The Pitfalls of Generalship

In the principles of serving as a general, there are eight pitfalls that must be avoided: first, greed that is never satisfied; second, envy of the worthy and jealousy of the capable; third, believing slander and keeping company with sycophants; fourth, being able to gauge others but unable to examine oneself; fifth, being indecisive and unable to make decisions; sixth, sinking into dissipation in wine and lust; seventh, being treacherous in conduct while inwardly cowardly; eighth, being glib in speech and contrary to ritual propriety. Modern Application:The previous chapter, “Capacity of a General,” discussed whether ability is sufficient; this chapter discusses what destroys ability. The common structure of the eight pitfalls is that none of them is a mere “shortcoming”; each is a mechanism that actively erodes judgment and organizational trust. Greed that knows no satisfaction continuously converts public resources into private gain, so that decision-making is hijacked by “how much more can I get”; envy of the worthy and jealousy of the capable makes the......