8-2 Importance

Narrator: No matter how good the plan, it must be handed over in a timely manner and in an understandable form to those who must execute the plan and comprehend the commander's intent. It is said that Napoleon kept an old illiterate soldier on his staff. Napoleon would require that the latest written plan be read to the old soldier. Napoleon would then ask the old soldier to explain the plan. If the man could not explain the plan to Napoleon's satisfaction, he would require that the plan be rewritten. Napoleon understood the importance of transition.