Always-On: The Mongol Advantage
Why daily practice beats formal training
TL;DR:
The Mongols, despite their brutal conquests, offer valuable lessons for modern HR. Their strength lay in constant skill development, woven into their daily lives. Just as horseback riding and hunting honed their combat skills, organizations should embed core competencies into everyday workflows. While training programs are important, real learning happens on the job. Like the Mongols who eventually became obsolete, organizations must adapt and evolve their core skills to remain competitive in a changing world.
When we think of nomadic peoples, we often imagine peaceful wanderers. But the Mongols defy that image. Known as “the Devil’s Horsemen,” they forged one of history's most formidable empires—second only to the British Empire in size1. While their conquests were marked by violence, their success also stemmed from discipline, adaptability, and strategic organization. These qualities offer valuable lessons for today’s HR professionals, particularly in people development. Just as the Mongols’ strengths eventually became outdated, modern organizations must also evolve their core capabilities to remain competitive.
The Rise of the Mongol Empire
The Mongol Empire, emerging from the unification of disparate tribes under the leadership of Temujin, later known as Genghis Khan (born between 1155 and 1167), rapidly transformed from a fragmented society into a formidable force. Temujin's early life, marked by adversity and hardship, including his tribe's desertion and the killing of his half-brother, forged within him the resilience and strategic acumen that would characterize his reign. His rise to power involved a combination of skillful alliance-building and decisive military victories, culminating in his proclamation as Genghis Khan at the Kurultai council in 1206.
This event signaled the genesis of the Mongol Empire's expansion, fueled by innovative military tactics and administrative reforms. Genghis Khan's armies, composed of highly mobile cavalry units supported by an extensive espionage network, swept across vast territories, conquering the Jin Dynasty in northern China and extending their reach as far as Eastern Europe. While their military prowess was undeniable, their campaigns were also marked by brutality and strategic use of terror tactics, often leading to preemptive surrenders from neighboring populations.
However, the Mongol Empire's legacy extends beyond military conquest. The era known as the Pax Mongolica witnessed a period of relative stability and peace across the vast territories under Mongol control. The expansion of the empire facilitated trade and communication along the Silk Road, forging vital connections between East and West and fostering cultural exchange among scholars, artisans, and merchants. This exchange of ideas, technologies, and goods contributed to economic prosperity within the empire. Moreover, the Mongols implemented effective administrative systems, including postal relay stations and standardized weights and measures, further streamlining governance, trade, and communication across diverse regions.
Skill Development as a Way of Life
One of the Mongols’ greatest strengths was their constant state of readiness. From an early age, both men and women honed their core skill—combat—through daily life on horseback. Hunting on horseback, essential for their livelihood, required them to be strategic and collaborative to bring down wild animals 2. This lifestyle naturally provided a significant advantage in land battles. People in the Mongols’ rival nations lived sedentary lifestyles and lacked this natural training for war. Soldiers in these nations trained for war in addition to their daily routines, while for the Mongols, daily life was training.
The Mongols’ use of horses also provided a considerable advantage. In this era, cavalry was a more potent force than infantry. However, maintaining horses was expensive. It required fodder, extensive stable space, and additional personnel for their care. Consequently, only the wealthy could typically afford horses. In contrast, every Mongol was a cavalryman. Their constant movement meant the cost of keeping horses was significantly lower than in sedentary societies.
The Mongol lifestyle functioned as continuous training for warfare. Facing an opponent raised in combat from birth and conditioned daily was a daunting prospect, leading many to surrender without a fight.
When Strengths Become Obsolete
Although the Mongols initially achieved rapid success, their prosperity did not endure. After Möngke Khan’s death, the fourth khagan, the empire fragmented among Genghis Khan’s descendants into several khanates, including the Yuan Dynasty in China, the Ilkhanate in Persia, the Chagatai Khanate in Central Asia, and the Golden Horde in Russia. This division demonstrates how rapid expansion, when it compromises core values, can quickly weaken an organization.
Following the Mongols' period of dominance, artillery became increasingly important in warfare. Soldiers no longer needed horses to gain an advantage. This shift marked the decline of the nomadic advantage in warfare and underscores a critical point: as society and business models evolve, so too must the skills organizations prioritize. HR leaders need to be aware of necessary core skills and adapt their workflows accordingly to remain competitive. It's important to avoid becoming stagnant in a rapidly changing world. Organizations may even need to adopt a more "nomadic" mindset and culture.
Translating Mongol Strategy to Modern Workplaces
The key takeaway for HR leaders is the importance of integrating core skills into daily workflows. As with the Mongols, when work naturally reinforces essential capabilities, development becomes both efficient and sustainable.
For example, if your company’s or organization’s core competency is data analysis, it should be integrated throughout the organization. Leaders should consistently request data-driven insights in every meeting. Every screen in the office could display some form of data, such as meeting room occupancy rates or energy efficiency metrics. Corporate resources should be allocated to data infrastructure. Data quality should be a top priority in performance reviews. While encouraging every coffee chat to begin with data insights might seem extreme, it illustrates the potential of embedding skill development into everyday workflows. Such creative approaches can foster a culture of continuous improvement and reinforcement of core competencies.
What is your organization’s core skill? Is your workflow structured around it? Are you creating and maintaining an environment where employees can naturally develop these skills? Remember the 70-20-10 rule 3: 70% of skill development occurs on the job. Well-designed training programs are essential, but they are ineffective if the skills aren't applied in practice.
Conclusion
The Mongol Empire’s rise and fall provide valuable lessons for modern organizations. Their success stemmed from embedding core skills into daily life, fostering a culture of continuous readiness and adaptability. However, their decline also emphasizes the importance of evolving those skills as circumstances change. By learning from the Mongols, HR leaders can build resilient, adaptable organizations that thrive in a rapidly changing world.
Zandt, Florian. "The Biggest Empires in Human History." Statista, November 2, 2023. https://www.statista.com/chart/20342/peak-land-area-of-the-largest-empires/
Cartwright, Mark. “Mongol Warfare” World History Encyclopedia, October 10, 2019. https://www.worldhistory.org/Mongol_Warfare/
“The 70-20-10 Rule for Leadership Development” Center for Creative Leadership, April 24, 2022. https://www.ccl.org/articles/leading-effectively-articles/70-20-10-rule/