Back to school with Alexander the Great
A book dedicated to the concept of the leader outlines a management method that traces its origins back to history and extends to the present day
Learning from the ancients to become more modern. This advice can be applied to everyone and everything, including prudent business management. It’s not about looking at the past indiscriminately; it’s about rediscovering experiences and methods that can still be useful and relevant today. This is what Gianfranco Di Pietro (a philosopher) and Andrea Lipparini (a business strategy expert) have achieved in their recently published book, ‘Il coraggio e la visione. Alessandro Magno e la leadership generativa’ (Courage and vision: Alexander the Great and generative leadership), which, as the title suggests, is about the life of Alexander the Great.
The two authors begin with a question. What can Alexander the Great teach today’s leaders? While the answer is clearly plenty, the details must be explained carefully. On the one hand, he is an example of courage, charisma, strategic skills and an extraordinary ability to inspire others to achieve remarkable things. On the other hand, however, at a certain point in the story, his success begins to crumble, difficulties become apparent, and his ability to stop and go back in order to avoid losing everything emerges. The book conveys all of this, offering a modern interpretation of Alexander the Great’s experience.
After an initial section on the general characteristics of leadership, illustrated with the example of Enzo Ferrari, the book moves on to tell the story of Alexander the Great from historical and managerial perspectives. Finally, everything comes together in the final chapter, ‘Leaders of our desires. Traces of generative leadership’, which outlines a new approach to leadership inspired by Alexander the Great’s experiences in nine steps.
When read with a modern perspective, Di Pietro and Lipparini’s book offers practical insights for today’s organisational leaders. It addresses questions such as how to build trust, foster consensus and maintain a shared vision during periods of profound change. It also highlights common mistakes, such as leadership that centres on the hero rather than the collective cause and a lack of recognition of an ideal felt by all. The true ‘going above and beyond’, the two authors make clear, even for those who run a business, lies in recognising one’s own limits, not accepting them, but overcoming them.
Il coraggio e la visione. Alessandro Magno e la leadership generativa
Gianfranco Di Pietro, Andrea Lipparini
Il Mulino, 2025
A book dedicated to the concept of the leader outlines a management method that traces its origins back to history and extends to the present day
Learning from the ancients to become more modern. This advice can be applied to everyone and everything, including prudent business management. It’s not about looking at the past indiscriminately; it’s about rediscovering experiences and methods that can still be useful and relevant today. This is what Gianfranco Di Pietro (a philosopher) and Andrea Lipparini (a business strategy expert) have achieved in their recently published book, ‘Il coraggio e la visione. Alessandro Magno e la leadership generativa’ (Courage and vision: Alexander the Great and generative leadership), which, as the title suggests, is about the life of Alexander the Great.
The two authors begin with a question. What can Alexander the Great teach today’s leaders? While the answer is clearly plenty, the details must be explained carefully. On the one hand, he is an example of courage, charisma, strategic skills and an extraordinary ability to inspire others to achieve remarkable things. On the other hand, however, at a certain point in the story, his success begins to crumble, difficulties become apparent, and his ability to stop and go back in order to avoid losing everything emerges. The book conveys all of this, offering a modern interpretation of Alexander the Great’s experience.
After an initial section on the general characteristics of leadership, illustrated with the example of Enzo Ferrari, the book moves on to tell the story of Alexander the Great from historical and managerial perspectives. Finally, everything comes together in the final chapter, ‘Leaders of our desires. Traces of generative leadership’, which outlines a new approach to leadership inspired by Alexander the Great’s experiences in nine steps.
When read with a modern perspective, Di Pietro and Lipparini’s book offers practical insights for today’s organisational leaders. It addresses questions such as how to build trust, foster consensus and maintain a shared vision during periods of profound change. It also highlights common mistakes, such as leadership that centres on the hero rather than the collective cause and a lack of recognition of an ideal felt by all. The true ‘going above and beyond’, the two authors make clear, even for those who run a business, lies in recognising one’s own limits, not accepting them, but overcoming them.
Il coraggio e la visione. Alessandro Magno e la leadership generativa
Gianfranco Di Pietro, Andrea Lipparini
Il Mulino, 2025