of the infidel. Is it wonderful that the enterprise
was ultimately a failure?
De Joinville himself, albeit purer of life than many of his comrades,
was not above taking unmanly advantage of a foe. The rule of
chivalry, which directed that all should be fair in fight, was never
regarded by those chivalrous gentlemen when victory was to be
obtained by violating the law. Thus, of an affair on the plains before
Babylon, we find the literary swordsman complacently recording that
he “perceived a sturdy Saracen mounting his horse, which was held
by one of his esquires by the bridle, and while he was putting his
hand on his saddle to mount, I gave him,” says De Joinville, “such a
thrust with my spear, which I pushed as far as I was able, that he fell
down dead.” This was a base and cowardly action. There was more
of the chivalrous in what followed: “The esquire, seeing his lord
dead, abandoned master and horse; but, watching my motions, on
my return struck me with his lance such a blow between my
shoulders as drove me on my horse’s neck, and held me there so
tightly that I could not draw my sword, which was girthed round me. I
was forced to draw another sword which was at the pommel of my
saddle, and it was high time; but when he saw I had my sword in my
hand, he withdrew his lance, which I had seized, and ran from me.”
I have said that this knight who took such unfair advantage of a foe,
was more of a Christian nevertheless than many of his fellows. This
is illustrated by another trait highly illustrative of the principles which
influenced those brave and pious warriors. De Joinville remarks that
on the eve of Shrove-tide, 1249, he saw a thing which he “must
relate.” On the vigil of that day, he tells us, there died a very valiant
and prudent knight, Sir Hugh de Landricourt, a follower of De
Joinville’s own banner. The burial service was celebrated; but half-a-
dozen of De Joinville’s knights, who were present as mourners,
talked so irreverently loud that the priest was disturbed as he was
saying mass. Our good chronicler went over to them, reproved them,
and informed them that “it was unbecoming gentlemen thus to talk
while the mass was celebrating.” The ungodly half-dozen, thereupon,
burst into a roar of laughter, and informed De Joinville, in their turn,
that they were discussing as to which of the six should marry the
widow of the defunct Sir Hugh, then lying before them on his bier! De
Joinville, with decency and common sense “rebuked them sharply,
and said such conversation was indecent and improper, for that they
had too soon forgotten their companion.” From this circumstance De
Joinville tries to draw a logical inference, if not conclusion. He makes
a sad confusion of causes and effects, rewards and punishments,
practice and principle, human accidents and especial interferences
on the part of Heaven. For instance, after narrating the mirth of the
knights at the funeral of Sir Hugh, and their disputing as to which of
them should woo the widow, he adds: “Now it happened on the
morrow, when the first grand battle took place, although we may
laugh at their follies, that of all the six not one escaped death, and
they remained unburied. The wives of the whole six re-married! This
makes it credible that God leaves no such conduct unpunished. With
regard to myself I fared little better, for I was grievously wounded in
the battle of Shrove Tuesday. I had besides the disorder in my legs
and mouth before spoken of, and such a rheum in my head it ran
through my mouth and nostrils. In addition I had a double fever
called a quartan, from which God defend us! And with these
illnesses was I confined to my bed for half of Lent.” And thus, if the
married knights were retributively slain for talking about the wooing
of a comrade’s widow, so De Joinville himself was somewhat heavily
afflicted for having undertaken to reprove them! I must add one more
incident, however, to show how in the battle-field the human and
Christian principle was not altogether lost.
The poor priest, whom the wicked and wedded knights had
interrupted in the service of the mass by follies, at which De Joinville
himself seems to think that men may, perhaps, be inclined to laugh,
became as grievously ill as De Joinville himself. “And one day,” says
the latter, “when he was singing mass before me as I lay in my bed,
at the moment of the elevation of the host I saw him so exceedingly
weak that he was near fainting; but when I perceived he was on the
point of falling to the ground, I flung myself out of bed, sick as I was,
and taking my coat, embraced him, and bade him be at his ease,
and take courage from Him whom he held in his hand. He recovered
some little; but I never quitted him till he had finished the mass,
which he completed, and this was the last, for he never celebrated
another, but died; God receive his soul!” This is a pleasanter picture
of Christian chivalry than any other that is given by this picturesque
chronicler.
Chivalry, generally, has been more satirized and sneered at by the
philosophers than by any other class of men. The sages stigmatize
the knights as mere boasters of bravery, and in some such terms as
those used by Dussaute, they assert that the boasters of their valor
are as little to be trusted as those who boast of their probity. “Defiez
vous de quiconque parle toujours de sa probité comme de
quiconque parle toujours de bravoure.”
It will not, however, do for the philosophers to sneer at their martial
brethren. Now that Professor Jacobi has turned from grave studies
