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Page 110 Plan Coordinated Efforts Sun Tzu continues: Troops directed by a skillful general are comparable to the Shuai Ran. The Shuai Ran is a snake found in Mount Heng. Strike at its head, and you will be attacked by its tail; strike at its tail, and you will be attacked by its head; strike at its middle, and you will be attacked by both its head and its tail. Should one ask: 'Can troops be made capable of such instantaneous coordination as the Shuai Ran?' I reply, 'They can.' For the men of Wu and the men of Yue are enemies, yet if they are crossing a river in the same boat and are caught by a storm, they will come to each other's assistance just as the left hand helps the right. Hence, it is not sufficient to rely upon tethering of the horses and the burying of the chariots. The principle of military administration is to achieve a uniform level of courage. Thus, a skillful general conducts his army just as if he were leading a single man, willy-nilly, by the hand. The general principles applicable to an invading force are that the deeper you penetrate into hostile territory, the greater will be the solidarity of your troops, and thus the defenders cannot overcome you. Teamwork Works Colonel Ardant du Picq crystallized the fundamental principle underlying teamwork: "Four brave men who do not know each other well will not dare attack a lion. Four less brave, but knowing each other well, sure of their reliability and consequently of mutual aid, will attack resolutely. There is the science of organization of armies in a nutshell." And there is the science of organization for teamwork in a nutshell! Colonel du Picq continues, "At any time a new invention may assure victory. Granted. But practicable weapons are not invented every day...the determining factor, leaving aside generals of genius, and luck, is the quality of troops, that is, the organization that best assures their esprit, their reliability, their confidence, their unity." 5
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