“Victory will forge stronger bonds than superficial friendliness.”

The 33 Strategies of War, Strategy 6, The Controlled-Chaos Strategy

As leaders in an age that relentlessly champions inclusivity and co-operation, we tend to assume that surface-level friendliness represents genuine camaraderie.

We plunge our teams into bonding exercises, light-hearted icebreakers, and social events, convinced that learning trivial details about one another fosters deep connection.

Whilst such activities may set a pleasant tone and ease initial interactions, they ultimately result in fundamentally superficial relationships.