Throughout history, wars have left an indelible mark on human psyche. Serious debates have been held on the morality of and the strategic necessity for war. And yet, like every dark cloud that has a silver lining, wars too at times leave a society wiser.

India is no stranger to wars. And there are many lessons to be learnt from each of those battles — management lessons, to be precise. Here we present the fourth in a series of articles on management lessons drawn from Indian history. This one looks at the Battle of Plassey. Read on. . .

The Battle of Plassey (1757 AD)

Mir Jafar, alias Sayyid Mir Muhammed Jafar Ali Khan, is to India’s history what Benedict Arnold is to that of the United States.

Mir Jafar came to Bengal as a traveller and took up a job in the army of Ali Vardi Khan, then Nawab of Murshidabad (near Kolkata). He fought many successful battles for the Nawab. This earned him a promotion and his career saw a meteoric rise under Khan.

Apart from showering many favours on Mir Jafar for his service to him, Nawab also married off his half-sister to him. This helped him gain an important position in the Nawab’s court.

But Mir Jafar’s thirst for power was not satiated by this ‘meagre’ progress. He had his eyes on the Nawab’s throne. Ali Vardi’s state had weakened considerably because of its constant conflict with the Marathas.

Mir Jafar wanted to make the most of this situation and conspired to murder and overthrow the Nawab. But unfortunately for him, the Nawab came to know about his plan and stripped Mir Jafar of all his powers.

Lesson: No management should let an incident of misconduct or treason pass. Unethical conduct by any person warrants eviction. A routine step like job rotation or transfer doesn’t help. An immediate disciplinary action, on the other hand, sets a precedent for others. No organisation should tolerate any behaviour not aligned with its policies.

After having his wings clipped, Mir Jafar concentrated on rebuilding his career. He now worked hard to earn the confidence of the Nawab’s grandson Siraj-ud-Daulah. His toil paid off. For, when Siraj ascended the throne of Bengal after Ali Vardi’s death, he made Mir Jafar head of his army.

Lesson: Mir Jafar followed the much talked-about maxim of life: ‘when one door is closed, look for another’. A setback should not stop one from pursuing one’s dream. One should be open to explore all opportunities at hand and try to capitalise on them. Perseverance always pays.

The ancestral throne that Siraj sat on was a thorny one. He was constantly involved in warfare with the British. Initially, however, he overpowered them and even won Fort William in a battle against the British. The fort was christened Alinagar by him.

Soon after, the British were forced to sign a pact, the Treaty of Alinagar, with the Nawab.

In the meantime, Siraj had appointed one Mohanlal as his diwan, much to the chagrin of Mir Jafar. Being below Mohanlal in the hierarchy displeased him and this feeling of dissent fuelled his latent intent of overthrowing Siraj.

Now, Mir Jafar gradually embarked on a journey of deception and conspiracy. He joined hands with some other dissatisfied people in the Nawab’s court and started strategising a ploy.

Lesson: Any leader should weigh the pros and cons thoroughly before deciding on any promotion or demotion. The question that arises in this context: was Mohanlal’s promotion essential?
In case a promotion/demotion is decided upon, a leader should have a well thought-out strategy to deal with others aspiring for the same position.

A leader should have a clear idea if the management’s step would hinder or improve team work. He should also know for sure if it is the right time to announce the promotion/demotion or if the same should be deferred.

Needless to mention here, the British wanted to have more sway over the Nawab’s regime so that they could make the trade from Bengal more profitable.

They were also unhappy over the new Nawab’s affinity towards their archrival, the French. The British, therefore, asked their representative Robert Clive to find out who could be their aide in their conflict against Siraj.

The British sent feelers to a disgruntled few in Siraj-ud-Daulah’s court and tried to lure them with a promise of handsome rewards. It was also assured that whoever helped the British would be granted the title of Nawab. Mir Jafar fell for it.

On getting the hint of revolt brewing in his court, Siraj had Mir Jafar removed from the post of army head immediately and his place was offered to Mir Madan. Siraj, however, did not take any extreme step against Mir Jafar, fearing an uprising. Mir Jafar escaped severe punishment, yet again.

Lesson: In an organisation, a leader should be firm in the affairs of the state and should not tolerate any indiscipline even if the same is committed by a top ranking executive.
In an age of high attrition, a leader needs to ensure that his dependence on key resources is minimal. Even if one act of treason may be forgiven, a repeat act should never ever be tolerated upon and should be punished with expulsion.

The deposed army chief Mir Jafar now decided to join hands with the British. He sent message to Clive and had a clandestine meeting with him. He signed a pact to help the British in their war against Siraj in lieu of the throne of Bengal.

Thereafter, Nawab’s army and the British troops assembled at Plassey for a test of their strengths. Siraj-ud-Daulah’s army being huge had all the potential of defeating the British troops and a win seemed a foregone conclusion for the Nawab.

But, destiny had something else in store. Mir Madan was soon overpowered and killed by the British, which in turn deflated the morale of the Nawab’s troops.

Nawab’s soldiers put up a brave fight initially but a brief spell of rain and a lack of gun-handling skills soon dampened their spirits. They had no choice but to surrender to the the British.

Lesson: Lack of proper training was a major disadvantage for the Nawab’s men. An organisation that plans to roll out a new tool or technology should test and pilot it properly prior to implementation.

During the initial hours of the battle, British troops performed better. Though the Nawab repeatedly asked Mir Jafar to launch an attack against the British, he not only refused to budge but after a while, along with his aides, moved over to the enemy’s side.

As Mir Jafar and his aides controlled more than half of the Nawab’s army, their revolt dished out an easy victory to the British.

Lesson: Mir Jafar should never have been allowed a position in the battlefield. While building a team, a manager should assign critical tasks to those who are skilled as well as trustworthy. Meetings are necessary to identify simmering issues if any.

Meetings help to ensure that people are aligned towards company goals and that they are not blindly following their managers.

If the Nawab had got the hint of dissent among his commanders, he could have built a rapport with them. That way, Mir Jafar would have never got a chance to make those commanders dance to his tune.

At the end of the Battle of Plassey, Siraj-ud Daulah was captured and executed. Mir Jafar was made the Nawab of Bengal. His long-cherished dream thus fructified. Not for long. Soon, he realised he was nothing but a puppet in the hands of the British.

Mir Jafar protested and tried to assert himself. As a result, the British removed him and made his son-in-law Mir Qasim the next Nawab. Mir Qasim did not bow to British demands either and the latter reinstalled Mir Jafar to the position of Nawab in no time. He retained his throne till death.

