In the late 1300s and early 1400s, Fiore de’i Liberi was a knight, a diplomat, and a fencing master. He also wrote one of the most comprehensive treatises on medieval combat, his Flower of Battle, of which four copies survive in museums and private collections today. Fiore started – or was a significant evolutionary step in – one of the most important and long-lasting traditions in armed and unarmed combat.

In addition to detailed instruction on fighting with dagger, longsword, spear, and other weapons, Fiore’s manuscript included a preface with information about the virtues that any fencer^[1] would need to be successful in combat.

In the image above, Fiore pictures the seven blows of the sword, and his four virtues, each represented by a different animal^[2][3]:

This Master with these swords signifies the seven blows of the sword. And the four animals signify four virtues, that is prudence, celerity, fortitude, and audacity. And whoever wants to be good in this art should have part in these virtues.

Fiore then goes on to describe each virtue in turn:

Prudence
No creature sees better than me, the Lynx.
And I always set things in order with compass and measure.

Celerity
I, the tiger, am so swift to run and to wheel
That even the bolt from the sky cannot overtake me.

Audacity
None carries a more ardent heart than me, the lion,
But to everyone I make an invitation to battle.

Fortitude
I am the elephant and I carry a castle as cargo,
And I do not kneel nor lose my footing.^[4]

Step back and read this again: “And whoever wants to be good in this art should have part in these virtues.”

That’s right – Fiore was documenting best practices, 600+ years ago. And although I suspect that Fiore wasn’t thinking about business intelligence projects at the time, I do believe that these virtues are just as relevant to the slicing and dicing^[5] we’re still doing today. Let me explain.

Prudence – “…I always set things in order with compass and measure“: A successful BI practitioner knows what needs to be done before a project can begin, and when additional work is required before they can get started. Initiating a project requires careful setup and planning, and moving before the prerequisites for success are in place can be disastrous.^[6]

Celerity – “I… am so swift to run and to wheel that even the bolt from the sky cannot overtake me“:  Business requirements change day to day and hour to hour. To succeed, a BI practitioner must be prepared to move quickly and decisively, engaging without delay when an opportunity presents itself – and also be prepared to change direction as the needs of the project change.

Audacity – “…to everyone I make an invitation to battle“:  Any project declined presents an opening for another practitioner, another team, another tool, and this is likely to reduce opportunities over time. Saying yes to difficult projects – and succeeding in their execution – is necessary to ensure that future projects don’t pass you by.

Fortitude – “And I do not kneel nor lose my footing“: When Fiore speaks of fortitude, he does not speak of the strength that comes from big muscles. He speaks of the strength that comes from structure, and balance. His “elephant with a castle on its back” is a perfect metaphor for a BI solution delivered quickly and confidently because of the solid and stable platform on which it is built. Success doesn’t come from the extra effort put in when delivering a solution – it comes from the care and planning that went into the overall data estate.

You may look at these virtues and see contradiction – how can you have prudence and audacity and celerity? The answer for BI is the same answer that it is for the sword: practice, training, and preparation. In both situations, whether you’re battling with an armed foe or battling with a difficult client, you need to apply the right virtues at the right times, and to understand both the big picture and the day to day steps that produce larger successes. In both situations you’re also facing complex and dynamic challenges where you need to quickly take advantage of opportunities as they arise, and create opportunities when they don’t appear on their own^[7]. Fortunately, as BI practitioners we can rely on the strengths of our teams – it’s not always a solo battle.

You may also look at these virtues and see Matthew stretching to make the most tenuous of analogies work, just because he loves swords as much as he loves BI. While this may be true, I do honestly believe that these virtues do apply here. Over the past 20-25 years I have seen many projects succeed because these virtues were embodied by the people and teams involved, and I’ve seen many projects fail where these virtues were absent. This isn’t the only way to look at success factors… but at the moment it’s my favorite.

In closing, I’d like to mention that this post marks one year since I started this blog. In the past year I’ve published almost 90 posts, and have had roughly 50,000 visitors and 100,000 page views. Here’s hoping that by applying Fiore’s virtues I’ll be able to make the next year even more productive and more successful than the year that has passed.

Thanks to all of you who read what I write, and who provide feedback here and on Twitter – I couldn’t do it without you.

^[1] Fencer in this context meaning someone who fights with swords or other edged weapons, not the Olympic-style sport of fencing that a modern reader might picture when reading the word.

^[2] As translated by Michael Chidester and Colin Hatcher.

^[3] Although it may not be obvious to the modern reader, the animal at the bottom is an elephant with a tower or castle on its back. I suspect that Fiore never actually saw an elephant.

^[4] In case these terms don’t immediately have meaning, prudence == wisdom, celerity == speed, audacity == daring, and fortitude == strength.

^[5] See what I did there?

^[6] I assume that Fiore’s use of the term “measure” here is pure coincidence.

^[7] If you’ve worked on a high-stakes, high-visibility BI project where requirements changed during implementation, or where not all stakeholders were fully committed to the project goals, this will probably feel very familiar.