The governor general who succeeds in a health campaign makes many statistics

Now the general who wins a battle makes many calculations in his temple [before] the battle is fought. The general who loses a battle makes but few calculations beforehand. Thus do many calculations lead to victory, and few calculations to defeat: how much more no calculation at all! It is by attention to this point that I can foresee who is likely to win or lose.

From "Sun Tzu on the Art of War - The Oldest Military Treatise in the World"

Translated from the Chinese By Lionel Giles, M.A. (1910)

Discussion:

This is one of the most famous quotes from Sun Tzu. In applying this principle into healthcare, I feel the urge to mention a historical figure, Florence Nightingale. In a BMJ Quality & Safety article titled "Florence Nightingale gets no respect: as a statistician that is" by D Neuhauser, we can see how she fought the battle against the hierarchy and bureaucracy of British Military with her outstanding calculations as a "passionate statistician."

Translation:

Now the governor general who succeeds in a health campaign makes many statistics in the population health office before the campaign is conducted. The general who fails in a health campaign makes but few statistics beforehand. Thus do many statistics lead to success, and few statistics to failure: how much more no statistics at all! It is by attention to this point that I can foresee who is likely to succeed or fail.

Ray Murakami