His treachery helped the British gain first major victory in the Indian soil. It assisted them get a foothold in a country they ruled for 190 years.

Lesson: In the long term, unethical actions always fail, their short-term gains notwithstanding. At times, people take wrong steps, lured by chances of quick benefits. Though they realise their follies in the end, very few have the courage to admit that.

First Published in Rediff.com

They were made to do rigorous tasks like clearing the jungle to make Andaman a suitable place to live in both for themselves as well as for the British soldiers.
The harsh living conditions in the Andaman led a few of the ‘convicts’ escape Andaman’s Ross Island prison.

The ‘convicts’ normally ventured into the jungle after their escape, much to the displeasure of the natural inhabitants of the land, the tribals. Whenever the latter encountered non-tribals, they killed them, irrespective of whether they were Indians or British.

However, this could not stop other ‘convicts’ from attempting to flee.

Lesson: One should explore all alternatives to achieve goals. Sometimes, alternatives may seem unacceptable but one has to make the best of the bad bargain.
Whatever the alternative, a well-thought-out plan with action is always better than inaction and sheer reliance on luck.
Similarly, an organisation may be forced choose from among undesirable options like sell-off, massive retrenchment or bankruptcy.

The leaders with honesty, determination and resolve will face the reality and choose the best option that provides a hope for revival albeit in the long run.

One of the convicts was Dudhnath Tiwari. He was a sepoy and was sentenced to life for mutiny and desertion by the Jhelum Commission.

He was shifted to Andaman in 1858, but within two weeks of his arrival, he and 90 other inmates fled the jail. They wandered around the jungle in search of food and water.

After a few weeks, he and his group came across the tribals, hundreds of them. Armed with bows and arrows, the tribals launched an attack and killed many.

Dudhnath and two others managed to escape but suffered serious injuries. However, even then they managed to hide in the jungle.

Lesson: Just like Dudhnath, who had the determination to escape, every organisation has a few ‘go-getters’, who can rise to any challenge. They thrive under crisis, and are willing to take on risks.

Because of this skill, they are not only respected but are also in huge demand.

The next morning, Dudnath and two other survivors resumed their journey in the jungle and encountered another group of tribals, mostly comprising women and children. They attacked Dudhnath again. He pretended to be dead but in vain.

On finding him alive, the tribals were about to attack him which is when Dudhnath pleaded for mercy. The tribals were so amazed to find him alive in spite of serious injuries that they decided to carry him to their camp.

The tribals gradually accepted Dudhnath into their way of life.

Lesson: It appears that a rigorous multistage selection process was implicitly in place before Dudhnath could be accepted into the tribal clan.

Similarly, any good organisation has a stringent interview process. Only the best should be allowed to be a part of the organisation.

The candidate has to be patient to understand the dynamics of the interviewing process and go through the rigorous rounds to prove his worth.

The tribals started involving Dudhnath in their group activities, albeit cautiously. He moved with them in the jungles. Slowly, he started getting acquainted with all the paths and learned how to navigate.

He learnt their language and started adopting their lifestyle — he stripped, got his head tonsured. His health too started improving.

However, the tribals were still wary of him and did not let him anywhere near their armoury. It took Dudhnath many months before he could earn their trust. After being reassured, the tribal chief got him married to a tribal girl.

Lesson: Every organisation should have a good induction process for any new hire. It could include rigorous class-room training or an on-job training or a mix of both.

To be most effective, any new hire has to make the effort to understand the task at hand and learn the organisation culture.
A year after his escape from prison, Dudhnath came to know about the tribals’ plan to attack the Aberdeen barracks of British soldiers. This triggered a ray of hope in his mind.

This was in May 1859. Dudhnath thought that if he shared the plan with the British, it could help him return to his native village.
He travelled with the tribals’ group towards the British barracks of Aberdeen. When they came close to the British camp, he slipped out and met a British officer.

Dudhnath warned them of the impending attack. The British put on the battle gear. Yet, they were shocked by the sheer number of the tribals — there were thousands of them.

The tribals wrought serious damage; they targeted only British soldiers and spared the freedom fighters as they were able to differentiate between the two by then. The tribals attacked the convicts only when the latter challenged them.

But for Dudhnath’s warning, the British would have been massacred. But bows being no match to British guns, most of the tribals got killed in the clash.

Lesson: Mission-critical plans should be known initially to a few core team members and disclosed to the full team just before execution. If one finds a potential leak in information, one should postpone, cancel or alter the plan.

In order to safeguard confidentiality, companies spend money in setting up legal framework to protect their intellectual properties and confidential information.

After the attack, the tribals were reduced to a small size. Even today, a poor number of the Andamanese tribals is a big concern.

The British pardoned Dudhnath and repatriated him. He left his pregnant wife in the jungle and spent the rest of his life narrating his story to fellow-villagers.

It is very unfortunate that Dudhnath did not explore various options. For example, he could have allowed the surprise attack on the British, freed convicts, overtaken a few ships and sailed to the mainland. Or he could, on his return to village, have continued his participation in freedom struggle.

Also, there was no guarantee that British would have pardoned him, they could have taken the stand that ‘once a traitor, always a traitor’.

Lesson: Strong initiative and capability without the moral compass is extremely dangerous. Organizations have to be on the lookout and discard such employees immediately who do not adhere to organisation’s core values.

Values have to be one of the essential filters while recruiting, especially senior leaders.

First Published in Rediff.com

This caused problems for Rani Lakshmibai whose adopted son, Damodar Rao, would not have been able to ascend the throne after her husband, Raja Gangadhar Rao, died.

She told the British envoy she would not part with her kingdom, Jhansi, despite knowing she could land into trouble. She had consulted her subjects, who had enthusiastically supported her in taking up the issue with British legally, if not militarily.

Residents of Jhansi were made aware of this new situation. If the legal battle didn’t go in her favour, she would have to take to arms.

Lesson:  Involve the team in any major decision-making process. When one has the buy-in, it yields far better results.

As expected, Lakshmibai’s requests were shot down by the British. In March 1858, General Rose led an army into Jhansi. All entrance gates to the city were closed. The British army started bombarding the city, which damaged the walls. But overnight, Lakshmibai’s people set it right.

This continued for weeks and frustrated the designs of the British army as they could not move forward. A few of Lakshmibai’s best gunners were women; elsewhere in her army too, there was a good representation of women.

She had recruited people based on skills, irrespective of their caste, creed or sex, and therefore formed a formidable defence. She handpicked the personnel and deployed them studying the ground situation.

