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38 PCB007 MAGAZINE I DECEMBER 2025 The Uncomfortable Truth Behind Government Shutdowns T his is not a political piece. Government shut- downs, like the one we experienced in November, hurt everyone, and our industry is feeling the impact. My MilAero/Defense clients are reporting business softening because of the stall- ing of new programs and economic uncertainty. You may be surprised to find that history reveals the strategy behind shutdowns as well as the solutions. Shutdowns: A Notorious Power Play At 40 days, the latest government shutdown was the longest in U.S. history, but every shutdown follows the same script: Politicians posture, deadlines pass, and federal workers go without paychecks. Ameri- cans watch in frustration, wondering why their lead- ers can't simply do their jobs. Shutdowns aren't fail- ures of leadership; they're calculated power moves from a playbook that spans millennia. I've spent decades studying leadership, both first- hand in corporate boardrooms and reading about history's bloodiest battlefields during my research for my latest book, Notorious: Leadership Lessons from History's Most Notorious Leaders. My discov- eries are disturbing: Today's political brinkmanship is a strategy that Catherine the Great, Napoleon Bonaparte, and Genghis Khan would recognize instantly. The Ancient Playbook of Crisis Manipulation Catherine the Great didn't stumble into power; she orchestrated a coup during Russia's most chaotic moment. Napoleon didn't wait for France to stabi- lize after the revolution; he seized control during the crisis. Genghis Khan didn't inherit a unified Mongo- lia; he weaponized tribal instability to forge the largest contiguous empire in history. Same tactics, different centuries, but the same results. T H E R I G H T A PPROAC H by Steve Wi l l i a m s , Th e R i g ht A p p roa c h C o n s u lti n g