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Pyrrhic Victories in the Workplace

Pyrrhic Victories in the Workplace

Winning (sometimes) is losing

Bruno Nogueira
June 26, 2023

In 279 BC, Pyrrhus of Epirus invaded Apulia (modern-day Puglia) with 40,000 soldiers plus 19 war elephants.

He fought – and won – against the Romans in what became known as the Battle of Asculum.

He lost 3,500 men. The Romans, 6,000.

Yet, here are his words after the battle:

"If we are victorious in one more battle with the Romans, we shall be utterly ruined."

That's weird, isn't it?

He won the battle. He lost fewer men. HE HAD WAR ELEPHANTS FROM EGYPT, FOR GOD'S SAKE.

Why did this victory cost him so much?

Well, two things happened:

He lost lots of officers and commanders.
He couldn't replenish his forces, something the Romans could do at ease.

Pyrrhus was a great commander.

Legendary Carthaginian general Hannibal placed him second-best ever, after Alexander the Great.

Yet, some battles are best not fought. Even if you could win.

The concept is nowadays known as a "Pyrrhic victory": a victory that's won at such great cost it's not even worth fighting.

And they don't just happen in ancient history…

… They also happen in Marvel movies:

And they also happen in the Workplace.

Fellow reader Luiza shares a pearl of hard-earned wisdom from her dad:

This one is from my dad (30+ years in finance): Don't do something if you have nothing to gain

This mostly applies to office politics and when you're angry and want revenge - aka feel wronged by someone. Could be small or big. After I wasn't promoted, I really wanted to take it out on my manager - maybe talk to his manager or HR or whatever. Nothing I could've done would've helped me in any way - except make me look like a spoiled brat who didn't get what she wanted. So I dusted myself off and kept on working.

It doesn't surprise me that this tip comes from someone with THREE DECADES under his belt.

There are things you learn after years and years of seeing people fighting windmills or attempting to go against the "Romans"... And then seeing their ultimate fate.

Now, the counter-argument is that some fights are worth fighting for, even if the chances of winning are slim.

I'm not gonna take that one from you.

But you still gotta ask yourself: is this one of them? Do I have chances of winning? And if I do, is it a Pyrrhic victory?

Keep working smarter.