Unity and People's Support

Observed lessons

A good ruler is close to their people, understanding their sufferings.

A good ruler is a teacher, building skills, especially for leadership.

There are four disharmonies which cripple warfare:

Disharmony in the state: prevents creation of military campaigns.
Disharmony in the army: prevents effective battle.
Disharmony in formation: prevents successful attack.
Lack of cohesion in battle: prevents victory.

A good ruler builds unity in his forces so the four disharmonies are avoided.

Seek advice and support when building plans. Make sure your people understand and accept them.

Discussion

It is so easy for people at the top to lose touch with the people lower down, especially if they are surrounded with sycophants or people who are too afraid to tell the truth. When everyone looks up, nobody knows what is below. The greatest role for a leader is to make more leaders, though few do, for fear of creating a competitor.

When people are unified, they put aside petty differences as they fight for a shared, greater cause. When plans make sense to them, they will support them. When they realize that the leader cares about them, they will fight for the leader and the leader's ideals.

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