The Emperor's Teacher (4)—Talking Points-d

[a] Expo RF

I am devoting 2012 to one of the projects closest to my heart/mind (心). It is called The Emperor's Teacher, and deals with lessons that need to be understood by managers all over the world. "Managers?," I hear you ask? But I am a parent, a teacher, an employee, and, at home, a busy cook, bookkeeper, and sometime voter. I'm not a manager.                            Yes, you are. 

[b] Layered RF

We are all managers, and we would do well to learn abiding lessons of how to make managing work. Some people in our midst (and in human history) have spent inordinate amounts of time trying to figure out how we might manage ourselves (since if you can't get your self right, you'll have a hard time with anything bigger...right?), our families (since a family is a whole bunch of interrelated selves in social communion), and the whole enchilada...all under heaven (天下). The latter term was used traditionally in China to refer to running the empire, but it had both moral and governmental innuendo that we would do well to consider in our own lives today. All three ideas (oneself, one's family, and all under heaven) are versatile enough to be read in secular or sacred terms, and, indeed, early Chinese cosmology had a plethora of ways of interpreting such matters. Interpret away. The concepts are big enough for all of us, as even Dong Zhongshu might have agreed.

My book, The Emperor's Teacher, introduces the greatest management book of all time (Sima Guang's Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Ruling), and then explains its key teachings to readers in the twenty-first century. This is challenging stuff for readers today (in East Asia and the West, I might add), just as it was ten centuries ago. No book is deeper or richer with lessons you need to learn to manage your career, your family, your football team... 

Attention Coach Belichick: Your Art of War really needs this updated "app" (call me)

...or the corporation you lead. We all need it. My book takes you through the lessons found in a thousand year-old text. The "Talking Points" that follow in the next few posts will give a sense of the book as a whole. Close readers of Round and Square will know that I have already posted all of chapters one and two, and the first parts of chapters three on this blog (look for them below). I will post the entire "blog draft" on Round and Square in 2012.

Front Matter:
Talking Points-a          Talking Points-b          Talking Points-c          Talking Points-d          Talking Points-e  
Table of Contents-a                                        Table of Contents-b                                        Table of Contents-c

Chapters:         
1-Breaking the Vessel (12)      2-Living and Learning (12)     3-Spring and Autumn Roles (12)      
4-The New Hierarchy (4)

The Emperor’s Teacher

Life Lessons from Chinese History
“Talking Points"—D   Lessons

Lesson-1 Selecting Talented People 

The greatest lesson in the Comprehensive Mirror (with thousands of examples) is that the leader must select the best possible people and then let them do their jobs. In all of the best management books, this is consistently shown to be the key to making an organization work in the best possible way. The lessons of the Comprehensive Mirror show how a leader must observe managerial talent and choose the best subordinates. 

Lesson-2 Roles 

[c] Weaving RF

We are our roles. The Comprehensive Mirror begins with an extended discussion of organizational roles, and explains in detail the importance of clear roles in the success of an organization. There is nothing stagnant about it; successful leadership requires responsiveness to role that most people fail to take advantage of.  Confucius, when once asked how to create harmony in society, said that everyone should perform his (or her) role to its full potential. The Comprehensive Mirror extends this statement to show how roles work in action—how people perform multiple roles at the same time, and how excellent leadership requires attention to one’s position. 

Lesson-3 Structure and Hierarchy 

We ignore hierarchy at our peril. There is enormous potential in what we might call the “vertical” dimension of corporate life, but American businesses continue to fight the reality of difference in position and power. Instead, they need to learn how to make this reality work for the benefit of everyone. The common understanding in the West that China is rigidly hierarchical and unimaginative is stereotypical in the extreme. The Comprehensive Mirror has deep lessons in management that show how to make the reality of difference work for the benefit of everyone. 

