Fortune favours the brave – even in leadership

Developing business strategy in these VUCA times can be a daunting task. The current global pandemic has taught the business world just how vulnerable it is to the elements, and of the need to make quick and agile decisions. Strategy development can no longer be a long drawn out affair of endless research and market testing. Business leaders who have the courage to break this conundrum will win the day. Those kind of leaders have shown that, by shortening strategy periods and building robust actions based on the little information available while accepting that some of those actions could lead them to the proverbial gates of business ‘hell’, but going ahead and executing them as best they can anyway, they are able to cushion the shocks of uncertainty and ambiguity. On the contrary, leaders who might opt, under challenging situations, to ‘wait out the tide’, might experience some deceptive comfort in the short-term but must be aware of the long-term ramifications of ignoring to address the most pertinent issues at the opportune moment.

It is said that Hannibal’s daring attack on the Roman’s was prompted by their threat against Carthage (current day Tunisia which had annexed parts of Spain). He was caught between a rock and hard place in that he knew that the Romans planned a two-pronged attack, a Roman army was being sent towards Spain and another was poised to invade Carthage. He understood that if he stayed in Spain and waited for the Romans to invade he had no chance of winning. By staying in Spain he would leave Carthage exposed, so he shifted the paradigm of the war to ensure that the war would not be fought on Rome’s terms. A big, high stakes, gamble that paid off. Had Hannibal opted for the comfortable option of surrender we would not know about him today. I also suspect that history would have been rather unkind to him had this gamble not paid off, and that is what bravery in leadership is about.

Fortune favours the brave – even in leadership

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