BOOKLET: Chancellorsville: the “perfect battle” from the American civil war, when R. Lee’s army defeated an enemy double the size



Professor Jorge Sá (PhD Columbia University; MBA Drucker University; Jean Monnet Chair; Peter Drucker speaker) is an international speaker and author, having published several books on business and economics topics, translated into twelve languages.

Together with our office, Professor Jorge Sá also produced a series of six small booklets on the lessons of battles/wars for business administration, being one of them the booklet:

“Chancellorsville: the “perfect battle” from the American civil war, when R. Lee’s army defeated an enemy double the size”

This booklet presents the lessons for business administration that can be learned from the battle of Chancellorsville, that lasted seven whole days from April 30 to May 6, 1863.

Chancellorsville has been called the south’s perfect victory. At the beginning the south seemed doomed. It had less than half the manpower (61,000 against 134,000). Firepower was also much weaker. The initiative was on the north side. And the north plan seemed well drawn. So, what explains a total reverse of fortune?

As demonstrated by the dozens of business examples on this booklet, there are three extremely important lessons for executives which can and should be drawn:

  • First, on how to select people: rely on talent, not experience;
  • Second, the power of the flanking strategy. When flanking is done with the required criteria, is an extremely useful strategy to defeat even very powerful opponents; and
  • Third: the importance of correct decision making. Of following the rules.

So Chancellorsville’s history teaches us today three major lessons that no executive can afford not to apply. If so, he/she will do that at his/her own cost. And thus, he/she will have only one person to blame: him/herself. In short, he/she will not only be victim, but also guilty (cover and back cover of the booklet below).


1. Jorge Sá is an expert on Peter Drucker and Philip Kotler, founders of modern management and modern marketing, respectively, with whom he studied and who offered letters of recommendation for his books and endorsements for his work, having lectured at the four Lisbon universities: Nova School of Business and Economics; Catholic University; Lisbon State university; and AESE associated with IESE at Barcelona.

2. Has a master’s degree from the Peter F. Drucker Graduate School of Management in California and a doctorate(PhD) in Business Administration, from Columbia University, in New York, where he was research, teaching assistant, and graduated with honors (always Dean’s list, Beta Gamma Sigma). Also holds two undergraduate degrees (in business administration and economics) and a graduate degree in Macroeconomics.

3. Was awarded the Jean Monnet Chair by the Jean Monnet Foundation in Brussels, and his books translated into twelve languages: English, Portuguese, Spanish, Chinese (Mandarin), Russian, Ukrainian, German, Lithuanian, Thai, Korean, Norwegian and Iranian, received endorsements, among others, from Peter F. Drucker, Cecily Drucker, Al Ries (author of the bestsellers Marketing Warfare and Positioning), Don Hambrick (Professor at Columbia University and The Pennsylvania State University), Karl Moore (Professor at Oxford and McGill University), Peter Starbuck (President of the London Drucker Society) and Philip Kotler.

4. Besides over thirty articles published in blind refereed reviews and journals of economics, business administration and medicine, he has addressed conferences and given seminars at several institutions including TED USA (https://youtu.be/SOkjPVi1Fts), London Business School, Drucker University, IESE, Glasgow Business School, ESSEC (France), ESSAM (European Consortium of Business Schools), Manchester Business School, George Washington University, Oxford, etc. Has also addressed conferences and presented articles in academic and non-academic meetings, such as Academy of Management, Western Economic Association, Peter Drucker Society of Europe, at the European Commission, etc.

5. Has worked as private consultant, non-executive director or taught in the executive programs of multinational companies such as: Coca-Cola, SHELL, Unisys, IBM, Price Waterhouse, KPMG, Glaxo, British Petroleum – BP, Dun & Bradstreet, Deloitte & Touche, Makro (Metro group), Systéme U, I.F.A, Intermarché, Mini Prix Bonjours, Accenture, Watson Wyatt, Cap Gemini, Cesce, Scottish & Newcastle, Sara Lee, Total, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Logica, Indra, Grandvision, Jafep, Euler Hermes, Cosec, Pestana Group Hotels, Tivoli Hotels & Resorts, Millennium Bank, Julius Baer, SGG, Henkel, Abencys, Broadbill, Volkswagen Group, McDonald’s, MiTek, United Steel Products, Base Group, UnitedHealth group, Inapa, Vodafone, IDC, Merck, BPI Bank, Milestone, Fijowave, Foxpak, ND Sports, LLR-G5, Horan, Prodieco, Dennison, Grid Finance, Bluemetrix, European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations, Microsoft, etc.

6. His hobbies are History (wrote several books on the lessons of military campaigns for management) and football (degree as a professional coach). He speaks and writes (by alphabetical order) English, French, German, Portuguese and Spanish. He lives between Lisbon and Rio de Janeiro. And the office, Vasconcellos e Sá Associates (www.vasconcellosesa.com), provides support for research and other activities.


For more information on the books and conferences by Professor Jorge Sá please check our website at: www.vasconcellosesa.com or contact us at associates@vasconcellosesa.com .

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