Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun

1
Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun

• Based on the book by Wess Roberts, Warner Books,
  New York., N.Y., 1987

2
Attila the Hun

• The Romans have done great things, but their
  time is past. What they have done, we can do. We
  should rule the world.
• Attila the Hun

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Lust for Leadership Youve Got to want to Be in
Charge

• Above all other traits, one who desires to lead
  must possess an intrinsic desire to achieve
  substantial personal recognition and be willing
  to earn it in all fairness.

4
Lust for Leadership Youve Got to want to Be in
Charge

• You must remember that success in your office
  will depend largely upon your sustained
  willingness to work hard. Sweat rules over
  inspiration.

5
Lust for Leadership Youve Got to want to Be in
Charge

• You must not be threatened by capable
  contemporaries or subordinates. Be wise in
  selecting capable captains to achieve those
  things a chieftain can attain only through strong
  subordinates.

6
Lust for Leadership Youve Got to want to Be in
Charge

• You've got to be ruthlessly ambitious. Never be
  bored, disinterested, or cowardly in any way
  about always strengthening your position. Good
  leaders are lustful leaders. Power is like sex,
  but don't appear overeager, just extremely
  determined to succeed under any circumstances,
  fair or unfair. This will inspire confidence in
  those you lead

7
Peace in the Campus Morale and Discipline

• Huns seek discipline in their lives. They are
  more willingly to follow chieftains who are
  themselves disciplined.

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Peace in the Campus Morale and Discipline

• Wise chieftains realize that unduly harsh and
  unnecessary lax discipline will undo the morale
  of their Huns.

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Peace in the Campus Morale and Discipline

• NEVER CONDONE A LACK OF MORALE OR DISCIPLINE --
  Terminate people at the first sign of disrespect
  for the common good, but by no means stifle
  individualism or punish the innocent who don't
  know the common good.  Definitely, do not allow
  uncontrolled celebration. Pillaging and looting
  are only fun if done in the name of nationalism. 
  Discipline will build morale

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Peace in the Campus Morale and Discipline

• NEVER TOLERATE ANYONE WITH THEIR OWN AMBITIONS --
  People who are "cunning" are dangerous,
  especially new people who have just joined the
  organization. Be vigilant about how people lose
  their ambition and become team players that is
  the pattern you want everyone to follow. Never
  reward anyone for what is a common effort. The
  spirit of unity must prevail

11
The Fury of Internal Battles Cunning in the
Tribes

• Be wise and anticipate the Brutus of your camp.
  Beware of the treacherous Hun who pledges loyalty
  in public then spreads discontent in private.
  Make every effort to identify and remove those
  ignoble characters, be they chieftains or your
  best warriors.

12
The Fury of Internal Battles Cunning in the
Tribes

• Be approachable listen to both good and bad news
  from your Huns.
• Be principled, not inflexible.

13
The Tribute Paying and Receiving Deference

• When deference is born of fear, it results in an
  unwillingness to serve and becomes manifested as
  passive resistance to authority and purpose.

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The Tribute Paying and Receiving Deference

• Real deference results in unyielding loyalty- a
  tribe full of spirits and willing to follow their
  chieftain in to the mouth of hell.

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The Tribute Paying and Receiving Deference

• Always pay proper courtesy to your subordinate
  leaders. Should you fail to accord them respect,
  so will the subordinates.

16
The Tribute Paying and Receiving Deference

• MAKE OTHERS ADAPT TO YOUR "CUSTOMS" -- Make
  people do things your way, not their way. Make
  them adjust or adapt to you. Express this as the
  way things are going to be from now on, or
  pretend it's the way things have always been.
  Refuse to acknowledge any other way of doing
  things other than the way you do things. This
  will extract tribute and praise from those you
  lead

17
Battle Dress and Armament Chieftains Are As
They Appear to Their Huns

• When on the hunt, be prepared to hunt. Take your
  best bow and lace, and wear the clothing that
  will serve you well as you chase the wild beasts
  in the forest.

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Battle Dress and Armament Chieftains Are As
They Appear to Their Huns

• A chieftain should dress in fine skins and
  furs-not to be draped by gold and silver
  adornments. Pompous appearance breeds hate and
  give rise to contempt and laughter among the
  ranks.

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Battle Dress and Armament Chieftains Are As
They Appear to Their Huns

• ALWAYS APPEAR AS THE ONE IN CHARGE -- Dress
  appropriately for your high station in life. Own
  the biggest horse and sword. Be first in
  everything, but never appear pompous. Be marked
  with armament that distinguishes you from the
  masses

20
Leading the Charge Responsibilities of the
Chieftain

• By their own actions, not their words, do leaders
  establish the morale, integrity and sense of
  justice of their subordinate commanders. They
  cannot say one thing and do another.

