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Develop Effective Internal Communications |
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The book of Army Management says: 'As the voice cannot be heard in battle, gongs and drums are used. As troops cannot see each other clearly in battle, flags and banners are used.' Hence, in night fighting, usually use drums and gongs; in day fighting, banners and flags. Now, these instruments are used to unify the action of the troops. When the troops can be thus united, the brave cannot advance alone, nor can the cowardly retreat. This is the art of directing large masses of troops. |
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Simple Communications Work Best |
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In Sun Tzu's time, the only available communications were quite simple. Today, we have a wide range of communications methods available and use them all. Invariably, people at the bottom complain about lack of communication, and people at the top complain about receiving more information than they can process. |
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With computers, the solution to more communications capacity is to break the problem into segments and look at each segment. With people, the solution is a similar decentralization. You break down the problem and achieve decisions by the people at each level instead of sending it all to the top where you overload the head person's brain. With decentralization, you lessen the need for communications at every level. |
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Regardless of the level, simplicity clears the mind. Keep in mind the rule of three: never make more than three points about an issue. The problem is that long lists are confusing and, as a result, nothing is remembered. As an example, here are three facts concerning a 19th century Prussian command system: |
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| An army cannot be effectively controlled by direct orders from headquarters. | | 2. | The man on the spot is the best judge of the situation. | | 3. | Intelligent cooperation is of infinitely more value than mechanical obedience.
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