Porus, Alexander and the art of leading effective meetings
One of the most frustrating parts about working from home is the Zoom fatigue that sets in at the end of the day, week and year. This led me to an important professional resolution at the beginning of 2021 — to limit most meetings I lead to a maximum of 30 minutes and drastically improve their efficiency. I had three learnings on my journey to making this resolution a reality, and it all started with the epiphany that one of the shortest and most effective meetings in history occurred in 326 CE on the banks of the Jhelum in the aftermath of a bloody battle between a Macedonian conqueror and an Indian King.
The story of Porus and Alexander is one of the first historical anecdotes one came across while growing up in 90s India. The tale of the Indian king losing the battle against Alexander the Great but still winning the war enraptured me because it is a masterclass in effective negotiation. It was only recently that I realised that this tale holds within it a more indispensable if mundane lesson for one’s professional life — how to conduct effective meetings.
To recap, India was meant to be the final frontier in Alexander’s quest to become The Emperor of the world. After having gained the allegiance of the King of Taxila he moved to modern-day Punjab to subdue Porus. Alexander’s army camped on the river bank with Porus’ military shadowing them on the opposite bank, so as to prevent the Macedonians from crossing over. Alexander finally managed to outmanoeuvre Porus’ patrol and crossed the monsoon-swollen river in May of that year. A fierce battle ensued which eventually ended in Porus’ defeat. He had lost the battle, his son and his kingdom — but not his pride. When a victorious Alexander met the vanquished king the former asked him how he would like to be treated. Porus responded by saying (or so the legend goes) that he would like to be treated by him as a king would treat another king. Pleased by this answer, Alexander not only made Porus his satrap, he also extended the reach of his lands.
Irrespective of whether this anecdote has any historical authenticity, it does have some useful lessons on how to conduct effective and short meetings.
In order to keep up with my resolution, I started organising my calls in a simple three step framework; What do I want, why do I want it and what next.
- What do I want: Know what success looks like
Porus knew exactly what he wanted from Alexander & made his ask in a sharp and targeted manner. He could have grovelled or he could have been defiant — but neither would have served his purpose of retaining power despite his crushing defeat. Being clear about the outcome he wanted allowed him to articulate his ask clearly as well.
The same is true for meetings. Being clear about what you want — whether a resolution to an issue, alignment on the way forward or something else — helps provide a north star to your audience and prevents the derailing of your agenda due to irrelevant conversation threads.
2. Why do I want it: Convincing your audience
In my mind’s eye, I can see Porus sitting chained in a tent, waiting to meet Alexander and his fate. He is thoughtful and silent — contemplating what he wants and therefore *how* does he get it. He realises that Alexander is a long way away from home — His troops are exhausted, he faces desertions and he has no trusted lieutenant who knows the lay of the land and can help him rule. His victory has uncertain spoils and an ambiguous future. Alexander isn’t a joyous victor. He is an anxious one.
Enter Porus, with a clear ask and a convincing argument. Alexander gets his lieutenant without losing face and seeming as though he is rewarding treason. Porus’ outcome is better than if he had won the war. They both win.
For the longest time I thought planning was to be reserved only for important meetings. However, I started asking myself one question before every meeting ‘how do I convince my audience of what I want? Is it empirical data, anecdotal evidence, first principles thinking or something else entirely?’. This has become my secret sauce to setting effective meeting agendas.
3. What next: managing expectations
Even if Porus didn’t use the killer line on Alexander that history texts say he did, I’m fairly sure they ended their post-battle meeting with an agreement on what Porus would do with his new-found power.
The same is true for meetings. Once you’ve achieved what you set out to with the call, end with what you’re going to do with it. If you’ve aligned on a new project workstream, outline how you will start to implement it. If you’ve aligned on a resolution to an issue, summarise the steps you will take to out it into action.
Informing your audience of how their inputs are going to steer your work is a great way of making them feel like their time has been spent productively. Doing this over and over again in a demonstrable manner builds credibility and creates a higher quality of engagement because your stakeholders know that the decisions made in the discussion are going to have a tangible impact
Effective workplace interactions are a well-honed art. They need practice, patience and reflection. That’s the fun of it though — there’s always a way to make your next meeting shorter, more impactful & punchier.