On this day 1605, Guido Fawkes was discovered with 36 barrels of gunpowder underneath the houses of parliament.
Arrested & detained, he was taken first before King James 1 to be questioned before being handed over to the Lieutenant of The Tower of London for further interrogation. He held out against the 'gentler tortures' until 7 November when he was transferred to the rack & finally gave up the names of his accomplices. Within days, all 13 were either dead or captured with the survivors executed in January 1606.
Led by the charismatic Robert Catesby, an ardent catholic prepared to pay any price in pursuit of a life free from persecution - the enterprise was doomed from the start &, over the years, has given rise to a host of conspiracy theories including the suggestion there may have been a mole in their midst.
Whether or not they were derailed by an agent provocateur, or their own inadequacies in planning & project management, the details of their failed attempt to blow up parliament offer many lessons for modern leaders, not least some key do's & don'ts in risk management - the first of which is to start by ensuring that everyone is fully onboard with the plan.
The original five plotters met together on 20 May 1604, in a room in the Duck & Drake where they each swore an oath to not give up & to maintain the secrecy of their mission. Once sworn, they attended a private mass where they took communion. It was this oath that Guido tried so hard, for so long, to uphold, giving his accomplices - or so he believed - time to make their get away. It was this oath that ultimately led the remaining conspirators to their last stand in the Midlands, to their capture & death.
In the end, the plot failed - as enterprises often do - but, from the start, the oath they swore bound them together, keeping them on track as a team right until the moment it all went wrong.
How do you ensure that everyone is fully onboard before pressing the 'go' button on projects?
