Give you a company, see how you manage

Chapter 83 "Red Lights, Green Lights, Stops" and "Following the Donkey"

Compared with "rules" and "rules", sometimes "hidden rules" are more representative of a culture.I stayed in Japan for eight years, and after returning to China, I encountered a rather embarrassing situation—I found that I couldn’t even “cross” the road.Whenever I see a "red light", I always stop and wait obediently.But what surprised me was that there was always a "big group of people" passing by around me. Instead, I stood there blankly and became an "obstacle" blocking the way, and people's "stares" were inevitable.Finally, I was looking forward to the "green light". When I was about to step across the road, the large and small vehicles next to me began to "move around", which made me break out in a cold sweat.In my memory, the correct way seems to be "stop at red light, go at green light", but I don't know when, it seems that "go at red light, stop at green light" has become a real traffic rule, and "go at green light" on the road. Wang Dao".

It's not that I'm "fake and noble". In fact, before I stayed in Japan, I belonged to the kind of master who didn't take traffic rules very seriously.It's just that at that time, because there were still "uncle policemen" standing on the road, the traffic rules at that time were basically followed in my memory.It's just that once this "uncle policeman" left, things changed; but I was short-sighted, and I tasted the "sweetness" of obeying traffic rules abroad, which is why I am embarrassed today.Fortunately, I have a strong adaptability and can adjust quickly, otherwise it must be a "scenery" on the road now.Some people say that this is because the quality of our people is poor and the sense of social morality is not strong.I admit that there is some truth in saying this, but I don't fully agree with it.In fact, apart from the "quality" problem, there may be a deeper "cultural" problem in the emergence of this phenomenon.We Chinese have a characteristic: the more you want to "establish" rules, the more people want to "break" your rules.

Therefore, the phenomenon of "running at a red light and stopping at a green light" may not be entirely due to the "poor quality" of the Chinese people. I am afraid there is a large part of the reason for this-to put it bluntly, they did it "intentionally", not others "Unable to do" or "Unexpected".Do not believe, you can try.In quite a few cities in China, whether the risk factor of obeying the "traffic light" rules is greater or the risk factor of violating the "traffic light" rules is greater.There is no way, we Chinese have such a cultural atmosphere of "going along with the donkey" - you have to go "going along" with him, and if you go "going against" him, he will definitely go "going against" you .Or, to put it more extreme, what many of us believe in is actually a culture of "those who follow me prosper, and those who oppose me perish"-Lao Tzu is number one in the world.You can only be good for yourself, and you can't see (or even hear) others' good.

Only you are the best, and everyone else is "garbage".For example, don't look at us Chinese who always say "convinced" in our mouths, but in our hearts we don't accept anyone at all.In our dictionary, there is no such word as "convinced".Taking a ten thousand step back, even if we are occasionally "moved" by something deep in our hearts, and we really have the "signs" of "convincing", we will immediately "wake up" and quickly put To kill this kind of "symptoms", you have to pick a few thorns on him to be happy.That is to say, we Chinese actually don't want to say "I have taken YOU" in our hearts, but only want to hear "You have taken ME".

So, if you really want to learn to "be a human", you must learn to say "I convinced you", even if the other party is just "garbage" in your heart; Take other people's flattery of "I convinced you" too seriously, because it is very likely that you are just "garbage" in the heart of the other party.The Chinese are good at creating "rules", but they are even better at (or rather keen on) creating "hidden rules".

Therefore, a truly smart manager must learn to make good use of this point: you must face up to the existence of "hidden rules", and learn to use the characteristics of Chinese people's "smooth donkeys" and adopt the technique of "building plank roads in the open and crossing the warehouse in secret", Finding ways to turn real "rules" into "hidden rules" can greatly improve the actual efficiency of management.To put it more clearly, in fact, "rules" are often the most ineffective or inefficient, because you are tantamount to "forcing" others to do things, so you violate their "taboo" and "go against" others' hair , people will definitely "do the opposite" - the more you let him go east, he will go west.On the contrary, "hidden rules" are often the most efficient.For example, if you want someone to "go east", you must do this: with a smile on your face, say softly to the other person, "Please give me some face and go east for a while?" It is a method of smoothing hair "downward", which makes him "face", and nine out of ten he will listen to you; but if you are also a master who "would rather bend than bend", you don't want or disdain to use this "low-spirited" method. , if you use the trick of "downward and indiscriminate use", you can also try another higher and more extreme trick: you can "order" him domineeringly and in an unquestionably tough tone—give me "go west" !Don't worry, even if he is submissive on the surface and pretends to "obey orders", he will definitely sneak "to the east" in private - just in time to get into your "trap".

This is the "effectiveness" of using "hidden rules" as "rules".In fact, this is a typical tactic of "striking east and attacking west". This tactic is most in line with our culture, so it must be a very "spiritual" move.Let’s go back to the previous “traffic light” example. "Stop at red light and go at green light" is a "rule", so it is "forced", which is equivalent to "going against" our hair, which will stimulate our rebellious psychology-I just want to go against it, just to be with you Right!On the contrary, "go on red light, stop on green light" is an "unspoken rule" - everyone does it, so it is the safest way for me to do so.Otherwise it is dangerous.This is the principle of "the law does not blame the crowd" or "the crowd can make the law".

In this sense, the existence of "traffic lights" does guarantee traffic safety, but to a large extent, it is not through the power of "rules", but through the power of "hidden rules".In the same way, the reason why many management books are not easy to sell is probably because of this: these books often emphasize "rules" too much, while seriously ignoring "hidden rules".Although there is always such a "serious" energy between the lines, and it makes people feel "correct" when reading, but when it comes to "truth", it is always not so effective and not so "handy" ".Chairman Mao taught us that "'why' is not important, but 'what' is".Really smart managers will not stubbornly cling to the thigh of "why", and their eyes are always fixed on "what" - doing so is not "doing nothing", let alone "cynicism".On the contrary, this is a "seeking truth from facts" attitude that truly respects reality.

(End of this chapter)