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| [a] Vertical RF |
Click here for other sections of this introduction to The Art of Warning.
If Sima Guang were to appear suddenly as a management consultant in an American corporation, he would likely be struck by how hard Americans try to pretend that these variations don’t exist. For Sima, hierarchy was not a bad word. Americans often wish to see “flat” social terrain, even where many other people might view rolling hills of personal difference.
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| [b] False Flat RF |
Management in uneven terrain is analogous, I like to say, to bicycling in it. Bear with me here as we take a brief side trip from China to France. You see, just like Sima Guang, every great Tour de France cyclist—from Jacques Anquetil to Eddy Merckx—has understood something called “false flats.” It’s a pretty simple concept, really. The stretches of road to the finish line (the difference between first and, not uncommonly, forty-seventh place) either go up or down—sometimes almost imperceptibly. The grade may be subtle, but the roads are never, ever “flat."
The reader of the Comprehensive Mirror also learns that nothing is ever exactly level.
In the sprint finish on the Champs Élysées, the results come swiftly. Failing to understand the “grade” of the false flat is the difference between success and failure, and countless unprepared cyclists have seen the smooth road seemingly turn to sticky tar as their better-attuned opponents sprint away from them at the end—a long, hot day in the saddle wasted by the inability to see a slight uptick in the road surface. They stayed in the wrong gear. By the time they realized it…the race was over.
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| [c] Terrain RF |
Management is like this.
The corporate terrain is filled with “false flats,” from the executive vice-president who says to call him by his first name to Casual Fridays. Please note that I am not counseling the abandonment of either practice, although Sima Guang (always a stickler) well might. The savvy employee learns to “read” the terrain, and to sense which “flats” are more tricky than others. A common misinterpretation in the West is that China, Japan, and Korea are rigidly hierarchical and unimaginative with regard to organizations. This all-too-easy perspective is deeply flawed. Sure, there are unimaginative organizations all over Asia—all over the world, in fact. That isn’t the point. But when organizations worked well in East Asian history, they articulated an elaborate dance of hierarchy capable of integrating the thoughts and opinions of a wide range of people all of the way up and down the various hierarchical ladders. Westerners would do well to ponder that message.
The Comprehensive Mirror articulates this on every page.
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| [d] Nuance RF |
In my own management teaching, I have another approach. I call it “The New Hierarchy.” The New Hierarchy provides a way to understand the inevitable mountain slopes of knowledge, power, and even status in the fluid and nuanced ways articulated by Confucius, Sima Guang, and other thinkers throughout East Asian history. It is nimble. It flows. It is also something that very successful Western businesses have understood, even if they have avoided the dreaded term “hierarchy” in their corporate halls. Hierarchy works, but “doing” it well requires a kind of discipline and liveliness that few groups have ever accomplished. It’s difficult, sometimes awkward, but always present. We can try to ignore it, or we can face it head-on.
I recommend the latter.
Making hierarchy “work” can be frustrating. Real life is like that. Take a look at another snippet from the Comprehensive Mirror that speaks to this.
The Emperor once arrived suddenly at the gate of the shangshu.
Prostrating himself, Chen Jiao asked the emperor, “Whither are you
bound, Your Majesty?” The emperor said, “I want to examine the state
documents.” Jiao said, “This is my duty and not a thing Your Majesty
should take care of. If I have been remiss in my duty, I request that I
be dismissed forthwith. Your Majesty ought to return.” The emperor was
ashamed and, turning his carriage, returned.
Does that sound unimaginative, like the tired old hierarchy of our stereotypes? An ashamed emperor turns back toward the palace? No, this is different—and as far from “top down” management as we could imagine. In similar fashion, The New Hierarchy, is a call for attunement (again, think of melody of notes played on a vertical scale) that leaders must understand if they hope to succeed in a complex global marketplace—and at home. As in the example we just saw, the tune can be a clanging, abrasive reminder that the person in charge isn’t in charge alone.
And that leads us to our last lesson.
Click here for other sections of this introduction to The Art of Warning.
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| [e] Reminder RF |
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