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The Lesson
The most important job for leaders is to create reality for
their organization. A fundamental way in which we do this is
to frame and reframe problems presented to our
organizations. To reframe a situation is to change what
people pay attention to or deem important. The meaning
given to problems and the manner in which they are
defined is critical. For example, by transforming an un-
solvable task into another solvable one, the world to which
we respond is essentially changed.
The solution was so brilliant that it is studied today in
every naval war college on the planet. Alexander was the first general to defeat a navy on
land. Many have since tried to repeat this strategy. Some have succeeded, but he was
the first. How do you defeat a navy on land? Well, Alexander carefully gathered data
until he completely understood his enemy - in this case, a fleet. This analysis
revealed a key weakness: the need for fresh water. Today, we know nuclear
submarines can go underwater and stay there for six months or more because
reactor-driven desalination units distill salt water into fresh. In antiquity, though,
distilleries could not create enough water to provision the crews. Plus, the fuel for a
distillery was prohibitively heavy, and the fire hazard was enormous. As a result,
naval commanders were constrained to carry their water with them, which put an
upper bound on operating distances. Generally, these rowed vessels could carry a
couple of days' supply of water for operating in the hot Mediterranean summer. A
ship might either row out one day and back the next, or row out one day and
continue on if the crew knew they could reach fresh water the next day. If Alexander's
army secured all sources of fresh water within about two rowing days of his food
barges' route, he could safeguard his supply.
While this may sound like a daunting task, Alexander managed it quite easily.
His army garrisoned all sources of fresh water (e.g., rivers, wells, and lakes) or
poisoned those sources they could not control or did not want to control. As the
army marched down the coast of modern-day Lebanon, it came to the island city of
Tyre.
Tyre was critical to Alexander's plans. This region of the world has aquifers, and one
of them supplied Tyre with unlimited fresh water. Tyre sold this water to the Persian
fleet. But Tyre was impregnable. The island had survived being besieged for thirteen
years by the Persian fleet. That is truly impregnable. The Tyrians were impossibly smug
in their certainty that they were safe. Had they not been, they would not have
responded as they did.
Before Alexander could move on, he had to control the water supply on Tyre, or
convince the Tyrians not to sell fresh water to the Persian fleet. His first attempt was to
approach the city leaders diplomatically. He was impolitely rebuffed (some say he was
veritably thrown off the island). This rejection of diplomacy left Alexander no choice.
Task Two
Stop. Think about your answer. Form pairs and discuss your version.
Write down your solution in 5–10 sentences and report. How can an
impregnable island be occupied?

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