What were the management secrets of Genghis Khan?
1. Leadership: Mongol officers were chosen based on
merit, rather than class, in contrast to most armies of the
Middle Ages. Even Genghis Khan's successor was voted on by his
three sons; the two oldest avoided civil war by selecting
their baby brother, Ogadai, whom they served loyally.
The Mongols' egalitarian management and succession style,
and openness to new tools and ideas, led to long-term
stability for their empire, which lasted for hundreds of
years. In most areas of Asia, they were never conquered but
were gradually assimilated into the local populations.
2. Lean Organization: The Mongol "horde" was
anything but disorganized. ...
3. Lean Technology: The transportation and
weapons of the Mongols also fostered flexibility and
responsiveness to changing circumstances. ...
4. Technology Transfer: The Mongols did not
have a written language, and they had little
specialized technology, aside from the composite bow.
But they ... valued them, and would quickly assimilate
the expertise -- and experts -- of the societies they
conquered, particularly China. The "Not-Invented-Here"
syndrome was not a concern for the Mongols.
5. Aggressive Process as a Strategic Weapon:
The combination of organizational self-discipline,
flexibility and aggressiveness allowed the Mongols to
defeat larger armies of that era that were rigidly
organized, and whose discipline was superficial.
The Mongols cultivated these efficient,
collaborative qualities in their horsemen from an
early age by their traditional hunt on the Mongolian
steppe, where they would encircle large numbers of
animals and gradually herd them together for
butchering, rather than chasing them down
individually.
...
Interestingly, historians suggest that the
Mongols were not necessarily more bloodthirsty
than the societies they conquered, only more
ruthlessly efficient. They did treat loyal
subjects fairly and, as nature-worshipping
animists, did not oppress people or societies
for ideological motives -- in an era where
religious wars and massacres were the norm.
“Management Secrets of
Genghis Khan”, by Isaac Cheifetz, Minneapolis Star Tribune, January
17, 2005
|
Born around 975, Crinan of Dunkeld was the Thane and Seneschal of the
Isles. He was the father of King Duncan I, and grandfather of Gospatric.
Gospatric was given the Earldom of Northumberland in 1067 by the
recently arrived William the Conqueror.
In 1072 however, the Earldom was taken back from him. So Gospatric
came to Scotland and was made Earl of Dunbar by King Malcolm III. The
town and port of Dunbar, on the Lothian coast, has been the scene of
many important events in the history of Scotland. The Dunbars were not
supporters of Robert the Bruce or a Scottish crown and after the
Battle of
Bannockburn
in 1314 they sheltered the fleeing, defeated Edward II at Dunbar
Castle until he could leave Scotland by sea.
It is believed that if Patrick of Dunbar had detained Edward then he
would have had to recognise the Scottish crown and make peace with
Bruce. Instead the two countries fought on for many more bloody years.
In 1315, Dunbar and King Robert, who were cousins, settled their
differences and when the English occupied the lands of Berwick in
1337, where Dunbar was governor, he renounced any allegiance to Edward
III.
Dunbar Castle was then attacked by the Earl of Salisbury. The castle
was defended by Dunbar’s wife, Black Agnes, who exasperated Salisbury
until, after nineteen weeks, he retired to England in failure.
He wrote of her:-
She kept a stir in tower and trench
That brawling, boisterous Scottish wench.
Came I early, came I late,
I found Agnes at the gate.
When the greedy and jealous James I ruled, the huge wealth and
properties that the Dunbars had collected for over four hundred years
was annexed to the crown.
The 11th Earl, Sir George Dunbar of Kilconquhar, was the last. The
Dunbar house had expanded by this time to include the Earlship of
Moray, which they retained. In 1990 the present claim to the chiefship
was settled only after a celebrated court case which was heard first
before the Lord Lyon, King of Arms, then the Supreme Court of
Edinburgh, then the House of Lords.
© Copyright ScotClans. 2006
|
