Leadership Lessons from Underdogs

There's no need to fear; Underdog is here

Snow Storm: Hannibal Crossing the Alps by Joseph Mallord William Turner, 1812 (Wikipedia - public domain)

“When a humble and much inferior combatant is matched against a celebrated and seemingly invincible athlete, the sympathy of the crowd is at once given to the inferior man.” — Polybius, 212 BC

We all love an underdog.

There’s something about seeing an individual or an entity that is against the ropes, struggling to survive, and giving it their all to make a comeback.

In America, the notion is nearly baked into the recipe of our origins: the scrappy Minutemen and ragtag bands of troops with bare feet who served under George Washington were able to defeat the most powerful military force in the world.

Here are a handful of examples of underdogs, past and present.

They Said It Couldn’t Be Done

In 216 BC, the Carthaginians and their allies, led by Hannibal (who had previously crossed the Alps with his army and elephants), seized control at Cannae. It was a strategic strike, as the grain d…