Howard Hughes is probably one of the most iconic figures of last 100 years and that was true even before Leonardo DiCaprio played him in The Aviator. He was a Hollywood socialite and producer. He dated and married some of the most famous women of his day. He created Hughes Aircraft and was one of our country’s first billionaires when that was a lot of money.

One of the oldest sources I used for my Business Zoo book was a Times Magazine article from April 19,1976, listing Howard Hughes’ Four Principles for Success. Here they are with my comments about them:

  1. Never make a Decision. Let someone else make it. If it turns out wrong, you can disclaim it. If it’s the right one, you can abide by it. Comment: This definitely ties in with a concept I write about involving lazy bosses and passing blame downhill. I do not endorse this principle as Leaders should actually Lead.
  2. Always postpone a Deadline-for a week, a day or even an hour. Who knows what can change in your favor if you have patience and wait. Comment: I have grown to like this one more and more. Too often, we make decisions in the heat of the moment such as when we reply instantly to a difficult email or voice message. Instead, wait and think about it. You may be glad you did.
  3. Divide and conquer both your foes and friends. Play everyone against each other so you have more avenues of action open. Comment: I do not like this one at all. The concept goes back to the Italian, Machiavelli, in his book The Prince. Or our modern equivalent, The Godfather movies: Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Many people have trouble deciding who their friends and enemies are. If you trust no one, it is almost impossible to get ahead and if you do, success has little meaning since you can’t share it.
  4. Every man has his price. The only problem is finding out what that price is. Sadly, in a long career, you see a lot of this actually occurring. Unfortunately, many people will trade their self respect or another’s trust to benefit themselves and sometimes believe it does not reflect  personally on them. In the end, it always does.

So why list these principles if I don’t like them? Not everyone shares the same values, and Leadership standards have changed over time. The 1960‘s characters in TV’s Mad Men often behave badly. Today, we talk of consensus building in Leaders, but we still have CEOs as paranoid as old Howard Hughes. People need to develop consistent values and a style that works for them.

Leadership is a major topic in The Business Zoo and in the world in general. And it is not easy to achieve.