[April 13, 2015] I’ve often been asked what is it that distinguishes the very best leaders from all the other successful leaders. Is it an ability to create a long-lasting legacy of achievements? Many believe this to be true; that great leaders create a legacy of accomplishments that seem to defy normal human experience and often under extreme duress like war.1 Consequently our most admired heroes are military men or politicians who successfully navigated their country through war.
However, there is another view that says that the greatest of leaders are those who were able to defeat their enemy (or competition) without ever going to war with them. This means those leaders set the environment in such a way that caused their enemy to admit defeat. In other words, the best military leaders are the one who are able to control their opponents without fighting them. This applies also to politics, business, or any enterprise.
“The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.” – Sun Tzu
Sun Tzu and many historical leaders have advocated what is known as the “indirect approach” to competition. They advocate that leaders master the ability to shape the environment for their own use and contrary to their enemies. This gives leverage to manipulate their enemy. In war this is crucial because it means less destruction and death.2
So important was this concept in Asia that the Chinese remind us that “the greatest generals who ever lived, we don’t even know their names.” They were unknown because they never had to fight a single significant battle. Due to their great sense of the environment – the terrain, the economy, morale, weapons – it allowed them to create circumstances so profound and irresistible that actual combat was not needed. They were able to manipulate their foes into positions from which there was no possible alternative but surrender.
The same can be said of any leader. If they can control the environment in which competition occurs, then their “enemies” will be defeated before the opening salvo. Thus, the pinnacle of great leadership is achieved by those who win by never having to directly compete.
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[1] A better measure of a legacy would be whether the organization continues with excellence and whether individuals in the organization are promoted and retained.
[2] Note that this “indirect approach” is contrary to the Clausewitzian theory that postulates that it is the schwerpunkt (the center of gravity) that is to be attacked aggressively which will cause the collapse of the enemy. More on Carl von Clausewitz’s theory of war: http://www.clausewitz.com/readings/Bassford/Trinity/TRININTR.htm