Thoughts from the Genghis Kahn school of management; A little tough at times, but a great leader and instinctive manager of people.

• Author: Wiesner, Pat
• Position: [on] MANAGEMENT

Genghis Kahn was the greatest conqueror of all time, measured by the land mass he controlled. His empire at its peak was more than 5 million square miles, more than twice that of Alexander the Great and five time that of Hitler. He had more than 700 tribes and cities under his rule, and his domain stretched from the Caspian Sea to the Sea of Japan.

The Great Kahn (as he was called by his people) managed to capture in only 25 years more land than the Romans had conquered in more than 400 years.

I came across these facts and wondered how a man on horseback armed with a bow and arrows could possibly solve the management problems built into such an accomplishment.

Management problems like: With an army of 50,000, how do you discuss strategy? How do you give orders when the only communication device you have is the unaided human voice? When another tribe was conquered in battle, how did he manage these "mergers"? How did he keep peace between all these fierce warriors from all the incompatible Mongol tribes of the Eurasian steppes (another word for grassy plains)? As his "company" grew, how did he "manage" the diversity of interest and loyalty and keep his growing forces focused?

In the last couple of months I have read a couple of books ("Genghis: Birth of an Empire" and "Genghis: Lords of the Bow," both by Conn Iggulden) and watched a movie ("Mongol") about the Great Kahn. I also have read a lot from Googling.

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The first thing to deal with is his reputation for savagery. The idea that he could keep everyone in his growing army in line by merely killing anyone who stepped out of line was foolish. These other Mongolians were just as savage if not more so than Kahn. Threatening them with death would have provoked nothing more than a big fight and the breaking up of the Kahn's army. Although Kahn had his rules--i.e., you would die quickly if you cheated him, lied to him, attacked his family, stole his wife (one sorry Mongol did just that and his entire clan was put to death) or refused allegiance after being conquered--he was generally a pretty even-handed and fair ruler.

After conquering a country, Genghis Kahn asked every man to individually swear loyalty to...