alexander

Leadership Process One: Reframing Problems 27
5: On Founding Cities
Alexander faced a problem greater than any leader in ancient
history—how to hold a new empire together without adequate
military resources to properly garrison it. No one before or
since (except possibly the Soviet Union in the twentieth century)
set out to integrate so many cultures, both eastern and
western. Alexander’s solution was to reframe the problem—
creating as many as seventy cities and towns. (Other solutions
are discussed in Chapter 4.)
Alexander had two recurring problems: what to do with the
wounded, the sick, the lame, the old, and the veterans
whose appointments expired, and how to control conquered
lands.
Alexander’s solution was to set up tactical military outposts,
peopled by a combination of wounded Macedonian
veterans (or those whose draft had expired), camp followers,
local volunteers, and a small garrison. They were always
located with good water, good land, and strategic military
value. Some of them—for example, Alexandria in Egypt—
were to become world centers. A few of the cities he
founded (such as the city named after his horse where it
died) were tokens to his ego.
Inferences and Allegations
Alexander solved the problem of treating veterans justly by
leaving a core collection of veterans (usually slightly
wounded) with some locals and giving them land. He