Lesson:  Team formation is fundamental to success, and senior management involvement helps. They can apply their rich experience in choosing right people for the right job. This also helps team members to have an access with senior management if they have any suggestions and recommendations. It also makes information flow smoother and decision-making faster.

Two months later, Tatya Tope, a distinguished leader, came to help Rani Lakshmibai with his big army and ammunition. Lakshmibai was confident of outsmarting the British.

But General Rose had anticipated Tatya’s arrival. He knew he would be sandwiched between the two armies and, therefore, executed his well-thought-out plan of splitting his army into two. One part was supposed to keep attacking Jhansi — albeit to maintain the status quo — and the second was to fight Tatya’s army.

Lesson:  A leader should anticipate the opponent’s move and strategise accordingly. This takes the surprise factor out of the equation and helps in keeping the morale of the team high.

Tatya Tope had numerical superiority and his people fought very well, but he could not convert it into a win as he stumbled badly while crafting attack strategies. This led to the British registering a resounding victory.

Lesson:  Although quantity might provide an edge, quality can add to the edge. Or blunt it, at times. Informed and intelligent decision-making overcomes many apparent disadvantages. It is very easy for an organisation to relinquish market dominance due to a bad decision. Some of these decisions have quick impact, while others might become evident after some time. If time permits, one should revisit the decisions or else learn from it to avoid future mistakes.

On that evening, Rani committed one mistake of not opening the gates of Jhansi and attacking the British soldiers who were in their last stage of battle against Tatya Tope’s forces. That attack would have crippled Rose’s forces and would have changed the course of the war. She realised it later.

Lesson:  Opportunity comes without any announcement. It should be sensed, grabbed and exploited.

Since the beginning of the war, Peer Ali, a confidant of Lakshmibai, was working as a spy. He suddenly turned against her one fine day, without her knowledge. He was asked by General Rose to identify and turn a key Jhansi gunner manning the gates who could be bribed to switch loyalties.

Peer Ali tried hard for a few days, and then one day he succeeded in convincing a top gunner, Dulhaju, to go against Lakshmibai.

Dulhaju was unhappy with some of the comments made by Lakshmibai and some fellow soldiers. He appeared before General Rose and promised to do his bidding. In return, he was to get a few villages.

Lesson:  Giving and receiving feedback is an art and should be executed carefully. Leaders should be careful in providing feedback. If feedback is not good, the leadership must provide an opportunity for another round of discussions where misgivings could be set right. Praise openly, criticise confidentially — that should be the policy with those in strategic positions.

One person could sense a change in Dulhaju and his sudden cozying up to Peer Ali. He provided an early warning to Rani Lakshmibai, but she stopped short of intense questioning for fear of antagonising a key gunner which might impact Jhansi’s security.

Lesson:  Any case of ethics or serious offence should be handled immediately, irrespective of employee’s past performance and high rating.

Lakshmibai sensed the British were preparing for the final assault. To keep her troops’ morale high, she cheered them on and also doled out money to them.

She rewarded most of the gunners, who risked everything to guard Jhansi, very well. She said Jhansi would remain independent so long as people want it to be.

Lesson:  Risk and reward go hand in hand. It is human to expect appropriate reward for taking risks.

One fateful day, Dulhaju, as per the plot hatched with the British, went to open one of the doors of Jhansi. One of Lakshmibai’s gunners had seen him and tried to stop him. But his efforts were in vain and the British troops crashed through the open gate, pillaged Jhansi, destroyed buildings, and killed numerous people.

Rani Lakshmibai was depressed and decided to commit suicide, but her advisor prevailed upon her to escape to Kalpi and join Tatya Tope’s forces.

Lakshmibai discussed it with her other confidants and then her small troops fought their way through to Kalpi. There she met Rao Saheb and Tatya Tope with their armies. She inspected their armies and found them disorganised. Following Lakshmibai, the British army reached Kalpi. But Rao Saheb had not paid heed to Lakshmibai’s advice on reorganisation of the armies, and thus lost the war.

Lakshmibai then suggested that they capture the Gwalior fort, as evading the British would not provide any long-term solutions. Tatya Tope and Rao Saheb agreed.

But the Gwalior fort was with Scindia, who had joined hands with the British. But as Lakshmibai had suspected, most of the Scindia’s soldiers revolted against their king and joined hands with Rani Lakshmibai to help in capturing Gwalior.

The army led by General Rose proceeded towards Gwalior. Here again, Lakshmibai advised Rao Saheb and Tatya Tope on the approach they should adopt to take on the British, but again they disagreed. Lakshmibai fought valiantly and died. Gwalior was recaptured by the British. Lakshmibai remained an icon of bravery and determination not only for Indians, but for the British too.

Lesson:  A good leader can learn from Lakshmibai’s conviction, commitment, skill, flexibility and can-do attitude. An organisation can also learn from her life: it can learn to be prepared for a topsy-turvy ride in the long run. There could be multiple roadblocks and hiccups. But the important lesson is to learn from the losses and consolidate the wins; this will help in turning an organisation into an institution, which could be respected by all.

First Published in Rediff.com

Rise of the Maurya empire: Role of Chanakya (circa 320 BC)

Chanakya was also known as Kautilya and Vishnugupta. He wrote Arthashastra, the ancient Indian political thesis. There are several stories on Chanakya. One of them goes like this: Alexander’s invasion of western India, circa 326 BC, led to political turmoil that provoked Chanakya, a renowned teacher of Takshila, to sew up a coalition to take on the Greek forces.

He tried to convince many kings, but none agreed to his plans. Finally, he came to Patliputra, the capital of Magadha, ruled by the powerful Nanda dynasty. He went to their palace and found ten golden thrones. Nine were for the Nanda princes and their father, and the tenth was for the most learned person. Chanakya quietly occupied it.

When the princes came back, they asked him to vacate the seat, but Chanakya didn’t and demanded a debate to prove his supremacy. The Nandas rejected the debate demand and did not give him any position.

Lesson: Even though Chanakya was reputed and famous in Takshila, it does not mean he would be famous in Patliputra too. So his asking for the debate is justified to prove his worth. Similarly, a high performer’ in one team or company needs to prove his worth in a new environment to gain the same tag.

Chanakya was prepared to face it. But he could try a different approach for the desired result. In the corporate world, referral plays a major role in hiring key senior employees. If any of the key ministers of the Nandas had referred or introduced him, he might have got the position.

Chanakya did not vacate the golden seat, and the Nanda princes physically pulled him down. During this process, a lock of his hair got ruffled up. At this moment, Chanakya took a vow to redo the hair only after defeating the Nandas.

