Most of us are not running across battlefields, yet every day feels like fighting one invisible battle after another:
- You may be torn between project deadlines and quality expectations ⏳⚙️
- In teamwork, you may struggle with communication misunderstandings and unclear responsibilities 🤝🌀
- When competing for promotions and resources, it can feel like you’re fighting just to “prove yourself” 🧗♂️
- In life decisions, you may constantly fear that “one wrong move could ruin everything” 😮💨
That’s why I read Wuzi Bingfa (The Art of War by Wu Qi)—not because it teaches people how to “defeat others,” but because it reminds us that: true victory comes from understanding the situation, stabilizing people’s hearts, and managing yourself well.
Especially in “Tu Guo” (Planning the State) – Part Two, the focus is not merely on tactics, but on the foundations of an organization itself: systems, talent, public trust, and the self-cultivation of leaders. If we translate the word “state” into modern language, it could mean:
- A company, a department, or a team 🏢
- A family, a relationship, or a life plan 🏠
- Or even your own inner order: goals, habits, and values 🧠
In this article, I want to break down three key ideas from the original text through the lens of career and life:
- Why do conflicts arise? (The causes of war)
- How should different kinds of “battles” be handled? (The five types of warfare and methods of persuasion)
- How do you manage troops, understand people, and stabilize the state? (How to lead teams steadily and use people effectively)
The thing leaders should fear most is not incompetence—but being “the only capable person in the room.” 😶
If you are currently stuck in your career, struggling to lead a team, or uncertain about your life direction, I hope this article can offer you a more practical and less emotionally exhausting framework:
First understand the situation, then understand people, and finally understand yourself.
1. There Are Five Causes of War: Where Do Conflicts Come From? 🔥
Wuzi says: “There are five causes for the rise of war: striving for fame, striving for profit, accumulated virtue and resentment, internal disorder, and famine.”
If we translate “raising an army” into modern language, it means that every major conflict or confrontation usually has deeper underlying causes.
The same applies to both work and life.
(1) Striving for Fame: Fighting for Recognition, Status, and Visibility 🏅
In the workplace, this often looks like:
- Competing for credit, visibility, and control
- Meetings becoming contests over who gets to be the “main character,” rather than solving problems
In life, it can also appear as:
- Forcing yourself to stay on a path that doesn’t suit you just to prove your worth
- Making choices against your values because you don’t want to “lose” to classmates or friends
✅ A reminder for self-awareness: Whenever you notice yourself caring too much about “what others think,” ask yourself:
“Am I actually doing meaningful work? Or am I just performing for others? Am I solving problems—or fighting for attention and validation?”
(2) Striving for Profit: The Struggle Over Limited Resources 💰
In the workplace, budgets, manpower, opportunities, and timelines are all forms of “profit” or resources.
When resources are limited, people naturally begin pulling against each other: “If you get more, I get less.”
In life, time, energy, and money are also resources.
Many anxieties are not caused by lack of ability, but by imbalanced resource allocation:
If you give all your time to work, your life dries out.
If you give all your energy to others, you empty yourself.
✅ A reminder for self-preservation: When facing struggles over resources, clarify the “rules” first—because rules matter more than emotions.
- What are the criteria for distribution?
- Are decisions based on data or personal impressions?
- Who makes the decisions, and how can appeals be made?
Teams that can clearly explain their rules cut conflicts in half.
(3) Accumulated Virtue and Resentment: Old Grievances Becoming Explosions 🧨
This idea feels surprisingly modern: many problems do not appear overnight—they are the result of long-term emotional buildup.
In the workplace, this often includes:
- Long-term favoritism, exploitation, neglect, or lack of communication
- Small complaints left unresolved until they eventually explode
- Many resignations or broken relationships are not caused by a single incident today, but by countless unresolved frustrations from the past
In life, it may look like:
- Continuously suppressing yourself or neglecting your health
- Avoiding important conversations in relationships for too long
✅ A reminder for self-awareness: Don’t wait until things explode before dealing with them.
Do a small weekly check-in:
- What made me most uncomfortable this week?
- Did I turn my dissatisfaction into a communicable need?
(4) Internal Disorder: When Your Own Side Fights Itself 🌀
The most common workplace version looks like this:
- Unclear authority, chaotic processes, and internal factions
- Two people giving conflicting orders on the same task, leaving the executors suffering the most
In life:
- Your inner world can also fall into “internal disorder”: wanting stability yet craving adventure, wanting rest yet fearing being left behind.
The problem is not contradiction itself—it’s the lack of a clear order of priorities.
