Ilias’ MBA Journey: Odysseus, Achilles, Ajax and Leadership

Ilias Lappas

As you might remember, I wrote my first article in Capetown. Today my EDHEC Global MBA classmates and I are on our way to Singapore for a hands-on experience within the emerging markets of Southeast Asia. I have a feeling that my MBA trips increase my creativity levels and, indeed, the theme of The Odyssey and how it can be related to MBAs comes into my head on the long haul flight.

What the Odyssey teaches us about MBA leadership skills

I’ve chosen The Odyssey and Odysseus as my themes for a reason. My objective throughout these articles will be to use Odysseus’ profile to illustrate some of the key leadership skills for MBAs. I will also – as in this entry – be calling upon The Odyssey’s precursor, The Iliad, the epic story of the siege of the city of Troy.

Odysseus was not famous as a great warrior but he was certainly a charismatic leader. I bet that you cannot even recall him in the Hollywood movie Troy, as the plot is centered on Achilles, who is played by Brad Pitt. At this point, I’d like to point out that Achilles lived in and ruled Thessaly in Greece and that this place is still home of well looking and brave men! (Did I mention I was from Thessaly, by the way?)

You might think that the early societies celebrated only the brave warriors, since conflicts with the neighboring cities tended to be top of the agenda. However, they also rewarded those who showed ingenuity; those who managed to make a difference even if they didn’t possess the greatest fighting skills.

Achilles met his end when he arrogantly fought the Trojans without protecting his heel, the unique non-immortal part of his body. The Greeks faced a great dilemma: who to hand over Achilles’s famous armor, which was made by Hephaestus, the Olympian god of fire and engineering.  There were two candidates: Odysseus and Ajax, son of Telamon from Salamina and an inarguably great warrior – second only to Achilles.

The situation was very critical as Greeks, having spent already a long time in Troy, were losing faith after Achilles’ death and desperately needed a new leader. Finally, to the surprise of many in the Greek camp, the decision was made to hand over the armor to Odysseus. Ajax did not take the decision well, and the very next morning, killed himself.    

The decision, however, was a good one. The famous Trojan horse was Odysseus’ idea and he was the first to jump inside the walls of Troy, putting an end to this long siege of Troy. After this, he embarked on the long journey home, which constitutes the story of The Odyssey.  

So what can be learned about leadership from this? Storytelling allows you to draw your own conclusions and sometimes you get surprised when you compare the thoughts of others with your own.

Here are some lessons I think MBAs could learn from this story:

MBA lesson 1: Don’t be arrogant and protect your ‘Achilles’ heel'

MBAs have been criticized in recent years for being arrogant. I still remember a corporate recruiter mentioning that when he participates in on-campus events, MBA students speak to him in the manner of people who can walk on water.  Of course, by being arrogant you might not be risking your life as Achilles did…though it can happen sometimes! We are not perfect, we are human beings and everyone has weaknesses. Further to just protecting the ‘heel’, try to strengthen it by investigating the root causes and asking for advice and feedback.

MBA lesson 2: Do your ‘leadership’ homework.

In your everyday life try to always practice leadership skills, to give your best, to give meaning and share your vision with those around you – even if you are not chosen by them as their leader. They will turn to you when difficult situations arise, as Greeks did with Odysseus. While you shouldn’t necessarily expect your leadership qualities to be appreciated in a conventional operating environment, make sure that you get prepared to lead when difficult and challenging situations do arise.

MBA lesson 3: Be creative and try asymmetric and non-conventional methods.

Especially when the conventional and rational ones fail. There is a strong emphasis given today in MBA classrooms to rational thinking, but if Odysseus hadn’t conceived the Trojan horse, the Greeks would have been outside the walls of Troy till today! Of course it was not the only non-conventional thing that Odysseus did during the siege of Troy; it’s worth reading up on what happened the Greek navy approached the port of Troy for the first time!

MBA lesson 4: Be humble and ethical

Especially when you fail to get the reward you think you deserve. It is not that you don’t deserve it; it is just that sometimes the priorities of the decision makers may be different to yours. As a high caliber MBA graduate, you should have always Ajax in your mind as a counterexample. He knew that he was the best warrior after Achilles but he didn’t respect the fact that his comrades wanted someone else to lead them. And in killing himself, he caused the Greeks to lose another valuable warrior.

In my previous article, I promised to take you through the Cyclops, Laestrygonians and Sirens. I didn’t forget it; it’s just we have a lot to learn from Odysseus before he even sets sail.

Ilias Lappas is an aerospace and defense professional with experience in military aircraft life cycle management.  He is a firm supporter of the multidisciplinary approach, which enables redefining problems outside of normal boundaries and reaching solutions based on a new understanding of complex situations. Consequently, he dedicates a lot of his time in studying and reflecting in various different disciplines and he is particularly excited to have been immersed in a truly multidisciplinary and multicultural environment in his Global MBA class in EDHEC Business School.