Build leadership judgement from old lives: Plutarch's Lives as a case library
Pericles, Fabius, Aristides, Solon, Timoleon, Cato, Cicero, Caesar and Alexander, retold as cases, with a morning small-signal check, a weekly team case discussion and a 12-week programme, and a file for every moment.
- A 10-chapter e-book with 58 verbatim quotations from public-domain Plutarch and Thucydides, and Bodhih's own plain-words renderings
- Two Excel workbooks: a 9-sheet practice workbook with streak counter and dashboard, and a Character Case Tracker with 32 cases, a small signals log and a parallel-lives self-assessment
- 6 fillable forms and 6 Word templates, including a case book of 32 cases with a facilitator guide, 40 scripts, 52 team emails and 26 AI prompts
- A 52-card case deck, 3 cheat sheets, a Start Here map, a 67-event calendar and a 30-task board import
Plutarch's Lives: A Leadership Case Library · Bodhih Pro Kits · 157 by Bodhih Training, trainers to 2,000+ companies since 2008.
What leadership lessons does Plutarch teach?
Plutarch's Parallel Lives teach that character shows in small acts, that patience needs evidence, that fairness outlasts brilliance, and that power should be given back after a crisis. Plutarch's Lives: A Leadership Case Library from Bodhih Training turns these lives into cases, daily habits and team discussions for modern managers.
Want the full free guide first? Read Plutarch's Lives: Leadership Lessons for Modern Managers.
You already feel the problem. Here is what it is costing you.
Judged on small things
Your results are strong, yet your team talks about midnight messages, credit and tone. Small acts carry more weight than big achievements, and nobody taught you to manage them.
Patience that looks like weakness
You hold a sound plan and get called slow. Without a clear way to show what would change your mind, patience and stubbornness look the same.
Rivals who must deliver together
You and a peer compete for everything, and now you share a goal. Neither wants to blink first.
Power that outlives the crisis
You took special authority to move fast. Months later decisions still queue on your desk and nobody dares ask for it back.
'Everyone does it'
In procurement, restructuring or negotiation, arguments based only on power go unchallenged because nobody has a test to apply.
Case studies that go nowhere
Leadership cases become polite discussions about other people. Nobody links them to a live issue or leaves with a commitment.
Picture the next few weeks with the kit open beside you.
Picture tomorrow at 08:30. Before your first meeting, you write one small act you will show today, perhaps naming who did the work, perhaps replying to the angry email in the morning instead of tonight. Two minutes, and the day already has a different shape.
Now it is Wednesday. Your team reads a two-minute case aloud: Fabius, mocked as slow while he wore down a stronger enemy. As you move from the facts to the dilemma to your own warehouse decision, someone says, 'This is us.' The discussion ends with one commitment, an owner and a date.
Imagine the last Friday of the month. You open the Parallel Lives sheet and see, honestly, whose strengths you shared and whose failure modes. You choose next month's life and one small signal to show every day.
And picture week twelve. Both Dashboards show your streak, your temper slips falling and the cases your team has discussed. Whether you begin with the e-book tonight or the card deck on Monday, the practice is already in your calendar.
22 files that do the work for you
The e-book shows you how. The tools make it happen. Here is exactly what you download.
Plutarch's Lives: A Leadership Case Library (e-book, PDF)
The guide: methods, worked examples, scripts and exercises
Start here map
The daily, weekly and monthly rhythm on one page, which file to open for each leadership moment, your first hour and a 30/60/90 day use plan.
Plutarch Leadership Lives Workbook
9-sheet master workbook: settings, 17-principle library, daily log for the morning small-signal check with a streak counter, weekly review, situations log, monthly team pulse, 12-week programme tracker and a dashboard with a score-by-week chart.
Character Case Tracker workbook
The kit's signature diagnostic: a 32-case library with leader, dilemma, choice, outcome, lesson and modern parallel; a case discussion log with commitments and follow-ups; a small signals log with trust points; a parallel-lives self-assessment across 10 leaders; and a dashboard.
Case discussion sheet
Three fillable pages for one case, solo or with a team: the facts as the source tells them, the dilemma and options, the choice and its outcome, the small signals in the story, the modern parallel and one commitment.
