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Sword and Pistol Management

May 29, 2008

Have you ever noticed that only colonial officers carried pistols and swords?  The enlisted folks, i.e. the guys with the muskets and rifles, weren’t afforded the luxury of these ‘tools of management’.  What do I mean by ‘tools of management’?  You might be surprised to learn that they weren’t for use against the enemy, but instead for use by the officer to control his lines during battle.

Officers would order their men to ‘hold the line’ and ‘advance’ into enemy fire while holding the tip of his sword literally at their backs.  If the men turned from the battle they would face his sword and if he tried to run the officer would run him through with the blade.  If the soldier managed to avoid the sword the officer would pull his pistol and shoot the soldier in the back as he ran away.  It might seem a little crazy today, but keeping the line together was the difference between life or death.  Killing one coward was far better than losing the entire company.  Typically, you would only need to kill one man to keep everyone else in line.

Lots of larger organizations manage employees along these same lines.  Do what I say or you are fired.  However, you almost NEVER find a startup that uses sword and pistol management.  Why?  It won’t work.  The type of people you want to hire at a startup are mavericks.  They don’t tow the line.  They are creative and out of the box people.  They aren’t necessarily working for you because they need the money - they can get a job - they are looking for a lifestyle (the startup lifestyle).  Startups are inherently risky, people don’t join startups because they are scared, they join startups because they like the risk.  The only people that will obey sword and pistol management are colonial soldiers or employees who think they would NEVER be able to find another job.

Written by Alexander Muse · Filed Under Blog, Startups 

Comments

6 Responses to “Sword and Pistol Management”

  1. Jennifer Donica Says:
    May 29th, 2008 at 9:06 am

    “…people don’t join startups because they are scared, they join startups because they like the risk.” Nicely put. This is strong…very, very true!

  2. Jennifer Donica Says:
    May 29th, 2008 at 9:13 am

    …and becuase of they just may get the chance to be apart of something big.

  3. Shannon Barrett Says:
    May 29th, 2008 at 10:32 am

    So this begs the question - how do you manage a gaggle of mavericks?

    Mavericks don’t respond well to the sword or pistol so most often management ends up being a mixture of negotiation and leading by example.

    Luckily this management style is not limited to just startups - if you can negotiate with a stubborn technician at a startup, you can do the same for people reporting to you at a larger organization. In fact they’re probably appreciate you for it. Just don’t expect that you’ll be able to have the same negotiation with your boss (especially if they’re carrying a sword or pistol).

  4. Brad Groux Says:
    May 29th, 2008 at 11:14 am

    Strangely enough this hits home for me… I’m more of a maverick who has been stuck working for fortune 100 companies my entire career. I’m also a manager and even though I work in the corporate sabre+six shooter world I manage my team more like startup management (militia)… I want my team to be free thinking and gun slinging; i give them the freedom to do their jobs and think outside the box on their own and am prepared to take the upper management sword in the back for them if needed… that may be the reason I can’t seem to stay put for more than a few years.

  5. dosadi Says:
    May 29th, 2008 at 3:53 pm

    If I had a sword I’d poke Shannon Barrett for the misuse of the phrase, “beg the question,’ which is actually a term used in logic to describe an argument in which the premise presupposes the conclusion.

    But more to the point, You don’t hire mavericks to manage them, you hire them to be visionaries and give them basic guidelines and direction. If they are showing up late, etc etc.. you hired the wrong maverick. A person can be a professional and be a maverick at the same time..

  6. Nancy Coppock Says:
    May 30th, 2008 at 1:15 pm

    Interesting concept as I was just reading about George Washington using his sword to lift up the rifle barrels of a separated group of his troops engaged in friendly fire rather than enemy fire. “His Excellency”

    In light of leading start up mavericks, this poignant thought may show a required use of a sword. It enforces teamwork and prevents friendly fire.

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