“There are five dangerous faults which may affect a general: (1) Recklessness, which leads to destruction; (2) cowardice, which leads to capture; (3) a hasty temper, which can be provoked by insults; (4) a delicacy of honor which is sensitive to shame; (5) over-solicitude for his men, which exposes him to worry and trouble. These are the five besetting sins of a general, ruinous to the conduct of war.” -Sun Tzu “The Art of War”

I recently wrote an article based on a quote on Sun Tzu’s “The Art of War” and here I am doing it again. What can I say other than I have noticed that on occasion an individual can write down an idea that seems to transcend time and culture. This seems to be the case again with Sun Tzu and his 5 Disastrous Faults of a General. “The Art of War” has been studied for centuries for both its application to warfare as well as the use of its principle in business. Though the 5 Disastrous Faults were written about over 2,000 years ago, they still apply in the present era. Here is a list of Sun Tzu’s 5 Disastrous Faults of a General and how you can avoid them to maintain effective leadership.

If you have been in a leadership role for any amount of time you should realize by now that there is no efficient way in which you can create significant change alone. You may have some fantastic ideas and even build momentum in executing the initial steps of your plans, but you need other like-minded people to come together in order to see great things through to completion. This group of individuals is central to your success in making lasting positive change in our culture. Great leaders understand that they CAN’T do it alone.