He’s the true and quintessential change master: Geronimo. A model of leadership and change management that surprises anyone who digs a little - past the sensational and bloody bits that marked his early career.

Imagine. Having the guts to go against a vastly superior force, the US Army, and eluding them for over a decade. At one point, the campaign against him required over 5,000 soldiers, (one-quarter of the US Army at the time), 500 scouts, and up to 3,000 Mexican troops, just to track down Geronimo and his band. At the very end, his band consisted of only 16 warriors, 12 women, and 6 children. Having the wisdom to acquiesce when it was needed, he and his band survived. Having the boldness to join the opposition and make money from his notoriety, he prospered. He even sold autographs. He was in President Teddy Roosevelt’s 1905 inaugural parade. Geronimo, in effect, was a leader who managed catastrophic change successfully.

Today, it’s become a popular management exercise to take historical figures, and view them as management and leadership models. Geronimo, it seems to me, becomes one of the best to emulate – and paradoxically, only after his defeat and subsequent incarceration in a malaria-plagued fort in Florida, not too far away, as the eagle flies, from Guantanamo. His US army captors taunted and humiliated him. They called him “Gerry,” this valiant and vanquished leader. It’s ironic that he was given the name Geronimo, as legend has it, by Mexican troops who were so fearful and in awe of his daring and bravery that they invoked the name of the Catholic Saint Jerome when they saw him charging their bullets. To Apache ears, their cries of “Saint Jerome,” sounded like “Geronimo.”

This leader of the last great native American resistance never succeeded in returning with his band to his ancestral home in the American Southwest - as he had been promised in return for his surrender. But, he did manage to live to a ripe old age and in that old age, he proved himself resilient, resourceful, and ready.

Reading his Autobiography, I was struck by the man’s perseverance and tenacity. This Apache medicine man survived even attempts by the Dutch Reformed Church to convert him to one if its own. Though he was curious about other religions, he had his own spirits and lived and died by them. His autobiography, in fact, begins with the Apache creation myth.

During the time that I was reading Geronimo’s Autobiography, I was doing some consulting work at a General Motors refurbished engine plant. I remember speculating about Geronimo suddenly being transplanted to the busy workplace floor of the huge operation. I imagined him to be overwhelmed and in a near panic at the bustling experience of it all. The more I think about that ”what if” scenario now, I’ve come to realize that he would bring the same fearlessness and resilience that he demonstrated throughout his life. What’s more, I think that he would have been extremely curious about that environment from a learning point of view. Geronimo, it seems to me, would have enjoyed exploring every facet of the operation.

Geronimo’s adaptability was remarkable. He became, in his senior years, an entrepreneur, hawking his presence and his name, at major events like the St. Louis World’s Fair for a handsome profit. Along the way, he had a glimpse into the carnival-like atmosphere of the American future, taking a ride on a ferris wheel - yes, Geronimo on a ferris wheel - prompted by his handlers who were always ready for a laugh at Geronimo’s expense.

It is not only Geronimo’s adaptability to change that impresses anyone even remotely interested in managing change successfully. In later life he displayed a keen eagerness to learn and in keeping an open mind to new ideas and novel experiences, whether religious or secular. Those times when he was forced to live on reserves, he learned how to cultivate different crops. The key features of his senior years were adaptability and learning.

The implications for modern managers are clear. Geronimo’s experience as a leader motivated him to use his defeats and setbacks as platforms for change. Facing extreme pressures, he transformed himself in order to adapt to new and unusual circumstances. Adaptability and resilience marked each of his several role transformations, from being perceived as a terrorist to that of a recognized entrepreneur, and cashing in on his notoriety as earnestly as any modern celebrity. His capacity for learning carried him through it all, enabling him to survive, and thrive. His fearlessness has become a catchword for bravery, with parachutists crying out his name before they plunge into space. Geronimo- a name synonymous with calculated risk and managing changing conditions successfully.