01.005 General is wisdom, credibility, benevolence, courage...

[Han Jian]

Important in warfare is military leadership. The General is the head of operations. Sun Tzu says: "If the General is encompassing in ability, the pillar of state is invariably strong. If the General is lacking in ability, the pillar of state is invariably weak." This is so because warfare is a vital matter of the state, and the General is the head warfare. Without a head, military operations are unfeasible, and the nation will inevitably fall by the hands of it's rivals.
The General's duties are to unify the soldiers, and to secure the nation from falling into the hands of it's enemies.
He unifies the soldiers by establishing his authority. He secures the nation by prevailing over enemies without prolonged operations.
He establishes his authority through able leadership, he prevails over his enemies through deep knowledge and strong action(so we can see that essential's in warfare are deep knowledge, strong action, and able leadership). The duties of the General may be compared to a tree. Establish the roots, and the branches invariably follow. Establish deep knowledge, strong action, and able leadership and details such as tactics and logistics become clear.
I think that the General has four essentials. First is skill in the civil arts, second is skill in the martial arts, third is balancing of Firm and Flexible techniques, fourth is leadership through example.
Skill in civil arts refers to the command principles of Wisdom, Courage, Benevolence, Sincerity, Strictness, and Loyalty, and Control of Emotion. A General is a man of war("an officer of death")so it is imperative that he is skilled in martial arts, it's tactics, methods and principles. A General should be Firm in commands and Flexible in approach. If he is too Firm, it is termed cruelty and inflexibility. If he is too flexible, it is termed lack of authority and weakness. These qualities are calamities in a General. A General must lead by example. He does this by placing himself at the same level as his troops. Therefore they will follow him and die with him.

[maxx]

to me this means that a general- friend for instance in our lives should exhibit those characteristics.

[MitchB]

General - The mental aspects of competition and training.

Many times these are overlooked in favor of the physical aspects but mental factors are probably at least as important if not more. The wisdom to develop an effective training plan and the discipline to carry it out are necessary for proper preparation for a competitive event.

Confidence and courage, combined with tactical knowledge and the ability to analyze situations and reason things out in the midst of the battle or competition are essential to achieving victory.

It is not always the strongest who wins, but often the wisest, most flexible and most prepared.

[Tao-Tzu Neix]

The general is the driving force in war. He has wisdom to advise the feudal lords, integrity to stand against politics, compassion for the people, and courage to lead his men.

Tao-Tzu Neix

[anjuanzan]

General is wisdom, credibility, benevolence, courage, and discipline.

General - The desire. General is the desire clothed in reason we provide to make whatever needs to happen, happen.

[FlamingCorndogs]

General is wisdom, credibility, benevolence, courage, and discipline.

I am having trouble with the specific qualities chosen. "Integrity," for example, was left out of the list, but "benevolence" was included. This is, again, a list of five, and by its nature can include only/exactly five qualities, but there has to be a reason Sun Tzu choose each of these in particular.

One thought is that the General is being set up as the personal embodiment of the "Way" that holds the people together and makes the army greater than the sum of the soldiers. While that idea has much appeal, why would the General be a separate factor to consider instead of a subsection under Way?

[Trinity]

General is wisdom, credibility, benevolence, courage, and discipline.

Wisdom is the ability to make effective plans and to know when those plans need to be changed.

Credibility is the reputation of the leader.

Benevolence is compassion for others; both your own troops and those of the opposition forces and lets not forget the bystanders who are caught up in the conflict.

Courage means being able to act in a manner that seizes the moment.

Discipline of self and being able to enforce disciple on the troops in such a way that is deserving of respect without having to demand it respect .

[jpk]

Credibility + Discipline = Courage
Discipline + Courage = Wisdom
Wisdom + Courage = Credibility
Wisdom + Discipline = Benevolence
Wisdom + Benevolence = Discipline

You see, having 1 is having none. Without all of these one has none of these.

[Kansuke]

General is wisdom, credibility, benevolence, courage, and discipline.

These are five things a superior general possesses.

Without wisdom, how can he assess tactics, or manuever smoothly?
Without credibility, who amongst his officers will listen?
Without benevolence, who amongst even the most lowly of soldiers will fight and die for him?
Without courage, how can he hope to enter battle?
Without discipline, how can he marshall his forces - where would order come from?

[pshallard]

Again the trap of classify all things into groups of five.

I agree a leader should be these things howelse could he expect them from his followers.

But what else should he be, what is the sixth thing, the seventh...

[Lonestar]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by sonshi
[B]General is wisdom, credibility, benevolence, courage, and discipline.

