Photo by Ed Waters, Jr. Steve Wiley, left, of the Lincoln Leadership Institute, spoke to the Rotary Club of Frederick on Wednesday. Joining him are President Lincoln (Jim Getty) and Ted Luck, club president.

Wiley looked around and researched the history of the 1863 battle and saw how leadership was the key to some of the wins and losses of the field commanders.

"I put together a team of people with expertise to teach how to be a leader in a rapidly changing, frightening environment," he said, referring to both the 1863 battle and today's often-chaotic business world. He founded the Lincoln Leadership Institute.

The three-day battle at the Pennsylvania town left 51,000 wounded and homes, farms and livestock devastated.

"It was a tsunami of its day, the Katrina of its day. People were overwhelmed. No one had the experience to lead 100,000 people," Wiley said. "Doctors were used to handling perhaps 50 people in a fire, not thousands at one time. And there was the logistics of food, sanitation and support for all those men."

Wiley, who will speak at 6 p.m. Jan. 5 at Hood College's Rosenstock Auditorium on leadership, takes groups around the battlefield and relates how battle strategy can be transferred to business decisions.

"You have to determine a company's high ground," he said, as well as its strengths and weaknesses. He showed a brief film with clips from the movie "Gettysburg" used to illustrate the traits that faced the commanders on the field and how those challenges relate to the business world.

He said a study showed that when businesses look at the most important part of an acquisition or merger, it is not the company itself or the product that is most important -- it is the CEO, the person who is leading the company. Another study showed that businesses end relationships with other companies primarily because of a breakdown in communications.

"We are in the people business, we need to cultivate those relationships," Wiley said. "Seventy percent of the employees in the U.S. say they are not engaged or are disengaged while at work. That leads to increased absenteeism and turnover."

He said an organization that does not wrestle with the issue of leadership is missing an opportunity to make itself successful.

Near the end of his presentation, Wiley was joined by President Lincoln (Jim Getty, dressed as the president) who talked about his trips to Frederick and recited the famous address made on the Gettysburg battlefield in honor of those who fought and died there.

For more information, visit www.lincolnleadershipinstitute.com.

Information on the Jan. 5 event is at businessinfrederick.com.