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The Lesson
UNIT 12 THE WISDOM OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT
The most important job for leaders is to create reality for
their organization. A fundamental way in which we do this is
E to frame and reframe problems presented to our
xceptional leaders are the ones who are able to analyze even the most daunting
organizations. To reframe a situation is to change what
problems, optimize resources against impossible odds, inspire unwavering
loyalty, and fearlessly execute strategy. In all of history, there is perhaps no more people pay attention to or deem important. The meaning
given to problems and the manner in which they are
stunning exemplar of these qualities than Alexander the Great, whose leadership skills defined is critical. For example, by transforming an un-
were so immense that they still resonate-some 2,000 years later. solvable task into another solvable one, the world to which
Truly great leaders change the world around them. They instill in their followers a we respond is essentially changed.
cohesive identity and clear purpose. They treat difficult problems as addressable The solution was so brilliant that it is studied today in
opportunities. Whether it involves a historical figure or the modern business every naval war college on the planet. Alexander was the first general to defeat a navy on
organization, the leadership process creates sustained meaning, shared interpretation, land. Many have since tried to repeat this strategy. Some have succeeded, but he was
and joint action in the organization. the first. How do you defeat a navy on land? Well, Alexander carefully gathered data
Task one until he completely understood his enemy - in this case, a fleet. This analysis
Read the following passage and find a solution. revealed a key weakness: the need for fresh water. Today, we know nuclear
What would you have done if you had been to make decisions? submarines can go underwater and stay there for six months or more because
Alexander had fought and won two of his four great battles - Granicus and Issus reactor-driven desalination units distill salt water into fresh. In antiquity, though,
- and was almost ready to penetrate to the core of the Persian Empire. First, distilleries could not create enough water to provision the crews. Plus, the fuel for a
however, he had to secure his needed supplies. distillery was prohibitively heavy, and the fire hazard was enormous. As a result,
The food supply was his greatest challenge. Armies require enormous amounts naval commanders were constrained to carry their water with them, which put an
of food, but in antiquity, commanders did not have the benefit of rapid-transit upper bound on operating distances. Generally, these rowed vessels could carry a
highways, helicopters, and large trucks to help them obtain it. Almost all food was couple of days' supply of water for operating in the hot Mediterranean summer. A
transported in quantity by waterway. This meant that Alexander had to secure ship might either row out one day and back the next, or row out one day and
water routes from Greece to the coast and the rivers of Persia in order to be continue on if the crew knew they could reach fresh water the next day. If Alexander's
able to receive his supplies. Darius III, the Achaemenid king whose dynasty had army secured all sources of fresh water within about two rowing days of his food
controlled Persia for more than a thousand years, commanded a formidable navy barges' route, he could safeguard his supply.
of about 200 veteran warships. In contrast, Alexander had only a small coastal While this may sound like a daunting task, Alexander managed it quite easily.
fleet and food-carrying barges. The problem was obvious: How could Alexander His army garrisoned all sources of fresh water (e.g., rivers, wells, and lakes) or
protect his food supply when the Persian navy could so blithely intercept the poisoned those sources they could not control or did not want to control. As the
coastal barges? army marched down the coast of modern-day Lebanon, it came to the island city of
Stop. Think about your answer. Form pairs and discuss your version and report in 5 Tyre.
minutes. How can a navy be defeated without a navy? Tyre was critical to Alexander's plans. This region of the world has aquifers, and one
The equally obvious answer would be to respond in kind by building a fleet. of them supplied Tyre with unlimited fresh water. Tyre sold this water to the Persian
After all, that is what Julius Caesar did more than 300 years later when he needed to fleet. But Tyre was impregnable. The island had survived being besieged for thirteen
prevent the Veneti (modern-day Low Countries) from escaping their landside- years by the Persian fleet. That is truly impregnable. The Tyrians were impossibly smug
encircled coastal fortresses. However, Alexander could not build a fleet. He had neither in their certainty that they were safe. Had they not been, they would not have
the time nor the financial resources. His tenuous control of his army and homeland responded as they did.
precluded the luxury of spending a year or two to locate resources and build a fleet. Before Alexander could move on, he had to control the water supply on Tyre, or
He would have needed trees cut down and cut up, mines mined, ores smelted, convince the Tyrians not to sell fresh water to the Persian fleet. His first attempt was to
fittings manufactured, sails sewn, ropes made, and so on. He would have needed approach the city leaders diplomatically. He was impolitely rebuffed (some say he was
to captain and man 200 warships, train their crews, and provoke the Persians to veritably thrown off the island). This rejection of diplomacy left Alexander no choice.
confront him in a pitched battle. Then, he would have had to win that battle against Task Two
a fleet of seasoned commanders. This direct approach to solving the problem was not Stop. Think about your answer. Form pairs and discuss your version.
a reasonable option. But what else could he do? Write down your solution in 5–10 sentences and report. How can an
impregnable island be occupied?
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