The Wisdom of Alexander the Great

Enduring Leadership Lessons from the Man Who Created an Empire

by Lance B. Kurke
AMACOM, 2004
192 pages

Focus Take-Aways
Leadership & Mgt. • Don't always try to solve problems. Reframe them.
Strategy
Sales & Marketing • Learn the power of symbols and use them appropriately.
Corporate Finance
• Make allies of your enemies.
Human Resources
Technology & Production • Be clear about your identity. Know who you are and make sure others know, too.
Small Business
Economics & Politics
• Pick good exemplars and identify them to others.
Industries & Regions • If you need to be brutal, be very brutal once and make sure everyone knows how
Career Development brutal you will be if necessary. Odds are you won't have to be brutal twice.
Personal Finance
Concepts & Trends • Maintain command by making sure that even the inevitable seems to be something
you have chosen.

• Be patient and wait for your enemies to let their guard down, then strike swiftly.

• Without an orderly succession plan your legacy will be chaos.

• Be flexible and keep moving.

Rating (10 is best)

Overall Applicability Innovation Style

6 5 8 7

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 Relevance

What You Will Learn

In this Abstract, you will learn: 1) How Alexander the Great achieved his remarkable
conquests; and 2) How to apply lessons from his life to contemporary management.

Recommendation
This short summary extracts some of the most interesting incidents from the life of Alex-
ander the Great and makes them accessible. It offers some great anecdotes – though the
narratives about captives being raped or killed, and archers shooting out the eyes of ele-
phants may put off some readers. Author Lance B. Kurke does a great service to anyone
who likes a good yarn, but who doesn’t like wading through dense books. By casting the
career of the mighty Macedonian as a compendium of management lessons, Kurke even
makes it possible for people to justify reading sagas about a classical hero at the office.
At times, the author must reach in order to draw an appropriate management lesson out
of Alexander crossing a river or killing his best friend. In fact, a few of the management
lessons are rather obvious, while others seem shallow or downright puzzling. But that is
a minor protest. On the whole, the author succeeds in his purpose. While this book won’t
displace Peter Drucker on the manager’s bookshelf, getAbstract.com recommends it for
reading on the treadmill or exercise bike, or as a pleasant diversion during a short plane
ride or a solitary lunch.

Abstract

The Framework of Leadership

“Alexander died
in Babylon at
Leaders change the world through action. They do not just recognize or respond to real-
age 33, having ity – they reshape reality by using four fundamental approaches:
covered more than 1. They reframe problems – Alexander the Great was a master at reframing problems,
10,000 miles in
just over 10 years, shifting them from being insoluble in one frame to being quite soluble in another.
conquering the For example, when he had to fight against an overwhelmingly powerful navy, he
greatest empire reframed the problem as a land battle and won. In this instance, Alexander needed to
the world has ever
known, integrating
protect his sea-going supply routes. But his enemy, King Darius, had a large navy and
diverse peoples, in- Alexander had only a few boats. He could not defeat Darius at sea, so he reframed
troducing coinage, the problem. He captured or poisoned all the sources of fresh water near his supply
revolutionizing
routes. Darius’ ships had to have fresh water to put on board. Without access to water,
trade…and
promulgating a Darius’ navy could not threaten Alexander’s supply chain.
common language 2. They build alliances – Alexander recognized the importance of building coalitions
and culture.”
and was willing to put aside grudges and part from the customary practice of butcher-
ing vanquished armies in order to convert them to valuable allies.
3. They establish new identities – Alexander was a master at creating his own identity
and at getting his troops and even his newly conquered subjects to accept a new iden-
“Read history... tity as their own.
that is where
civilization stores
4. They manipulate symbols – Alexander used this as one of his most important tactical
its best heroes.” advantages. Whether compelling his countrymen to give him the elaborate obei-
sance given to Eastern potentates or, by contrast, refusing to taste water before his
troops had quenched their thirst, he knew how to harness the power of symbols.

