How to Lead Without Being a Jerk (Confucius Edition)
Book 12 is where Confucius drops some of his biggest hits about how to be a decent human being and a good leader. If you’ve ever heard the Golden Rule, this is basically where it comes from in Chinese philosophy.
The Core Principle
When his top student asked about humaneness, Confucius gave a very simple but hard-to-follow rule: “Do not impose on others what you do not desire for yourself.”
It’s about empathy. Before you do something, you have to ask yourself if you’d want someone doing that to you. If the answer is no, then just don’t do it. He told his students that when they go out into the world, they should act like they are receiving an honored guest. Imagine if everyone on the internet had that vibe.
Trust is Everything
There is a famous conversation in this chapter about what a government needs to survive. Confucius listed three things:
- Enough food.
- A good army.
- The trust of the people.
When asked which one he’d ditch first, he said the army. When asked which one to ditch next, he said the food. He argued that everyone dies eventually, but a community or a state literally cannot function if the people don’t trust their leaders. Without trust, the whole thing falls apart.
Leading by Example
A powerful politician once asked him how to deal with thieves. Confucius basically told him that if he stopped being greedy himself, people wouldn’t want to steal.
His whole thing was that people at the top are like the wind, and everyone else is like grass. When the wind blows, the grass has to bend. If you are a leader and you act with integrity, the people around you will naturally start to do the same. But if you are shady, you can’t expect anyone else to be honest.
Previous: Book 11: The Disciples Next: Book 13: Right Names and Right Actions
Book Metadata: Title: The Analects Author: Confucius Translator: Annping Chin ISBN: 9780698153516