Expelling Evil

The abuses in governing the army and the state are concentrated in five kinds of harm: the first is forming factions and colluding with one another to slander and frame worthy people; the second is extravagance and ostentation in clothing, crowns, and belts, using dress that transgresses ritual order to display special status; the third is boastfully trumpeting sorcery and using deceptive words to falsely invoke divine ways; the fourth is specializing in spying out disputes and spreading gossip, privately inciting the crowd; the fifth is secretly watching for internal gains and losses and covertly colluding with the enemy. All five are treacherous, hypocritical people who violate morality; they can only be kept at a distance and must not be treated intimately. Modern Application:This chapter discusses not how to “attack” but how an organization can identify and remove internal “toxins.” Zhuge Liang’s “five harms” can be restated as five kinds of negative assets in modern organizations: factionalism—forming small circles bound by personal ties rather than......