Small signals of character: a week per page
Two fillable pages: the morning small-signal check for a week on one page (what will my small acts show today?), and a Friday review of the signals you sent and noticed.
Parallel lives: monthly reflection
Two fillable pages for the last Friday of the month: whose life am I living this month? Numbers from both workbooks, the leader whose strengths and failure modes you shared, the evidence and next month's choice.
Vision speech planner (after the Funeral Oration)
Two fillable pages to plan a five-minute purpose talk, built on what the Funeral Oration does well and what it leaves out: who we are, what we value, the honest cost, who is included and one ask.
Might is not right: the Melian test for a power decision
Two fillable pages to test any decision where you hold more power than the other party: the 'might makes right' arguments to spot, six questions from the weaker side, and the decision record.
Patience under criticism: the Fabius plan
Two fillable pages for holding a sound plan under pressure without becoming stubborn: the plan, what it is waiting for, the evidence that would change your mind, the critics' best case and the review dates.
Leadership scripts and messages
40 exact-words scripts and messages for giving credit, owning mistakes, declaring interests, steadying a team, purpose talks, patience under criticism, rivals and fairness, reform and handing back power, integrity and vanity, anger and flattery, and running case discussions.
Case book: 30 leadership cases from Plutarch, with the facilitator guide
The facilitator guide for 30- and 60-minute case discussions and a 90-minute or half-day team workshop, plus 32 leadership cases (30 from Plutarch's Lives, 2 from Thucydides) retold in our own words with the dilemma, choice, outcome, lesson, modern parallel and three questions each.
Team leadership code: how we lead and decide
One-page team leadership code to adopt in a workshop: small signals, credit and mistakes, fairness and interests, power and challenge, rivals and debate, anger and repair.
52 case cards in text form, and 52 team emails
The full card deck as text for sharing, plus 52 short principle-of-the-week team emails or chat posts (one per card), each with a subject line, one situation, one source line or plain-words line, one question and one action.
AI prompt pack for case-based leaders
26 tool-agnostic prompts grouped by leadership moment, each with what to paste in and what to check before using the output.
Worked example pack: Meera's 12 weeks
The kit's main forms completely filled in for one composite leader: a week of small signals, a case discussion sheet, a Fabius plan, a vision speech plan, a Melian test, a parallel-lives reflection, team pulse and her week-12 dashboards.
All principles on one page, and about the sources
All 17 principles with source and plain words, plus the texts, translations, dates and reliability of Plutarch and Thucydides, and how to read them.
Situation finder decision card
If this happens, use this: 18 leadership moments with the principle, the file to open and the first move.
Misreadings and mistakes card
Eight harmful misreadings of Plutarch at work, ten practice mistakes and a Friday self-check.
Plutarch case card deck
52 printable case cards in four suits, each naming the leader or pair of leaders, with a verbatim source line or an In plain words line, a reflection question and a one-line action, plus a how-to page.
12-week programme calendar
67 calendar events: set-up, a Monday card reminder, a Wednesday 30-minute team case discussion, each programme action, a Friday review and three monthly reflections, each naming the file to open.
12-week programme task board import
30 programme actions as a CSV for Trello, Asana, Notion, Planner or Jira, with week, focus, file to open and due date.
Chapter by chapter
Each chapter opens with a real situation, gives you a method and ends with something to do today, using the tools in your kit.
- Format
- PDF e-book + XLSX + fillable PDF + DOCX + printable PDF + ICS + CSV
- Files
- 22 files plus a one-click ZIP
- E-book
- 68 pages
- Workbooks
- 9 and 7 sheets with sample data, formulas and dashboards
- Works with
- Excel, Google Sheets, LibreOffice, Word, Google Docs, Acrobat Reader, GoodNotes, Google Calendar, Outlook, Apple Calendar, Trello, Asana, Notion, Planner, Jira
- Best for
- Managers and leaders who want to build judgement and character, with their teams
The Leader Who Was Judged by Small Things
A leader judged by small things, who Plutarch was, four honest cautions, the daily engine and a note on the translations used.
Small Signals of Character
Plutarch's own method, small acts over great battles, turned into a two-minute morning small-signal check.
Pericles: Steady the Room, Speak the Purpose
Cooling an overconfident team and lifting a panicking one, persuading rather than compelling, and a purpose talk built on the Funeral Oration, including what it leaves out.
