Idea Ripper // ArchiveCards: 1555 [Live] | Updated: 2026-10-14
Card #c1149IR // #c1149Synthesis

"if you wish your men to follow you, remember that they expect you to plan for them." "if it be night, you must consider what your troops shall do when it is day; if day, how the night had best be spent."

— In our words · Source: Cyropaedia (Xenophon)

[Use when]

Your team keeps arriving in the morning to find nobody has decided the day's priorities.

[Why it matters]

Cambyses names the deal followers expect: they give obedience and you give a plan for the next stretch. He says a leader can never afford a careless mood.

More from Cyropaedia

#c1138"you are prepared to rely on what you do not know? Do you forget that the needs of the morrow must be high, not to speak of the outlay for…Your plan depends on a partner's resources you have never actually seen. #c1139"never put off the collecting of supplies until the day of need, make the season of your abundance provide against the time of dearth. You…You plan to start fundraising when the runway gets short. #c1140"They are well aware of the terms Cyaxares has offered for their help: but whatever they get over and above the covenanted amount they will…You're deciding whether a bonus should be built into the contract or given on top.

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