Perusing the biographies of great achievers in history often offers distilled knowledge not only on “what to do” but also on “what not to do”. After all, as John Maxwell, the best-selling American author on Leadership once averred “It is said that a wise person learns from his mistakes. A wiser one learns from others’ mistakes. But the wisest person of all learns from others’ successes”.
Julius Caeser is one such magnificent historical figure whose life is a story of great resilience, fulfilled ambition, despite suffering from epileptic attacks & finally a tragic death on the ides of March.
“Veni, Vidi, Vici; I Came, I Saw, I Conquered” Julius Caeser
Brief History of Caeser:
Setback 1: Born in 100 BC,
Julius as a kid was stripped of nobility as his father ended up supporting the
wrong side in a civil war & hence was forced to start his career as a lowly
soldier. A brave soldier & a good leader of men, he rose through the ranks to
become a key lieutenant of Crassus – the richest man in Rome - & helped him
suppress the revolt of the slave army led by Spartacus.
Lesson 1:
(a) Effectiveness on job accords
upward mobility, even if denied / withdrawn a silver spoon.
(b) Emerging an inspiring
leader of people & making self, indispensable to one’s boss generally assures
success.
Crassus returns to Rome, triumphantly,
hoping to be made Consul – the powerful Chief Executive of the Republican Government
& the Senate and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces – only to find his
opponent Pompey claim credit for the suppression of revolt.
Post the successful campaign,
Crassus wanted tax breaks for his businesses while Pompey wanted lands for his
legionnaires & with each undercutting the other led to a stalemate in the
Senate. Preservation of self-interest & taking care of one’s support base
is not a new occurrence after all.
Caeser took advantage of the stalemate &
offered to have both the proposals passed by the Senate, if made Consul. He
also offers his daughter in marriage to Pompey to cement the alliance. Starting
off as a frontline soldier he had by now, in 59 BC, manoeuvred to become part
of a Triumvirate, ruling Rome – alongside Crassus & Pompey.
Lesson 2: Life offers opportunities to all
but only the successful seize them to fulfil their destiny.
That Caeser uses local goons to
silence the intransigent Senate into passing the proposals is indicative of his
dictatorial tendencies – a precursor to what he was to eventually become. He
uses the profits from the businesses run by the triumvirate to buys a palace. Ergo, power leading to upward mobility & property acquisition is not a modern phenomenon.
Setback 2: By 58 BC Crassus
& Pompey strike back, strip him of his position & reduce him to the
status of a Governor of a distant province Hispania (Spain). Undeterred, Caeser,
creates a fresh opening, attacking Gaul – present day France, Belgium, Switzerland
& parts of Germany - albeit without the Senate consent & occupies a
territory that had always eluded Rome. He reckons that a Military success &
consequent land & treasure conquest, shall bring him back into the
reckoning.
Lesson 3: Success awaits those
who convert adversity into an opportunity
Caeser’s campaign in Gaul is the
stuff of a legend cementing him as one of the greatest strategists the world
has ever seen. His surprise attack on Gaul, as part of his “Divide & Rule”
policy prevented unification of different tribes under a single leadership. Spurred
on by the success, he cuts himself off from the Roman Logistics chain & marches
forward towards further conquests till he meets his match in Vercingetorix, who
initiates the “scorched earth policy” to deny him food supplies, even while issuing
a clarion call to the other Gaul tribes to unite. Even the best, encounter, at least once in life, competition that makes one a better & sharper version of self.
Caeser, along with his Lieutenant
Mark Antony, return the favour by building a 11-mile-long wall around the town
of Alesia - where Vercingetorix & his troops were stationed. Hearing of
Gaul reinforcements coming in, Caeser builds another wall around the first one,
with his troops protected between the two walls. He does not think like most
Generals would have opted for a retreat, especially, when the opposition enjoyed
a more than a 2: 1 numeric advantage. Caeser led a pincer movement vide an
outer wall breach & disintegrated the invading Gauls’, forcing their
retreat, before taking Vercingetorix captive.
Lesson 4: Out of the box
thinking, calculated risk taking as part of strategic leadership key ingredients
of success.
Caeser, now focusses on image
building, dispatching the “Gallic Commentaries” describing his victories in a
neutral third person to create an image of a “hero” back home. Treasure is
dispatched to be spent on free food to the Roman people, gladiatorial games &
festivities – akin to bribery – to enhance his popularity & he succeeds
only to create unease amongst his opponents.
