The Working Week 94: Genghis Khan

It took just twenty years for Genghis Khan to go from a hunted outcast living rough on a mountainside to the leader of the largest land empire the world has ever seen - four times the size of Alexander the Great's, twice the size of Rome's.

In this week's Working Week, Wayne finds out from John Man, author of Leadership Secrets of Genghis Khan, how he did this and what lessons he can teach us about the nature of leadership.

First and foremost, John says, we need to forget the myth that Genghis Khan was nothing more than a murderous tyrant who got his way through sheer terror. In fact Khan was a leader of exceptional vision and modernity and arguably the greatest leader the world has ever seen.

What made Genghis Khan so great was partly an overwhelming sense of destiny, a belief in his own "divine" purpose that meant his ego never got in the way of his mission. But more than this, he listened to advice, was open to criticism from both family and associates and wasn't blinded by ideology.

Pragmatic rather than dogmatic, he used talent wherever he found it and promoted on merit – some of his key lieutenants were Chinese or Muslim – and was able to look beyond conquest to the idea of government. He also understood his own limitations, notably that Mongolians had no written language – so he imported one.

Of course, nobody is arguing that someone who wrought such devastation is a role model, but his ability to galvanize those around him, execute a clear strategy and make the best use of the resources on offer, he certainly has plenty of lessons to offer today's hard-pressed executives.

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