But historians generally consider Aurangzeb a failed emperor, as someone lacking a vision for the future, who would damn the Mughal line forever. There are many lessons from his life that can be applied to modern management practices.
At his core, Aurangzeb was a failed leader, although he won many short-term goals all his life.
Trust your partners
Aurangzeb was notoriously paranoid, not trusting his brothers, sons, ministers or even his own father. At various stages, he imprisoned them, executed them or banished them, always viewing each as a rival power center. This forced him to run all his campaigns as a solo champion. From Akbar on, while no Mughal emperor had a cordial succession to power, Aurangzeb made things worse.
Lesson: Individual achievement will not lead to long-lasting organizational success, unless the leader shows trust in his deputies and takes effort to nurture each to his full potential.
Delegate and empower
Aurangzeb would not strengthen the forces even when is own son, Prince Muazzam, asked for reinforcement during the Deccan campaign, fearing his son would turn into a rebel against himself. Not willing to delegate the responsibility, Aurangzeb would personally lead his Deccan campaign for 26 years, never again returning to North India. He was reluctant to groom any successor even when he grew old. When Aurangzeb passed away, there was no one with power to rule his domain effectively.
Lesson: The hallmark of a leader is his ability to create more leaders, perhaps someone who can even excel oneself. Keeping the powers too centralized would distract the leader from working effectively. Like his predecessors, had Aurangzeb delegated his Deccan campaign, he might have had time to consolidate his empire, saving it for his successors.
Know when rules of the game has changed
Aurangzeb's lasting failure was against the Marathas, whom he would never subdue in spite of his dogged pursuits. While Marathas initially had a charismatic center, Chatrapathi Shivaji, they quickly disintegrated into multiple factions, when Shivaji passed away in 1680 and his son Shambhuji was brutally tortured to death by Aurganzeb in 1689. Marathas then took to plundering, moving in small teams for hit-and-run campaign against Mughals, with no central authority governing them. Against these roving bands, Aurangzeb deployed his Imperial army, trying his old game plan on capturing forts on battlefield. Even after decades of war, Aurangzeb failed to see that his Imperial Army was ineffective against the gorilla war of Marathas. He was not a robust general to change his strategy in a fluid theater. He never understood why he failed in his wretched Deccan campaign, dying a disillusioned old man.
Lesson: When the old and trusted strategy fails to work even after multiple attempts, it behooves the leader to dissect the situation to understand its root cause. A leader should be agile and open-minded to think out-of-the-box, after first acknowledging the failure of his past efforts. Not everything is a nail, simply because you have a hammer.
The perils of growing too fast
While Aurangzeb was a master empire-builder, he was a meek administrator. His official writs were regularly ignored by his remote provincial governors. Surprisingly, given his notoriety among historians, Aurangzeb was mild in dealing with Imperial officers for their disregard of his orders. While Aurangzeb understood the importance of keeping his empire safe from external threats, he neglected to improve it. Towards the end of his rule, only Bengal province under the governorship of Shayista Khan produced revenue for his central government. Corruption and inefficiency was rampant in his administration, to his utter dismay.
Lesson: Growth at any cost is a dangerous strategy. Without a strong organic support to sustain the organization, expanding the organization for its own sake is bound to fail.
Address the Agency Problem
Aurangzeb's adversaries were regularly able to corrupt his forces, sometimes even his own sons, to collude against his objectives. In several instances, Mughal commanders simply bribed their Maratha counterparts to surrender the fort temporarily to get credit for victory - they even indulged in a bidding war among themselves. In a particularly galling sham, Zulfiqar Khan, the Mughal commander sent to capture Rajaram in Gingee fort, simply chose to camp outside the fort to increase his importance in the Mughal court. With his large force, Khan could have captured Gingee on the day of arrival, but he managed to drag the campaign out for 8 years, till he stormed the fort in 1698, even letting Rajaram escape.
Lesson: As a project leader, ensure that all stake holders have a strong incentive for an orderly completion of the project. Address the conflict of interest effectively before it manages to cripple the project.
Enjoy your work
Aurangzeb considered his role as an Emperor a sombre duty, to be executed meticulously without joy. His self-control and simplicity in life were legendary. His life stands in stark contrast with that of his forefathers, who regularly mixed business with pleasure. Some of this drudgery was driven by his religious beliefs. Aurangzeb's life became frustrating and dull and this affected his judgment towards the later part of his rule.
Lesson: Any task loses its luster, if executed mechanically. A leader should be able to inspire his deputies to take pleasure in their work. Quality of work suffers when the agent disconnects his heart from the work at hand.
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