Bring the chaos…

Back in 1805 Napolean lay on the doorstep of dominating England. The only thing in their way was an inferior British navy led by a dimunitive dude named Nelson. Napolean’s Admiral Villeneuve had a superior force, at least in size, as they lined up for battle back in the day. Nelson’s team, however, had a cultural advantage. You see, Nelson had been taking his team into practice for years. Sure, Villeneuve had been drilling his team as well. The difference, as always, lies in the details. Nelson taught his team how to think critically and rewarded individual initiative. Nelson created a team of leaders. So, on that fateful October 21st back in 1805, his team performed a non-traditional manuever that threw both sides into chaos. Chaos, you see, was the plan.

Nelson had prepared his team to think for themselves. Villeneuve had prepared his team to follow orders. Back in 1805 this crazy management difference saved the day. The British learned a lesson, you could say, from fighting this upstart band of brothers back in 1776. The crazy American’s didn’t fight fair or conventionally. The Redcoats were defeated in 1783 after seven years of fighting an enemy they could barely see and had the darndest time finding. Washington’s fighting force created chaos against a far superior fighting force and in the chaos those free thinking American’s came out on top.

Today, we’re facing ISIS abroad and all kinda crazy competitors in your once domestic, docile, predictable markets. We are losing share to start ups we can’t see from our shores. We are waiting a bit too long to act. We are getting beat because we’ve failed to build a workforce and make them do what they can – including teaching them to think critically.

So, like my friend durp has learned when his business has come under seige, the enemy is inaction. The enemy is waiting for the answer. The enemy is waiting too long. The answer is action, corrective action, and then another corrective action. Pretty soon, after a number of actions that proved less productive than you like, you stumble onto the one or two that leads to record performance in the face of real consolidation, big competitors, and all kinda problems. Congrats, durp and your team of leaders. Now if you could only translate your learning to your legs 🙂

The lesson from 1805 and the lesson from durp are the same. High performance teams gotta practice and learn how to think critically. And, leaders gotta make more decisions, more decisions, and course correct their way forward. Leaders gotta build a team that brings the chaos. Leaders gotta learn how to stomach the uncertainty. And, leaders gotta practice, practice, and practice some more. During practice, you see, leaders rise. You start to see some you’ve been missing. Who know’s when your Alicia’s gonna emerge and win the day, if you will. Who know’s.

Bring the chaos, friend. Bring the chaos. Good…