Crassus, not a great military
strategist, in a search for competitive relevance, tries to replicate Caeser’s
success in the Eastern sphere, only to die in Parthia (Persia). It is important
for leaders to be self-aware of their strengths & weaknesses. Not sticking
to one’s core competence & indulging in delusional campaigns only leads to
sorrow.
On the contrary, Pompey, the new
Counsel, a great general & a consummate politician, slyly influences the Senate
to applaud Roman soldiers’ success in Gaul but order stripping Caeser of his
command & instructing him to stand trial.
Lesson 5: Unbridled Marketing of
self always risks creating avoidable powerful enemies.
As Caeser “crosses the Rubicon” –
a river in northern Italy, in 49 BC, Pompey & the Senate abandon Rome & flee
towards Brundisium, a port in South-East Italy, where ships take them to
Pharsalus, Greece - where Pompey’s legions spread across the Republic - &
not in Rome - had been ordered to converge to take on Caeser.
Instead of taking over Rome &
announcing a pyrrhic victory, Caeser changes course towards Brundisium to cut
off Pompey – to finish the challenge once & for all - but fails by a
whisker. Undeterred, he orders his troops to make boats, lands in Greece &
defeats Pompey, forcing him to flees to Egypt.
Brutus, a senator & son of Caeser’s
mistress, Servilia, is however pardoned despite siding with Pompey. Ironically,
much later, Brutus is part of the cabal that assassinates Caeser. No wonder,
leaders prefer flawed followers who are loyal, to honest people with
questionable loyalty.
Asking Mark Antony to return to
Rome & maintain order, Caeser pursues Pompey.
Lesson 6: Focus on goal & tenacity
often attracts success.
Setback 3: On reaching
Egypt, Caeser is presented with Pompey’s head by the Pharoah Ptolemy, wanting
to endear himself with Caeser & seeking his support in his war against his
estranged wife Cleopatra. Caeser refuses & is imprisoned.
Cleopatra releases Caeser & with
his support wins the war against Ptolemy. An intellectual & a linguist, Cleopatra attracts Caeser’s interest & they marry.
In 46 BC, on hearing that Mark
Antony, a valiant soldier, but not an able administrator, was unable to control
food riots, Caeser returns to Rome. He offers clemency to the Senate - to
secure some noble Romans to his side to run an efficient administration – with
his appointment as a dictator for 10 years, as a quid pro quo, in contravention
of the Roman constitution that had a provision for 6 months only. He appoints
Brutus as Governor of Gaul & Rome & leans on him for legislation &
governance, leading many to believe that he was the chosen successor.
He restores order to the Senate,
sets in place a good Public Distribution System & keeps the public engaged
in gladiatorial games. He creates jobs by building Temples, Libraries, & a
New Harbour, initiates reforms by introducing the solar calendar & offers an
inclusive outreach program of citizenship for the people of Gaul - not treating
them as prisoners of war.
Lesson 7: Great Leaders are
not only brilliant strategists but able & inclusive administrators too.
Cleopatra, meanwhile, arrives in Rome,
with Caeser’s son Caesarion & likely plants, in his mind, the seeds of
monarchy, nipping in the bud Brutus’ political ambitions. Caeser, thereafter,
exhibits narcissistic traits, building statues of himself alongside Roman Gods,
declaring his birthday as a public holiday, wearing a Purple Robe, once
reserved for Roman kings & declaring himself dictator for life. That sets
for his assassination & the famous “Et Tu Brute” on 15th Mar 44 BC.
Conclusion
Despite, suffering the
consequences of the wrong choices made by his father, Caeser’s rise was
predicated on his relentlessly pursuit of his ambition to become Counsel for
Rome. It is not surprising, therefore, that success embraced him not once but twice. A brave
soldier, a still greater leader of his men, a brilliant military strategist with an
ability to think out of the box solutions & an able administrator he definitely
was, but his propensity for unilateral action marked him out as a person with a
dictatorial tendency – a trait acceptable for the military field, but not while
running a civil administration. In his later years, he descended more into narcissism
even while suffering from epilepsy. It was Rome’s tragedy that the civil war
that followed Caeser’s assassination led to the destruction of the very Republic
that people like Brutus tried to protect. Caeser’s nephew, Octavius Caeser,
became emperor, in 27 BC.
