Titans of Rome: The Parallel Journeys of Julius Caesar and Augustus

Quick answer: What leadership lessons do Julius Caesar and Augustus offer?

John contrasts Caesar's bold, fast decisions, from crossing the Rubicon to "Veni, vidi, vici," with Augustus's patient strategy and alliance-building under the motto "Festina lente," make haste slowly. Caesar's career warns how power invites danger; Augustus shows how lasting institutions are built.

John calls the stories of Julius Caesar and Augustus real-life dramas full of leadership lessons. Caesar rose through Rome's civil wars by taking risks others wouldn't. When he led his army across the Rubicon in 49 BC, he reportedly said "Alea iacta est," the die is cast, and after a swift victory at Zela he summed it up as "Veni, vidi, vici." His boldness made him, and it also helped bring about his assassination on the Ides of March in 44 BC. His adopted heir Octavian, later Augustus, stepped into the gap with a very different style. He built alliances, waited out rivals, and preferred steady progress to grand gestures, under the motto "Festina lente," make haste slowly. He reshaped Roman government while keeping its familiar forms, and boasted that he found Rome a city of brick and left it a city of marble. John sees in the pair two sides of leadership: Caesar's nerve to decide and act, and Augustus's patience to think about what those decisions would mean years later.

Why it matters for leaders: Bold decisions get things moving, but whether they last depends on patience and attention to their long-term effects.

Q: What does "Festina lente" mean?

A: "Make haste slowly," a motto the historian Suetonius attributes to Augustus.

Q: When was Julius Caesar assassinated?

A: On the Ides of March, March 15, 44 BC, in Rome.

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By John Fenzel, founder and CEO of Heroes' Path Foundation