A history lesson on team empowerment

In the 1805 Battle of the Trafalgar, British Admiral Lord Nelson faced the superior forces of the combined French and Spanish naval armada. The French and Spanish naval armada was determined to clear a path for Napoleon to invade England, and only Lord Nelson stood in their way. Lord Nelson was severely outnumbered and outgunned, so he needed to reframe his battle strategy to overcome these debilitating disadvantages. In 1805, the standard method of naval warfare involved ships lining up parallel to each other to maximize the effectiveness of their cannons. Naval battle in the Age of Sail was a simple game of math—firing more cannonballs more quickly than your opponent was the best way to ensure victory.

Figure 9.1: Traditional Naval Warfare Formation

Given his underdog situation, Lord Nelson decided on a different naval engagement strategy. Instead of the traditional parallel arrangement, he arranged his ships perpendicularly and drove them...