What Napoleon Can Teach Us About Software Teams
Military tactics changed dramatically in the late 18th century, and there’s a lesson in it for how we structure software organizations today.
Napoleon’s Innovation
Napoleon revolutionized warfare by creating independent divisions—breaking an army up into smaller groups that could operate autonomously while maintaining strategic coordination.
Before Napoleon, armies moved as massive, centralized units. Commanders controlled everything from the top. It was slow, rigid, and couldn’t adapt to changing conditions on the battlefield.
Napoleon’s approach was different. Division commanders received high-level missions but decided tactical execution independently. They didn’t wait for approval from headquarters to respond to opportunities or threats. They acted.
Communication Over Control
Rather than centralized command approval, Napoleon invested heavily in direct communication between divisions using flags and carrier pigeons. This enabled rapid coordination without his micromanagement.
He didn’t need to approve every decision. He needed his commanders to understand the objective and trust them to figure out how to achieve it.
Why It Worked
Smaller, independent units were more flexible. They could exploit opportunities Napoleon himself couldn’t anticipate. They could respond to threats faster than any centralized command structure could.
The whole was greater than the sum of its parts—not because of tighter control, but because of looser control with better alignment.
The Question for Software Organizations
Does your organization operate with this kind of decentralized autonomy? Or are you still running a pre-Napoleonic army—centralized, rigid, waiting for approvals from the top?
Teams that understand the mission and have the autonomy to execute will outmaneuver teams that wait for permission. Every time.
Originally published on LinkedIn