Military metaphors come naturally to the world of business, with “price wars”, “takeover battles” and “marketing campaigns”. Anyone who has browsed in an airport bookshop will be familiar with titles about instilling the warrior spirit in senior management. Many hold up military commanders as models. In addition to the obvious candidates – Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Napoleon – such characters as Attila the Hun are touted as exemplars for the modern manager.
軍事比喻很自然地出現在商界,例如「價格戰」、「收購戰」和「行銷戰役」。任何一個逛過機場書店的人,都會對那些把軍事精神植入高級管理層的書名相當熟悉。很多人將軍事將領視爲榜樣。除了耳熟能詳的人物——亞力山大大帝(Alexander the Great)、凱撒大帝(Julius Caesar)、拿破崙(Napoleon)——之外,像匈奴王阿提拉(Attila the Hun)之類的角色也被視爲現代管理者的榜樣。