for the benefit of mankind, to the making of infernal machines for the
destruction of brave and helpless men, at a distance, that very
unsuccessful but would-be homicide has, as far as he himself is
concerned, reduced science to a lower level than that occupied by
men whose trade is arms. But this is not the first time that
philosophers have mingled in martial matters. The very war which
has been begun by the bad ambition of Russia, may be traced to the
evil officiousness of no less a philosopher than Leibnitz. It was this
celebrated man who first instigated a European monarch to seize
upon a certain portion of the Turkish dominion, whereby to secure an
all but universal supremacy.
The monarch was Louis XIV., to whom Leibnitz addressed himself, in
a memorial, as to the wisest of sovereigns, most worthy to have
imparted to him a project at once the most holy, the most just, and
the most easy of accomplishment. Success, adds the philosopher,
would secure to France the empire of the seas and of commerce,
and make the French king the supreme arbiter of Christendom.
Leibnitz at once names Egypt as the place to be seized upon; and
after hinting what was necessary, by calling his majesty a “miracle of
secresy,” he alludes to further achievements by stating of the one in
question, that it would cover his name with an immortal glory, for
having cleared, whether for himself or his descendants, “the route for
exploits similar to those of Alexander.”
There is no country in the memorialist’s opinion the conquest of
which deserves so much to be attempted. As to any provocation on
the part of the Turkish sovereign of Egypt, he does not pause to
advise the king even to feign having received cause of offence. The
philosopher goes through a resumé of the history of Egypt, and the
successive conquests that had been made of, as well as attempts
against it, to prove that its possession was accounted of importance
in all times; and he adds that its Turkish master was just then in such
debility that France could not desire a more propitious opportunity for
invasion. This argument shows that when the Czar Nicholas touched
upon this nefarious subject, he not only was ready to rob this same
“sick man,” the Turk, but he stole his arguments whereby to illustrate
his opinions, and to prove that his sentiments were well-founded.
“By a single fortunate blow,” says Leibnitz, “empires may be in an
instant overthrown and founded. In such wars are found the
elements of high power and of an exalted glory.” It is unnecessary to
repeat all the seductive terms which Leibnitz employs to induce
Louis XIV. to set his chivalry in motion against the Turkish power.
Egypt he calls “the eye of countries, the mother of grain, the seat of
commerce.” He hints that Muscovy was even then ready to take
advantage of any circumstance that might facilitate her way to the
conquest of Turkey. The conquest of Egypt then was of double
importance to France. Possessing that, France would be mistress of
the Mediterranean, of a great part of Africa and Asia, and “the king of
France could then, by incontestable right, and with the consent of the
Pope, assume the title of Emperor of the East.” A further bait held
out is, that in such a position he could “hold the pontiffs much more
in his power than if they resided at Avignon.” He sums up by saying
that there would be on the part of the human race, “an everlasting
reverence for the memory of the great king to whom so many
miracles were due!” “With the exception of the philosopher’s stone,”
finally remarks the philosopher, “I know nothing that can be imagined
of more importance than the conquest of Egypt.”
Leibnitz enters largely into the means to be employed, in order to
insure success; among them is a good share of mendacity; and it
must be acknowledged that the spirit of the memorial and its objects,
touching not Egypt alone, but the Turkish empire generally, had been
well pondered over by the Czar before he made that felonious
attempt in which he failed to find a confederate.
The original of the memorial, which is supposed to have been
presented to Louis XIV. just previous to his invasion of Holland—
and, as some say, more with the intention of diverting the king from
his attack on that country, than with any more definite object—was
preserved in the archives of Versailles till the period of the great
revolution. A copy in the handwriting of Leibnitz was, however,
preserved in the Library at Hanover. Its contents were without doubt
known to Napoleon when he was meditating that Egyptian conquest
which Leibnitz pronounced to be so easy of accomplishment; a copy,
made at the instance of Marshal Mortier for the Royal Library in
Paris, is now in that collection.
The suggestion of Leibnitz, that the seat, if not of universal
monarchy, at least of the mastership of Christendom, was in the
Turkish dominions, has never been forgotten by Russia; and it is
very possible that some of its seductive argument may have
influenced the Czar before he impelled his troops into that war, which
showed that Russia, with all its boasted power, could neither take
Silistria nor keep Sebastopol.
But in this fragmentary prologue, which began with Lingard and ends
with Leibnitz, we have rambled over wide ground. Let us become
more orderly, and look at those who were to be made knights.
THE TRAINING OF PAGES.
“What callest thou Page? What is its humor?
Sir; he is Nobilis ephebus, and
Puer regius, student of Knighthood,
Breaking hearts and hoping to break lances.”— Old Play.
I have in another chapter noticed the circumstance of knighthood