The Wisdom of Alexander the Great © Copyright 2005 getAbstract 2 of 5

 Win Against Overwhelming Odds
Alexander had only a few cavalry and infantry troops when he faced King Porus’ well-
“Building strong equipped army at the River Hydaspes, but he reframed the problem and triumphed. The
alliances via Indian king’s army was much bigger than Alexander’s and had 200 elephants, a strong
reciprocity has cavalry and numerous infantrymen. But Alexander turned the elephants against King
become a critical
strategy for Porus. Instead of using his cavalry to fight the elephants, Alexander used his moun-
modern leaders.” ted troops to draw the King’s cavalry into a trap. Then he ordered his best archers to
shoot the elephants’ handlers. Elephants bond so closely with their handlers that once
a handler dies, the elephant is uncontrollable. With the handlers dead, the archers
took aim at the elephants’ eyes, blinding them. Finally, men with spears wounded the
elephants. Hurt, blind and without handlers, the elephants charged around in a panic
and broke King Porus’ ranks. Many of his soldiers deserted. Alexander had reframed
“The effective the problem: instead of determining how to destroy King Porus, he got King Porus to
and deliberate destroy himself.
construction of
alliances was Stay Mobile
also extremely
important to
Alexander’s army collected so much plunder that it could no longer move rapidly. Of
ancient leaders. course, Alexander had collected more plunder than anyone else had. So to lighten the
Alexander burden on the army, he brought his wagons of loot out in front of the troops and set
formed alliances fi re to them. Then he invited his officers and men to burn their loot. Alexander did
throughout his
life – seamlessly not demand that his troops make a greater sacrifice than he had. On the contrary, he
building important had the most booty and he sacrificed the most before he asked anyone else to make a
relationships sacrifice. The contrast with most corporate compensation schemes and layoff policies
with individuals,
organizations,
hardly needs to be drawn.
cities and
peoples.” Handling Layoffs and Redundancies
Alexander had two problems: controlling conquered territory and dealing with wounded,
old or discharged veterans. He used one problem to solve the other, settling the veterans
in some 70 new cities tactically positioned around his conquered territory. The veterans
got good land and Alexander got a loyal population. Could business leaders adopt a simi-
lar approach when they have to downsize a workforce? Instead of tossing people into the
dump, why not establish new ventures staffed with former employees? The corporation
“Mergers and
acquisitions could retain equity interests in the new ventures while the former employees could also
warrant careful share in the ownership.
regard for local
gods, customs Avoiding Rebellion in the Ranks
and celebrations.”
After Alexander’s victory over Porus, he continued to march into India. However, his
army had been campaigning eight years, was thousands of miles from home and was
weary of the constant battle. If Alexander continued, he would have to go alone; his
troops were near mutiny. Instead of punishing the rebels, Alexander secreted himself
in his tent for three days. When he emerged, he announced that he had decided to take
the army home. By so doing, he took responsibility for the decision, keeping his com-
“If you have to mand presence and his army.
make unpopular
decisions, and
Stretch Goals
‘mutiny’ or
sabotage is a To consolidate his hold on conquered Persia, Alexander had to put down the hill tribes
possibility, decide that had a history of rising up against royal authority. Their stronghold was the Rock of
in advance how Aronos. Myth said it was so strong that even Heracles, the son of Zeus, had been unable
to contain the
damage.” to conquer it. One of the most impressive natural defenses of the Rock of Aronos was a
sheer rock wall, so daunting that the defenders did not even bother to guard it. Alexander

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 ordered his troops to scale the wall and they did. The Rock of Aronos fell to the Mace-
donian. Alexander reframed the problem by refusing to accept conventional wisdom that
“Alexander
reframed the the wall was impregnable.
hopeless problem Something similar happened at General Electric in the 1980s, when chairman Jack Welch
of how to defeat
an overwhelming
told the leaders of his subsidiary companies that he would divest any business unit that
opposing army could not establish a number one or two position in its industry. The groups achieved
such that the the goal in part by redefining their industries, for instance, lighting instead of light bulbs.
solution had the The redefinition provided a broader range of opportunities for growth.
opposing army
destroying itself.”
Be Patient
Alexander needed to get his army across the Indus River, the fast-moving watershed for
the Himalayas. King Porus needed to stop him. When Alexander arrived at the river,
Porus’ army was on the other side. Alexander marched half of his army upriver, so
Porus sent half of his army upriver on the other side. The dance continued for months,
with Porus continuously shadowing Alexander. Eventually, Porus decided that Alexan-
der should stop wasting time. He put garrisons at each possible river crossing and gave
every garrison an elephant, because the smell of an elephant would discourage cavalry
“Anticipate re- horses from crossing the river. Alexander waited for his opportunity and he seized it.
sponses contrary Under cover of darkness, he marched half of his troop away from the main body, moving
to that which you
wish to happen.”
after rainstorms so the troops would not raise dust. To maintain secrecy, he had the men
pad their shields and weapons so they would not make noise. Buoyed by air-filled goat-
skins, his men floated across the river, defeated a small local garrison, killed and buried
its elephant, and then brought their horses across the river.
The lessons for corporate leaders: wait patiently for the right opportunity. Bide your
time until the enemy relaxes, then strike. When a competitor introduced a camera that
infringed on Polaroid’s patents, Polaroid seemed to ignore it. Only after the competitor
established a sound market position did Polaroid sue, winning a settlement in the billion-
dollar range and forcing the competitor to withdraw.
“Giving budding
leaders who Be Generous in Victory
made an honest
mistake, but who
After the defeat at the River Hydaspes, King Porus left the battlefield riding a white
clearly learned elephant. Alexander got up a posse on Indian horses that would not shy away from the
from it, a second elephant and gave chase. When they caught Porus, Alexander asked him: “How should
chance is another
I treat you?” Porus answered with royal dignity that he was a king and should be treated
opportunity to
exhibit great as a king. One account quotes him as saying, “Kill me, or treat me as the king I am.”
leadership.” Impressed with his courage and aplomb, Alexander spared Porus’ life, left his kingdom
intact and eventually even enlarged it. From that time, King Porus and his heirs were
Alexander’s loyal vassals. They remained allies with his heirs. After his victory, Alexan-
der saw that his problem had changed. The issue was no longer how to defeat Porus, but
rather how to administer his conquered land. What better way to run it than through an
ally who knew it well and already controlled the population?

