… and the Unthinkable Happened

Emperor Constantine was still in bed in his Blachernae palace of that April 13rd 6961 AM (April 23rd 1452 in the Gregorian calendar). His mind was going in circles trying to find ways to survive  the Ottoman siege that was threatening the city for over two weeks. Constantinoble was the last bastion of the Roman Empire, just a tiny territory of what had been the biggest power humankind had seen to date. His hope to receive support from Rome and Venetia was vanishing. The miraculous Theodosian walls - over a thousand years old - were holding well to Sultan Mehmed’s new weaponry. But the scarcity of resources, both in terms of army and food, would require a magic solution. He did not want to be known as the Emperor who lost Constantinoble.

Suddenly, in the midst of these thoughts, the sound of somebody knocking on his bedroom door resonated throughout the big chamber as yet another Ottoman bomb. That was unusual. He was the emperor. Who was to bother an emperor with such insistence? But these days were different. He quickly dressed up and opened the door. His most loyal officer asked him to get out fast. His horse was ready to take him for a short ride to the seaside. Something unexplainable had happened.

“Have the Genoese from Pera been the last ones to betray Byzantium?”. There was no other way the Ottomans would have made it across to the Golden Horn. Constantine was both outraged and shocked whilst observing the red flag waving on those boats so close to him and his palace. The last route from which to receive assistance was now blocked. He immediately asked his officer to act brutally  upon the Genoese.

Sultan Mehmed’s glaring smile, on the other side of the estuary, was the reflection of the success of an incredible operation that would be remembered for centuries. Still 21, and just two years in his commanding position, he needed to transmit confidence and authority to his people. He had so far managed to do that by showing immense cruelty to both enemies and allies and the ambition to finally conquer the big treasure, Constantinoble. His plan to move 70 boats over land across Galata to avoid both the Genoese (land) and the Byzantine fleet (sea) had been first received with incredulity. It had not been easy to lay a road of greased logs and then drag the boats uphill and downhill for over a mile. However, the effective execution of the plan had elevated him to a different position in front of the Ottomans. He was not just to be feared, but also admired!

The story goes on and Mehmed conquers the city - he surprisingly needs an extra month to do so - and the Roman empire finally disappears. However, the Galata episode is powerful enough to trigger many reflections including leadership ones. I would like to highlight a couple.

First, we, as leaders, usually have a cookbook of recipes that have worked for us throughout the years. We are comfortable with them and our team is used to them. They apparently work. However as our team evolves/changes and we grow as leaders it is probably good to introduce from time to time the unexpected. When was the last time you introduced a new recipe in your leadership cookbook?

Second, Sultan Mehmed knew what he wanted to achieve and managed to elaborate and execute an impossible plan around it. Are you the kind of “it will not work” leader or the kind of “let’s try it”? We probably don't aim to be remembered in some centuries as Mehmed did but our team members will always remember those leaders who helped them to try the unthinkable.

I learned about Mehmed and his story through a fantastic book which I highly recommend: Decisive Moments in History - Stefan Zweig