Saturday 25 July 2020

Leadership Lessons from Mehmed II, the Ottoman Emperor




“Either I conquer Istanbul or Istanbul conquers me.” ―Mehmed the Conqueror


During the global lockdown, I enjoyed watching the episodes of ‘Rise of Empires: Ottoman’ on Netflix. There are several lessons the present leaders must learn especially from Mehmed II, the Ottoman emperor.

Mehmed II was born on 30 March 1432. He was inspired by Alexander the Great. He was an intellectual who spoke several languages including Persian, Arabic, Greek, and Italian. He was a military genius. He had strategic thinking and effective PR. He was ambitious to build a multi-ethnic society. He was a great orator and knew how to motivate his people. He adopted unorthodox strategies, tactics, and tools to achieve the impossible―conquering Constantinople (today named Istanbul). He had advanced technology in those days. He attacked his enemies with massive cannonballs to pound the walls during the Constantinople conquest. He understood his people and enemies well and fought the battle accordingly. He fought the battle ferociously. He was persistent when odds were stacked against him. He had rivals within his army including Çandarlı Halil Paşa. He was aware that his daring attempt would cost his life and throne. His leadership gamble paid off finally. He conquered Constantinople on May 29, 1453 at the age of 21. He was poisoned to death on May 3, 1481. He died at the age of 49 years.


Leadership Lessons from the Ottoman emperor

“In order to see the boundaries of the probabilities, need to try impossible.” ―Mehmed the Conqueror

Here are some leadership lessons from the Ottoman emperor. Explore ways and means to win the battle even when the odds are stacked against you with different strategies, tactics, and techniques. Take feedback from reliable sources, and change your tactics accordingly. Be secretive. Be positive. Be persistent. Be patient.

Mehmed the Conqueror was a legendary Ottoman emperor who turned his scars into stars and left a great legacy. A leader should have wisdom, strategy, instinct, and loyal people to succeed. To conclude, understand your people, understand your competitors, and communicate with your stakeholders clearly to succeed as a great leader.   


“Tell your emperor; Where my power has reached, Emperor's dreams cannot reach!” ―Mehmed the Conqueror


Share if you care!



Read my ‘Vision 2030 One Million Global Leaders’ URL: http://professormsraovision2030.blogspot.com/2014/12/professor-m-s-raos-vision-2030-one_31.html  


Life is great!

Professor M.S. Rao
Founder of MSR Leadership Consultants, India


Thanks for reading!

Kindly share your thoughts and comments below, I’m sure someone out there will find your story useful.


Copyright©2020 MSR Leadership Consultants India. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.

This is a nonprofit blog to share Professor M.S. Rao’s passion and vision to build one million students as global leaders by 2030. Please don't cut articles from my blog and redistribute by email or post to the web. The use of this material is free provided copyright is acknowledged and reference or link is made to the Blog http://professormsraovision2030.blogspot.com.  This material may not be sold, or published in any form, or used in the provision of business services to a third party without permission.

at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)