CHAPTER  |  THREE

Drucker's Favorite Leadership Book

As I write these words, Doris Drucker, Peter Drucker's widow, is 101 years young.¹ She is bright, charming, and energetic. She exercises with weights, plays a mean game of tennis, and travels the world promoting Peter's values and ideas. Doris has accomplished much in her own right. She has a master's degree in physics from Fairleigh Dickinson University, an honorary doctorate from Claremont Graduate University, and became CEO of her own company, RSQ, an organization to manufacture and market a voice-volume monitor invented by herself and a partner in 1996. I consider her a good friend and she has been a wise mentor.

A couple years back, Doris Drucker was interviewed on video for a monthly video magazine then published by the Drucker School and was asked what management books Peter read. She divulged an important secret. Though he read business magazines and newspapers extensively, he only skimmed most management books. However, he did read many books on history, as he sought the lessons they offered that could be adapted to business management.

There was one leadership book, however, that Drucker not only read but also considered his favorite. He noted, “The first systematic book on leadership—the Kyropaidaia by Xenophon, himself no mean leader of men—is still the best book on the subject.”² Despite all the books that have been published on leadership by well-known academic researchers and successful CEOs, he never altered that opinion. Xenophon's book, written around 400 B.C., was still the best, according to Drucker. “The scores of books, papers and speeches on leadership in business enterprise that come out every year have little to say on the subject that was not already old when the Prophets spoke and Aeschylus wrote.”³ Xenophon's advice was and is still applicable for today's executive.

Who Was Xenophon?

Who was this man whose writings on leadership the “Father of Modern Management” thought were the absolute best ever on the subject? Xenophon was a junior officer, part of a 10,000-man Greek army hired by the Persian pretender to the throne, Cyrus the Younger, to defeat his brother (King Artaxerxes II of Persia) in the fourth century B.C. At the time, the Greeks were considered the best infantrymen in the world. Cyrus thought that with these trained mercenary troops, he could defeat his brother's vastly superior force and seize the throne.

He was almost right. At first things went well and the Greek army appeared unbeatable. Unfortunately for the Greeks, in a crucial battle in Persia, Cyrus the Younger was killed. The victorious Persians invited the Greek generals to a feast, to be followed by negotiations to discuss the Greek army's withdrawal from Persia. All attendees on both sides were to be unarmed. You've heard the expression, “Beware of Greeks bearing gifts!”—that's a reference to the Trojan horse, but this was a Persian trap.

As soon as the unarmed Greek generals entered the Persian camp, they were cut off from any support and were massacred. The leaderless 10,000-man Greek army was now stranded thousands of miles from home and was surrounded by hostile forces. Undoubtedly this enhanced promotional opportunities in the Greek ranks. At a meeting to decide what to do, new leaders were elected and Xenophon was elevated to the rank of general. Apparently he had the articulation and charisma of a Barack Obama, as the young and relatively inexperienced Xenophon was soon made the general-in-chief.

In the book The Persian Expedition, Xenophon tells how he came to be overall commander and how he and his men fought to return to the Black Sea, battling against overwhelming odds every step of the way. This march to the sea, one of the most famous in ancient history, took five months. It is a story of courage, improvisation, and discipline, self-sacrifice, and, above all, leadership.

Inaction Is Worse Than No Action at All

After the Greek generals were killed, there was considerable fear in the Greek camp, but no one wanted to take action. Xenophon was not a general. He wasn't even a senior Greek officer. The 10,000 defeated men were just talking and voicing their fears. In their hearts, they knew that the Persians planned to attack them and sell them into slavery, but they were afraid to admit it, even to themselves. Many wanted to negotiate with the Persians. They thought they could reach some sort of arrangement to save their lives.

Think of British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and his negotiations with Adolf Hitler, during which he agreed to sacrifice the democratic state of Czechoslovakia in order to win a promise of peace. Chamberlain thought that this act would save lives and win “peace in our time.” But Xenophon knew 2,000 years earlier that you can't do business with an aggressor. He asked himself, “What am I doing here doing nothing? What city is going to produce the general to take the right steps? Am I waiting to become a little older? If I don't take action, I'll never become older—I'll be dead!” So, Xenophon stepped forward and told his comrades that they had no hope in trying to negotiate. He explained what needed to be done. He spoke convincingly, and so they elected him as general and then overall commander.⁴

This is a lesson for all of us in business, no matter the size or nature of our organization. There is never a reason for inaction, whether or not there is an emergency. We must never take council of our fears, even when there is something to fear. There will always be those who say, “If we can just be understanding and give these fellows what they want, we can avoid fighting.”

