Learning from Anything

Not too long ago I was rambling about how you can learn something from anything and apply it to Training & Development. So my friend gave me a challenge.

He turned on the TV, and the History Channel appeared. It was a show about Alexander the Great’s victory at the Battle of Gaugamela.

My friend turned to me and smiled. I sat to watch the show…and the challenge began.

The year is 331BC. Alexander the Great is on the march; he is bringing his army into Asia to face his nemesis, King Darius III, and his Persian Army.?

Alexander is far from home, with long fragile supply lines. The Persian army outnumbers Alexander’s Army 5 to 1. But Alexander continues his march towards Persia.

The two armies eventually meet at Gaugamela, in what is northern Iraq today. Darius has positioned his army in a large open flat plain. The landscape favors Darius as the open space favors his large army, and the flatness will allow the deployment of his chariots. By the looks of it, King Darius should massacre Alexander.

But Alexander had a few tricks up his sleeve (or tunic…whatever they wore back then).

As the armies converged, dusk was falling.?Alexander orders his men to rest while sending a few troops out to set fires close to the front lines. This convinces the Persians that Alexander is going to attack at night. Darius assembles his troops in formation, in their heavy armor, to stand ready all night for an attack that never comes.?

When dawn breaks, another surprise is awaiting poor King Darius. Instead of the standard box formation of the day, the Greeks are formed up in what looks like a lopsided V pointing at the enemy. As they are puzzling over this, the battle begins.

Alexander sends his cavalry out…but not at the enemy. Instead, Alexander moves parallel to the Persian lines.?Confused, and fearing a flanking move, Darius sends his cavalry to shadow the Greeks. As the cavalries both move farther along, the Persians shift some of their infantry to keep them in front of the Greeks. This causes a small break in the middle of the Persian line.?

The Greek cavalry quickly turns to attack the opening while foot soldiers hidden behind the Greek horses engage the Persian cavalry, keeping them from blocking the Greek attack. Alexander, leading the charge into the opening, successfully causes panic and chaos and causes the Persian Army to break.

The Persians try to rally, but even their vaulted chariots, the most advanced weapons system of the day, with their archers and razor-sharp wheel blades are no use. Alexander had taught his troops to form defensive boxes to neutralize them. The Persian lines crumble and they begin to run away, including King Darius.

Alexander is about to give chase but stops. There are still some Persian units engaging his troops on his other flank.

So instead of pursuing the Persian King, Alexander turns his cavalry around and aids his troops. He saved his men at the expense of winning the war. But no matter, Alexander goes on to conquer Persia, as well as the rest of the known world.?

So concluded the exciting story of the Battle of Gaugamela. My friend then looked at me asking how does this apply to Training? So, I ticked off a few things…

First, think outside the box. Alexander’s trick of suggesting a night attack, and his unusual formation returned high dividends.?Always look for new ways to do things. But don’t do them just for the sake of doing something new. Do it because it adds value. On the flip side to this, be prepared for things happening outside your box.?Look what happened to the Persians when things were not as they expected, and they didn’t react.?They didn’t adapt, and they paid dearly for it.

Second, take a look at your technology. The Persian Chariots were the state-of-the-art weapon system of the day.?The Persians were convinced they would cut down any enemy. But a simple tactic took them out of the equation. Your computerized training may offer some of the most advanced features and functions ever seen. But are they being defeated by a workforce that doesn’t know about them? Or not trained on them??Is your technology being properly utilized and deployed?

Third, think ahead. Alexander anticipated the Persians' reactions to his unusual moves and how he could capitalize on them.?He also thought about the chariots and planned ahead on how he could take care of them. Thinking again, anticipating, planning…all of these makes anyone’s life easier.

Fourth, look after your people. Alexander could have let the remaining Persians decimate his troops while he pursued Darius. But that would have been a hollow victory, to have captured the enemy King at the expense of his infantry. Instead, he won the undying loyalty of his men by bringing back the cavalry. ?Now I hope none of you ever find yourself leading troops into battle and trying to decide between ending a war or saving your troops. But you’re likely to make ones distantly related to it…scheduling classes, arranging coverage so an instructor can go to a child’s baseball game, or the like. When making decision, remember to take care of your people.

I told my friend I could go on…like how to use the training department could conquer all of HR….then conduct flanking moves on Marketing while engaging in guerilla tactics on accounting….all leading to eventual domination of the company.?But we’ll have to save that for another column.