Justinian - The Emperor Who Never Sleeps Needs A Nap

Justinian (482-565) tried to make a dent in the universe during his long reign as emperor of the Roman Empire from 527 to 565.

Justinian had big plans and the drive to make them happen. He reconquered the lost western provinces, reissued the Roman law code, united religious factions, built the greatest church on Earth, and raised taxes on everyone to fund his dreams - all while surviving riots, plague, and possibly the worst year in human history.

For his intense and tireless efforts, Justinian earned the nickname “the emperor who never sleeps,” working long hours day in and day out, getting involved in huge projects and nitty-gritty details. Yes, he was a hard-driving micromanager, striding through the halls of his palace late at night, still at it.

Justinian was born in the Balkans, and would be the last emperor who spoke Latin as his native language. He was adopted by his uncle, Emperor Justin, then moved to Constantinople and became consul in 521 to learn the family business.

In 525, he married Theodora, a courtesan 20 years his junior. She would become one of his closest advisors until her death in 548. When Uncle Justin died in 527, Justinian slid smoothly into power and onto the imperial throne.

Justinian inherited a war with Persia from his uncle, but quickly negotiated peace so he could pursue fighting in the west. Justinian aimed to reconquer the former Western Roman Empire, either all of it or, failing that, just the most profitable bits for taxing.

With his great general Belisarius, the Eastern Roman Empire quickly took back North Africa from the Vandals, recaptured part of Spain from the Visigoths, and reconquered Italy after 20 years of fighting the Gothic War. For a quick minute, the Roman Empire approached its former territorial extent across the Mediterranean.

There were challenges aplenty during his epic, almost 40-year reign. In 532, the angry citizens of Constantinople rose up in the Nika Riots and burned half the city down. When the dust cleared, more than 20,000 people were dead.

The year 536 is often considered the Worst. Year. Ever. because volcanic eruptions caused widespread famine and mass migration.

Then in 542, Constantinople suffered the first documented outbreak of a bubonic plague pandemic. At the height of the “Plague of Justinian,” 10,000 people died per day. By the time it ran its course, half the city’s population had perished.

Despite the many setbacks, Justinian worked tirelessly throughout his reign. He sorted through the last few hundred years of legal writings and compiled them into the Code of Justinian. It was possibly the most influential law reform in history, as it serves as the foundation for many modern legal systems today.

Justinian worked hard to bring together Chrisitan factions that were squabbling, and he didn’t shy away from persecuting anyone he thought was out of line. He destroyed writings of early Christian scholars because they were now considered heretical. He defunded the Academy in Athens, which had been a center of classical (pagan) thought since Plato founded it in 387 BC.

Still visible in the skyline of modern Istanbul today, Justinian built or rebuilt 30+ churches in Constantinople, most spectacularly Hagia Sophia in 527, the most important church in Europe for the next 1,000 years. Its dome is as wide as a football field, and a 17-story building could fit inside. This incredible edifice was built in just six years.

By the end of his life, Justinian had accomplished much. And through his tireless efforts, Justinian had worn out everyone around him. By the end of his reign, he was widely hated and considered a tyrant. His biographer even called him “a demon in human form.” After his death, much of what he accomplished fell apart. Just five years after he died, the Lombards conquered most of Italy.

His reign serves as a high-water mark for the Roman Empire; it was all downhill from there. From here it will shrink in size, power, and influence over the coming centuries. But Justinian dreamed big and worked hard to make the world be the way he wanted it to be.

A pacesetting manager is passionate about being the best. Pacesetting leaders define high standards and big expectations for their team. They focus on getting results, then try to outdo those results. Go, go, go. Do, do, do. Hustle, achieve, excel, win.

In certain environments, this can work out great. When you’ve got a tight deadline for a do-or-die project, it’s very effective for a short-term burst.

For a highly motivated team that is empowered to do work about which they are passionate, a pacesetting manager can set the bar high and push the team to go further than they thought possible. In most companies, sales is a black-and-white, results-oriented job, and this management style can work well.

In other environments, this can spell disaster. When the leader works a 16-hour day every day, many on the team may not want to sign up to do the same. People start to burn out.

Once the first person quits, there is just more work for everyone still there, which just makes them want to quit more, leading to high turnover, or worse, mass exodus.

For projects and teams where collaboration, exploration, and creativity are essential to the process, or maybe why they all got into this in the first place, the pacesetting management style falls flat.

Know your team, know your goals, know your culture. Then set the pace accordingly.