Lesson-4 False Flatness 

Every great rider in the Tour de France understands “false flats.”  The stretches of road to the finish line either go up or down—sometimes almost imperceptibly.  There is nothing imperceptible about the results, though. Failing to understand the “grade” of the false flat is the difference between success and failure, yet American corporations create “false flats” all of the time—and fail to achieve the best results.  Learning to “read” subtle hierarchies is a skill that many American business people have lost. The Comprehensive Mirror teaches us to see the real lay of the corporate landscape—and click into precisely the correct gear in the final sprint to success. 

[d] Hierarchy RF

Lesson-5 The New Hierarchy 

When organizations work well, they articulate an elaborate “dance of hierarchy” capable of integrating the thoughts and opinions of a wide range people.  In Chinese history, special kinds of meetings, rituals, and even music played a role in harmonizing the competing needs and opinions of various groups. These examples will show how “the new hierarchy” can function in the American workplace.  It is a far cry from the rigid, uncomfortable structures Americans often imagine as hierarchy.  It is a call for attunement (think of a beautiful melody of notes on a vertical scale) that leaders must understand if they hope to succeed in a complex global marketplace—and at home. Those who ignore it will miss the great opportunities of the twenty-first century. 

Lesson-6 Remonstrance 

Remonstrance is the key to the entire process. In its clearest sense, remonstrance is a way that two or more members of a work team learn from each other and achieve the best results. It is the heart of the learning organization, and the lessons of remonstrance give another way of thinking about how whole organizations can “learn.” When practiced as an organizational art—as shown in the lessons of the Comprehensive Mirror—it contains the kernels of powerful growth and learning for individuals, divisions, and corporations. The practice of remonstrance contains the power of stories and a commitment to the success of the entire organization.  It is (to borrow from the opening story of The Emperor’s Teacher) the rock that breaks the vessel—the key to moving from text to action and changing everything. 

[e] Diversity RF

Lesson-7 Diversity of Employees is not (Necessarily) Diversity of Opinion 

The failure to practice the give-and-take of remonstrance and learning is one of the biggest reasons why organizations fail to thrive—or simply fail. It has been in the news lately.  The Financial Times ran a story bemoaning the fact that diversity of employees has not created a greater range of perspectives in the boardroom.  Sima Guang would not have been surprised.  Organizations without powerful and empowering “teaching” (for the junior and senior member of the engagement) will only accomplish an uneasy overlay of unity. They will fail to take the powerful experiences of employees and use them to empower the organization. 

Lesson-8  Responsiveness and Accountability 

Almost anyone who has worked in a corporate setting has had the experience of sitting in a meeting in which she knows that there are problems with the direction being taken. Most people have experienced the silence that all too often prevails in those settings.  This may serve managers in the short run, but the long-term price of such an organizational culture is very high. A culture of remonstrance creates a very different climate, and the entire organization benefits.  It is like the very best coaching staff on the very best football teams. Assistant coaches report (and occasionally admonish) while a talented head coach places all of the information in perspective. Everyone benefits, both in the short run (a championship or a fine season) and in the long run (assistant coaches become, in turn, head coaches, and the “coaching trees” of all continue to grow through a process of mutual learning). 

[e] Expo RF

Lesson-9 Morale 

Management texts from the One-Minute Manager to The Carrot Principle speak of morale in the workplace.  These works offer useful advice, but they do not present a complete system that creates a vibrant, thriving workplace. They focus on actions of the manager “downward.” The lessons of the Comprehensive Mirror bring back an “upward” perspective that makes the entire organization stronger. John F. Kennedy had a fine grasp of the power of this concept. His message that we should ask what we can do is precisely the message of the remonstrance and learning process. The lessons of The Emperor’s Teacher fully engage all members of the work force.

Front Matter:
Talking Points-a          Talking Points-b          Talking Points-c          Talking Points-d          Talking Points-e  
Table of Contents-a                                        Table of Contents-b                                        Table of Contents-c

Chapters:         
1-Breaking the Vessel (12)      2-Living and Learning (12)     3-Spring and Autumn Roles (12)      
4-The New Hierarchy (4)