Fabius: Patience Under Criticism
Holding a sound plan under criticism, writing what would change your mind, rescuing a failing rival, and how patience can turn into obstruction.
Themistocles and Aristides: Brilliance, Fairness and Rivals
Brilliance and fairness as rivals, the night meeting before Salamis, and a clever plan named as both advantageous and unjust.
Solon and Lycurgus: Fair Reform and Systems That Stand Alone
Fair reform that pleases no side at first, keeping sensitive plans tight, stepping back so systems stand, and what we reject in Sparta.
Timoleon: Taking Power and Giving It Back
Using authority to fix a problem, then removing the instruments of control and welcoming challenge.
Cato and Cicero: Integrity, Rigidity, Voice and Vanity
Keeping standards while changing your manner, and using your voice without vanity.
Caesar and Alexander: Speed, Mercy, Ambition and Anger
Mercy to opponents, the small slights that reveal overgrown ambition, and pause rules learned from the death of Cleitus.
Might Is Not Right: The Melian Test
The Melian dialogue as a warning, and a six-question test for any decision where you hold the power.
Parallel Lives: Running Case Discussions and Reading Your Own
Running 30- and 60-minute case discussions and the monthly parallel-lives reflection.
Twelve Weeks in the Case Library
How the twelve weeks run, what to do when you miss days, and what comes after.
Reading Plutarch Honestly
Plutarch's reliability, Thucydides' speeches, elites, slavery and conquest, women in the Lives, and when to get support.
How to Read Dryden-Clough and Crawley
Four tips for reading seventeenth- and nineteenth-century translations, and how the sources are cited.
Not just reading. Tools you will actually open again.
E-book
- Plutarch's Lives: A Leadership Case Library: 10 chapters, introduction, conclusion, 2 appendices and 6 figures, about 10,500 words (PDF)
Start here
- 00-Start-Here-Map: the daily, weekly and monthly rhythm, which file to open for each leadership moment, your first hour and a 30/60/90 day plan
Spreadsheets
- Plutarch Leadership Lives Workbook (9 sheets): Start here, Settings, Principles library of 17, Daily Log with streak counter, Weekly Review, Situations Log, Team Pulse, Programme Tracker and a Dashboard with a score-by-week chart
- Character Case Tracker (7 sheets): a 32-case library, a case discussion log with commitments and follow-ups, a small signals log with trust points, a parallel-lives self-assessment across ten leaders and a dashboard
Fillable PDF forms
- Case discussion sheet
- Small signals of character: a week per page
- Parallel lives: monthly reflection
- Vision speech planner (after the Funeral Oration)
- Might is not right: the Melian test for a power decision
- Patience under criticism: the Fabius plan
Word templates
- Leadership scripts and messages: 40 scripts
- Case book: 32 cases (30 from Plutarch, 2 from Thucydides) with the facilitator guide for 30- and 60-minute discussions and a 90-minute or half-day workshop
- Team leadership code: how we lead and decide
- 52 case cards in text form, and 52 principle-of-the-week team emails
- AI prompt pack for case-based leaders: 26 prompts
- Worked example pack: Meera's 12 weeks, the main forms filled in
Cheat sheets
- All principles on one page, and about the sources
- Situation finder decision card: if this happens, use this
- Misreadings and mistakes card
- Plutarch case card deck: 52 cards in four suits plus a how-to page (14 printable pages)
Calendar and import
- 12-week programme calendar (ICS): 67 events for Google Calendar, Outlook or Apple Calendar
- 12-week programme task board (CSV): 30 tasks for Trello, Asana, Notion, Planner or Jira
When you have worked through it, you will be able to…
Every outcome is practised with a worked example and a tool, not just described.
- Choose and show one small signal of character every day, and see your own patterns in the logs
- Steady an overconfident or anxious team with facts, and give an honest five-minute purpose talk
- Hold a sound plan under criticism with a written list of what would change your mind
- Turn a rivalry into a contest of contribution to a shared goal
- Plan a fair reform, keep sensitive plans tight and hand power back after a crisis
- Run a 30- or 60-minute case discussion that ends with a commitment
- Test any power decision from the weaker side with the Melian test
- Reflect each month on whose strengths and failure modes you are living out
Know your starting point. Prove your progress.
