My company is currently reviewing its leadership principles. It's the kind of exercise that organisations tend to go through every few years and there's nothing wrong with that. However, it did prompt me to Google 'leadership principles'. The top result that this returned was for the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps, UC Berkeley and their principles can be found here, http://navyrotc.berkeley.edu/resources/gouge/leaderprinciples.stm .

What I like about them is how straightfoward and clearly articulated they are. There's no glib 'one team, one dream' type guff, which you can just imagine wouldn't go down well with a bunch of marines. Indeed, their principles have a resolutely military feel to them. You can just imagine a stiff-backed man in uniform, standing in front of a line of recruits and shouting 'Take responsibility for your actions and the actions of your Sailors or Marines!'

It got me to thinking what it would be like if civilian companies employed military leadership techniques? So it's Tuesday morning and the boss marches across to your office cubicle. He's brandishing a sheath of paper in his hand and then shouts 'What's this, Wilson? You call this a report?! Get down and give me fifty!'

The other thing that those Berkeley naval guys have is an honor code. I particularly like the midshipsman's honor code which reads as follows: 'A Midshipman does not lie, cheat, steal, or engage in any activity which would compromise the integrity and security of his or her conscience, the well-being of the unit, or the values of the United States Navy and Marine Corps.'

Powerful stuff! If translated to this office, though, what would the office worker's honor code be? Well, how about something like this: 'An office worker does not pilfer paper clips, waste time forwarding tawdry joke e-mails and does not hide his colleague's stapler. An office worker does not engage in any activity that might compromise the integrity of customer data, such as losing his laptop in a strip bar, and works to maximise the wellbeing of his team, department, division and company.'

Of course the trade unions wouldn't countenance any such honor code. Again, picture the scene. A trade unionist enters the boss' office and slams a hairy fist down on the desk. Then in a broad Yorkshire accents asserts that 'You can't do this, lad. It infringes t'rights of workers!' This tense scene is interrupted, though,  when a young line manager storms into the office. She's just been through the newly militarised leadership principles course. Without hesitating, she pulls out a luger and blows the trade unionist away!