Ghanima Atreides (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
atreideslioness) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomhigh2016-02-10 09:15 am
atreideslioness) wrote in fandomhigh2016-02-10 09:15 am
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Diplomacy, Relationships, & Tactics: The Art of War, Week 6 [Wednesday, Period 2]
"So: energy," Tahiri said; she had a Slinky in her hands and was playing with it, shifting its mass from one hand to the other and occasionally just letting go with one hand to let the whole Slinky retract into its original shape. "And I don't mean the kind that you take for granted until you get older and wonder how you ever got by on no sleep before, although you might have to take that kind into account. We're talking about managing groups of people, and harnessing their energy, and using that to accomplish your goals."
"There are two types of energy," Ghanima said, writing on the board.
10. In battle, there are not more than two methods
of attack--the direct and the indirect; yet these two
in combination give rise to an endless series of maneuvers.
11. The direct and the indirect lead on to each other in turn.
It is like moving in a circle--you never come to an end.
Who can exhaust the possibilities of their combination?
"Much like Tahiri's Slinky," she continued, smiling. "You have to utilize the energy and momentum of your forces to create the shapes you want."
"Which sometimes means you need to know when to delegate power," Tahiri added with a slight grin, still playing with the Slinky. "And I get it, that's hard sometimes. You want to have hands-on control of everything, so signals don't get crossed, right? Sun Tzu says that commanding a large army isn't that different from commanding a small group of forces -- or, say, being in charge of a group project. You just have to make sure you can communicate effectively. You don't want to give instructions people can't follow because they're unclear, for one, or leave them vague enough to be subject to interpretation. But let's get back to these indirect tactics, and the shapes you want to create. What's Sun Tzu mean by that?"
"Part of it is knowing what shapes you can make. The Slinky would make a very poor triangle, for starters," Ghanima laughed. "You have to pick the right person for the right job, and never expect too much out of individuals. The most energy is generated from perfectly formed teams who compliment each other's strengths and weaknesses, forming an unstoppable force once they get rolling."
"Because they're able to feed off of each other: 'Yet these two in combination give rise to an endless series of maneuvers.'" Tahiri smiled, although there was a touch of wistfulness to the expression. "This doesn't just refer to skills, either. Finding a good balance of temperaments is crucial to keeping morale up, especially when things turn out to not go as smoothly as you might have hoped."
"To practice giving clear instructions and learning both delegation and interpersonal relationships, you have two tasks today," Ghanima said, looking utterly angelic. Run, children. Run.
"First, you will create groups and come up with instructions on how to properly bake a cake." No two voices in her genetic memory could agree on the right way to do it, so Ghanima figured it a proper challenge for their students. "Afterwards, you will form groups of three, and do a four-legged race."
Tahiri hadn't gone so far as to try and look angelic, but her expression was sufficiently deadpan as to be a cause for concern. "Falling on your face isn't the most dire consequence in the universe for not working together effectively, but hopefully it's enough of a motivation to give it a good effort."
It would also be funny, but that part didn't need to be stated aloud.
"Don't just sit there," Ghanima said, clapping her hands together. "Get to work!"
"There are two types of energy," Ghanima said, writing on the board.
10. In battle, there are not more than two methods
of attack--the direct and the indirect; yet these two
in combination give rise to an endless series of maneuvers.
11. The direct and the indirect lead on to each other in turn.
It is like moving in a circle--you never come to an end.
Who can exhaust the possibilities of their combination?
"Much like Tahiri's Slinky," she continued, smiling. "You have to utilize the energy and momentum of your forces to create the shapes you want."
"Which sometimes means you need to know when to delegate power," Tahiri added with a slight grin, still playing with the Slinky. "And I get it, that's hard sometimes. You want to have hands-on control of everything, so signals don't get crossed, right? Sun Tzu says that commanding a large army isn't that different from commanding a small group of forces -- or, say, being in charge of a group project. You just have to make sure you can communicate effectively. You don't want to give instructions people can't follow because they're unclear, for one, or leave them vague enough to be subject to interpretation. But let's get back to these indirect tactics, and the shapes you want to create. What's Sun Tzu mean by that?"
"Part of it is knowing what shapes you can make. The Slinky would make a very poor triangle, for starters," Ghanima laughed. "You have to pick the right person for the right job, and never expect too much out of individuals. The most energy is generated from perfectly formed teams who compliment each other's strengths and weaknesses, forming an unstoppable force once they get rolling."
"Because they're able to feed off of each other: 'Yet these two in combination give rise to an endless series of maneuvers.'" Tahiri smiled, although there was a touch of wistfulness to the expression. "This doesn't just refer to skills, either. Finding a good balance of temperaments is crucial to keeping morale up, especially when things turn out to not go as smoothly as you might have hoped."
"To practice giving clear instructions and learning both delegation and interpersonal relationships, you have two tasks today," Ghanima said, looking utterly angelic. Run, children. Run.
"First, you will create groups and come up with instructions on how to properly bake a cake." No two voices in her genetic memory could agree on the right way to do it, so Ghanima figured it a proper challenge for their students. "Afterwards, you will form groups of three, and do a four-legged race."
Tahiri hadn't gone so far as to try and look angelic, but her expression was sufficiently deadpan as to be a cause for concern. "Falling on your face isn't the most dire consequence in the universe for not working together effectively, but hopefully it's enough of a motivation to give it a good effort."
It would also be funny, but that part didn't need to be stated aloud.
"Don't just sit there," Ghanima said, clapping her hands together. "Get to work!"