The state of Qin attacked the state of Zhao, and the King of Zhao sent Wei Jia to visit Lord Chunshen of Chu, saying, "Do you have a general to lead your troops?" Lord Chunshen replied, "I do—I intend to appoint Lord Linwu as the general." Wei Jia said, "In my youth, I was fond of archery, and I wish to draw an analogy from it—may I?" Lord Chunshen said, "You may." Wei Jia said, "Once upon a time, Geng Ying stood with the King of Wei beneath a lofty terrace, and looking up, they saw birds flying overhead. Geng Ying said to the King of Wei, 'With but a twang of my empty bowstring—no arrow loosed—I can bring down a bird.' The King of Wei said, 'Can the art of archery truly reach such a height?' Geng Ying replied, 'It can.' After a while, a wild goose came flying from the east. Geng Ying twanged his empty bowstring, and the goose fell to the ground. The King of Wei said, 'Indeed, the art of archery can reach such a height!' Geng Ying said, 'This was a bird wounded by an arrow.' The King of Wei asked, 'How does my lord know this?' Geng Ying answered, 'It flew slowly, and its cry was mournful. It flew slowly because its old wound pained it; its cry was mournful because it had long been parted from its flock. Its wound had not yet healed, and its terror had not yet subsided. The moment it heard the twang of the bowstring, it strained to fly aloft with all its might, so that the old wound burst open, and down it fell.' Now Lord Linwu was once defeated by the state of Qin—he is like that arrow-wounded bird, with a shadow still lingering in his heart. He cannot be made a general. I have heard it said: 'A bird wounded by an arrow takes fright at the mere twang of an empty bowstring.'"
💡 商战启示录
Wei Jia warned Lord Chunshen with the metaphor of "a bird startled by the mere twang of a bowstring," pointing out that Linwu, having once been defeated by Qin, bore unhealed psychological wounds and should not again be entrusted with the role of chief commander. In modern business, this strategy offers a crucial insight: decision-makers must remain vigilant against the lingering effects of "post-failure syndrome" on teams or executives. For instance, if a technology company was once defeated by competitors in a price war over its core product, continuing to place the original project lead in charge of a new market counteroffensive may result in overly cautious decision-making driven by the fear of repeated failure, thereby squandering critical opportunities. Conversely, exemplary enterprises such as Apple, after the return of Steve Jobs, though having experienced a low point, achieved revival not by simply recycling old failed patterns, but by rebuilding confidence and pursuing strategic innovation. In the arena of commerce, the deployment of talent demands careful consideration of psychological resilience—for teams or leaders who have suffered severe setbacks, one should allow a period of adjustment or introduce fresh perspectives, so as to avoid overreaction or paralysis born of a "startled-bird" mentality. At the same time, this principle can be turned into a weapon of competitive psychological warfare: applying pressure to an opponent's old wounds—such as continuously signaling aggressive intent—can cause them to lose composure out of fear. More importantly, enterprises should establish mechanisms for "post-traumatic growth," helping teams overcome psychological shadows through structured reflection, training, and incremental successes, rather than rushing into battle before wounds have healed, only to repeat past mistakes.