People who measure before and after improve faster and can show it. AssessAll, our sister assessment platform, has AI-graded assessments that pair with this kit. Take one now, work through the kit, then re-take it.
Strategic Thinking & Business Judgment
Take the assessment →AssessAll assessmentExecutive Presence & Communication
Take the assessment →AssessAll assessmentCritical Thinking & Problem Solving
Take the assessment →JobularyLearn by doing: the 70-20-10 model explained (Jobulary)
Make it a growth plan →A taste of the Introduction
It is 08:10 on a Monday in Singapore, and Meera Raman is rereading her 360-degree feedback. She runs regional operations for a medical-supplies distributor, with teams in Singapore, Manila, Chennai and Perth and hospitals that expect their orders within the hour. Her results are strong. The written comments are not about her results. "Replies to messages at midnight, then seems annoyed when we don't." "Took the credit for the Manila recovery in the board pack." "Hard to tell her bad news." "Always fair on money." "Calm in a real crisis." Not one comment mentions the system migration she led or the hospital contract she saved. Her team has judged her almost entirely on small things. Meera's first reaction is that this is unfair. Her second, a few days later, is that it is accurate. This kit is about that second reaction, and about the ancient writer who built a whole method on it.
The honest comparison
| Free templates and typical advice | This kit | |
|---|---|---|
| The cases | Famous names and inspirational summaries | 32 cases retold in our own words with the dilemma, choice, outcome, lesson, modern parallel and three questions |
| The sources | Popular 'Plutarch quotes' that are not in his works | Word-for-word quotations from public-domain translations, cited by Life or by book and chapter |
| Honesty | Heroes to imitate | 'As Plutarch tells it', with what we reject: conquest, cruelty and exclusion |
| Daily practice | 'Lead by example' | A two-minute morning small-signal check, a Daily Log with streak counter and a small signals log |
| The team | Personal reading only | A facilitator guide, a team code, 52 emails, a monthly pulse and a 52-card deck |
| Cautions | 'Be patient', 'be bold' | A 'What this does not mean' box in every chapter |
Made for you if…
- Managers and team leads who want to build judgement, not just learn frameworks
- Founders and heads of function facing rivals, criticism and power decisions
- Senior professionals who want a structured way to reflect on their own leadership
- HR and L&D leaders looking for a case-based leadership programme
- Leaders of hybrid and global teams in any industry, in any country
- Leaders of any faith or none: the kit is history and philosophy for work, not religion
Probably not for you if…
- Readers wanting academic scholarship on Plutarch: the history is brief and the focus is practice
- Anyone looking for heroes to copy: the kit studies dilemmas and rejects conquest
- Leaders in an acute crisis who need a crisis playbook first
Built by trainers, tested in real rooms.
Bodhih Training has designed and delivered corporate programmes since 2008. Bodhih Pro Kits package what works in those workshops into a guide plus the exact tools we use, so you can apply it the same day without a facilitator in the room.
From here to using it in three steps
- STEP 1
Tap Get the kit
Name, email and country. UPI, card or netbanking in India; international cards everywhere else. No account to create.
- STEP 2
Download instantly
Your download page opens at once, with every file and a one-click ZIP. A permanent link lands in your inbox too.
- STEP 3
Open the first tool
Start with the quick-start chapter, then the main spreadsheet or planner. Most buyers use something from the kit the same day.
Your small acts tomorrow are already a case study.
Open the Start Here map, type your start date into the Settings sheet and choose tomorrow's small signal tonight. Whether you start with the e-book or the first case, the practice can begin the same day.
Personal licence for the buyer's own use (and use with your own team or clients where the kit says so). Please don't share or resell the files. Team and company licences: solutions@bodhih.com.
What buyers say
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The Bodhih family, when you are ready for more
The Circle of Justice: Saadi and the Persian Mirrors
Fairness, honest advisers, open doors and care for the people who carry the load.
Rumi for Listening Leaders
The elephant in the dark, the reed's lament and the guest house of the heart.
Jethro's Counsel and Solomon's Proverbs
Delegation, mentoring and building leaders at every level.
Old Wisdom for Modern Days
Ten philosophies for everyday life.
