by Jonathan Gifford | Apr 1, 2012 | Leaders from History
In the later phase of the French Revolution, Napoleon Bonaparte – then a mere Brigadier General (who had, in fact, recently been struck off by the revolutionary Committee of Public Safety and was therefore technically an ex-Brigadier General) famously said that...
by Jonathan Gifford | Mar 7, 2012 | Leaders from History
Napoleon’s first opportunity to demonstrate his exceptional leadership skills came with the French Revolution – the dramatic social upheaval that swept away all of France’s previous power structures and hierarchies, giving this apparently unremarkable...
by Jonathan Gifford | Mar 19, 2011 | Leaders from History
One of the defining aspects of leadership is courage: having the bravery not only to stand up and ask people to follow but also to put one’s head over the parapet. Napoleon Bonaparte – the successful young general who emerged unexpectedly as...
by Jonathan Gifford | Oct 11, 2010 | Business & Leadership
A version of this article first appeared in the June 2010 issue of Strategy magazine, with the title What lies beneath? Several leading modern business leaders seem, surprisingly, to downplay the importance of strategy. You can make too much fuss about strategy, they...
by Jonathan Gifford | Jan 9, 2010 | Leaders from History
I must confess that I have a bit of thing about Napoleon. A quick check on Amazon will show you (reassuringly, perhaps, for me) that I am not alone. There are a lot of books about Napoleon. If you are a student of leadership, then you come up against Napoleon like a...