Tao Te Ching and Wuwei Management

Chapter 64 2 "I Have Three Treasures": Love, Thrift, Think Twice
The self-cultivation of an entrepreneur is the self-cultivation of an enterprise, can you be careless?

I have three treasures, keep and protect them.The first is compassion, the second is frugality, and the third is not daring to be the first in the world.

—— "Tao Te Ching" Chapter 67
"Compassion", "thriftiness" and "not daring to be the first in the world" are regarded by Lao Tzu as the "three treasures" of self-cultivation. Then he explained: "Compassion makes you brave; thrift makes you broad; not daring to be the first in the world makes you successful Long." That is to say, with tenderness and kindness, one can be brave; with frugality, one can be generous; without daring to be the first in the world, one can become the leader of all things.These three treasures are also the three elements of a leader's quality.Treating subordinates with kindness, strict cost control, and thinking twice before acting, how can such an enterprise not be prosperous?

To be treated with "kindness" means to make employees feel "home".The Chinese have always had a deep affection for "home". This is a 5000-year cultural accumulation that flows in the blood of the Chinese people and cannot be parted. "Home" is a place where people long to stay for a long time.Work is what people have to do. If the company can create a sense of family, so that employees can feel the warmth of home at work, they will naturally have a greater sense of belonging and are more willing to work hard and give.

This is why many excellent companies have strong teams whose blood is thicker than water.The basis for an enterprise to create a home atmosphere for its employees is true care for its employees.

In order to make employees feel at home at work, Microsoft has gone to great lengths. The specific methods are as follows:

Method [-]. Each employee has a separate office, where they can listen to music, adjust the lighting, and do their own work. They can affix their favorite posters on the walls, or place favorite things on the table. The office is more like a home of one's own.

Method [-]: There is no need to wear uniforms at Microsoft. Employees can wear whatever clothes they think are most comfortable to work, whether shorts or undershirts.Companies judge employees by how well they perform at work, not how well they dress.

Method [-]: The company provides unlimited free drinks, including soda, coffee, juice, milk and mineral water, so that employees can drink when they are thirsty, so that they can concentrate on work.

Method [-]: The company's material room is open, and the company trusts employees to get the materials they need, including stationery, office supplies, etc., without filling in forms or waiting in line.

Method [-]: Instead of setting a work schedule, Microsoft lets employees choose their own working hours. As a result, most people work longer than the average commute to get work done.Microsoft asks for work to be done, not hours.

It can be seen that not only psychological care, the office environment created by Microsoft also makes employees feel free, respected and trusted.It can be seen that whether it is a "software" environment or a "hardware" environment, as long as employees feel the warmth, care and comfort of home, employees will be more focused on their work, thereby improving efficiency.

The Chinese have always had the ancient motto of "frugal and frugal housekeeping". The ancients said: "Success comes from diligence and thrift, and failure comes from extravagance."If managers do not learn from it, it is impossible to run the enterprise well.It is often said, "The richer people are, the more stingy they are".Everyone's money is not easy to come by. Many rich people have worked harder than others to have more wealth. Therefore, they understand the significance of saving.

There is such a story, a rich man sees a poor man is very pitiful, he is willing to help him get rich out of kindness.The rich man gave the poor a cow, and told him to open up wasteland well, sow the seeds when spring came, so that he could stay away from poverty in autumn.

The poor started to open up wasteland full of hope, but within a few days, the cows had to graze and the people had to eat. Life was even more difficult than before.The poor thought, why not sell the cattle and buy a few sheep, kill one to eat, and the rest can give birth to lambs, which can be sold when they grow up, so that they can make more money.

The poor man's plan was put into action, but after he ate a sheep, the lamb was not born for a long time, and life was difficult again, so he couldn't help eating another one.The poor think, if things go on like this, it’s okay. It’s better to sell the sheep and buy them into chickens. The chickens lay eggs faster, and the eggs can make money immediately, and life can improve immediately.

The poor man's plan was put into action again, but the days did not change, and he couldn't help but kill chickens.Finally, there is only one chicken left, and the poor have no hope of getting rich. It is better to sell the chicken, drink a pot of wine, and drink three cups, and everything will be fine.

Soon spring came, and the kind-hearted rich people sent the seeds with great enthusiasm, and suddenly found that the poor were drinking with pickles, the cows had long since disappeared, and the houses were still impoverished.If the poor are more frugal, after a period of time, he will be able to tide over the difficulties and get rid of poverty after the grain is harvested.

In business management, due to the existence of various unpredictable factors, it is difficult for managers to predict at which stage they will encounter disasters and blows. Therefore, in order to cope with these things, every company must prepare a certain amount of cash for emergencies .Especially entrepreneurs who are both bosses and managers must plan their expenditures strictly, and save when they save.We should learn from those entrepreneurs who have money and don't spend it indiscriminately.Wang Yongqing has a net worth of 70 billion U.S. dollars. He is such a super rich man who is known as a "stingy man".He has emphasized on many occasions that "one yuan saved is equal to one yuan earned", and he usually saves money on food and expenses, and requires the same from his children.

Bill?Gates said: "When you have 12 million US dollars, you will understand that money is just a symbol, and it is meaningless." Once Gates and a friend went to the Hilton Hotel for a meeting by car, because they were late, they couldn't find it. To the parking space, his friend suggested to park the car in the VIP parking space of the hotel.Gates disagreed: "It will cost $[-], which is not a good price." "I will pay." His friend said. "That's not a good idea," Gates insisted not to park the car in the VIP parking space.

A person who knows how to save can earn money.Frugality is a common characteristic of most successful entrepreneurs. They have developed the habit of careful planning and planning, rather than spending money randomly.Save the money in your hands and use it in more meaningful places.Just like Wang Yongqing and others, the money is used for investment, mergers and acquisitions, and charity.Saving a penny is adding a penny of capital to yourself.Managers should list "thriftiness" as an important item of self-management.

(End of this chapter)