AssessAll
250+ AI-graded assessments to measure skills and earn verified credentials.
Jobulary
Individual development plans that start from evidence and stay yours.
Bodhih Training
Run this topic as a live workshop for your team, in person or online.
Pewple
Book a vetted coach for career, leadership or communication. Pay per session.
Bodhih.org pathways
Certification pathways in Applied AI, Workplace English and management.
Plutarch's Lives: A Leadership Case Library: FAQs
Read the free guideAlready bought? Resend my linkIs this a religious book?
No. It is history and philosophy put to work in leadership. Plutarch served as a priest at Delphi and his stories include oracles and sacrifices; the kit leaves those matters to each reader and treats them with respect. It is written for leaders of any faith or none.
Which translation do you use and why?
Plutarch is quoted word for word from the public-domain translation called Dryden's, revised by Arthur Hugh Clough, and Thucydides from Richard Crawley's 1874 translation. They are long out of copyright, widely read and easy to cite; Clough revised the older Dryden text against the Greek. The case retellings, In plain words lines and everything else are Bodhih Training's own original wording.
Is Plutarch reliable history?
Not always. Plutarch wrote moral biographies, often centuries after the events, and some figures, such as Lycurgus, may be partly legendary. The kit says 'as Plutarch tells it' and uses each story to study a dilemma and a choice, not as a historical record.
Doesn't this celebrate powerful men and their wars?
No. These were elite men in slave-owning, war-making societies, and women's leadership is largely absent from the Lives. The kit names what it rejects in every case, never celebrates conquest, and draws its modern examples from many countries and leaders of every gender.
How do I run a leadership case discussion at work?
Read a short case aloud, agree the facts, name the dilemma and options, judge the choice, find the live parallel in your own work and end with one commitment. The kit's facilitator guide gives timings for 30 and 60 minutes, facilitator moves and debrief questions.
How long does the daily practice take?
About four minutes a day for the morning small-signal check and evening review, 30 minutes a week for the team case, twenty minutes for the Friday review and an hour a month for the parallel-lives reflection.
Can I use it with my team?
Yes. The case book includes a facilitator guide for weekly discussions and a 90-minute or half-day workshop, the team leadership code is ready to adopt, and the 52 team emails match the card deck. Your personal licence covers use with your own team; company licences are available.
How do I measure my starting point?
AssessAll offers three assessments that fit this kit: Strategic Thinking & Business Judgment, Executive Presence & Communication, Critical Thinking & Problem Solving. Take one in week one and again after week twelve to compare. They are separate products, not included in the kit; links are on the Start Here map.
How do I turn this into a development plan?
Use the monthly parallel-lives reflection to choose one strength to build, then use Jobulary's guide to the 70-20-10 model, linked on the Start Here map, to plan the experience, relationships and learning that will build it.
How is this different from Xenophon's Leadership Lessons or Old Wisdom for Modern Days?
Xenophon's Leadership Lessons focuses on Cyrus and Socrates as Xenophon saw them, and Old Wisdom for Modern Days covers ten traditions for personal life. This kit goes deep on Plutarch's paired lives and Thucydides as a case library, with a case tracker, team discussions and a 12-week programme.
How much does Plutarch's Lives: A Leadership Case Library cost?
₹1,299 including 18% GST for buyers in India, or $34 for buyers outside India. One-time payment, no subscription, with an automatic invoice.
How do I get the files after paying?
Instantly. Your download page opens the moment payment succeeds, and a permanent download link is emailed to you. Download each file separately or everything in one ZIP.
What software do I need?
Any of the usual tools: Excel or Google Sheets for spreadsheets, Word or Google Docs for templates, Adobe Acrobat Reader, Preview, Xodo or GoodNotes for the fillable PDFs, and Google, Outlook or Apple Calendar for the calendar plan.
Can I get a refund?
Because it is a digital download, kits are not refundable once downloaded. We always refund a duplicate charge or a failed delivery, and if a file is corrupted and we cannot fix it within 3 working days. Full terms: bodhih.org/refunds.
Can my company buy this for a team?
Yes. Team and company licences, and workshops on this topic run by Bodhih Training, are available. Write to solutions@bodhih.com or call +91 99000 11601.