They were about to punish him with the death sentence, but one of the ministers prevailed upon the princes to forgive him. Chanakya went out of Magadha and met Chandragupta, who was waiting for him.

There are many stories on how Chanakya first met Chandragupta, but one thing was clear: Chanakya could sense the inherent qualities in Chandragupta and trained him as he wanted to build an empire by making him the king who could protect India from the Greek invasion.

Lesson: Fearlessness, perseverance and patience are the key attributes of any leader. This helps in setting lofty goals and fuels the determination to achieve them by executing against the well-laid-out plan.

Another great quality exhibited by the leader is in spotting’ talents and grooming them to take bigger challenges.

Chanakya’s first step was to sneak in a spy to keep a watch on the Nandas’ inner circle. He knew one Jeevasiddhi, who was intelligent and could do the job. Chanakya told Jeevasidhi about some of the secrets of the palace learnt from Chandragupta who had heard about these from his father.
They sent Jeevasiddhi to the palace. Jeevasiddhi convinced the Nandas that he possessed supernatural powers by narrating the secrets hidden in the palace. The Nandas started leaning on him and consulting him before making any major decision. Slowly, he became a part of their coterie.

Lesson: A background check is required for most hires, but a detailed one is a must for senior positions to ensure right fit. At a very senior level, where information regarding tender, bid, intellectual property and other trade secrets is involved, company must take steps to protect it.

Many companies ask people to sign the non-disclosure agreement and, at times, activate special clauses restraining them from joining rival or competing companies for a few years.

Meanwhile, Chandragupta started helping the people of Magadha. His popularity started soaring. This acted as a threat to Nandas. The Nandas had an intelligent minister in Amatya Rakshasa. He advised the Nandas to kill Chandragupta. Jeevasidhi learnt of the plan and helped Chandragupta escape.

Chanakya encouraged Chandragupta to take over the Magadha throne. Chandragupta networked with people and built the Mauryan army. Most of them were people disillusioned and unhappy with the Nanda rule. Chanakya and Chandragupta Maurya announced a battle plan and ensured that the Nanda army could be diverted to reach a distant battlefield to fight the Mauryan army.

In the meantime, a civil war erupted in Magadha. Chanakya manoeuvered popular support for Chandragupta and the Nandas were uprooted without any fight.

Lesson: A peaceful handover to the new management is desirable as it saves the company from infighting that could weaken it. It would be faster and fruitful to scale new heights from a stable company rather than a wrecked one. It helped Maurya kings to reach new heights faster not only due to their great leadership skills, but also due to peaceful transition.

It was a monumental task to build an efficient government for Chandragupta Maurya. Chanakya convinced Rakshasa to continue to be the minister of Chandragupta by sharing his grand vision of fighting against the invasion.

Chandragupta was able to leverage Rakshasa’s excellent skills in administering the kingdom. Chanakya assumed the position of an elder statesman.

Lesson: One needs to perform and show results to be considered as a key resource. Key people are always in demand, but more so during organisation’s transformation.

People are the main asset. Their knowledge and expertise can provide a big leap to any activity. They should be retained. Managers should not be biased in working with high performers’ even if they used to work with their adversaries in the past, provided the person maintains loyalty and confidentiality.
Top performers are attracted by lofty visions/goals and are willing to face difficult challenges.

While serving Chandragupta Maurya, Chanakya started adding small amounts of poison in his food so that he could get immune to it and would survive any attempts at poisoning.

One day, his queen, Durdha, shared the food with the Emperor while she was pregnant. She died and Chanakya extricated the baby from the womb. A drop (bindu in Sanskrit) of poison had got into the foetus, and hence Chanakya named him Bindusara.

Bindusara would go on to become a great king, and his son, Ashoka, would emerge as one of the greatest emperors.

Chanakya had a political adversary called Subandhu, who was in the court of Bindusara. He kept looking for opportunity to defame Chanakya in the eyes on Bindusara. On finding the right occasion, he mentioned to the king that Chankaya had killed his mother. However, the bigger question that remains is: why did the Maurya kings keep Subandhu when his envy towards Chanakya was well known?

Lesson: In a healthy organisation, diversified and divergent views can exist. One needs to have people with great skills who can deliver better results by having a good team work and right division of work.

Peer pressure helps in extracting best from the people, but it should be managed well to avoid destructive peer relationship. If team work is becoming difficult, the leader should clearly identify roles based on strengths and in such a way that there is minimal overlap to avoid conflict. Team with high performers helps in better results and also cushions attrition.

Bindusara became angry with Chankaya. On knowing this, Chanakya walked out of the city, donated all his wealth and sat on a fast. When Bindusara learnt the truth, he felt ashamed and asked Subandhu to apologise to Chanakya.

Lesson: The important lesson here is a long-standing ally and staunch supporter of the Maurya empire was mistrusted by the king without understanding the complete picture. A vital resource like Chanakya was lost due to this lack of trust.

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Managers should demonstrate maturity by having an honest one-on-one with the employee and listening to the other side of the story with an open mind before taking any drastic step. It takes time to build the trust, but it takes a moment to destroy it.

First Published in Rediff.com

They occupied Delhi and captured Lahore by defeating the son of Ahmad Shah Abdali, the Afghan ruler.

Abdali built his army and left Afghanistan to stop the expansion of the Maratha empire. He sought an alliance with Najib Khan, the chief of the Rohilla soldiers. Even the Nawab of Awadh had extended his support.

The confident Marathas were led by Sadashivrao Bhau. They had a large army, but very few allies.

Most of the kings from the Jat, Sikh and Rajput kingdoms did not support the Marathas as they resented the heavy tax imposed on them during the Maratha capture of north India. A few of them even struck favourable agreements with Abdali.

Lesson: One needs allies; the need is even stronger when one is operating in a new territory/segment.

Whether the company is doing an acquisition or is entering into a partnership, the agreement should try to be a ‘win-win’ one where the minority stakeholder should feel respected and heard.

This will help the partnership flourish. Similarly, if a manager takes care of his team, his team rally for him in his hour of need.

The Marathas attacked the Afghan garrison on the banks of the river Yamuna at Kunjpura, north of Delhi, and killed or enslaved them.

The Yamuna was in spate and Abdali, who was on the other side, could not do anything to save them. Along with his soldiers, he took a risk, reached the south of Delhi and crossed the Yamuna there, where it was relatively easier.

He wanted to encircle Marathas. The Marathas were unaware of this as they were preoccupied with the skirmish at Kunjpura.

