Business Lessons From the Most Successful Pirate in History

business lessons from the most successful pirate in history miss me with Blackbeard sure he might be one of the more famous pirates but who was the most successful pirate and more importantly how is this relevant to running a business I'm Yana henan and today we're taking a page out of Zena or later chin Shin's book so who was this person this lady was born in a port town in China and she became a prostitute at a very young age after doing this for several years she ended up marrying one of her clients when she was 26 years old his name was zenyi and he was a pirate so she agreed to marry him but she also wanted to help him in his piracy business which he of course allowed but after only a couple of years in 1807 he died now she was in a precarious position at the time uh she actually ended up taking over the fleet and she absolutely thrived she didn't just grow it she ended up not only becoming wildly successful but she grew her ranks tremendously she also became one of the most loved and hated pirates in her time how successful was she she actually defeated three Chinese flotillas in the process not to mention the Chinese the Portuguese and the British navies she was known for her expert management skills and she also created a pirate code these regulations were highly effective and it kept all of her subordinates obedient to her with each raid her pirate Fleet grew in fact she grew it to an estimated 70 to 80,000 men the Chinese Ching Dynasty at the time wanted to put an end to her plundering the name of her fleet was the Red Flag fleet so the Ching Dynasty they sent out Mandarin Navy vessels to confront her in the South China Sea but within just a few hours that fleet was decimated she used this opportunity to announce that the and and crew would not be punished if they instead came over to her side come join the Red Flag fleet and this probably helped her grow over and over and over again as a result the Ching Dynasty lost a huge portion of its Navy in 1808 and 1809 she obliterated Chinese naval fleets twice the first battle took 16 hours and after the disaster the Chinese Admiral committed suicide the second attack it required a little bit more imagination and she ordered Ed the men to swim to the Chinese ships and board them which they did but she didn't just destroy navies she HD up coastal towns she plundered them set them a blaze this is what happened in San where 80 villagers were executed and their heads were hung from trees what about the Thousand civilians in t Chow Island where the same thing happened over 10,000 civilians were taken by the Red Flag fleet and killed so aside from torching Villages and plundering and taking on navies she became very successful and grew her Fleet with each raid so why was she so successful what were some of the standard operating procedures she had how did she get all this Fierce loyalty from her Sailors she did have a strict set of codes uh number one a pirate could not go ashore without asking permission a first time offense uh someone would find their ear slit and a second time was death number two captured goods are supposed to be registered before being shared out an individual ship could keep a fifth of that cargo and the rest was to be added to the general prize fund of the fleet number three no abuse of women captured or otherwise without permission from the Quarter Master a pirate may buy a captured woman for his wife for about $40 if she's not to be held for ransom in fact it is written by histor and D accordingly the following the punishment for disobeying an order or for stealing the common treasure or public fund was death by beheading for deserting or going absent without leave a man would have his ear slit or cut off for concealing or holding back plundered Goods the offender would be whipped if the offense was repeated he would die these rules were also equally strict over females and women prisoners the rape of a female captive was punishable by death or if a woman had agreed to have sex with her captor the man would be beheaded and the woman would be thrown overboard with a weight attached to her legs Ching she She ain't messing around she means it business she did retire peacefully she kept all of her plunders and ended up starting her own brothel she died in 1844 at the ripe old age of 69 years old without suffering any penalty for her misdeeds what can we learn from her and how can we apply it in our business one rule with a clenched Fist and an open hand you got to be clear on the rules of the game and make sure everyone is on the same page she kept her pirate crew in line with a mix of tough love and strict policies in business keep your team informed and aligned chaos is for the Seas not for your office two negotiate like your life depends on it Chang XI could Master a class in making deals she negotiated herself from Pirate Queen to respected citizen the lesson here is to always know what you want out of a deal and don't be afraid to ask for it play your cards right and you can walk away from a deal with your pockets full and your head held high adapt or sink Chen shei was not going to let her pirate Fleet go down without a fight when the winds changed so did she and after just a few years of being a pirate she swapped out and was a free citizen it's amazing in business be ready to Pivot When Storms Brew staying stuck in your ways is sure to get you sunk next everyone Rose no passengers Unity isn't just nice to have it's a must Chang xi's fleet was vast but everyone had a job and everyone knew what their job was and how to execute it in your business build a team that works together seamlessly no freeloaders allowed next no one to hold them no one to fold them Changi mastered the art of risk she knew when to charge into battle and when to retreat make sure you're not just jumping at every opportunity evaluate then act Sometimes the best move is to wait for a better one last but not least the best way to destroy your enemies is to make them your friends she would spare her victims lives if they would join her Fleet naturally they did and it led to unprecedented growth in a very short amount of time I'm Jana Hennemann and thank you for tuning in remember to like follow And subscribe to our social channels and I will see you next week same time same place [Music]