Creative Execution: What Great Leaders Do to Unleash Bold Thinking and Innovation

Chapter 2

Nelson at Trafalgar

In case signals cannot be clearly seen or understood, no captain can do very wrong if he places his ship alongside that of the enemy.

—Lord Nelson

In early 1805, French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte is at the apex of his power. Unlike Alexander, who had spent his childhood learning the art of Greek and Macedonian warfare in order to lead the conquest of Persia, Napoleon grew up on the remote island of Corsica and embarked on his military career at the age of 15, when he joined the Royal Military Academy in Paris. The following year, the promising second lieutenant was sent to complete his apprenticeship with a French artillery regiment. When the French Revolution broke out in 1789, Napoleon quickly rose through the ...