11/24/97 ROBERT E. LEE AS 10-MINUTE MANAGER

ROBERT E. LEE AS 10-MINUTE MANAGER

WAR AND BUSINESS HAVE much in common--strategies, winners, losers. Now the Battle of Gettysburg is getting attention in executive education circles as students tromp the Pennsylvania battlefield.
Tigrett, a consulting firm in Alexandria, Va., which has run Gettysburg seminars since 1989 for the likes of MCI Communications, now holds six annually. Wharton is in its fourth year offering one every spring for execs. And Johns Hopkins' business department just added a Gettysburg section to its strategic planning course.
One lesson drawn from the 1863 battle is the need for clear communication. Robert E. Lee, not feeling well, did not get his wishes across to some commanders, with unhappy results. But Tigrett's three-day seminar points up the value of loyalty: Lee's troops believed in him so much that they were willing to try the bloody--and unsuccessful--Pickett's Charge.
Tigrett charges about $15,000 for a group up to 20. Students also see an Abe Lincoln impersonator show how his vision and oratory focused Union forces throughout the Civil War.
EDITED BY LARRY LIGHT
Thomas Bartlett and Mary Beth Regan