Not all situations require being prepared for the future.

You naturally need to plan ahead for your own affairs. True talent never faces surprises. In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, the wise—Zhuge Liang, Jia Xu—always appear composed and prepared. They’ve already accounted for every possible situation; that’s what makes them valuable.

That’s exactly how I operate—for myself.

But you can’t apply that same approach to other people. Imagine Sun Wukong escorting Tang Sanzang on his journey west. If Tang Sanzang hasn’t even encountered a demon yet, but you proactively scout the path, identify every monster, and eliminate them all beforehand—does that embody the idea that “the greatest warriors leave no fame behind”? No. That’s you personally robbing yourself of opportunities to grow.

How will you earn credit if your leader never faces problems? Where would your achievements come from? If the issues they encounter aren’t serious, how will they view you? On what basis would they consider you indispensable—like a towering pillar holding up the sky?

Most people who want to advance intentionally let problems fester. Maintaining a strategic reserve of threats is precisely how one preserves their own leverage.

If you spot a problem with your sharp eyes, you can give your leader one heads-up. But pay attention—deliver it professionally, without being pushy. In other words, whether they listen or not isn’t your concern. It’s better if they don’t listen, because that’s when you’ll have a chance to shine. The reason you speak up once is simply to protect yourself afterward. As long as you’ve followed proper workflow and kept thorough records, and you’ve warned them once, they won’t suspect you’re deliberately letting things slide to inflate your own importance. If they ignore you, that’s their call. Absolutely do not aggressively confront them or force your foresight upon them—it’s pointless. If you coerce them and they still don’t listen, they’ll resent you. If they do listen and the problem gets solved in its infancy, they’ll never recognize your value—and they’ll resent you just the same.

The ideal outcome is that you warned them, they didn’t listen, and only after they’ve been captured by the demon do you step in. Since you’ve been preparing for this moment all along, you’ll then receive the fullest authorization, the greatest resources, and the biggest rewards.