“Weak leadership can wreck the soundest strategy; forceful execution of even a poor plan can often bring victory.”

“Weak leadership can wreck the soundest strategy; forceful execution of even a poor plan can often bring victory.” This quote is from Sun Tzu’s The Art of War, written in 476 BC. How applicable do you think this quote is to modern corporate leadership?

I totally agree to the first part of the quote as it is leadership that has to lead with an example and be ahead of their followers. The implementation of vision and mission of an organization are highly dependent on the competence and capability of the leader. No matter how strong a strategy is, if an effective leader is not present to implement it, the results may not be what is desired.

I am a bit skeptical of the second part of the quote. The word “forceful” is a very strong word in a corporate paradigm. It might work in a war like situation but I am not too sure about forcefully implementing a strategy in a corporate setup. In the modern corporate cultures we stress on motivating the employees not forcing them. Forceful implementation may be helpful in the short run but not in the long. The use of the word “effective” instead of “forceful” might be appropriate here.