Millions find it hard today to identify with dead white European males, and 20th century warfare has made it almost impossible to use war leaders of the past as role models for the present. Yet leaders and heroes are still needed, and Nelsons character, and his preparation for the Nile adventure, still make him an example for everyone, black or white, male or female, British or otherwise. The reason lies less in what he did, more in how he did it.
Even in the toughest boardroom battle, very few people today have to carry the level of responsibility Nelson bore in 1798. Yet the way he bore it could have come from a modern textbook：
—— developing teamwork with defined roles and close personal relationships
—— allowing the expression of different ideas
—— providing clear, shared and understandable goals
—— permitting participation in decision-making
—— encouraging initiative
—— promoting a sense of ownership and commitment
All today are at least recognized as valuable, and all were present in his conduct of the campaign. If he had had time to write books, he could have advanced management theory by two centuries.
In 1798, he faced something which management-speak would call "a challenge". The word seems hopelessly inadequate. With continental Europe controlled by revolutionary France, the Royal navy had been forced to leave the Mediterranean. In Toulon, the French were preparing a colossal fleet and army ——17 major warships with more than 300 troop ships. Nelson was selected to find it and, if possible, defeat it. He was only 39 years old and had never commanded a fleet before, yet in London his task was seen as crucial to all Europes destiny.
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