How to Win Hearts and Minds
The true measure of leadership is seen in a culture of caring
“In war, three-quarters turns on personal character and relations; the balance of manpower and materials counts only for the remaining quarter.”
— Napoleon Bonaparte, 1808
The best leaders know that at the highest level, there are three aspects to business they can influence: people, processes, and technology.
But when we look at so many of them, where do we see their focus?
Often, we find them obsessing over the technology aspect.
They worry about enterprise software, infrastructure, cybersecurity, data management, AI, equipment, buildings, and much more.
But how much do they pour into concern for their people? By inspiring them, providing a clear and compelling vision, and communicating relentlessly, good leaders have plenty of willing followers, even under the direst of circumstances.
Moral Power vs. Physical Power
In 1808, Napoleon Bonaparte (who crowned himself emperor four years prior) had installed his brother Joseph as the king of Spain. Needless to say, the Spanish were not satisfied with this development.
Napoleon reminded Joseph that he needed to win over the people, writing to him on August 27, 1808 from the palace of Saint-Cloud:
“In war, moral power is to physical as three parts out of four.”1
There are many instances in history where moral power has succeeded over physical power. During the Civil Rights movement in the United States, the nonviolent approach of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. played a crucial role in achieving civil rights for African Americans.
Another example is the independence movement in India, where Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy of nonviolent resistance helped India gain independence from British rule. In both these cases, the moral power of the movement was able to overcome the physical power of the oppressor.
More recently, we’ve seen Volodymyr Zelenskyy continue to defend his country from an invasion by Russia, as his country and its military is dwarfed by the supernation attacking from next door. Despite its smaller size, Ukraine has a fierceness, imagination, and passion that power their defense.2
“Thrice is he armed that hath his quarrel just”
— William Shakespeare, 1591
In all of these examples, we have leaders who communicated to their people regularly, reminding them of what they were fighting for and why their mission was so important.
They showed that people matter the most.
Unpeople Person
On the other hand, there are some leaders who lead with their egos — who act as if they’re the center of their own universe.3
One day at the Apple headquarters, a lower-level employee found himself in the elevator with Steve Jobs, then the CEO. As the elevator doors closed, Jobs turned to the employee and pointedly asked, “So, what do you do for me?”
The employee stood there, dumbfounded and terrified, having been put on the spot and intimidated by one of the most powerful leaders in tech. Jobs left without getting an answer.
On the other hand, I witnessed Alan Mulally, CEO of Ford, walking down the hallway of the first floor of Ford headquarters, bound for the cafeteria. He stopped employees, shook their hands, and said, “Hi, I’m Alan. What’s your name?” and then proceeded to ask them about themselves.
Now, everyone knew who Alan was. But he was the kind of leader who was relentlessly curious and actually cared about the people with whom he served.
“If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am only for myself, what am I?”
— Pirkei Avot 1:14
I was struck this week when I saw a video of Jeff Bezos taking a tour of Blue Origin’s New Glenn factory. Watch this and see if you see what I see:
I see a man in a hurry who is more than happy to hear compliments (“You’re doing a great job”), is incurious about employees (doesn’t ask him for more information or seem to be interested in his job), and eager to be on his way (his body is turned away from the man).
In my time at Ford, I had plenty of occasions to see CEO Alan Mulally and Executive Chairman Bill Ford interact with plant employees like the one above. And their interactions couldn’t have been more different than Bezos’.
They asked employees’ names, stood face to face with them, inquired about their jobs and families, and made them feel like the most important person in the room at the moment.
Their body language, contact, thoughtful questions, active and intentional listening, and leaving only when their handlers insisted they were out of time — all of these actions showed how deeply and sincerely they cared about their people.
Every business will always have operational and physical details that need attention.
But your people need your attention the most.
There’s so much to learn,
Related:
From Napoleon’s notes entitled Observations on Spanish Affairs
“Ukraine’s Three-to-One Advantage,” The Atlantic, March 22, 2024
An essential book on this topic is Ego Is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday, Portfolio/Penguin, 2016