Chief, how many names do you remember?

Zisi asked Confucius: 'if King Wen were to ask you to govern the country, what would be your first action be?'

'I would learn the names of all my advisers', came the reply.

'What nonsense! This is hardly a matter of great concern to a Prime Minister.'

'A man can not hope to receive help from what he does not know.' Replied Confucius. 'If he does not understand Nature, he will not understand GOD. In just the same way, if he does not understand who is at his side, he will have no friends or allies. Without his friends or allies, he will be unable to draw upon a plan. Without a plan, he can not direct anyone's actions. Without direction, the country will plunge into darkness, and even dancers will not know which foot to put down next.'

So an apparently banal action, learning the name of the person at your side, can make an enormous difference. The besetting sin of our time is that everyone wants to put things right immediately, and we forget that in order to do so we need a lot of people.