conferred on an Irish prince, at so early an age as seven years. This
was the age at which, in less precocious England, noble youths
entered wealthy knights’ families as pages, to learn obedience, to be
instructed in the use of weapons, and to acquire a graceful habit of
tending on ladies. The poor nobility, especially, found their account in
this system, which gave a gratuitous education to their sons, in
return for services which were not considered humiliating or
dishonorable. These boys served seven years as pages, or varlets—
sometimes very impudent varlets—and at fourteen might be regular
esquires, and tend their masters where hard blows were dealt and
taken—for which encounters they “riveted with a sigh the armor they
were forbidden to wear.”
Neither pages, varlets, nor household, could be said to have been
always as roystering as modern romancers have depicted them.
There was at least exceptions to the rule—if there was a rule of
roystering. Occasionally, the lads were not indifferently taught before
they left their own homes. That is, not indifferently taught for the
peculiar life they were about to lead. Even the Borgias, infamous as
the name has become through inexorable historians and popular
operas, were at one time eminently respectable and exemplarily
religious. Thus in the household of the Duke of Gandia, young
Francis Borgia, his son, passed his time “among the domestics in
wonderful innocence and piety.” It was the only season of his life,
however, so passed. Marchangy asserts that the pages of the middle
ages were often little saints; but this could hardly have been the case
since “espiègle comme un page,” “hardi comme un page,” and other
illustrative sayings have survived even the era of pagedom. Indeed,
if we may believe the minstrels, and they were often as truth-telling
as the annalist, the pages were now and then even more knowing
and audacious than their masters. When the Count Ory was in love
with the young Abbess of Farmoutier, he had recourse to his page
for counsel.
“Hola! mon page, venez me conseiller,

