Follow Step by Step
Updated 2026-08-10
INTRODUCTION
English translation pending.
CORE DEFINITION
Follow Step by Step comes from a passage in the Zhuangzi in which Yan Hui tells Confucius that he follows wherever his teacher goes, walking when the teacher walks and running when the teacher runs. Its core proposition is that copying a leader's movements without understanding the reasons leaves the follower permanently second and unable to surpass the model. The key qualifier is that learning by imitation is legitimate at first; the failure is staying there, since the follower never converts example into principle.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
- Copy or learn test: ask whether you are copying an outcome or actually absorbing the underlying reasoning. - Reason extraction: pull the principle out of a competitor's move before you repeat it. - Own context check: test whether the copied move actually fits your own particular market context.
Anchor fast decisions
A follower that replicates surface moves inherits the leader's results only where conditions match. Because it never extracted the underlying logic, it cannot adapt when conditions differ, and it competes on the leader's chosen ground where the leader is strongest. Without its own principle, the follower has no basis for choosing a different position.
MINIMUM ACTION
In progress 0/1Practice this model in one real situation:
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Source support: Explicit
- zdic.nethttps://zdic.net/hans/%E4%BA%A6%E6%AD%A5%E4%BA%A6%E8%B6%8Bverified
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