Who does not know the evils of war cannot appreciate its benefits.
Sun TzuRead
If a general shows confidence in his men but always insists on his orders being obeyed, the gain will be mutual.
Interpretation
Trusting your team while maintaining authority leads to mutual respect and success.
This quote by Sun Tzu highlights the importance of a leader's confidence in their team and the necessity of authority in decision-making. When a leader instills confidence in their subordinates while simultaneously ensuring that their directives are respected, it fosters a cooperative environment where both the leader and the team can flourish together, ultimately achieving collective goals.
In practice
Using this quote during a leadership workshop to emphasize the importance of trust and authority.
Who does not know the evils of war cannot appreciate its benefits.
Great results, can be achieved with small forces.
To capture an enemies army is better than to destroy it.
The general who wins the battle makes many calculations in his temple before the battle is fought. The general who loses makes but few calculations beforehand.
You can ensure the success of your attacks if you only attack places that are undefended. You can ensure the safety of your defense if you only hold positions that cannot be attacked. Therefore, that general is skillful in attack whose opponent does not know what to defend; and he is skillful in defense whose opponent does not know what to attack.
If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.
Nobody knows how to be a CEO. It's something you have to learn. It's a very lonely job.
A statesman who keeps his ear permanently glued to the ground will have neither elegance of posture nor flexibility of movement.
Authority is granted to people who are perceived as authoring their own words, their own actions, their own lives, rather than playing a scripted role at great remove from their own hearts.
The second rule is: Never go outside the experience of your people. When an action is outside the experience of the people, the result is confusion, fear, and retreat.
Responsibility is a unique concept... You may share it with others, but your portion is not diminished. You may delegate it, but it is still with you... If responsibility is rightfully yours, no evasion, or ignorance or passing the blame can shift the burden to someone else. Unless you can point your finger at the man who is responsible when something goes wrong, then you have never had anyone really responsible.
I acknowledged that I owed my presidency to People Power. I resolved during my presidency that I would in turn empower the people.
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