How we change what others think, feel, believe and do

Placing Individuals at Appropriate Positions

Disciplines > Warfare > Wu Zi's Art of War > Placing Individuals at Appropriate Positions

Chapter | Observed lessons | Discussion | See also

Chapter

First part : 3 : 6

Observed lessons

• Give soldiers roles and weapons suitable for their build, height and character.
• Put soldiers who already know one another together.
• Use signals that all can recognize to synchronize actions.

Discussion

It is easy to just allocate soldiers to roles as the need arises. It is also wrong. Play to strengths. Avoid letting them fail due to weaknesses.

By putting together those who are already friends, you will leverage their bonds so they fight better together, looking out for one another and being determined not to fail.

With common signals, you can create order. This ranges from trumpets to drums to modern electronic means. Without synchronization, a large force would quickly become chaotic.

See also

Alignment principle

http://www.chinese-wiki.com/Wu_Zi_Art_of_War