beck

Leaders
The best leaders the people barely know.
The next best they love and praise.
The next they fear.
And the next they hate.

Those who lack trust will not be trusted.
Then they resort to promises.
But when they accomplish their task and complete their work,
the people say, "We did it ourselves."

blakney

The Ruler of the People ...

As for him who is highest,
The people just know he is there.
His deputy's cherished and praised;
Of the third, they are frightened;
The fourth, they depise and revile.
If you trust people less than enough,
Some of them never trust you.

He is aloof, as if his talk
Were priced beyond the purchasing;
But once his project is contrived,
The folk will want to say of it:
"Of course! We did it by ourselves!"

byrn

Of the best the people hardly ever know they exist;
The next best they flock to and praise for nothing.
The next they shrink from;
the next get reviled.
"Not believing people you turn them into liars" -
such bosses don't command the people's faith.
They lose faith in them and take to oaths!

The wise man is a clever ruler; he values his words highly.
It's so hard to get a single word from at any price that when his task is finished, a work well done, everyone says,
"It happened by itself, and we did it."

feng

The very highest if barely known.
Then comes that which people know and love.
Then that which is feared,
Then that which is despised.

Who does not trust enough will not be trusted.

When actions are performed
Without unnecessary speech,
People say, "We did it!"

ganson

The Best Leader

The best leaders, the people do not notice.
The next best, the people honor and praise.
The next, the people fear;
and the next, the people hate.

If you have no faith,
people will have no faith in you,
and you must resort to oaths.

When the best leader's work is done
the people say: "We did it ourselves!"

gnl

Rulers
The best rulers are scarcely known by their subjects;
The next best are loved and praised;
The next are feared;
The next despised:
They have no faith in their people,
And their people become unfaithful to them.

When the best rulers achieve their purpose
Their subjects claim the achievement as their own.

hansen

Politics
The best hierarchy is one those below realize is there.
Next to that
is one that you feel kin to and extol.
Next to that
is one you dread.
Next to that
is one you contemn.
When reliability is inadequate in it
There will be unreliability in it.
Reflectively! His ennobling of language.
Works are completed; affairs proceed
And the hundred surnames all call this 'our nature (our own doing)'

legge

In the highest antiquity, (the people) did not know that there
were (their rulers). In the next age they loved them and praised
them. In the next they feared them; in the next they despised them.
Thus it was that when faith (in the Tao) was deficient (in the rulers)
a want of faith in them ensued (in the people).

How irresolute did those (earliest rulers) appear, showing (by
their reticence) the importance which they set upon their words!
Their work was done and their undertakings were successful, while the
people all said, 'We are as we are, of ourselves!'

mccarroll

The best leader is one whose existence
is barely known by the people.
Next comes one whom they love and praise.
Next comes one they fear.
Next comes one they defy.

If you do not trust enough, you will not be trusted.

True Persons do not offer words lightly.
When their task is accomplished
and their work is completed,
the people say, "It happened to us naturally."

mcdonald

The best leaders are those the people hardly know exist.
The next best is a leader who is loved and praised.
Next comes the one who is feared.
The worst one is the leader that is despised.

If you don't trust the people,
they will become untrustworthy.

The best leaders value their words, and use them sparingly.
When she has accomplished her task,
the people say, "Amazing:
we did it, all by ourselves!"

merel

Rulers

The best rulers are scarcely known by their subjects;
The next best are loved and praised;
The next are feared;
The next despised:
They have no faith in their subjects,
So their subjects become unfaithful to them.

When the best rulers acheive their purpose
Their subjects claim the acheivement as their own.

merel2

Rulers
The best rulers are scarcely known by their subjects;
The next best are loved and praised;
The next are feared;
The next despised:
They have no faith in their people,
And their people become unfaithful to them.
When the best rulers achieve their purpose
Their subjects claim the achievement as their own.

mitchell

When the Master governs, the people
are hardly aware that he exists.
Next best is a leader who is loved.
Next, one who is feared.
The worst is one who is despised.

If you don't trust the people,
you make them untrustworthy.

The Master doesn't talk, he acts.
When his work is done,
the people say, "Amazing:
we did it, all by ourselves!"

muller

From great antiquity forth they have known and possessed it.
Those of the next level loved and praised it.
The next were in awe of it.
And the next despised it.

If you lack sincerity no one will believe you.

How careful she is with her precious words!
When her work is complete and her job is finished,
Everybody says: "We did it!"

rosenthal

LEADERSHIP BY EXCEPTION
Man cannot comprehend the infinite;
only knowing that the best exists,
the second best is seen and praised,
and the next, despised and feared.

The sage does not expect that others
use his criteria as their own.

The existence of the leader who is wise
is barely known to those he leads.
He acts without unnecessary speech,
so that the people say,
"It happened of its own accord".