From Viscount Nelson, victorious British commander in chief at the naval battle of Trafalgar, we get this insight for initiative and independent action, as described by Admiral James Stavridis in his book "Sea Power":
Nelson knew he would not have clear and instantaneous communication ... [making] precise command and control impossible.
As [Nelson] said in his [planning] memorandum: "Something must be left to chance; nothing is sure ... "
"In case signals can neither be seen or perfectly understood, no captain can do very wrong if he places his ship along side the enemy ..."
So, there's some good stuff there for project managers:
- Don't lean heavily on the idea you will always be in touch when it matters
- Accept the idea that command and control systems have their limits; other processes work also
- Do think it through and commit to a plan -- even though the plan itself may not survive first contact with project reality [some would call this making an estimate .... gasp!]
- Set expectations and then unambiguously delegate authority to meet those expectations
- Nelson was killed in the battle, taking one risk too many
Buy them at any online book retailer!