Lesson: One should learn from a setback and improve; one must have the determination to win. Sometimes, a better plan emerges that could increase the probability of success as in Abidali’s case, where he saw his troops decimated on the other side of the river.

Similarly, one may need to take snap decisions depending on the situation.

An individual with a good network and a company that has good market intelligence can get the latest information, which could be crucial in planning and providing competitive advantage.

When the stakes are high, lack of intelligence can invariably prove fatal, as in the case of how Abdali crossing the Yamuna went unnoticed by the Marathas.

When the Marathas realised that the south of the Yamuna was captured by Abdali, they dug their heels in near Panipat to deny him access to Afghanistan.

Slowly, Abdali encircled the Maratha army and cut off their supply line.

The Afghans continued to get the supplies they needed due to their agreements with a few north Indian kingdoms. Therefore, their need to open up the route towards Afghanistan was not that urgent.

But it was a desperate situation for the Maratha army who were expecting reinforcements from the south of the Narmada instead of the neighbouring states.

Lesson: It is important to do ‘what if’ contingency analysis planning for various scenarios. This upfront analysis may trigger a new partnership or alignment which could benefit the company.

Sometimes, one has to provide new concessions to gain the required support and solidify one’s position. Both wars and businesses can benefit from a deep multi-step scenario analysis.

There were tensions in the Maratha army due to Abidali’s strategy.

In the next two months, the skirmishes between the two left many, including Najib Khan’s soliders, dead.

Abdali sensed a deadlock and decided to sign a peace treaty with the Marathas.

The Marathas were keen as well, but Najib Khan advised against the treaty and prevailed upon Abdali to delay his decision.

Lesson: Empower and trust your team members.

One should have complementary skills among the senior management so that the leader can tap into a breadth of expertise.

Finally, decisions are taken by the leader but an environment that encourages different voices and dissenting opinions is more effective than the ‘do as I tell you to do’ attitude. This is what encouraged Najib to convince Abdali.

Even though Najib failed miserably in the initial phase, Abdali continued to give him a chance to prove himself.

Similarly, a manager needs to have faith in his team despite early setbacks, provided they possess the right skills; after all, every mistake is a learning experience.

The Marathas and the Afghans prepared their armies for a major battle, but waited as the Afghans didn’t want to attack first and the Marathas were waiting for reinforcements to arrive.

Eventually, the deteriorating situation forced the Marathas to attack the Afghans before their reinforcements arrived. The Marathas had better French guns and made significant progress. Ibrahim Gardi played a key role in getting early breakthroughs for the Marathas.

By noon, it appeared that the Marathas would win.

Faced with imminent defeat, Abdali called on his highly trained reserve soldiers and cannon-mounted camels. From these camels, they could fire artillery which would go over their own infantry and started decimating the Maratha army.

The Maratha artillery, initially used to weaken the enemy defence, was now placed behind the infantry and thus became ineffective. Besides, Bhau did not have any significant reserves that could join them with artillery for a counter-attack.

Eventually, the tired Maratha forces could not match Abdali’s reserve army. This turned the tide in Abdali’s favour. By the end of the day, the Marathas had lost the battle.

Lesson: One should not give up the fight till the last moment.

The leader’s behaviour during critical times can either motivate to overcome the challenge or lead to a psychological defeat where victory was possible.

It is also important to have a backup plan that can be used if the original one is not working, as Abdali did with the reserve troops and cannons on camels.

The leader should be bold in making changes in the team to ensure that a fresh mind can look into the issue from a new perspective and provide a solution, instead of the same tired mind being stuck in the same track of thought.

Both sides suffered huge losses. Soon after the battle, Abdali’s alliance was consumed by infighting, forcing him to return to Afghanistan after anointing Shah Alam II as the Delhi emperor.

The third battle of Panipat ended the great Marathas’ advance towards north-west India. However, after a few years under Peshwa Madhav Rao, they recaptured Delhi and retained it till 1818.

Lesson: To rise after a fall requires grit and determination.

It is not sufficient just to learn from mistakes and take corrective action. Changing the mindset of the team from being a loser to having faith in itself is a must. Then the team will rise and face the challenge again with confidence.

Projects that are failing or not doing well can be turned around by adopting this strategy.

First Published in Rediff.com

Mughal Emperor Akbar had captured Chittorgarh (Chittor fort) from Maharaja Udai Singh II in 1568. But before this, Udai Singh sensed the Mughals’ intention to capture Chittor and the strength of the army. Thus, he built a new town at Udaipur near the foothills of the Aravali mountains. Udai Singh II, father of Maharana Pratap, shifted his capital to Udaipur, when Chittor fell.

Lesson: Prepare a backup plan to face any contingency. This plan should be executed at an appropriate time when the current plan fails to deliver the desired result. This is what Maharaja Udai Singh II had done by building a new town and seamlessly shifting the capital when Chittor fell.

Udai Singh II wanted his favourite son Jagmal to be his successor, but his ministers instead preferred his eldest son Pratap.

They argued that Pratap had the required skill to fight the Mughals in these difficult times to retain Mewar’s independence and to recapture Chittor. Finally, they made Maharana Pratap the king of Mewar.

Lesson: Succession planning should be reviewed periodically, and modified based on the ground realities. It should be done on merit, not on favouritism. 

Maharana Pratap was unlike many other Rajput rulers who had joined hands with Akbar and had matrimonial alliance with Mughals. He turned down multiple proposals from Akbar to join hands with him.

He was determined to take over the Chittor fort and avenge the killings of innocents during that battle. Maharana Pratap knew it was not easy to capture Chittor.

Lesson: One could set an aggressive goal even if it is against popular belief or practice, provided one is determined and weighs the decision well by considering the full perspective.

In 1576, a big army of Akbar led by Kunwar Man Singh (who later became Raja Man Singh) met Maharana Pratap’s men at Haldighati. Maharan Pratap was riding his famous horse, Chetak.

Maharana Pratap and his few men fought valiantly, but his army was no match to the numerical strength of Man Singh’s army. When defeat looked imminent, Maharana Pratap’s general, Jhala Mansingh, convinced Maharana Pratap to change the clothes and escape from Haldighati as he had bigger mission to accomplish.

Pratap agreed and escaped from the battlefield. Jhala Mansingh fought well, but was killed on the battlefield.

Lesson: Don’t be rigid. One should be flexible in entertaining new ideas and suggestions from the team members, and take corrective actions if convinced. 

Shakthi Singh was the brother of Maharana Pratap, but was fighting along with the Mughal army due to the family feud. He was amazed at Maharana Pratap’s skill in the battlefield.

