A twist on military wisdom in business
We know that the thinking of great military leaders such as Sun Tzu (author of The Art of War) have been applied to business strategy. However, I was surprised in a recent meeting with Jason Burrows (who goes by the intriguing title of Uncertainty Consultant) when he quoted US General Stanley McChrystal in this context. McChrystal was in charge of both Nato and all American troops in Afghanistan and, because of things he was quoted as saying in an interview with Rolling Stone (yes, the music mag), his reputation took a tumble and he had to resign. However, his approach to leading the troops was truly unique and effective and was based on identifying a shared sense of purpose and consciousness. How surprising and refreshing to find a general using true emotional intelligence!
We probably all know that current business management wisdom says that the old authoritarian management style is no longer appropriate and that a more inclusive, engaging style is now recommended. Yet, somehow, I didn’t really expect it to have been adopted in the military. How dangerous it is to make assumptions!