L’amour me berce, je ne puis sommeiller;
Comment me prendre pour dans ce couvent entrer?”
How ready was the ecstatic young scamp with his reply:—
“Sire il faut prendre quatorze chevaliers,

Et tous en nonnes il vous les faut habiller,
Puis, à nuit close, à la porte il faut heurter.”
What came of this advice, the song tells in very joyous terms, for
which the reader may be referred to that grand collection the “Chants
et Chansons de la France.”
On the other hand, Mr. Kenelm Digby, who is, be it said in passing, a
painter of pages, looking at his object through pink-colored glasses,
thus writes of these young gentlemen, in his “Mores Catholici.”
“Truly beautiful does the fidelity of chivalrous youth appear in the
page of history or romance. Every master of a family in the middle
ages had some young man in his service who would have rejoiced to
shed the last drop of his blood to save him, and who, like Jonathan’s
armor-bearer, would have replied to his summons: ‘Fac omnia quæ
placent animo tuo; perge quo cupis; et ero tecum ubicumque
volueris.’ When Gyron le Courtois resolved to proceed on the
adventure of the Passage perilleux, we read that the valet, on
hearing the frankness and courtesy with which his lord spoke to him,
began to weep abundantly, and said, all in tears, ‘Sire, know that my
heart tells me that sooth, if you proceed further, you will never return;
that you will either perish there, or you will remain in prison; but,
nevertheless, nothing shall prevent me going with you. Better die
with you, if it be God’s will, than leave you in such guise to save my

Business Problem Solving and Strategy Manga For Success 1St Edition Takayuki Kito Full Chapter

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

You might also like

Business Problem Solving and Strategy Manga For Success 1St Edition Takayuki Kito Full Chapter

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Business Problem Solving and Strategy Manga For Success 1St Edition Takayuki Kito Full Chapter

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Business Problem-Solving and

Strategy: Manga for Success 1st

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

Published simultaneously in Canada.

English translation Copyright © 2022 JMA Management Center Inc.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is Available:

Cover Design: JMA Management Center Inc.

I CAN’T 3 Preparations to Build the Correct

1 Analyze the Situation

1 The Essentials of Situation Analysis  74

I’VE GOTTEN IT’S A

2 Forming Strategic Options

1 What Are Strategic Options?  140

…I WILL Organizing Strategic Options  181

3 Review and Select Options

1 Reviewing Options  206

LET’S 1 How to Translate Strategic Options into a

What would you do if you were assigned to come up with a

What is a business strategy, and how do you make an effective

A business strategy is important as it can greatly influence

For 15 years, we have been assisting various companies as

This book is about offering tips on creating a business strategy

Additionally, this book might also provide some insights for

As we mentioned before, there are a lot of books on business

Roland Berger LLC

I’VE WIT- …FIRST

IN ORDER YOU ALSO HAVE

SWOT ANALYSIS - OT ANALYSIS (OPPORTUNITIES

ANALYZE THE 5 FORCES ANALYSIS

SWOT ANALYSIS - SW ANALYSIS

• GOALS AND POINTS OF CONTENTION FOR

• TRANSLATING INTO A PLAN

▶ Strategies Are Everywhere

When you hear “XX strategy” or “Strategic YY,” it gives the

The media such as newspapers and magazines

▶ Strategy Is a Road Map to Success

prove its value to its clients, employees, and stakeholders, and on

So what do you need to beat your competitors? You need to have

In order to build your competitive edge, you need to first choose

The key essence of a strategy is coming up with a plan and laying

▶ Resource Allocation: Decide Where to Focus Your

The world is full of XX strategy and strategic YY…

The true essence of strategy

• How to win in the chosen

• Coming up with a plan for

supplies, and funds. Of course, it is very important to consider

For example, a “thorough cost cutting” is one type of a strategy.

Another example would be if you want to beat the competition by

How about utilizing open innovation knowledge developed by

As you can see, resource allocation, which is a vital part of the

How and where to allocate resources in

▶ “Strategy” Is Nothing without Execution

Strategy is not only about beating the competition but coming

▶ The Correct Way to Create a Strategy

An XX strategy or a strategic YY without these essential factors

What is your What type of What level to

1 The Essentials of Situation Analysis 74

1 What Are Strategic Options? 140

…I WILL Organizing Strategic Options 181

1 Reviewing Options 206