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The Wisdom of Alexander the Great
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The Wisdom of Alexander the Great

Enduring Leadership Lessons from the Man Who Created an Empire

Lance B. Kurke
AMACOM, 2004
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Editorial Rating

6

Qualities

  • Innovative
  • Concrete Examples
  • Engaging

Recommendation

This short summary extracts some of the most interesting incidents from the life of Alexander 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 elephants 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.

Summary

The Framework of Leadership

Leaders change the world through action. They do not just recognize or respond to reality - they reshape reality by using four fundamental approaches.

  1. They reframe problems - Alexander the Great was a master at reframing problems, shifting them from being insoluble in one frame to being quite soluble in another. For example, when he had to fight against an overwhelmingly powerful navy, he reframed the problem as a land battle and won. In this instance, Alexander needed to protect his sea-going supply routes. But his enemy, King Darius, had a large navy and Alexander had only a few boats. He could not defeat Darius at sea, so he reframed the problem. He captured or poisoned all the sources of fresh water near his supply routes. Darius’ ships had to have fresh water to put on board. Without access to water, Darius’ navy could not threaten Alexander’s supply chain.
  2. They build alliances - Alexander recognized the importance of building coalitions and was willing to put aside grudges and part from the customary practice of butchering vanquished armies in order to convert them to valuable allies.
  3. They establish new identities...

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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