Treat soldiers as infants, and they will follow you into dangerous gorges. Treat them as beloved children, and they will stand with you unto death.
Yet if you pamper them but cannot command, love them but cannot discipline, and let disorder go unrectified, they become spoiled children – useless for warfare.
Note
Generals earn soldiers’ loyalty by treating them tenderly like kids, making troops willing to face deadly risks. However, blind indulgence without strict discipline spoils soldiers, rendering the army unfit for combat.
A great military strategist and thinker in ancient China, who lived in the late Spring and Autumn Period. He authored The Art of War, the world’s earliest and most influential military classic. His strategic thoughts have been widely applied in military, politics and management worldwide.
Love troops
Win loyalty through sincere care and empathy.
Discipline and restraint
Necessary rules to keep the army functional.
Spoiled troops
The result of blind indulgence without management.
視卒如嬰兒，故可與之赴深谿；視卒如愛子，故可與之俱死。厚而不能使，愛而不能令，亂而不能治，譬若驕子，不可用也。
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