In my professional life, I have the extraordinary honor and privilege to be witness to some of the most fascinating business conversations in the world. For almost a decade, I've had the chance to sit and listen to some of the world's most accomplished, C-level executives from top-tier companies share their perspective on what they've done right as well as that with which they struggle. To me, these executives who run large, complex corporate functions of global companies are luminaries. I often joke that I am the one person who doesn't belong in every room I'm in because I'm not at that level and don't claim to be. I simply help facilitate the discussions.
After nearly a decade of listening to these discussions, something struck me: The challenges that executives address are always the same things, over and over. When I look back, a clear pattern emerges. Whether the markets are thriving or near collapse, at the heart of the executive agenda is leadership effectiveness. More specifically, executives are always seeking ways to build better teams and be better leaders.
A funny thing happened to me a few years ago. Following nothing more than general interest, I began reading a lot about ancient Rome, in general, and Julius Caesar, in particular. I didn't know much about the guy at first. I knew he was ruthless, ambitious, a dictator, and he died a bloody death on the Ides of March. But with each page I read, I discovered that he was so much more interesting than what my cursory knowledge of history suggested. What is more, it struck me that Caesar uncovered truths about leadership that shed genuine light on the very modern, here-and-now business discussions I come across on a daily basis. Imagine my surprise when I realized that the one person who could answer some of the seemingly unanswerable leadership questions of today's top-performing executives had been dead for over two thousand years.
Caesar was truly a genius, and he packed several lifetimes of adventure, intrigue, drama, and daring into his fifty-five years. What was most surprising to me about him was that his leadership style was modern, so much so that the insights into leadership that propelled him to glory are just as spot-on relevant today.
The more I learned about Julius Caesar, the more I came to appreciate the depth of his humanity. At each stage of his career, he used his understanding of human nature masterfully to grow his power base.
Human nature doesn't change all that much. We have basically the same "operating system" as the people in Caesar's day. The only thing that has changed between then and now is the social context. Simply by reading up on the life and career of Caesar, I have gained priceless insights into leadership. With this book, I hope to pass on some of those timeless lessons by applying them to a modern social context. Oh, and there are pirates, and who doesn't love pirates?
