What is the significance of crossing the rubicon

It makes sense that they would be so insistent of our time and energy. But when we find ourselves standing in their shadow, we need a way to effectively rise to the occasion and meet the challenge they present with courage and conviction.

There are many remarkable examples of what I call Rubicon moments throughout time. While doing research on the topic of courageous decisions, I came across one in particular. The story of Julius Caesar, widely considered one of the most significant warriors the world has ever known, was frequently referenced. On January 10, 49 BC, Caesar made the momentous decision to lead his army across a shallow stream that wound its way through a portion of northeastern Italy.

This stream, known as the River Rubicon, marked the boundary between Cisalpine Gaul province to the north, and Italy proper to the south. An ancient Roman law forbade any general from crossing the River Rubicon and entering Italy proper with a standing army. To do so would be considered an act of treason, punishable by a torturous and agonizing death.

The purpose of the law was to protect the republic from internal military threat. In this moment the Roman Empire was born and the course of history was forever altered. I have found that one of the most common challenges many leaders face is not necessarily making the Rubicon decisions that need to be made in their organizations, but rather having the courage to set those Rubicons into motion—to actually walk into the river despite the extreme consequences however risky or rewarding they believe them to be.

As you think about the big decisions waiting to either be made or to be put into motion in your organization—those Rubicons that may be keeping you awake at night, consider the following suggestions. As a leader, any decision you make needs to be values-driven, clearly reflecting the beliefs that inform how your business shows up in the world.

Understandably, being right is something most people care very much about. Before you know it, time—and your competition—pass by and disappear into the distance. You find yourself hoping the big decision that needs to be made will simply go away or somehow solve itself. And you know that. Fully aware of the momentous nature of his decision, Caesar ignored the warning and began to march south on Rome. The civil war that followed this decision is seen by historians as the inevitable culmination of a movement that had begun decades prior.

Since the celebrated general and major influence on Caesar Gaius Marius had reformed the Roman legions along more professional lines by paying them himself, soldiers had increasingly owed their loyalty to their generals rather than the more abstract idea of a citizen republic.

The pair were followed by the still-more formidable Pompey and Caesar. Before his military exploits in Gaul, Caesar was very much the junior of the two, and only rose to prominence when elected consul in 59 BC.

As consul, this ambitious man of a minor noble family allied himself with the great general Pompey and the rich politician Crassus to form the First Triumvirate. Credit: Wikimedia Commons. These powerful men had little need of the senate, and in 58 BC Caesar used their influence to secure a command in the Alps which, by giving him years of freedom and 20, men to command, broke every law of the Senate.

Caesar used the following five years to become one of the most brilliant and successful commanders in history. Faced with the intransigence of the Senate, Caesar and the 13th Legion cross the Rubicon, the official border between Gaul and Italy, a decision that will lead to civil war. As Caesar advances on Rome, Pompey and his allies retreat south, ultimately abandoning Italy for Greece. Caesar pursues Pompey across the Adriatic and decisively defeats him at the Battle of Pharsalus in Greece.

After the loss, Pompey flees to Egypt where he is assassinated. Caesar becomes dictator of Rome. The day before the crossing, Caesar acted as if nothing unusual was happening. The conqueror of Gaul attended a public event in Ravenna and carefully examined plans for a gladiator school. Secretly, he had ordered his cohorts to proceed to the banks of the river and wait for him there.

Later, during dinner that night, he told his guests he would have to leave them for a moment. A chariot pulled by mules from a nearby bakery was waiting for him outside, and after a considerable delay in finding the exact position of his troops, he eventually managed to join them on the bank. Here he mulled the agonizing choice that lay before him. Writing around a century and a half later, the historian Suetonius produced an account of this moment that reveals the legendary status the event had attained in the Roman mind.

Still unsure whether to advance, a man of extraordinary height and beauty appeared, clearly sent by the gods. The die is cast. Caesar was not the first person to openly violate the law of the republic. During his youth, generals and politicians often exploited their military victories to take political control of the state.

Born around B. In 81 B. Sulla was appointed dictator. In 60 B. Revealing his lifelong instinct for survival, however, Caesar cut a deal with Pompey and Crassus, enabling him to leave for Gaul to achieve the military glory that would, in turn, increase his grip on power.

Eight years later, at the beginning of the year 50 B. But the main beneficiary of the wars was undoubtedly Caesar himself. At the same time, he had at his back a trained, experienced, and fiercely loyal army. After the fighting was ended in Gaul, Caesar was obliged to stand down from his position as governor, disband his army, and so lose the immunity his official position had given him.

Pompey and his new optimate allies hatched a plan to seize the moment to take Caesar to court. By accusing him of corruption and abuses of power during his time in Gaul, they hoped to bring his political career to an end. But Caesar stood his ground in March 50 B. He would not stand down as governor of Gaul, as stipulated, but would instead stay on until the end of 49 B.

Faced with such obstinacy, his enemies in Rome scrambled to increase the pressure on the rogue governor. They reiterated to the Senate that since the military campaign was over, Caesar must disband his army, and a new governor of Gaul be elected to replace him. The hostile atmosphere in the Senate convinced Caesar that he needed to defend himself militarily and politically. He moved some of his troops into the north of Italy, at the same time extending his influence in the corridors of power.

Bribery continued to be the most effective tool. In a particularly spectacular coup, he even managed to buy off the consul Lucius Aemilius Lepidus Paullus for a colossal down payment of some nine million denarii. In return, the consul promised not to support any initiatives against him during his remaining term of office.

The deadline for Caesar to lay down his command, March 50 B. Pompey declared that he would send one if Caesar sent another. Caesar surprisingly accepted, perhaps to demonstrate a willingness to compromise. Keeping his promise, Caesar handed over the 15th Legion, quartered in Cisalpine Gaul, only to find out that the Parthian threat had petered out and that both legions now lay firmly under the control of Pompey in Italy. Throughout that year, the brinkmanship between the two generals grew, and nerves stretched to breaking point.

A false rumor spread that Caesar had set out from Gaul with four legions. The statesman and orator Cicero vainly tried to find a peaceful solution to the conflict while a sense that the republic was becoming increasingly ungovernable took hold in the capital. So now Most of the terrified senators were willing to grant the concessions Caesar was asking for to avoid war. In December, when the plebeian leader Curio persuaded the Senate to vote on the proposal for Caesar and Pompey to lay down their arms at the same time, senators voted for it and just 22 against.

But the faction opposing Caesar immediately went against the spirit of this decision.