18th February 2013

Aegon: Hannibal had one and I don’t mean an elephant!

You will all have heard of Hannibal the great and his Elephants but how many of you know about his greatest victory at the battle of Cannae? This was a major battle of the Second Punic War, which took place on August 2, 216 BC near the town of Cannae in Apulia in south east Italy. The army of Carthage under Hannibal decisively defeated a numerically superior army of the Roman Republic. It was all down to the fact that the Romans had a flaw in their plan. Such was the terror that Hannibal engendered that the Romans combined two armies into one. Now each of the previous armies was commanded by a consul of the republic. Ordinarily, each of the two consuls would command his own portion of the army, but since the two armies were combined into one, Roman law required them to alternate their command on a daily basis. Each had a different plan for victory!

It appears that Hannibal had already realized that the command of the Roman army alternated, and planned his strategy accordingly. Hannibal’s victory is regarded as one of the greatest tactical feats in military history and, in numbers killed, the second greatest defeat of Rome. All caused by lack of planning and confusiuon. Ring any bells?

I have just spent the last week speaking to over 200 advisers and I have to say the Romans are not the only ones without a plan. At each of the seminars I conducted, it was apparent, that despite many advisers being RDR ready, very few have a plan for the future.

I am reminded of the great quote from Thomas Edison 
“Good fortune is what happens when opportunity meets with planning.”

The key to success in life, in battle and in business is having a plan. Be honest how robust is your action plan? Do you even have one? If you do not have one, then how will you take advantage of the opportunities which are all around us? We have an ageing population, a roller-coaster economy, auto enrolment and the rise of social media. Each one full of opportunity for every business, if they are prepared and ready to take advantage.

Here at Aegon, we can help you put an action plan together. Our Strategy zone on the business brain can help you:

• Determine the future direction of your business
• Identify the opportunities and threats you face
• Establish strategies for these
• Define your goals
• Write down a plan

If you do not have an action plan, have a look at our zone and see how easy it can be to plan for the future. Remember an idea without a plan is a daydream.

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John Joe McGinley
Head of Business Brain
Feb 2013

RDR