speech keep your friends close and your enemies closer
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'Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer' is a quotation that has often been attributed to the Chinese general, military strategist, writer and philosopher, Sun Tzu and sometimes to Petrarch. It comes most directly from a line spoken by Michael Corleone in The Godfather Part II.
It is common practice for people to be aware of what their friends are up to but most people ignore what their enemies are doing. This phrase acts as an advice for people, especially who are in a competitive business to be mindful of their enemies to ensure that they are not doing anything untoward. This vigilance would help people overcome any strategy that might have been planned against them.
It seems at first a strange idea to behave towards both friends and enemies by keeping them close but the reasons for such behaviour differ. It's easy to take friends and allies for granted so keeping them close, seeking their support and advice, and enriching their lives is vital. Friends can easily be lost through neglect or through lack of care and concern.
It's important to keep enemies close for a different reason. It's wise to try and understand how an enemy operates and thinks as well as to know what they are doing in practice, without becoming paranoid about it. This works practically too - in a meeting it's best to sit next to or near an 'enemy'. If you and a rival are at opposite ends of the table and they have everyone's attention it will be relatively hard for you to get it. Having said that, the ideal situation is one where through getting close to a person who has an opposing viewpoint or who doesn't like you, you learn to respect and value them. It may even be possible to turn an enemy into a friend, though that may not always be achievable or even desirable. When, however, the attempt is good and right it's the best reason for keeping an enemy close.