Managing with Shakespeare

William Shakespeare had something to say about everything, so we should not be too surprised to see him cited as an authority on management. In his 39 plays the one subject he returns to again and again, the authors of Power Plays point out, is leadership.

Whitney and Packer say: "If you want to understand power - how to get it, how to keep it, what to do when you have it and how you lose it - then Shakespeare is your man."

How many chief executives end up believing their own PR hype and see power as an end rather than a means? Like Julius Caesar, many chief executives hang on to power without seeing that the times have changed and that it's time to go, before they are pushed. Understanding power is critical. Gone are the days of the chief executive coasting along to collect the gold watch at 65. Whitney was absolutely confident he had a successful strategy when he set up his own advertising agency. "What made me so cocky? I had read Richard II and knew that he lost power because he did not use it. I also had remembered that Henry IV, who takes away Richard's power, creates a strategy to use his power to protect his enterprise and eventually dies in bed."

The authors' advice on successful leadership does not give a unique insight into how to get ahead in advertising. There are no amazing theories in Power Plays that will ensure you get the BMW convertible before you hit 30.

Instead, Whitney and Packer offer plain common sense, using Shakespeare's words of wisdom to illustrate the point. They deal with a range of issues: delegation; pay and perks; women in business; the art of persuasion; and the value of mavericks. Their final chapter looks at Shakespeare's most famous character, Hamlet, contrasting the latter's bad decisions with those of the founder of Amazon.com, Mr Jeff Bezos.

Power Plays is a well-written, witty book on a subject that is often very boring. Using Shakespeare's plays to take us through the challenges of management is such a good idea, it is amazing someone did not think of it before now.

jmulqueen@irish-times.ie