Chapter 18 - Mind of Napoleon: A Selection of His Written and Spoken Words
Today’s Chapter is based on the book “Mind of Napoleon: A Selection of His Written and Spoken Words” by J. Christopher Herold which, as mentioned in the title, is a compilation of his various known writings and quotes.
“It is hard to imagine Napoleon as a businessman, but I have thought that if he applied himself to commerce and industry he would have been the greatest businessman the world has ever known.”
— John D. Rockefeller
Buy it on Amazon here:
https://www.amazon.com/Mind-Napoleon-Selection-Written-Spoken/dp/0231085230
Here’s what I have learned from the book:
Power of Incentives
“If you would persuade, appeal to interest and not to reason.”
— Benjamin Franklin
As we have learned previously from Tom Monaghan, incentives are a powerful tool to motivate employees and to make sure that everyone is pulling in the right direction. As Charlie Munger's previously said, “Never, ever, think about something else when you should be thinking about the power of incentives.”
“Well, I think I’ve been in the top 5% of my age cohort all my life in understanding the power of incentives, and all my life I’ve underestimated it. And never a year passes but I get some surprise that pushes my limit a little farther.“
— Charlie Munger
As a matter of fact, the power of incentives is based on the principle that all individuals are guided by their self-interest. As such, all of their actions and behaviours can be explained if seen through their perspectives and their interests. This essential concept was well understood by Napoleon, who once proclaimed: “If I belong to a party, I am for my party; to an army, for my army; to a State, for my State. (…) That's the only truth.”
“Men are moved by two levers only: fear and self-interest.”
— Napoleon
“Men are guided by nothing else [than self-interest]. Those who say the contrary are hypocrites.”
— Napoleon
As such, the power of incentives also reminds us the importance of seeing through the perspectives of others during negotiations. This was an important point that Sam Zell mentioned in his autobiography. He noticed how important listening and understanding what is truly important to the other party while making business deals:
“This is perhaps my most fundamental principle of entrepreneurialism, and to success in general. But my experience with Mrs. D was also about the value of really listening, which is at the heart of any negotiation. Understanding what’s truly important to the other person out of the dozen or so things they might tell you. Mrs. D’s brother had to be taken care of. That was her bottom line. Homing in on that got the deal done.”
— Sam Zell
The value that can be brought through listening to others was also well understood by Napoleon. He once instructed Eugene Beauharnais on his nomination as viceroy of Italy the importance of speaking less and to listen to others. It is no coincidence that Benjamin Franklin's pen name was once “Silence Dogood.”
“Speak as little as possible. Your knowledge is too limited and your education has been too neglected for you to engage freely in discussions. Be able to listen, and be assured that silence often produces the same effect as wisdom. Be not ashamed of asking questions.”
— Napoleon
Definition of Luck
“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”
— Seneca
What is luck? The definition of luck has been something that Napoleon have often discussed upon. To him, nothing happens by coincidence. It is always the result of one's planning and wisdom. As a matter of fact, Napoleon believes learning sciences and mathematics are the key to mastering your luck. To him, being lucky is the ability to exploit accidents.
“A consecutive series of great actions never is the result of chance and luck; it always is the product of planning and genius. Great men are rarely known to fail in their most perilous enterprises. . . . Is it because they are lucky that they become great? No, but being great, they have been able to master luck.” — Napoleon
“It is dangerous to give too extensive a knowledge of mathematics to people who are not rich.” — Napoleon
As a matter of fact, for Napoleon, the art of war was just a matter of what he called “military science”. The difference between success in war is one's ability to calculate all the possibilities and to act accordingly. This is the reason why Napoleon rarely had definite ideas as it is impossible to control all circumstances surrounding him. The only thing he could do was to obey to them.
“Military science consists in first calculating all the possibilities accurately and then in making an almost mathematically exact allowance for accident. It is on this point that one must make no mistake; a decimal more or less may alter everything. Now, this apportioning of knowledge and accident can take place only in the head of a genius, for without it there can be no creation-and surely the greatest improvisation of the human mind is that which gives existence to the nonexistent. Accident thus always remains a mystery to mediocre minds and becomes reality for superior men.”
— Napoleon
“I had few really definite ideas, and the reason for this was that, instead of obstinately seeking to control circumstances, I obeyed them, and they forced me to change my mind all the time. Thus it happened that most of the time, to tell the truth, I had no definite plans but only projects.”
— Napoleon
This concept should be a reminder that all overnight success business stories are never that simple. Most entrepreneurs worked for many years to be well prepared when they face an opportunity of a lifetime. It is often easy to overlook someone's struggles before they became successful. For example, James Dyson worked on over 5127 prototypes before creating the world's first bagless vacuum cleaner he was renown for.
“I made 5,127 prototypes of my vacuum before I got it right. There were 5,126 failures. But I learned from each one. That's how I came up with a solution. So I don't mind failure.”
— James Dyson
As Charlie Munger once said, “opportunity comes to the prepared mind.” There aren't many big opportunities in life and as such, it is important to be prepared for those moments. Luck never comes by coincidence, but through years of preparation.
“Our experience tends to confirm a long-held notion that being prepared, on a few occasions in a lifetime, to act promptly in scale, in doing some simple and logical thing, will often dramatically improve the financial results of that lifetime.
A few major opportunities, clearly recognizable as such, will usually come to one who continuously searches and waits, with a curious mind that loves diagnosis involving multiple variables.
And then all is required is a willingness to bet heavily when the odds are extremely favorable, using resources available as a result of prudence and patience in the past”
— Charlie Munger
Destiny
“Destiny is not a matter of chance; it is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for; it is a thing to be achieved.”
— William Jennings Bryan
For Napoleon, nothing was more humiliating than for one to not achieve his destiny. For him, it was all about making a name for himself to be remembered throughout history. In fact, he once said that to have lived without glory, without leaving a trace of one's existence is to not have lived at all.
“Everything on earth is soon forgotten, except the opinion we leave imprinted on history.”
— Napoleon
"There is no immortality but the memory that is left in the minds of men."
— Napoleon
Napoleon believed that destiny can be fulfilled by the exploitation of every opportunities or accidents that are presented in front of you. This can only be done with exact calculation of all the chances, and by precise determination of the decisive moment for action. A clever man is one who understands this principle.
“All great events hang by a single thread. The clever man takes advantage of everything, neglects nothing that may give him some added opportunity; the less clever man, by neglecting one thing, sometimes misses everything.”
— Napoleon
As such, Napoleon was one who was consistently mediating before taking any actions. As a matter of fact, his mind had an exceptional ability strip all problems down to their simplest elements. This reminds me of the concept of first-principles thinking that was used by Sam Zell to break down all problems to its barest elements. Other famous practicers also includes Aristotle, Richard Feynman and Elon Musk.
“Between meditating an action and carrying it out you must put an interval of three years.”
— Napoleon
“My policies are frank and open, because they are the results of long meditations and of strength.”
— Napoleon
Beyond the Book
Read "The Power of Incentives: The Hidden Forces That Shape Behavior" by Farnam Street
Watch "Charlie Munger: 'Opportunity comes to the prepared mind'" on YouTube
Read "First Principles: The Building Blocks of True Knowledge" by Farnam Street