alexander

Leadership Process Two: Building Alliances 75
Concluding Thoughts on
Building Alliances
Alexander was a military genius. We typically picture military
leaders who are renowned for their battlefield acumen.
But Alexander will be remembered at least as much for his
empire-building skills. He built teams, governments, and
peoples. His alliance-building insights are unmatched in
history.
Alexander enlarged a defeated king’s territory after defeating
him (earning Porus’s loyalty after the Battle at the
River Hydaspes); befriended his enemy’s mother, wife, and
daughter (after the Battle at Issus, and later marrying the
daughter); married someone who did not speak the same
language (the Bactrian princess Roxane, who bore him his
only legitimate male heir); prepared to let a ‘‘barbarian’’
inherit the kingship (Roxane’s son by Alexander); and
chased a king from the battlefield to initiate a new dynasty
(the much reproduced mosaic at Pompeii shows this scene
at the Battle of Gaugamela). Such a wide range of alliances
illustrates an important leadership lesson.
A submariner once pointed out to me that despite my
obsession with Alexander the Great, alliances and cooperation
are far more important in strategic planning and implementation
than are battles and other forms of competition.
Alliances with suppliers, distributors, manufacturers’ representatives,
customers, trade groups, government regulators,
standards organizations, and other such entities make the
difference between success and excelling. When I finally realized
how critical alliance building was to Alexander, I af-