Managing Diversity
Alexander conquered more lands and peoples than anyone before him. He did something
else inconceivable. In fact, his Macedonian soldiers found it repugnant. He adopted the
“This type of
magnanimity
clothing and customs of these “barbarians” and even married their women. Only one
and trust creates wife, Roxane, the daughter of a Bactrian nobleman, produced an heir. Alexander insisted
loyalty out of that his Macedonian troops accept Asians and Persians as equals, even as superiors. He
indifference.” arranged a mass wedding of some 10,000 Macedonians with barbarian wives in 324 B.C.
at Susa. He also brought Persian soldiers into the Macedonian army. When that impelled
The Wisdom of Alexander the Great © Copyright 2005 getAbstract 4 of 5
 his Macedonian troops to mutiny, he started to appoint Persian officers. His mutinous
troops begged forgiveness. However, Roxane and her son were among the first victims in
the wars of succession after Alexander died.
The lesson for corporate leaders: Mergers are easy on paper. But integrating two distinct
cultures and populations has been tough for more than 2,000 years.
“When is the
concept that
Alexander
The Chaos of Succession
practiced in Alexander was the son of King Philip of Macedon and his wife, Olympias. But Philip had
Turkey – ‘pillage, nine wives, so Alexander was just one of a crowd of legitimate children, not to mention the
burn, destroy, and illegitimate ones. Alexander believed that he would be Philip’s heir because he held posi-
send the news
ahead’ – more tions of trust in Philip’s army and because the King, himself, had chosen the philosopher
effective?” Aristotle to teach Alexander how to be a king. When his father married yet another wife,
the bride’s uncle prayed that the union would produce an heir. Furious, Alexander exploded;
his father drew a sword on him, but was too drunk to use it effectively. Alexander and his
mother went into exile. Alexander returned only after Philip’s death, and immediately per-
sonally killed or ordered the murders of anyone else who might have a claim to the throne.
The lesson: have a good succession plan or you will have bloody chaos.

Choose the Right Exemplars

Alexander modeled himself on the heroes of Homer. When he entered Asia near Troy, he
sank his spear into the ground to emulate them, signifying that the spear had won the land.
“In the beginning, He visited the graves of the Trojan War heroes, and took a suit of ancient armor from the
with limited resour-
ces, Alexander
Temple of Athena in Troy. His porters carried the armor onto battlefields ahead of him
had no choice. to remind him and his enemies whose example he was following. Alexander modeled
By later in the himself on great exemplars and was true to their heritage. He became a great example to
campaign, he
faced options,
other conquerors later in history, including Caesar, Napoleon and Louis XIV.
and magnanimity The lesson for contemporary business leaders: pick good exemplars and imitate them well.
became one of
those options.
Pillaging does not Fire One Warning Shot
create alliances, Alexander called on all the towns in Persia to rise up against their Persian rulers. They
though it can re- resisted, for good reasons. Perhaps, the Persians were not bad rulers or, perhaps, the
frame a problem.”
Persians held their families as hostages. So, Alexander chose one town as an example,
although history doesn’t remember its name because court historians were ordered not
to record it. Alexander besieged the town, conquered it and directed the systematic rape
of all the women in front of the men. Then he slaughtered the men in front of the women.
He sold all but a few women and children into slavery. He sent the handful of survivors
ahead to warn other towns. He only had to besiege one other city. The rest capitulated.
The lesson for contemporary rulers: if you have to be brutal, be very brutal but only once.
Just make sure the word spreads.

About The Author

Lance B. Kurke, Ph.D., is president of Kurke and Associates, Inc. He is an associate
professor of management at Duquesne University’s John F. Donahue Graduate School
of Business, where he chairs the Leadership and Change Management division. He
also serves as an adjunct professor at the J. John Heinz III School of Public Policy and
Management at Carnegie Mellon University. He lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
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