✅ A reminder for self-management: When chaos appears, clarify these three things first:
- Who decides? (Decision-making authority)
- Who is responsible? (Accountability)
- What are the evaluation standards? (Metrics and criteria)
(5) Famine: Scarcity Drives People Toward Extreme Choices 🍞
“Famine” does not necessarily mean literal hunger—it refers to fear and scarcity.
In the workplace: tight cash flow, layoff rumors, and sales pressure often lead to short-sighted decisions.
In life: insufficient savings, time pressure, or emotional exhaustion can also push people into rushed and impulsive actions.
✅ A reminder for self-preservation: Scarcity is when people are most likely to make poor decisions.
Start by “stopping the bleeding”:
- Stabilize your foundations first (health, cash flow, sleep, and core skills)
- Then talk about ambition and breakthroughs
2. The Five Types Each Require Different Approaches: Adaptive Strategies for Different Situations
Wuzi further categorizes warfare into five types: righteous, powerful, aggressive, violent, and rebellious.
But the most important line is this: “Each type requires its own method.”
In other words: different situations demand different solutions—there is no single strategy that works everywhere.
(1) “Suppressing Violence and Restoring Order” Is Righteousness: Righteous Forces Must Persuade Through Propriety 🕊️
The core of “righteousness” is stopping harm and restoring order.
In the workplace, this means you are not fighting simply to win—you are fighting to bring things back onto the right track.
For example:
- Stopping bullying, correcting harmful processes, or addressing unethical behavior
- Setting professional boundaries when facing unreasonable demands
Wuzi says: “Righteousness must persuade through propriety.”
In modern terms, “propriety” is not about politeness—it means: procedural justice, respect, and reasonableness.
✅ Practical approaches include:
- Speaking through systems and evidence (processes, policies, records) 📑
- Speaking with respect (focus on issues, not personal attacks) 🗣️
- Speaking through fairness (consistent standards) ⚖️
(2) “Relying on Numbers and Power” Is Strength: Powerful Forces Must Persuade Through Humility 🧎
“Strength” refers to relying on superior numbers or resources.
In the workplace: large companies, large departments, or powerful executives overwhelming smaller teams.
In life: when you possess advantages such as education, background, or connections, it becomes easy to unconsciously become domineering.
Wuzi says: “The powerful must persuade through humility.”
Because strong people are most likely to make two mistakes:
- Believing they are always right
- Assuming others exist merely to “cooperate” with them
✅ True humility at a high level means:
- Being willing to hear opposing opinions 👂
- Being willing to share credit 🏷️
- Being willing to admit uncertainty ❓
The more humble you are, the less resistance you face in collaboration. The more forceful you become, the more people will resist you in silence.
(3) “Launching Action Out of Anger” Is Aggression: Aggressive Forces Must Persuade Through Words 🔥
“Aggression” is not strategy—it is retaliation driven by emotion.
In the workplace: being humiliated, dismissed, or robbed of credit, then immediately going to war emotionally.
In life: breakups, betrayals, and arguments that make people want to reclaim justice through forcefulness.
Wuzi says: “Aggression must persuade through words.”
Here, “words” do not mean empty rhetoric. It means: translating emotions into discussable facts and concrete needs.
✅ Three steps:
- What am I feeling? (Emotion)
- What caused it? (Facts)
- What do I need? (Concrete request)
Example:
- ❌ “You just don’t respect me!”
- ✅ “During the meeting, you interrupted me three times, and I felt my ideas weren’t being heard.
I hope next time everyone can have at least one uninterrupted minute to speak.”
When you can clearly express your anger, you no longer need emotions to force others to understand you.
(4) “Abandoning Propriety for Profit” Is Violence: Violent Forces Must Be Handled Strategically 🕶️
This line is harsh, but true: when a person abandons basic principles and only cares about利益, they become “violent.”
In the workplace:
- Shifting blame, spreading rumors, stealing credit, and stepping on others to climb upward
- Even manipulating processes or falsifying numbers
Wuzi says: “Violence must be handled through strategy.”
Here, “strategy” does not mean becoming immoral yourself. It means understanding that:
when dealing with unreasonable people, reason alone is not enough.
You need tactics: evidence, backup plans, and risk management that prevent others from harming you.
✅ In the modern workplace, this “strategy” can include:
- Keeping records (emails, meeting notes, confirmation messages) 📧
- Creating third-party visibility (cross-department communication, manager awareness) 👥
- Designing fallback plans in advance (Plan B, handoff points, stop-loss boundaries) 🧯
When facing toxic behavior, the more naïve you are, the more vulnerable you become. The more prepared you are, the safer you stay.