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Leading the Charge Responsibilities of the
Chieftain

• Leaders must attach value to high standards of
  performance and have no tolerance for the
  uncommitted.

22
Leading the Charge Responsibilities of the
Chieftain

• Chieftains must teach their Huns well that which
  is expected of them. Otherwise, Huns will
  probably do something not expected of them.

23
The Omen of Aquileia The Essentials of
Decisiveness

• Wise is the chieftain who never makes a decision
  when he doesnt understand the issue.

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The Omen of Aquileia The Essentials of
Decisiveness

• A chieftain should allow his subordinates the
  privilege of making decisions appropriate to
  their level of responsibility. Weak is the
  chieftain who reserves every decision for himself
  out of fear that he might lose control.

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The Omen of Aquileia The Essentials of
Decisiveness

• It takes less courage to criticize the decisions
  of others that stand by your own.

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The Omen of Aquileia The Essentials of
Decisiveness

• Self-confidence is critical to decisiveness, for
  without it, a chieftain loses his following in
  challenging situations.

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The Omen of Aquileia The Essentials of
Decisiveness

• USE TIMING IN MAKING DECISIONS -- Never rush a
  decision, although sometimes you have to because
  the moment is ripe or an omen exists. It's better
  to use timing, to find the obscure places and
  critical elements needed to ensure you always
  make the right decision.  This way, you ensure
  that even a less-than-perfect decision is
  followed. Time your decisions

28
Horse Holders The Art of Delegation

• Chieftains should never delegate responsibilities
  necessitating their direct attention.

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Horse Holders The Art of Delegation

• Wise chieftains grant both authority and
  responsibility to those to whom they have
  delegated assignments.

30
Booty Rewarding Your Huns

• Be generous with small tokens of
  appreciation-they will multiply in retuned
  loyalty and service.

31
Booty Rewarding Your Huns

• EXPLOIT THE DESIRE TO ENJOY THE SPOILS OF WAR --
  Harness your peoples' desires for short-term
  gains.  Grant small rewards for light tasks.
  Reserve heaps of booty for other times, and be
  generous with items that hold a value to
  yourself. Never underestimate the ability to buy
  obedience

32
Attila and the Pope The Art of Negotiation

• It is never wise to gain by battle what may be
  gained through bloodless negotiations.

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Attila and the Pope The Art of Negotiation

• Honor all commitments you make during
  negotiations lest your enemy fail to trust your
  word in the future.

34
Attila and the Pope The Art of Negotiation

• Never trust negotiations to luck. Enter every
  session armed with knowledge of the enemys
  strengths and weaknesses knowing his secrets
  makes you strong.

35
Attila and the Pope The Art of Negotiation

• ONLY ENGAGE IN WARS YOU CAN WIN -- Use diplomacy,
  negotiation, or other techniques of conflict in
  battles you cannot win. When in a political war,
  always keep an eye to your rear. When in an
  external war, go all out. Waging war is a
  natural condition

36
Surviving Defeat There is Another Day

• Sometimes you will lose, regardless of how
  prepared you are to win.

37
Surviving Defeat There is Another Day

• Lament, if necessary, but do not dwell too long
  on your bad moments lest they rise to rule your
  emotions forever.
• As a Hun breathes, all is not lost.

38
The Bones of Caravans Past Lessons Learned

• We must never fail to analyze the past. No
  bleached bone of a battle lost Hun must go
  unnoticed as we prepare for the future by laying
  aside the ill-conceived and undisciplined
  strategies of our past.

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The book ends with a selection of Attilaisms
Consider the following
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A king with chieftains who always agree with him
reaps the counsel of mediocrity.
41
The greatness of a Hun is measured by the
sacrifices he is willing to make.
42
Seldom are self-centered, conceited and
self-admired chieftains great leaders, but they
are great idolizers themselves.
43
Great chieftains never take themselves too
seriously.
44
It is unfortunate when final decisions are made
by the chieftains headquarters-miles away from
the front.
45
The ability to make difficult decisions separates
Chieftains from Huns.
46
Wise chieftains never place their Huns in
situations where their weaknesses will prevail
over their strengths.
47
Delegation is not abdication. Abdication is a
sign of weakness. Delegation is a sign of
strength.
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Huns should engage only in wars they can win.
49
For Huns, conflict is a natural state.
50
Critical to a Huns success is a clear
understanding of what the King wants.
51
There is more nobility in being a good Hun than
in being a poor chieftain.
52
If an incompetent chieftain is removed, seldom do
we appoint his highest-raking subordinate to his
place. For when a chieftain has failed, so
likewise have his subordinate leaders.
53
If you tell a Hun he is doing a good job when he
isnt, he will not listen long and, worse, will
not believe praise when it is justified.
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Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun

• Based on the book by Wess Roberts, Warner Books,
  New York., N.Y., 1987