A couple of Mughal soldiers realized that Maharana Pratap had escaped and they followed him. Sensing this, Shakthi Singh followed the soldiers. When Maharana Pratap’s famous horse Chetak died on the way, and Mughal soldiers came close to attacking Maharana Pratap, Shakthi Singh killed these soldiers and saved his brother’s life and joined him in his battle against the Mughals.

Lesson: Leadership does not come by position, but by the qualities one demonstrates. This can turn the person into a role model, someone people would like to emulate. Here, Pratap’s leadership qualities impressed Shakhti Singh, who, in turn, showed a higher sense of maturity. Bravery and leadership of Pratap appealed to his higher senses. Leadership guided by higher senses and great value systems are sustainable. It makes others follow the path.

The Mughal army suffered heavy casualties due to the arrows shot at them by the Bhils from the Aravali mountains. Bhils sided with Maharana Pratap during this battle and later too.

Maharana Pratap realized that defeating the Mughal army in a face-to-face battle was difficult and, therefore, he changed tack, shifting to guerilla warfare. His guerilla war was supported by tribes in the mountains and others, who kept attacking the Mughal army in whatever way they could. They even provided a spy network that saved Maharana Pratap several times.

Lesson: Willing to change the strategy by learning from the failed ones. The goal is to find a winning strategy. It’s a case of using one’s strength against the enemy’s weakness. Lack of knowledge of the local terrain made Mughals vulnerable to guerrilla attacks that Maharana Pratap together with Bhils utilised to their advantage.

Pratap captured many areas of Mewar, but Chittor remained elusive. He made sure that the Mughals would never be able to rule in peace in Mewar. Even Akbar sent multiple expeditions to ferret out Maharana Pratap from his hideouts, but to no avail.

During this period, in one of his weak moments, Maharana Pratap decided to give up the fight and negotiate a peace treaty with Akbar. Knowing this, Pratap’s cousin Prithiviraj Rathore, who served in Akbar court, wrote a letter to Pratap, urging him not to go ahead with his plan, as he was the only Rajput whom everyone respected. He urged Pratap to continue to be the custodian of this great responsibility.

Maharana Pratap responded positively and continued to fight till his last breath.

Lesson: During execution, it is sometimes common to lose sight of the goal and move away from the path and take one that is not aligned with the end goal. During this time, one needs mentors, friends and allies to provide the right guidance.

Maharana Pratap started his campaign with an aggressive goal to capture the Chittor fort. Approximately, 20 years after the battle of Haldighati, Maharana Pratap died. He had captured almost all of Mewar, except the Chittor fort.

He was such an icon of patriotism and the fight for freedom that four centuries later Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, one of the stalwarts of India’s freedom struggle, commented that if Mewar could merge with independent India, then no other state had the right to remain independent.

Lesson: One should not be worried about setting aggressive goals for the fear of failure. Even if one cannot achieve the entire goal, partial achievement in the right direction is far more commendable than taking an easy way out.

First Published in Rediff.com

Lesson: Innovation is the key for to overcome entrenched incumbents. The advantages of installed product base and distribution channels are not sufficient to sustain the monopoly for long. Companies must innovate and sometimes cannibalize their existing product with a new one to maintain the leadership position. Otherwise, a new competitor with innovative product will suddenly capture the market.

Europe and West Asia started seeing the Christian-Islamic power struggle over the trade. Slowly, the struggle spilled over to the Indian shores too. The Diu battle was one of the rare occasions when the multi-national forces were engaged in a battle along the Indian coast. Portugal viceroy Almeida had lost his son in the first battle of Chaul in 1508. In that first battle, the Egyptian fleet along with Gujarat had defeated the Portuguese. Almeida was determined to take revenge quickly as his successor Albuquerque was already dispatched from Portugal.

Lesson: When the stakes are high, expect intense competition. Understanding the competition’s strategy as well identifying the driver for the fight is vital. If one side is tremendously motivated to win, the other side must understand this and factor that into its strategy.

The Egyptian fleet joined hands with the Sultanate of Gujarat. They were also joined by Zamorin of Kerala who was upset with Portuguese partnering with their enemies in Kerala. The Portuguese had eighteen ships commanded by the Viceroy, and the Allies had one hundred ships, but only twelve were major vessels and the rest were shallow draught craft. These small crafts proved ineffective because of two reasons. They could not approach the enemy ships due to the ship-based artillery fire and even if they could get closer, their sailors could not climb on to the enemy ship

Lesson: Having the right type of resources is more important than simply having more resources. Under pressure from the management to meet hiring goals, manager sometimes lowers the quality bar and expands staff. This always backfires as it impacts productivity, team performance, and effectively dilutes product quality in addition to schedule delays. Equally important is the effective usage of available resources. As soon as the Egyptians realized that the small crafts were ineffective in fighting the Portuguese ships, they could have utilized these crafts for other purposes like night attacks, espionage, transport of goods and injured. Similarly, the available resources – if not useful for the initially planned work — should be redeployed for other productive activities

The Egyptian forces figured out that Portuguese fleet were better equipped and were superior in ship-based artillery. Therefore, they decided to take advantage of Fort of Diu as it had the land-based artillery, which could match the ship-based artillery. They had adopted a defensive approach of waiting for Portuguese to come near the port, because they were used to the Mediterranean-style wars where land-based artillery is used more often. Egyptian did not realize that the Portuguese ships were more rugged prepared for the storms in the Atlantic Ocean, and the Egyptians assumed the Mediterranean type of warships. Soon, Egyptians lost the naval battle and hand to hand battle at Diu harbor, as they were no match to the Portuguese

Lesson: One should know the turf where one has to play. Egyptians had done the right thing in choosing Diu – the turf they knew well. But they lacked an understanding of the competitor’s product, and therefore couldn’t position its product well against the competitor’s. It is not true that if one dominates one market segment, one can win easily in the other segments too. This is the mistake Egyptians did when they considered only the Mediterranean-style warfare.

The viceroy extracted a huge payment, but rejected the offer of the city of Diu which he thought would be expensive to maintain, although he left a garrison there. The prisoners from the first battle of Chaul were also rescued by the Portuguese.

Lesson: Keeping the full city under control would have been a short term advantage to the Portuguese, but they maintained a minimum required presence to serve the strategic purpose of providing security to their trade route. Similarly, one should avoid the temptation of taking on more or to committing more to the customer without ascertaining whether it aligns with the strategy. If not well thought through, a company can get overextended in commitments. In the long run, this will require diversion of resources from other projects impacting them too.

