The Conduct of Work

Weigh what will help against what will harm. The one whose nature is to choose what helps — every time, already proven — that is who you employ.

Widen the channels of revenue. Grow what that revenue feeds. Hunt down every obstacle that threatens either. The one who can do all three — let him do the work.

Love for the work. Intelligence to see the path. Steadiness to walk it without flinching. And when wealth passes through his hands, no greed. Trust only the one who holds all four — and holds them permanently.

Test them every way you know. Clear them on every count. And still — once the work begins, many will become someone else entirely.

The work itself will not tolerate a favorite. Assign it only to the one who knows the way, endures the pain, and finishes — never to the one you merely love.

Study the person. Study the task. Study the hour. Then bind all three together until they fit — and only then, act.

This task. By this means. This person will finish it. Once you have thought it through to that clarity — hand it over and step back.

Once you have confirmed his fitness for the work, elevate him until he is equal to it. Give him the authority the task demands.

When a man throws himself into his work and grows close to the king through that devotion — if the king listens to those who poison that closeness, Fortune herself will walk out the door.

Every single day, the king must watch. As long as the officer does not bend, the world does not bend. The day you stop watching is the day both of them break.