Going Difficulty, Returning Greatness
Updated 2026-08-10
INTRODUCTION
English translation pending.
CORE DEFINITION
Going difficulty, returning greatness is the third line of the Jian hexagram, stating that advancing meets difficulty while returning brings a substantial gain. The core proposition is that in a hostile environment the marginal return on attack is very low while the marginal return on consolidating the existing base is high, so the rational reallocation is inward. The key qualification is that the gain is conditional on actually investing the withdrawn resources in the base rather than simply stopping, since retreat without reinvestment produces neither growth nor consolidation.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
- Compare The Margins: measure the return on attacking the frontier against the return on serving the base. - Reallocate Inward: move the resources withdrawn from attack into core capability and existing customers. - Harvest Before Re-expanding: confirm the base has actually strengthened before attempting the frontier again.
Anchor fast decisions
When the environment turns hostile, the cost of winning new ground rises while the value of retaining existing ground rises too, because the base is what funds survival. Resources moved from the frontier to the base therefore earn more at the margin, and the base compounds while competitors exhaust themselves on the frontier. The same reallocation that looks like retreat produces the gain the line describes.
MINIMUM ACTION
In progress 0/1Practice this model in one real situation:
account_treeGenealogyexpand_more
menu_bookReferencesexpand_more
Source support: Explicit
- zh.wikisource.orghttps://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E5%91%A8%E6%98%93/%E8%B9%87verified
PRIVATE NOTES · Only visible to you
SAVED Q&A
ENTRY Q&A · Private saving available
Ask with a clear boundary
thinkingmodels answers from published entry context only.
Your question is sent to thinkingmodels. The answer uses public entry context only.
RELATED MODELS