The new viceroy, Albuquerque, arrived and Francisco de Almeida advised him to control the sea route if he wanted to keep India. Few more battles were fought against the Portuguese, all in vain. The Portuguese enjoyed the trade supremacy for hundred years until the arrival of the British East India Company.

Lesson: It is important to do the proper handover of the job. Job handover is more effective if the strategic knowledge and experience are also transferred This is vital in continuing the best practices.

Lesson: One should tackle one major issue or enemy at a time rather than spread out the resources thinly to tackle multiple issues all at once. One could open multiple frontiers provided one is assured of victory; otherwise, the divide-and-rule strategy should be utilized to isolate the enemies. Similarly mergers and acquisitions of smaller competitors could pose greater threat and one needs to explore various options like preemptive acquisition, alternative markets, different product positioning or differentiated offering.

The battle was fought fiercely with heavy casualties on both sides. The sultanates’ army took an upper hand and won the battle. The ruins of Hampi are a testimony to the plunder and pillage which followed after that, bringing an end of the glorious chapter of the great Hindu empire of South India.

Historians attribute Rama Raya’s defeat to multiple factors. Sultanates had young commanders whereas the commander of Viayanagar army, Rama Raya, was old. There are some advantages for the king to lead from the front, but he could have evaluated other alternatives. Did he study the enemy’s army formation well? Did he evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the enemy and compare it with his own? Did he try to break the grand alliance by giving concession to a few sultanates?

Lesson: The experience should be used in better planning based on the available resources and introspect the weak areas so that it could be covered well. The leader should put right people on the right job so that he himself can look into the bigger picture and take corrective action based on developments in the field. The leader has to groom his staff so that he can confidently delegate the next level of detail to his subordinates. The leader should avoid getting into deeper tactical details as this can distract him from focusing on the strategic goal.

The other reason of defeat was the use of fast-moving horses by sultanates vis-à-vis slow elephants of the Vijayanagara army; and better gunners from Turkestan that were used by the sultanates in breaking the first line of defence of the Vijayanagara army. Bows, arrows and javelin of Deccan Sultanates were far superior to those of Vijayanagara’s. One wonders why Rama Raya did not acquire these latest weapons.

Lesson: Use of superior technology can be a decisive advantage. It helps in making better competitive products and winning the market. Technology can also make company’s internal processes better. Organizations should promote a culture to encourage innovation, so that they can have competitive edge against the competitors.

Historians also attribute the main cause of the defeat to the fleeing of Gilani brothers, with their fleet of thousands of soliders at a crucial juncture. They were the main commanders and joined Rama Raya after defecting from the Adil Shahi kingdom some time ago. The actual reason of their exit is not known. It could be that they were poached by Deccan Sultanates; they might have sensed Rama Raya’s defeat and escaped; there could be internal differences in the Vijayanagara army.

Lesson: The core team should be retained. If there is any difference in opinion, it should be sorted out amicably. If the issue is of improper reward and recognition and the request is significant, then it should be discussed to arrive at the common understanding but the realization should be linked with the outcome of project. This will help tying the reward with the result and to ensure that people stick till the project completion to realize the benefit.

After the battle, Deccan Sultanates could not remain united. They weakened as they started fighting among themselves and were later taken over by the Mughals.

Lesson: Any partnership plan should be formed to cover short term and long term goals. It should be strategic rather than tactical. The rule of engagement should be discussed and a roadmap should be formed not only for achieving the common immediate goal, but for long term success. One can part ways after the goal is achieved, but the separation clause has to be clearly thought through and defined as part of the contract.

The smaller Vijayanagara empire under Tirumala Deva Raya tried to stage a comeback with its capital at Penukonda. He tried his best to regain the past glory, but could not succeed in keeping his folks together. The reason was attributed to Rama Raya’s distribution of important positions to family members rather than loyals and capable officers. This led to family feuds and rebellion, unsettling the state from within. Finally the empire disintegrated into small multiple states.

Lesson: Leader’s mistake in rewarding sycophants or family members over deserving competent members could have far-reaching adverse impact on the company. This might create warring tribes inside the company and could be the cause of its downfall.

Lesson: Organizations should undertake competitive barrier analysis, which helps them in understanding the conditions that make it difficult or impossible to compete in a given market segment. Once equipped with this information, organization will then be better prepared to take a right decision from long-term perspective. Ahom King took one defeat at face value and did not do a “deep dive” to understand the critical factors like monsoon and diseases that would have allowed him to avoid a humiliating treaty.

Jayadhwaj Singha, the Ahom king who signed this humiliating treaty, died a natural death. Before dying, he asked his relative and successor, King Chakradhwaj Singha, to take a pledge to undo the damage committed by him. The new king accepted the challenge and started making preparation to recover the lost territories. He ordered stocking of the food, arms and ammunitions and recruiting and training army personnel. He appointed Lachit Borphukan as the new commander-in-chief. In 1667, the Ahom army advanced from Garhgaon to Guwahati.
Lachit captured north and south sides of Guwahati. The Mughal cannons were a big obstacle. Lachit asked one of his subordinate to infiltrate the Mughal camp in the night and pour water into their cannons. This helped Lachit to win the battle and his army captured Mughal governor Firuj Khan and other soldiers. Mughal had to vacate Guwahati.

Lesson: Demonstrating results within a short timeframe allows a new leader to establish his credibility as shown by Lachit. People have high expectations from the new leader. If the leader fails to deliver quickly or up to their expectation, then he will have a difficult time to earn the respect. On the other hand, if the leader commits mistakes in a hurry to prove himself, this can destroy the team. So the leader has to balance these two factors with accurate assessment of the overall situation.

Lachit expected and wisely planned for a retaliatory attack on Guwahati by the Mughals. He did not waste time and started bolstering Guwahati defence by erecting walls and planting obstacles. Guwahati has excellent natural barriers as it is surrounded by hillocks and the Brahmaputra river. Lachit was focused in ensuring the full safety of Guwahati and planned each move of the enemy carefully. In 1669, the Mughals under Raja Ram Singh reached up to the Manas river with a huge army. Lachit’s spies had kept him informed of the Ram Singh’s progress, but the size of Mughal army forced Lachit to buy time by engaging in a negotiation. The Mughals laid siege to Guwahati for around a year.

Lesson: Lachit has anticipated Mughals’ move, kept an eye on their movements, worked out a war plan based on latest data. Most important, he kept his enemy engaged in discussions until he was prepared to take it head-on. Similarly, a great senior manager has to be a great juggler who can handle multiple tasks well, a great thinker who could anticipate and mitigate risks and a great implementer who can bring the desired results.

