Feng Yi
Lost at Sunrise
They overruled me, we lost, and I still go and clean up
History of the Later Han, Biography of Feng Yi
Your plan was rejected, the other plan went ahead, and it failed exactly as you feared. Why did Feng Yi never once say I told you so?
What actually happened?
In 27 CE Feng Yi had held the Red Eyebrows at Huayin for sixty days. Deng Yu and Deng Hong passed by and wanted a joint attack. Feng Yi urged winning men over first, then striking from both sides; they refused. Deng Hong chased a feigned retreat and was routed. Feng Yi came to his rescue; Deng Yu insisted on fighting again and they were crushed. Feng Yi climbed the Huixi slope on foot. Then he regrouped, dressed picked men as Red Eyebrows and hid them by the road, and took eighty thousand prisoners.
Overruled, and still the first to help
Deng Hong ignored his advice and was lured into a trap by baggage carts left as bait. Feng Yi's first move was to bring his troops to the rescue, not to watch him lose and be proved right. Losing the argument is your pride. Losing the army is everyone's.
The release you argued against has failed in production. Help restore it first. Your original objection can wait for the review.
After a defeat, gather the stragglers
Back in camp from the slope, he did three things: fortified the walls, collected the scattered troops, and called in the fortified camps nearby, until he had tens of thousands again. What costs most after a loss is not blame. It is the people still drifting away.
The project has collapsed. Keep the people willing to stay and the work still usable before anyone talks about fault.
Change the tactics, not the opponent
In the next battle he sent only a small force at first, looking weak, until the enemy committed everything. Late in the day, when they tired, the ambush rose, dressed like them, and nobody could tell friend from foe. Same general, same enemy, different way of fighting.
Your first version was rejected by the market. Before switching markets, work out whether it was the approach or the direction that failed.
How do I use it today?
Where you are: your plan was turned down, someone else's went ahead, and it has gone wrong.
Ask first: what matters now, proving I was right, or saving what can still be saved? Next time, do I change the tactics or the goal?
Where it goes wrong: taking on blame that isn't yours means the next decision still won't listen to you. Set out your original reasoning in the review, just not while the fire is still burning.
Lines to keep
Wings drooping at Huixi, wings beating at Mianchi.
Lost at sunrise, recovered at sunset.
Win them over slowly. They cannot be broken in one blow.
Same situation, other people are asking
Do I push, or do I take the no?They turned my proposal down. Do I bring it back, and with what?Their reason changes every time and the answer never does.The no came back. I can't tell what shape it was.They said no to my plan · all 7 questions →If this one named what you are going through,
send it to someone who needs it, or keep it somewhere you will find it again.