It would appear that wisdom does not come from age as some would have us believe. At my age (gray), I have made some terribly unwise decisions. It seems that widom, and for that matter, the other four traits as well, come from how we handle the tragedies and setbacks that we face. These tragedies and tears form the substance of our lives. Even Isaiah described Jesus as a "child of sorrow and aguainted with grief". It seems that as we become more intimatly familiar with sorrow and grief we begin to aguire the five characteristics of "General"

[Saro]

These are the five traits of an effective general. When making calculations you have to consider each of these in your opponent and in yourself to determine your respective strengths and weaknesses.

Wisdom is the result of experience. A general with wisdom, while not omniscient, will be more likely to accurately assess the importance of what he observes and make good decisions based on his experience. More wisdom makes one less susceptible to deception and more adept at implementing it, both of which are vital in warfare. I think this also refers to the general's ability to see the big picture based on fragmented observations.

Credibility
This is how well the general inspires those under his command and is related to reputation. Not just fame, which is how well a person is known, but the regard with which that person is held. The higher the regard for the general, the less likely followers are to desert, because experience has told them that this is a person to be trusted. If, on the other hand, the general is not trusted, when other opportunites present themselves to the followers, they will be much more tempted to take them to improve their situations.

Benevolence
This is related to one's reputation which is so important to credibility. A benevolence general has a reputation for caring about those under his command, and even doing good toward his enemies. Such a person will inspire his allies to continue to follow him, and his enemies to consider switching allegiances. The gravitational effect that benevolent people have on those around them is very useful to one trying to subdue opposition without fighting.

Courage
Is the general willing to take risks and face challenges? If he isn't, he can be paralyzed into inaction by a string of difficulties, making defeat all but certain. This is not to say that a good general always attacks obstacles head-on, of course. That would be unwise, and remember that wisdom was the first of the general's qualities listed. What this does mean is that the good general is not easily intimidated.

Discipline
This is the general's ability to withstand hardship and maintain the proper course of action. This is especially important in regard to Wisdom. It is one thing to recognize the proper course of action, but it is a separate matter to stick to it in the face of near-overwhelming challenges.

[rcj]

These five traits are mandatory for a general to be successful. I think that items such as intelligence would already be a given for the book's intended audience, while the five traits (wisdom, credibility, benevolence, courage, and discipline) could be sorely lacking. Think about all of the intelligent people you know in leadership positions -- how many of them are wise? How many display courage? I've known very few intelligent business leaders to display all of these traits.

Compare with the Marine Corps. Leadership Traits (below) which every Marine has drilled into their head since Boot Camp. It was intended for use by everyone from the fire team leader to the commanding general. It's more specific as it's geared torwards giving young Marines a foundation in leadership.

USMC Leadership Traits

Dependability - The certainty of proper performance of duty.

Bearing - Creating a favorable impression in carriage, appearance and personal conduct at all times.

Courage - The mental quality that recognizes fear of danger or criticism, but enables a man to proceed in the face of it with calmness and firmness.

Decisiveness - Ability to make decisions promptly and to announce them in clear, forceful manner.

Endurance - The mental and physical stamina measured by the ability to withstand pain, fatigue, stress and hardship.

Enthusiasm - The display of sincere interest and exuberance in the performance of duty.

Initiative - Taking action in the absence of orders.

Integrity - Uprightness of character and soundness of moral principles; includes the qualities of truthfulness and honesty.

Judgment - The ability to weigh facts and possible solutions on which to base sound decisions.

Justice - Giving reward and punishment according to merits of the case in question. The ability to administer a system of rewards and punishments impartially and consistently.

Knowledge - Understanding of a science or an art. The range of one's information, including professional knowledge and an understanding of your Marines.

Tact - The ability to deal with others without creating offense.

Unselfishness - Avoidance of providing for one's own comfort and personal advancement at the expense of others.

Loyalty - The quality of faithfulness to country, the Corps, the unit, to one's seniors, subordinates and peers.

[Infiltrator]

Benevolence is all that is needed.

[lozen]

"General is wisdom, credibility, benevolence, courage,
and discipline."

I just was thinking about how this is exactly what I look for in a martial arts teacher. I want a teacher who is wise, with knowledge of what he is teaching. He must be credible, and not teach things that would not work in a real life situation. I want him to be benevolent because I want to make sure he is teaching and I am learning for the right reasons. He must be courageous because I want some of that to rub off on me. And discipline is the most important--how else will one learn anything?

These are also qualities I strive for in myself. I work towards wisdom by asking hard questions, thinking critically, and studying classic literature. I work towards credibility by trying to align my words with my actions and have well-researched views. I work towards benevolence by trying to dissolve ego. I work towards gaining courage through training and by continuing to move forward. And I work towards discipline also through training and consistency.