"This is an astonishing story, quite unprecedented and never again equaled in the age of horsepower.  Apart from his actual battles and sieges, Alexander traveled over twenty thousand miles, much of it on foot in difficult mountain and desert terrain.  How did he do it?  The most important factor, as always with successful statesmen and men of action, was sheer willpower.  He had preternatural self-confidence and persistence, the feeling that it was right to do what he planned and that he could certainly do it.  There is no substitute for will."

If you have read this site for any time at all, you know what a fan I am of Paul Johnson.  Johnson packs more into a paragraph than most men put in a book chapter.  His Modern Times, A History of the American People and Birth of the Modern are incredibly readable histories of the first order.

Johnson's latest, Heroes (I wrote about Heroes here and here), is no less a work, profiling heroes throughout the ages.  While all those he profiles are great, not all are good.  Some are downright ruthless.  But the lessons exist nonetheless.  His profile of Alexander includes ten reasons why Alexander succeeded as one of the greatest leaders and warriors of all time:

1.    He improved the military machine he inherited through intensive training.
2.    He was lead by example, marching with his men, fighting along side them and putting himself at risk with   them.
3.    He was flexible and noted for changing his battle tactics midencounter depending on the situation.
4.    He thoroughly planned battles.
5.    He understood and used the technology of the day (thanks to his teacher, Aristotle).
6.    He understood new techniques, such as sea power, and used them to strengthen his attacks.
7.    He understood the importance of safe harbors to gather troops, rest and plan.
8.    He stressed comradeship:  "His cavalry were his 'companions.'  His infantry 'loved the King and he loved them.'"
9.    He shared the "booty."
10.  He 'thought, decided and above all, moved swiftly."

I see "Leadership Secrets of Alexander the Great."