Infrastructure Lessons from Venice

[Bengalzona]

It is a historical trend for peoples and nations who start with bad situations or handicaps and come together to overcome them to become great. The Vikings, Mongols, and initial Muslim Arabs all sprang from places with hard and unforgiving living conditions. The lessons they learned to survive in such places would later give them significant advantages over other peoples (seafaring with Vikings, horsemanship and bowmanship with the Mongols, logistics with Arabs, etc.). Rome had to overcome a plethora of neighboring city-states and existing powerful nations (Greece, Carthage, Egypt, etc.) before it could rise to power. The odds were very much against them (They literally had to become a naval power "overnight" to challenge Carthage). They developed strengths in organization, diplomacy and engineering to become great. Macedonia was a highland backwater of the Greek states. It would rise to power in part due to martial innovations of Alexander and his father, but also due to fraternity and an uncanny ability to accept, recruit and incorporate new cultures (some recently defeated) into their army.

It is the old adage, "That which doesn't kill you makes you stronger". But it is also the positive energy (synergy) of defeating a bad situation and developing confidence from that.