Ooh wow

morale is only downstream of conclusive violence

related: john boyd wrote extensively about the moral dimension in war

“Sense of destiny” is good description

He referred to it as esprit de corps, which roughly translates to a feeling of pride, fellowship, and common loyalty

conviction first, everything else follows.

a leader is a dealer in hope

Churchill has this too with “man is spirit.”

Orienting the troops towards and impossible goal and giving them the belief that they have a shot.

Belief is the core. Every single time. The problem maps further because in general in America has been suffering through is this psyop sentiment of "woe is me, we can't do anything, america sucks, capitalism bad" That has got to end.

what breaks most CEO is that they spend years building that "sense of destiny" for their team rally the troops. create the mission. make everyone believe. then they sell or retire and realize they gave everyone else a sense of destiny, but their OWN was entirely wrapped up in that specific company you went from being Napoleon leading an army to being Napoleon after Waterloo, exiled with nothing to conquer

Momentum x Mission = Morale

This seems applicable to all goals

sparta's called it synchronicity (having a hive mind)

Interviewer: "You must have been sustained largely by self-belief?" Naipaul: "Yes. I never doubted. From the time I was a child, I had the feeling that I was marked."

people so undervalue vision and the visionholder(s)

Without a proper definition, anything can mean everything. A fact that Napoleon and other greats were well aware of.

Many misunderstand morale, even in the military!

That startup morale spark? Absolutely foundational for breakthroughs.

also: "The moral effect of a well-executed cavalry attack was more devastating than the actual losses sustained by the enemy." --from The Hinge Effect, Chapter 5, 'A Fistful of Nails', describing Napoleon at Waterloo

and a deep belief in a Mission that's often Personified by a Leader (definitely Napoleon's case; his soldiers called his name/title when they charged into battle)

One of the worst English sentences I read today. I’m certain Napoleon would agree with me. He lead an army and changed the course of history. CEOs do breath work to deal with the “stress” from teams calls. Get a life.

Neat equivocation nabeel 🤡

so not morale, but sensible destiny

Morale isn't just about feeling good it's the secret weapon that makes the impossible feel inevitable.