In recent years there has been a trend to use military metaphors when dealing with business. Even the straightforward and omnipresent expression “ to hit the ground running” is reminiscent of parachutes and invasions. Advertising agencies talk of “campaigns” which in turn reminds us of Napoleon trudging through the snows of Russia circa 1812.The extension of the military metaphor to the business world is, however, never more so than in the world of leadership training. In recent years the world of business has looked to the great men – and they were mostly men – who led the biggest and the brashest military campaigns in history. Think Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Attila the Hun, Napoleon, and even Winston Churchill. I say “even” because before the glory of the Second World War Churchill had proved a disastrous military tactician, just ask anyone who was on the beaches of Gallipoli.