Division for Unity's Sake

VI. Energy

1. Sun Tzu said: 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.
2. Fighting with a large army under your command is nowise different from fighting with a small one: it is merely a question of instituting signs and signals.
21. The clever combatant looks to the effect of combined energy, and does not require too much from individuals. Hence his ability to pick out the right men and utilize combined energy
22. When he utilizes combined energy, his fighting men become as it were like unto rolling logs or stones. For it is the nature of a log or stone to remain motionless on level ground, and to move when on a slope; if four-cornered, to come to a standstill, but if round-shaped, to go rolling down.

Here Sun Tzu describes the benefits of subdivision of members. One cannot reasonably control a hundred people as one could control a single man, but one can easily control ten people, each of which controls a subdivision of men. Thus appears the advantage of division.


This applies equally to tasks and members. There is no difference between completing a gigantic project and completing a small one if the gigantic one is readily subdivided into smaller segments. There is also no difference between commanding a small group and a large one, if the large one can be subdivided into smaller segments.

The principle for creating smaller subdivisions is simple. We create the group such that the members complement each other (as it relates to the tasks they shall have to perform). We then appoint one of their most skilled and trusted members as the leader and establish a set of protocols to follow. Put the group through a series of team-building exercises next; whether these exercises are game-like activities or difficult practical tasks, the effect remains the same. By doing this we help instill a sense of unity within the group, effectively channeling the entire group into one person.

A group may accomplish more than any given person, if well trained and united. A group that fights within itself is weaker than a single man, but a group that is fully coherent is greater than any group three times its size. Do not expect too much of any individual person, for each person can only handle so much; rather, it is best to delegate authority and responsibilities around and so reduce the strain on all. One coordinator for the entire group is sufficient to unite their efforts.

So we discover the principle by which a group may be made to do any task given it exceptionally.