Most would see the ancient Roman military as one of the most dominant military forces in history…

With an unparalleled force of over 300,000, the Romans laid siege to the Mediterranean, effectively taking over the entire basin.

With their territory stretching far into Spain, the British Isles and Egypt and having conquered dominant players like Carthage, it’s hard to believe that a short while before the expansion, in 5th century BC, the Roman state struggled to compete with other neighbouring Mediterranean armies.

They had 3 major problems in their military system:

• Reliance on more wealthy states
• Inefficient military techniques and technology
• Lack of morale and support from the Roman state

It took an overhaul of these outdated systems between the 5th and 2nd century to propel the Roman army to become a feared force.

This is not to say you should treat your business model as an army or seek to rule over your team in a similar authoritarian way that the Romans did. But what’s valuable, is their plans for reform which addressed issues below surface level – a valuable skill when re-examining your business model.

The Romans did not cut ties completely with their wealthy supporters – the Latin League.

Previously, the Romans had to appeal to the League when they needed to enact military self-defence due to their small standing army.

In that relationship, the Latin league held power, and it effectively made Rome a military reactive state, where little was gained from war and it was only used to defend.

With the allies’ settlement of 338 BC, the Romans re-examined their relationships with the Latin League. Instead of dealing with the powerfully united institution, Rome dealt with each state individually, valuing what it could provide to the military and rewarding it on a more personal basis.

Hence, they created a direct and personal contact system with allies (in your case customers) and worked to improve efficiency by reclaiming some lost power and spending more time to treat allies as individuals.

With regards to military techniques and technology, the Romans were following the general trends of warfare in the 5th century BC. They worked in similar systems to Athens and Sparta, mobilising spear-wielding units in a phalanx formation. The winner of these exchanges was usually the one with more manpower and training, resultantly Rome suffered.

Their society differed from states like Sparta, where an excess of warriors was trained from a young age made up of large and strict fighting forces.

Instead of trying to copy this system, Roman reforms looked at the actual fabric of the battlefield.

By the end of the 4th Century BC, they had created a ‘manipular’ legion – a formation of 4 lines of different soldier types, with each line being effective in different battle situations against older formations.

In the 2nd century BC, after a series of defeats, further action was taken to push strategic reform.

The Romans maximised training through use of the gladiator pits and brought innovation to the battlefield in the form of increased close-combat sword warfare in the middle lines when most other states were using spears, which were ineffective for close combat.

They invented new ‘pilum’ spear technology for the front ranks which lodged in enemy shields, allowing them to be dragged into the sword-wielding middle ranks.

However – in our opinion – the most important reform was regarding Roman society and citizen support for warfare.

During the reform period, there was a large emphasis placed on monetary incentive for warfare, a social celebration of war and symbols of loyalty to local units.

As Rome expanded through the Mediterranean and gained more territory, society reaped the benefits; new buildings in cities emerged, parades were held for victories and Roman citizens were even excluded from taxation.

Warfare was ingrained into society, as political power came from military service and veterans were rewarded with land. This led to some of the highest mobilisation numbers of around 10-20% and a social and state-wide desire to serve, making the Roman army one of the deadliest in history.

So back to you… how does this apply to your business?

We believe it’s about willingness to change through innovation.

The Romans looked at each sector of their meagre army, addressing the root of their problems, being innovative and making the military stronger than competitors.

They effectively turned a spluttering robin reliant into a formula 1 racing car, by re-inventing relationships with allies, enacting major shifts in the fabric of warfare, introducing new technologies and moulding popular social structures to produce the highest efficiency out of citizens and warriors.

This could relate to your business too!

Are you stuck doing the same old things with profits slowly ebbing away?

Back in 2014 this was us, stuck in a network of retail stores selling printer consumables with our profits eroding due to intense competition from supermarkets and the internet.

But we did what the Romans did, changed through innovation.

What did we do?

We developed a series of market leading office technology solutions (like print & scan technology, broadband phones, and laptop bundles) with guaranteed fixed pricing and lifetime warranties.

Then we closed our stores and relocated into a business unit, whilst retraining and adding to our team to become a technical services company, providing world class service and products.

…if you’re in a rut and can’t see a way out, change like the Romans and use innovation to stand out.