Based on an extraordinary collaboration between Steve Forbes,
chairman, CEO, and editor in chief of Forbes Media, and classics
professor John Prevas, Power Ambition Glory provides intriguing
comparisons between six great leaders of the ancient world and
contemporary business leaders.
? Great leaders not only have vision but know how to build
structures to effect it. Cyrus the Great did so in creating an
empire based on tolerance and inclusion, an approach highly unusual
for his or any age. Jack Welch and John Chambers built their
business empires using a similar approach, and like Cyrus, they
remain the exceptions rather than the rule.
? Great leaders know how to build consensus and motivate by doing
what is right rather than what is in their self-interest. Xenophon
put personal gain aside to lead his fellow Greeks out of a perilous
situation in Persia–something very similar to what Lou Gerstner and
Anne Mulcahy did in rescuing IBM and Xerox.
? Character matters in leadership. Alexander the Great had
exceptional leadership skills that enabled him to conquer the
eastern half of the ancient world, but he was ultimately destroyed
by his inability to manage his phenomenal success. The corporate
world is full of similar examples, such as the now incarcerated
Dennis Kozlowski, who, flush with success at the head of his
empire, was driven down the highway of self-destruction by an
out-of-control ego.
? A great leader is one who challenges the conventional wisdom of
the day and is able to think out of the box to pull off amazing
feats. Hannibal did something no one in the ancient world thought
possible; he crossed the Alps in winter to challenge Rome for
control of the ancient world. That same innovative way of thinking
enabled Serge Brin and Larry Page of Google to challenge and best
two formidable competitors, Microsoft and Yahoo!
? A leader must have ambition to succeed, and Julius Caesar had
plenty of it. He set Rome on the path to empire, but his success
made him believe he was a living god and blinded him to the dangers
that eventually did him in. The parallels with corporate leaders
and Wall Street master-of-the-universe types are numerous, but none
more salient than Hank Greenberg, who built the AIG insurance
empire only to be struck down at the height of his success by the
corporate daggers of his directors.
? And finally, leadership is about keeping a sane and modest
perspective in the face of success and remaining focused on the
fundamentals–the nuts and bolts of making an organization work day
in and day out. Augustus saved Rome from dissolution after the
assassination of Julius Caesar and ruled it for more than forty
years, bringing the empire to the height of its power. What made
him successful were personal humility, attention to the mundane
details of building and maintaining an infrastructure, and the
understanding of limits. Augustus set Rome on a course of
prosperity and stability that lasted for centuries, just as Alfred
Sloan, using many of the same approaches, built GM into the
leviathan that until recently dominated the automotive
business.
關於作者：
STEVE FORBES is chairman, CEO, and editor in chief of Forbes
Media and an internationally recognized and respected authority in
the worlds of finance and corporate leadership. He campaigned twice
for the Republican nomination for the presidency. Among his
previous books are Flat Tax Revolution: Using a Postcard to Abolish
the IRS and A New Birth of Freedom.
JOHN PREVAS is an author, an adventurer, and a teacher of
classics who has climbed the Alps in search of Hannibal’s pass and
followed Alexander’s footsteps through the “terrorist belt” of
Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. His previous books include
Hannibal Crosses the Alps, Xenophon’s March, and Envy of the
Gods.
From the Hardcover edition.
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