After stalling for time through negotiations, Lachit started guerilla warfare. He knew that his army could not fight the Mughals in an open-ground attack. Ram Singh became frustrated due to failed negotiations and attacks on his army. He started sowing the seeds of doubt in Ahom King’s mind that Lachit has defected to Mughal side and therefore not fighting a proper battle.

The Ahom King became suspicious and impatient. He ordered Lachit to attack the Mughals in the open to prove his innocence. Lachit tried his best to convince Ahom king against this strategy, but all in vain. Eventually, Lachit reluctantly followed the order and attacked the Mughals at Allaboi. Ahom gained initial success, but then Mughals started destroying the Ahom army. Lachit did a great job of building a precautionary defence by digging a line in the rear of his army and that helped him from total destruction, by pulling remainder of his troops to safety.

Lesson: Every relationship goes through its ups and downs including the supervisor- subordinate relationship. On one hand, it was good that Ahom King did not fire Lachit based on rumour but gave him a chance; but on the other the king did not trust Lachit’s advice even though Lachit had demonstrated success and loyalty. A leader has to judge the quality of his team and build a strong sustainable relationship that can stand ups and downs in business situations.

The Mughals wanted Ahom to honour the Asrur Ali treaty of 1639. Mughals were prepared to compensate Ahom well. However, Ahom did not want to part with their western part of the kingdom. Ahom suspected that the commitment given by Ram singh will not be eventually honored by the Mughal emperor. Also giving Guwahati would have amounted to providing Mughals with a hold on the Brahmaputra valley and a launching pad for attacks on the eastern part of the kingdom. The Mughals could not wait longer but knew that land attack was unlikely to work. Hence they launched a massive naval attack on the river at Saraighat. The Ahom soldiers had not recovered from their earlier defeat and Lachit was seriously ill. Ahom were losing the will to fight and some started retreating.

Lachit was observing this development from his sickbed. He asked his troops to carry him on a boat. Seven boats advanced against the Mughal fleet. Seeing their leader entering the war had an electrifying impact of the Ahom soldiers. A large number of small Ahom boats entered the river quickly. Mughal’s large boats could not maneuver deftly against the attack from small boats. Many Mughals were killed and Ahom recaptured up to the Manas river. Lachit died a year later. After a few years, the Mughals briefly recaptured Guwahati, but in 1682 Ahom won it back. Since then the Brahmaputra valley never became a part of Mughal empire.

Lesson: Building a high-performing team is important, but to get extraordinary results requires inspired leadership. Ability to turn the momentum is what differentiates a leader from mere managers. Leaders display confidence as well as inner conviction. A strong leader can lead a good team in delivering exceptional performance by convincing his troops that they can win in spite of seemingly insurmountable obstacles.

Lesson: Each intermediate milestone poses a new set of challenges. Upfront planning will help in realistically determining the complexity of the milestone and thereby taking a suitable execution path.

Alexander’s past experience led him to believe that his army could easily defeat any enemy. He thought bad weather was a deterrent to enemy too. But to his surprise, he found King Porus was guarding the south bank of the Jhelum. Porus was keeping an eye on every movement of Alexander and his army and it was, therefore, difficult to cross the river without getting noticed. He started putting physiological pressure on Porus by doing such activities on the other side of the bank which could give impression that they had come for a big battle and had a large force and good supplies to take care along drawn battle. This pressure acted adversely for Alexander as he came to know that in a few days Porus was expecting help from his allies which Porus asked due to the false impression given by Alexandar. Being an aggressor of the battle he was left with no choice but to cross Jhelum at the earliest and attack Porus’s army.

Lesson: Mind games are very important. Most of the time, in spite of having many pluses, a person can psychologically get defeated. This is where experience makes a lot of difference. A seasoned leader like Porus did not fall in such traps set up by Alexander

Alexander made a plan. He left most of his troops under the command of General Craterus, and moved a small portion of his troop in the night towards north from where he wanted to cross the Jhelum. He advised Creatus that if he found Porus troops moving towards his crossing point, then he should cross the Jhelum and join the Macedonian army. Alexandar wanted to surprise Porus with an attack, but his army took much more time to cross the river and by then Porus had sensed it. This led to a prolonged war rather than the quick one against Alexandar’s plan.

Lesson: Project could slip; go over budget and land up with depleted resources. This could happen when the leader and his team become complacent, have tasted multiple successes and therefore take new challenges lightly and do not spend enough time in thinking through.

Porus left behind a small army to check Craterus’ forces from crossing the Jhelum. He moved with the rest of his troops to meet Alexander army. On noticing that Porus’s army consisted of a large number of war elephants, Alexander got worried as his horses refused to go near them. This posed a big problem for Alexander.
Alexander did not give up and started encircling Porus’ army. His superior archers on horses started weakening the cavalry of Porus. But Porus used his war elephants efficiently. Alexander had no other option but to send infantry to attack these elephants. This led to huge loss to Alexander’s army, as many got crushed under elephants’ feet.

Lesson: One should play by one’s own strength and avoid providing opportunity to opponent to strike where one is weak. Alexander’s cavalry was better and he used it well. He was weak in handling elephants therefore delayed attacking them.

Slowly and steadily, Alexander’s army started making progress but with high casualties. His army won the battle. Porus was brought in front of Alexander. He asked him on how he should be treated. Porus responded the way one king should treat another king. Alexander was already impressed by Porus and returned not only his kingdom but also some other kingdoms which he won and asked him to rule them under his banner.

Lesson: Just like Porus, one needs to learn how to negotiate from the point of weakness. Though he lost the sovereignty of the kingdom, but he started ruling a bigger one. Similarly during organization restructuring due to merger, acquisition or any internal event; a person might be relabeled at a perceived lower position but he might have more challenges. Rather than worry about the label, one should focus on content of the challenges.

Alexander’s army proceeded to conquer more territories in India, but his army revolted on the Beas banks. They were tired of fighting battles so far away from homeland. Some of them were homesick too. Indian monsoon was also dampening their morale. The fear of fighting a large elephants of Magadha army had added to their reason to revolt. Finally, Alexander agreed to return to Greece and died on his way back at Babylon. The question can be asked: Why could not Alexander recruit new people from Persia and other occupied territories into his army who could provide new blood, new enthusiasm and new passion? The new recruits could be supervised by their experienced commanders. He could have taken help from Porus’s army too in moving inside India.

Lesson: Leader should have right assessment of his team’s morale, motivation and strength. A successful, but burnt-out team could not deliver the lofty goals as envisioned by the leader. It is important to do job rotation and induct new skills to undertake new challenges.