Don't build influence in the direction of stable positions

When you have the choice to build influence, it should be directed to an area or a position where it can be used in a profitable way. When directed towards a stable position, it provides overlapping strength (if one's own) or is nullified (if opposite).

Example

Yasui vs. Ito  

In a game with Yasui Sanchi, Ito Showa played .

Yasui - Ito, wrong way  

here makes a big wall, but the stable group () renders it ineffective.

Commentary by Kajiwara in Genbi, Shuntetsu, Sentoku: Nihon Igo Taikei 12 (Genbi, Shuntetsu, Sentoku: Outline of Japanese Go History vol. 12), p. 103.