During the summer vacation I read a fascinating biography of Joseph Stalin. It was extremely well researched and also had numerous previously unpublished sources the author could make use of.

As I drawing toward the end of the book, I could not stop thinking about the very unlikely question of what does Stalin's life teach us about leadership. More to the point: is there anything his reign as Soviet Supremo can teach us?

Stalin's leadership style was dominated by suspicion and extreme brutality. His cronies never knew whether they would see the next light of day or not. Although this style was effective, it is not something we can relate to from our perspective. What I did learn was the following:

• As a leader, never give your opinion about a matter first. Stalin used to let all his co-thugs speak first, thereby soliciting points of view not tainted by his own. In the business world we often find lackeys who would agree with the boss just to stay in his good graces!
• Make sure your followers know what you stand for. Stalin would place even his family and wife subservient to the Bolshevik cause. His people knew exactly what he stood for, albeit including a couple of other nasty traits as well.
• Always be consistent. The Soviet leader was notoriously neurotic and moody. He got away with it simply because everyone was so afraid of him. Inconsistency pays havoc with morale - unless you can have your subordinates shot at the slightest sign of a bad attitude!
• Lastly, regard people as valuable. Stalin had approximately 20 million of his own people executed in his twenty odd years of reign, displaying an almost machine-like disregard for any human being. Know that human beings and their welfare is the only purpose you and I have in our entire life.

Most of us are acquainted with these principles, but let us make it our life's work this year and we will reap rich reward. I promise you that.