Set the standard before you set the task
Bose inherited soldiers from prisoner-of-war camps and volunteers from Indian diaspora communities across Malaya and Singapore. He had no institutional authority these men were obliged to respect. What he had was a stated standard of conduct that applied to him first. He wore the same uniform. He ate the same rations. He submitted to the same physical demands he placed on his officers.Chanakya wrote in the Arthashastra that a leader who does not live by the rules he enforces will find those rules enforced by no one. Bose understood this practically. Before he issued any order about discipline, he made his own conduct the reference point.For anyone building a team from the ground up, this is the first structural move. Write down what you expect, punctuality, preparation, direct communication, ownership of mistakes, and then audit your own behaviour against that list before you hold anyone else to it. The team will not follow the document. They will follow what they observe.
