The art of leadership
On the importance of the leader
It was not the Roman army that subdued Gaul but Caesar; it was not the Carthaginian army that shook Rome but
Hannibal.
Napoleon
The leader must be on the ground
His presence on the battlefield was worth that of forty thousand men.
The Duke of Wellington on Napoleon
(British general, winner of Napoleon at Waterloo)
The importance of the presence of the chef
The physical presence of the general is essential: he is the head, he is the whole of an army.
Napoleon
A head to the team rather than a team to the head! Two bosses are more likely to argue than just one…
One bad general is better than two good ones.
Napoleon
You can be intelligent, educated and… make mistakes
The capacity for discernment is one of the first qualities of the leader, instinct completes it.
Charles de Gaulle
On the importance of the mind
A leader who is afraid is lost.
Napoleon
The job comes first
With good soldiers, we win the battles and we take the spoils; with money you only buy bad mercenaries.
Napoleon
Tolerating a certain amount of the unknown
War is the domain of uncertainty
Carl von Clausewitz
(Prussian general officer and military theorist [1780 – 1831], author of a major treatise on military strategy entitled
On War)