Xenophon knew that people must always face the facts and take whatever action needs to be taken, even if it is difficult and hazardous. As the saying goes, “Don't just stand there—do something!” And Xenophon did. He took charge and convinced his fellow Greeks not to surrender or to trust the Persians, who had already proven themselves untrustworthy by slaughtering their Greek leaders under a flag of truce.

Other Leadership Points from Xenophon

After becoming overall commander, and appointing his subordinate generals, Xenophon called them all together and gave them some important instruction in leadership:

1. You set the example. If you are downhearted, your men will become cowards. If you are clearly prepared to meet the enemy and call on your soldiers to do their part, you can be sure they will try to be like you.
2. You must hold yourself to be braver than the mass of men, and be the first to do the hard work.
3. You must be in control and exercise discipline, for when no one exercises control, nothing useful ever gets done.
4. You must get your soldiers thinking about what positive actions each must take to be successful; otherwise, they will think only about what is going to happen to them.⁵

When one soldier complained that he had to walk and carry a shield while Xenophon, who was wearing heavy cavalry armor, was mounted, Xenophon jumped from his horse, took the man's shield, and pushed him out of the ranks. Xenophon then led the pace and encouraged others, while carrying the shield and wearing the heavy cavalry breast plate as well. When the going was light, he led on horseback, but when the terrain was difficult or it was impossible to ride, he dismounted and led on foot.⁶

When some of his soldiers were disheartened because the Greeks had few cavalry, whereas the Persians had an abundance of mounted soldiers, Xenophon told them something that, centuries later, General George S. Patton would say to his army: “Wars may be fought with weapons, but they are won by men.” But Xenophon put it this way: “Ten thousand cavalry only amount to ten thousand men. No one has ever died in battle by being bitten or kicked by a horse; it is men who do whatever gets done in battle.”⁷

The same can be said about any human endeavor: It is men and women who get the job done and complete the project. So if your employees are despondent, or overly concerned about a lack of resources when compared with a competitor or in the situation they face, remember Xenophon: It is people, not horses, that win battles—or marketing campaigns, political campaigns, or anything else. This doesn't mean that resources count for nothing, but it does mean that they are not the deciding factor—people are. You can be successful with reduced resources, but not without committed people.

Servant Leadership Recommended by Xenophon 2,500 Years Ago

In 600 B.C., Cyrus the Great of Persia was a monarch who conquered the ancient Near East. Yet, according to Xenophon, Cyrus was a wise ruler who chose not to motivate his people by customary “carrot and stick.” (We must remember that it was Xenophon writing this history. These events had occurred a couple hundred years earlier, so his account reflects some interpretation. Nevertheless, Xenophon was an experienced commander who recognized good decision making.) Here's Xenophon's story about Cyrus the Great when he was simply “Cyrus.”

Cyrus's father once asked his son what he thought was the best way to motivate his followers. Cyrus answered: “After reflecting about these things, I think I see in all of them that which especially incites to obedience is the praising and honoring of one who obeys and the dishonoring of the one who disobeys.”

Cyrus's father agreed that this was the way to gain obedience by compulsion, but he told his son that there was a far superior way in which human beings would obey “with great pleasure.” Moreover he told him that when people think they will incur harm in obeying, they are not so ready to respond to the threat of punishments or to be seduced by gifts. However, this other method of attaining voluntary obedience worked even when there was danger. Cyrus continued, explaining that the method wasn't very complicated. He only had to look after his subordinates better than they would take care of themselves and ensure that he took care of them even before looking to his own interests.⁸

Who would not want to follow a leader who would look to others’ interests before his own? Who would care more for individuals than himself? What do you think? Do you think that employees in your company might feel the same way and support a leader who thought more of them, as well as considered the organization's interests?

Some of Drucker's Thoughts on Xenophon

Of course, there is much more in Xenophon's writings about leadership, and many more valuable lessons for corporate leaders. Xenophon practiced leadership in a different time and a different place; his challenges were of a different type, yet the basic concepts hold true today. Drucker studied Xenophon's basis of leadership and combined it with his own experience, and the principles of integrity, commitment, and duty. These important lessons have in no way been improved upon by even the most recent research and writings on leadership. Whatever your leadership challenges, in whatever type of organization, you can learn much from Drucker's favorite book on leadership.