The Hindu Business Line : Leave an ace in your pocket

To win the management war, here are `battlefield lessons' from Colonel Jeff O'Leary in The Centurion Principles, from Pearson Power (www.pearson-books.com) .

The word centurion is from Latin for Roman army officer, "head of a centuria `group of one hundred,' from centum `hundred'," as Online Etymology Dictionary informs. "No deadlier occupation," alerts Jeff about the Centurion.

He is `the ultimate in professional competence'; for, the Centurion, had to carry 90 pounds of equipment at least 20 miles a day! "The Centurion provided his own equipment, armour, and paid for even the tools he needed to fight the battle. He was skilled engineer and builder in addition to being the finest combat soldier." That should energise you to pump iron a bit harder at the gym, but let me take you to the intro where Jeff explains that Centurion is "a metaphor for those who have led others with strength and honour". Begin, therefore, with Hannibal, whose strength lay in his ability to think beyond the conventional.

"When outnumbered - outthink. When outthought - outfight. When outfought - disengage and vanish to fight another day. Always leave one ace in your pocket to be used when all else is lost. Once you've used it, you've used it. You'll need a different ace for another day." That's a snatch from historian Alexander's chronicling of `Surprise at Lake Trasimeno, 217 BC', a battle in which Hannibal demonstrated `a skilled use of geography and tactics'.

His nemesis, though, was Scipio who had "spent fifteen years studying the habits of Hannibal and the requirements of re-supplying armies overseas." Jeff draws this moral from Scipio: "If you and your organisation aren't willing to examine failure as a means to improvement, other people will be doing it for you - including potential clients and employees." From Joan of Arc, the moral is `integrity'. This is no old-fashioned virtue, you'd agree, in a world post-Enron. Elsewhere in the book: read about the `five sirens of delay' that hold indecisive executives from pulling the decision trigger; learn how boldness can become `a multiplier of the forces and resources available'; and face the poser, `What motivates you each morning when the alarm goes off?' A book to prepare you for combat!

ManageMentor@thehindu.co.in

D. Murali