Quotes About Leadership

If those who are sent to draw water begin by drinking themselves, the army is suffering from thirst. [One may know the condition of a whole army from the behavior of a single man.]

The Art of War is self-explanatory

In war, then, let your great object be victory, not lengthy campaigns.

The control of a large force is the same principle as the control of a few men: it is merely a question of dividing up their numbers.

It is the rule in war, if our forces are ten to the enemy's one, to surround him; if five to one, to attack him; if twice as numerous, to divide our army into two.

No ruler should put troops into the field merely to gratify his own spleen; no general should fight a battle simply out of pique. If it is to your advantage, make a forward move; if not, stay where you are. Anger may in time change to gladness; vexation may be succeeded by content. But a kingdom that has once been destroyed can never come again into being; nor can the dead ever be brought back to life.

When the common soldiers are too strong and their officers too weak, the result is INSUBORDINATION.

Unhappy is the fate of one who tries to win his battles and succeed in his attacks without cultivating the spirit of enterprise;  for the result is waste of time and   general stagnation.

It is best to keep one's own state intact; to crush the enemy's state is only second best.

The general who does not advance to seek glory, or does not withdraw to avoid punishment, but cares for only the people's security and promotes the people's interests, is the nation's treasure.

When the general is weak and without authority; when his orders are not clear and distinct; when there are no fixed duties assigned to officers and men, and the ranks are formed in a slovenly haphazard manner, the result is utter disorganization.

When the officers are too strong and the common soldiers too weak, the result is COLLAPSE.

The principle on which to manage an army is to set up one standard of courage which all must reach.

One hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the most skillful, subduing the other's military without battle is the most skillful.

No ruler should put troops into the field merely to gratify his own spleen; no general should fight a battle simply out of pique.

So long as victory can be attained,  stupid haste is preferable to clever dilatoriness.

Supreme importance in war is to attack the enemy's strategy.

We are not fit to lead an army on the march unless we are familiar with the face of the country -- its mountains and forests, its pitfalls and precipices, its marshes and swamps.

In the practical art of war, the best thing of all is to take the enemy's country whole and intact; to shatter and destroy it is not so good. So, too, it is better to recapture an army entire than to destroy it, to capture a regiment, a detachment or a company entire than to destroy them.

Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys; look on them as your own beloved sons

A leader leads by example not by force.

The art of war is of vital importance to the State.

The skillful employer of men will employ the wise man, the brave man, the covetous man, and the stupid man. For the wise man delights in establishing his merit, the brave man likes to show his courage in action, the covetous man is quick at seizing advantages, and the stupid man has no fear of death.]

Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys; look upon them as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you even unto death.