(5) “Forcing Action Amid Chaos and Exhaustion” Is Rebellion: Rebellious Forces Must Be Managed Through Prioritization ⚙️
“Rebellion” refers to forcing people into major action when the state is already chaotic and the people are exhausted.
In the workplace: a company with broken systems, poor morale, and operational chaos still pushing massive transformations.
In life: when your body and mind are already drained, yet you force yourself into intense change—only to collapse even faster.
Wuzi says: “Rebellion must be handled through balance and prioritization.”
This means weighing trade-offs, focusing on priorities, and knowing what to let go. Survival comes before expansion.
✅ Three key principles:
- Save yourself first, optimize later (stop the bleeding before improving)
- Win small before winning big (restore confidence through small victories)
- Focus before expanding (concentrate your energy on the single most critical issue)
Adversity does not mean you cannot act—it means you must act in the right order.
3. Managing Troops and Understanding People: To Stabilize a Team, You Must First Stabilize Its People 🏗️
Lord Wu asked: “I wish to hear the principles of managing troops, understanding people, and securing a state.”
Wu Qi answered with a passage I especially love:
“A wise ruler must carefully uphold the proper relationship between ruler and minister, refine the order between upper and lower ranks, settle and care for officials and the people, educate according to local customs, and select talented individuals in preparation for unforeseen dangers.”
Translated into workplace language, this means:
- Relationships must be properly aligned (the propriety between ruler and minister): clear authority, clear responsibility, and mutual respect
- Systems must be both functional and presentable (the order between upper and lower ranks): processes should actually work, not merely look good on paper
- People must first feel secure (settling officials and the people): give people psychological safety and basic stability
- Culture must fit reality (educating according to customs): systems should align with human nature and the organization’s actual conditions
- Talent must be prepared in advance (selecting capable people): develop people continuously instead of scrambling only when crises appear
Many teams do not fail because of lack of capability, but because people’s hearts are unstable.
When people feel unsettled, even the best-designed systems cannot function properly.
4. The Five Types of “Elite Soldiers” Are Actually Five Workplace Role Archetypes 🧑💼
Wu Qi divided useful people into five categories to form an elite force.
The original text says:
“Those with courage and physical strength should be grouped together.
Those eager to fight and prove their loyalty and bravery should be grouped together.
Those capable of climbing high, traveling far, and moving swiftly should be grouped together.
Officials who have lost their position but still seek to prove themselves should be grouped together.
Those who abandoned their posts and wish to erase their shame should be grouped together.”
Placed into a modern context, this sounds remarkably like talent assessment and workforce planning.
(1) Those with Courage and Strength: The High-Pressure Frontline Fighters ⚔️
Best suited for: emergency situations, critical clients, and high-stakes projects.
Important note: these people need clear authority and strong support, otherwise they burn out quickly.
(2) Those Eager to Fight and Prove Loyalty: Mission-Driven Accelerators 🚀
These individuals love challenges and are willing to shoulder responsibility.
Important note: do not exploit their passion endlessly. Give them opportunities, recognition, and feedback, or their enthusiasm will eventually fade.
(3) Those Swift and Agile: The Mobile Cross-Functional Connectors 🏃
These are the fast learners, quick responders, and adaptable cross-domain collaborators.
Best suited for: cross-department coordination, process integration, and pilot projects.
Important note: do not let them remain permanent “runners” forever—give them a visible growth path.
(4) Officials Who Lost Their Position but Seek Redemption: The Underdogs Who Want Another Chance 🧗
This is common in the workplace: people who were once suppressed or failed, but still deeply want to prove themselves.
Used well, they become dark horses. Used poorly, they may become consumed by resentment.
The key is to provide clear goals, measurable outcomes, and a fair stage on which they can rebuild themselves.
(5) Those Who Abandoned Their Post and Seek to Erase Shame: People Trying to Rebuild Trust 🧼
Some people have made mistakes in the past or have been labeled negatively, yet still hope to regain trust through results.
Managed well, they can become extremely loyal. Managed poorly, they also carry significant risk.
The approach: start with limited responsibilities, gradually increase authority, and rebuild credibility through consistent records and performance.
Wu Qi said that with these five types, “the army becomes sharp and elite.”
In workplace terms: don’t only look at résumés—look at people’s traits. Don’t only look at where they are now—look at what drives them.
5. Stable Formations, Strong Defense, Certain Victory: Truly Stable Organizations Depend on Three Things 🏁
Lord Wu then asked: “I wish to hear the principles behind formations that hold firm, defenses that cannot be broken, and battles that are always won.”
