Some people have accused Saddam Hussein of being a madman. However, to give him credit, he has managed to hold onto power for decades, through a disastrous war with his neighbours, battles with an internal enemy and, of course, an attack by the mightiest military force the world has ever known. If he is crazy, he's crazy like a fox!
"Don't be attracted to easy paths," Hussein advised in the book Great Lessons, Commandments To Strugglers, The Patient and Holy Warriors, "because the paths that make your feet bleed are the only way to get ahead in life." Are there lessons here for corporate managers? You bet!
The easy path for any company would be to rest on its laurels, to stick with profitable product lines. This passage suggests that the more difficult path - putting resources into developing an Innovative Strategy - is the only way "to get ahead in life." Yes, initially your feet may bleed red ink, but developing new products and new corporate strategies for maximizing the profit gained from those products is the best thing for your business in the long run.
This passage can also refer to internal criticism. Nobody enjoys criticism, of course, and the easy path would be to stifle dissent within your organization. However, criticism can also challenge you to think outside the box and contribute to your Information Agenda. Letting your feet bleed - psychologically - can contribute to your company's evolution and long-term growth and wellbeing.
"Don't provoke a snake unless you have the intention and power to cut off his head," Saddam Hussein wrote.
One method of corporate growth is, of course, to expand into a new market. However, an incumbent with an entrenched market share is a very dangerous snake, indeed. Here, Hussein reminds us that careful study must be made before entering a new market; if you cannot quickly gain sufficient market share of your own to challenge the incumbent - to cut off his head - you should consider another course of action.
This passage also suggests that, within your company, you be careful about raiding other divisions for outside contracts or personnel. If you cannot cut off your rival's head, you may start a debilitating internal battle that will divert much of your company's time and resources away from efforts to improve the bottom line.
"If you rule, rule in a fair way, and don't let your heart take part in the ruling, or let a criminal who cannot be rehabilitated escape punishment."
Such a simple passage, so many profound implications! To begin with, this is an admonition not to allow executive compensation to grow too large. Although Hussein doesn't go into such details, if employers don't use fairness in how people are paid, the results cannot help but be negative, including increased absenteeism, employee vandalism and theft and significantly lower productivity owing to generally low employee morale.
What is true for compensation is also true for punishment. Our heart may tell us to spare the incompetent secretary we want to come away with us for a weekend to Aspen or the lazy worker who happens to be a close relative of the CEO. However, our personal short term gain may not be in the best long-term interests of the company. Always remember: if the company does not survive, all your good intentions will not save others (or, for that matter, you).
This is especially true of having to rightplace employees, which some executives will cheerfully get root canals to avoid. No amount of counseling will rehabilitate the employee who has burned down the company commissary for the third time; obviously, he should not expect to escape punishment. Frankly, some (former) employees will see their rightplacement for what it is: a message from a desperate employer to change their foolish, unproductive ways.
"Keep people's secrets and don't tell them to other's or use them against them."
There is no evidence to suggest that Saddam Hussein uses, or even has access to, a computer. Nonetheless, in the Information Age, advice about secrets couldn't be more relevant.
Competitive Advantage must be a part of any corporation's Innovation Formula; you must find a better way to do something people already do, or something that people haven't done before, but, with the right amount of coaching, could be convinced to do. Once you have this, it gives you an advantage over your competition that you need to maintain for as long as possible. Fortunately, copyright and patent laws are frequently being strengthened to ensure that you can keep your secrets.
Internally, employees may come to you with problems that they do not want other employees to know. By all means, help them with their problems if you have the time and feel so inclined. However, do not tell anybody else what has been told to you. In this way, you have something to hold over the employee in case you ever need something from him or her.
NEXT: Chapter 8: Pol Pot.
