Tao Te Ching and Wuwei Management

Chapter 68 6 "Relying on what you do" and being grateful to employees

Without taking credit or pride, employees are naturally convinced.

There is nothing in life, nothing to rely on, and nothing to live in after success.Husband does not live, so he does not go. —— "Tao Te Ching" Chapter 2
A company is not a temple of loyalty, a boss is not an emperor, employees are not subjects, and employees have no obligation of continuous loyalty to the company, team, or boss.However, businesses need ongoing contributions from employees.This requires enterprise managers to have higher wisdom in team building and team leadership.A smart manager knows how to "do what he does and rely on it", and does not take credit or pride, but attributes the performance to his team.This will not cause damage to one's own interests, but instead shows a humble attitude and makes employees more actively work for the company.This is the management philosophy of "the husband does not live, so he does not go".

During the Three Kingdoms period, in order to unify the north, Cao Cao decided to go north to conquer Wuhuan outside the Great Wall.This decision was very dangerous, so many generals dissuaded him, but Cao Cao still led his army to attack and defeated Wuhuan, basically completing the great cause of unifying the north.When the teacher returned, Cao Cao investigated who disagreed with his plan for the Northern Expedition.Those who raised objections thought that they would be severely punished by Cao Cao, and they were all very afraid.Unexpectedly, Cao Cao gave them generous rewards.Everyone was very surprised: Facts have proved that it was wrong to discourage the Northern Expedition. Not only was it not punished, but how could it be rewarded instead?
Cao Cao's explanation for this was: "The Northern Expedition was indeed very risky at the time. Although it was God's will to win by luck, it should not be regarded as a normal act. Everyone's dissuasion is out of completeness, so rewards are required. I hope that everyone will be more daring to express different opinions in the future." Since then, the soldiers have offered advice and suggestions and served him wholeheartedly.

In fact, qualified leaders are always able to affirm the achievements of employees and assume their own responsibilities.A person like Cao Cao who possesses super mind-grabbing skills, even if he overcomes all opinions and wins a big victory, he is not proud, but fully affirms those subordinates who have a certain reason.If business managers can be like Cao Cao, do you still worry about the lack of cohesion and centripetal force in the company?
As the managers of the enterprise, most people are not stingy to express their gratitude to customers, suppliers, partners and other people who are beneficial to the development of the enterprise, but they seldom thank the employees who create profits for the enterprise.I even think from the bottom of my heart that the contribution of employees to the company is in exchange for their wages, which is an exchange relationship, and there is no need to thank them.

Employees are the most important partners of enterprises, which has become the consensus of more and more outstanding enterprises and their managers. They have begun to understand that the attitude towards employees can directly affect the output of enterprises.Without the loyalty of its employees, a business may survive in the short term, but it is unlikely to grow, let alone be built to last.Therefore, excellent managers will always be grateful to employees, respect and trust employees, and create a good working atmosphere for employees.

One of the ten principles of Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, is to "grate employees for their contributions to the company." In their view: "A check and a stock can often buy the loyalty of employees, but everyone We want to be thanked, especially when we do something we are proud of. A sincere and appropriate compliment can do more than anything else, and it’s completely free.”

Many companies are advocating gratitude, and most of them are asking employees to be grateful to the company.Think about it carefully, in fact, this kind of gratitude should be two-way.An enterprise can grow from small to large, from weak to strong, and it is inseparable from the efforts of all employees.Without the participation of employees, no matter how good or large a company wants to continue to develop, it can only be attributed to empty talk.Therefore, enterprises must also learn to be grateful and learn to say "thank you" to their employees.

The behavior of Li Guofei, the owner of Hangzhou Huatong Furniture Co., Ltd. is moving.When he learned that his employee was terminally ill, he did not stand idly by, but paid all the treatment expenses for the employee, and invested huge sums of money to save the life of the terminally ill employee, which is also a concrete manifestation of his gratitude to the employee.When someone asked him questioningly: "As the owner of a private enterprise, is it necessary for you to pay so much for a wage earner?", Li Guofei expressed his own voice: "They are the most precious wealth of the enterprise. He has made great contributions.” Obviously, private entrepreneur Li Guofei does not regard himself as the master of the enterprise, but believes that it is the hard work of the employees that has contributed to the development and growth of the enterprise, so he regards employees as the wealth that promotes the prosperity of the enterprise.

American retail giant Sam?When Walton summed up his secret of success, he said: "Sharing success with those who have helped me is the secret of my success." Sam?Walton believes that sharing profits with all employee partners is to treat them as partners. In this way, companies and managers change the specific relationship with employee partners, so that these employee partners can cooperate with suppliers, customers and Managers start to look like partners in their interactions.Partners are a group of people who are empowered, so employees will feel that they are also empowered, so they can take their responsibilities more seriously and positively.

For leaders, taking the initiative to take responsibility while not taking credit is a higher level of gratitude to employees.There is a strange phenomenon in China: credit is often given to the top, and faults are often given to the bottom.This is an unhealthy thought produced under the influence of the feudal social hierarchy in 2000.For wise managers, sometimes admitting mistakes is an opportunity to establish authority.At work, being good at blaming yourself instead of blaming your subordinates is the best way to win respect and consolidate your status.

(End of this chapter)