Wu Qi’s answer sounds almost like a summary of modern management theory:
(1) Let the Virtuous Rise and the Incompetent Fall: Fair Use of Talent Stabilizes Organizations 🪜
What is the greatest fear in the workplace?
Not the absence of talent—but when talented people remain stuck below while incompetent people occupy leadership positions.
Once people believe that “hard work is useless and flattery is what matters,” the entire system begins to decay.
✅ Practical suggestions:
- Make promotion and reward standards transparent
- Focus on issues rather than personal favoritism or cliques
- Leaders must dare to hire people stronger than themselves (difficult, but essential)
(2) When People Feel Secure in Their Lives, Defense Becomes Strong 🛡️
In the workplace, “defense” does not mean defending a city—it means protecting the organization’s foundation: quality, reputation, and talent retention.
When people feel insecure, they tend to do three things:
- Stop caring and do the bare minimum (because it no longer feels worthwhile)
- Create internal friction (because trust is gone)
- Leave the organization (because they no longer see a future)
✅ Practical suggestions:
- Let people know that good work will be recognized
- Let people know that when problems happen, they will not face them alone
- Let people know there is room for growth here
(3) When Everyone Identifies With the Organization, Victory Is Already Won 🏳️🌈
This passage is ultimately about “culture.”
When people genuinely feel “we are on the same team,” external competition has a much harder time tearing the group apart.
✅ Team-level approaches:
- Help everyone understand that the organization’s vision is not just a slogan—it is connected to each individual’s interests and future
- Clearly explain the reasoning behind major decisions
- Share success together and carry failure together
✅ On a personal level:
Bring the sense of “identification” back to yourself:
- Am I doing this because I truly believe in it, or only because others say it is good?
- When you feel aligned with your own life, outside noise becomes much quieter.
6. The Final Story: Leaders Should Fear Being “The Smartest Person in the Room” 😨
Lord Wu discussed affairs of state and found that none of his ministers could match him, so he left court feeling pleased.
Wu Qi, however, warned him that King Zhuang of Chu felt the opposite in similar situations—he felt worried.
Because King Zhuang said:
“The world never lacks sages, and a state never lacks worthy people. A ruler who gains great teachers becomes a king; one who gains great allies becomes a hegemon.
Now I am untalented, yet none of my ministers can surpass me—Chu may be in danger.”
Placed into modern management, this is almost a warning for every leader:
- If you are always the smartest person in the meeting room, your organization is actually in danger.
Because it may mean:
- You have no one around you who can compensate for your blind spots
- You may have unintentionally suppressed differing opinions
- Or your team has already learned: “There’s no point disagreeing—because you won’t listen anyway.”
✅ A reminder for managers:
- Treat opposing opinions as assets, not challenges to your authority
- Asking questions is often more important than giving orders: “What feels off to you?”
- Design meetings that allow people to speak honestly (for example, anonymous input first, or allowing junior members to speak before senior ones)
✅ A reminder for employees:
If you are in an environment where people are not allowed to speak honestly:
- Protect yourself first (documentation, boundaries, risk management)
- Then find allies (people who share your values, trustworthy supervisors)
- Finally ask yourself: is this a place worth investing in long-term?
7. Turning “Tu Guo” (Planning the State) into a Workplace and Life Strategy Map 🗺️
I condensed the entire chapter into four portable takeaways:
- First identify the root of the conflict: fame, profit, old grievances, internal disorder, or scarcity
- Then identify the nature of the opponent: righteousness requires propriety, strength requires humility, aggression requires communication, violence requires strategy, and rebellion requires prioritization
- Then examine the organization’s foundation: proper relationships, workable systems, stable people, grounded culture, and prepared talent
- Finally recognize the leadership risk: the most dangerous situation is when “no one around you is better than you”
Conclusion: You Don’t Need to Defeat Everyone—You Only Need to Walk Each Step Steadily
Wuzi appears to discuss warfare on the surface, but at its core, it is about people.
A person is able to go far not because they win every single time, but because:
- They do not lose their composure during conflict
- They do not abandon their principles when resources become scarce
- They do not become lost in arrogance during success
- They understand balance and trade-offs during adversity
After reading this article, I hope that the next time you face workplace friction or personal dilemmas, you pause for a moment and ask yourself these three questions:
- What kind of root cause does this situation belong to?
- What kind of “battle” am I facing? Should I respond with propriety, humility, communication, strategy, or prioritization?
- Right now, what most needs stabilizing: the people, the situation, or myself?
