After breaking up with my boyfriend, I made a fortune and rose rapidly in my career.

The discussion about the bonus in the meeting room took a long time to subside.

Guo Xiaojun followed Chen Ping back to the office, closed the door behind him, and whispered, his face showing a hint of happiness but still a sense of unease.

"Director, if we just give bonuses, I'm afraid those guys who were persuaded by Wu Zhiyuan will still just agree verbally but slack off when they're actually working."

Chen Ping walked to the window, looking at the searchlights that had come on again at the construction site outside, his face expressionless.

"This is just the beginning."

Just as Guo Xiaojun had thought, the announcement of the bonus system did indeed boost morale in the command center. However, within the small circle that Wu Zhiyuan had cultivated, new rumors soon began to circulate.

"The bonus is just talk; we're not even sure if we'll actually receive it."

"Exactly. In the end, it's not about doing a good job, but about following the right person. When it really matters, it depends on whether your boss is willing to speak up for you."

Everyone's minds started to wander again.

Wu Zhiyuan didn't stop; instead, he went even further.

He stopped organizing small group meals, which could easily give others ammunition against him. At the dinner table, Wu Zhiyuan no longer directly criticized Chen Ping for his poor presentation; instead, he adopted an experienced demeanor and reasoned with the technical backbone and middle-level managers.

"The OA system is static, but people are dynamic," Wu Zhiyuan said, slowly blowing on his teacup. "It's just a tool for going through procedures. When it comes to cross-departmental matters, you still have to rely on people to handle it. Director Chen is young and values ​​data, which is understandable. But there are some things that data can't solve."

Wu Zhiyuan's words implied that he was the one who could do things for everyone outside the rules and get benefits for them.

Wu Zhiyuan's method of winning people over quickly took effect.

Several mid-level managers in the department whom he had completely won over began to slack off. On the OA system, they deliberately delayed reporting or processing some non-urgent tasks, wanting to see how Chen Pingfang would react, and also to show their loyalty to Wu Zhiyuan.

In their view, as long as it didn't affect the progress of the major projects, this was a trivial matter. Chen Ping, as the chief commander, wouldn't have time to deal with such things. They were sure that Deputy Chief Commander Wu would see what they were doing.

Faced with this situation, Chen Ping did nothing. He didn't hold a meeting to criticize or talk to anyone, as if he knew nothing about it.

He simply had his secretary prepare a document overnight.

The next morning, an official document, "Trial Measures for Performance Appraisal of All Staff in the Jinshuiwan Project Command," was sent to everyone's computer in the command center via the OA system. A pop-up window appeared on the computer and couldn't be closed without clicking "confirm."

The entire command post was abuzz with discussion.

Everyone was stunned by the assessment method. As they looked at the document, they felt that the regulations were frighteningly detailed, and each one exuded an air of inhumanity.

The document not only assigns scores to major events such as project progress and engineering quality, but also quantifies minor tasks such as meeting minutes and document organization into performance evaluation scores.

The document clearly states: all performance evaluation scores are calculated automatically by the OA system. The system calculates scores based on each person's work records in real time, updates them daily, and ranks individuals at the end of the month. No one can interfere.

One of the regulations, highlighted in bold, made all middle-level managers nervous:

"If a cadre ranks in the bottom 5% of overall performance for two consecutive months, he or she will be suspended from his or her duties for questioning."

Those who followed Wu Zhiyuan and lived a carefree life suddenly panicked.

Wu Zhiyuan's approach of winning people over through personal connections proved to be weak and ineffective in the face of this data-driven system.

At the end of the month, the first assessment cycle came to a close.

The LED screen in the command center no longer displays promotional slogans; instead, it shows performance rankings automatically generated by the OA system, including those for departments and individuals.

The results on the leaderboard are clear at a glance, but for some people, the results are not good.

Those technical backbones and front-line employees who worked overtime and diligently received high scores, their names appearing at the top of the list, followed by a string of impressive performance scores.

Meanwhile, those middle-level managers who spent all their time circling around Wu Zhiyuan and procrastinated at work had pitifully low scores, and their names were marked in red at the very bottom of the list.

Half an hour after the rankings were announced, the finance department also displayed the monthly bonus details on the big screen, with the data coming directly from the system.

The red monetary figures are significantly different from those of the people next to them.

Those who ranked highly received bonuses that were one or two times their monthly salary, making everyone else green with envy.

Those who ranked at the bottom had their prize money reduced to just a few dozen yuan.

The huge difference in bonuses made everyone in the command center feel uneasy.

At first, no one spoke in the office area, and then suddenly it started arguing.

Everyone then realized that Chen Pingfang's statement that the bonus was linked to data was true.

The cadres whose bonuses had been completely deducted turned green with shame and anger. They rushed into Wu Zhiyuan's office immediately, almost in tears, hoping that Wu Zhiyuan, this capable leader, would put in a good word for them.

"Deputy Commander Wu, you have to stand up for us! Why do they get so much while we get so little?"

"We're all just doing this for work, and we only make small mistakes occasionally. How can we be punished like this?"

Wu Zhiyuan was also annoyed at the sight of his panicked subordinates, but he still smiled and reassured them, "Don't worry, everyone. I think there might be a misunderstanding. Let me find out what's going on."

In front of them, Wu Zhiyuan picked up the phone on the table and dialed the finance department directly, even putting it on speakerphone. He wanted to show them that his words still carried weight.

"Hello, is this the finance department? This is Wu Zhiyuan." Wu Zhiyuan's voice was steady. "Regarding this month's bonus distribution, some colleagues have said that the amounts are too far off. Did you make a mistake in your calculations? I suggest you recalculate it."

There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone. The finance manager's voice was calm and could be heard very clearly in the quiet office:

"Deputy Commander Wu, all bonuses are distributed based on the final performance evaluation results generated by the OA system. This result is the only basis, as stated in the 'Performance Evaluation Method' issued by the command headquarters. Our finance department has no authority to change the data in the system."

Beep...beep...beep...

The call was politely ended.

Wu Zhiyuan was speechless, his hand holding the phone frozen in mid-air.

Wu Zhiyuan suddenly realized that he had been tricked by Chen Pingfang.

Chen Ping's method, which combines assessment, system, and bonuses, rendered his hard-earned double-signature veto power completely useless.

The distribution of bonuses follows pre-established rules and doesn't require his approval at all. He wouldn't even have a chance to obstruct it.

Wu Zhiyuan tried to win people over through personal connections, but Chen Pingfang came up with an even more powerful system that showed no mercy and left no room for criticism. This system directly tied everyone's income to the project's progress.

His methods of winning people over proved useless in the face of the stark data and the significantly lower bonuses.

Within ten minutes, everyone in the command center knew about Wu Zhiyuan's humiliating experience at the finance department.

Those who were previously hesitant and complaining in private suddenly fell silent and obediently began to follow the rules.

Is there even a question? On one hand, there's Deputy Commander Wu's sweet talk; on the other hand, there's Director Chen's real money being deposited into their account. The choice is obvious, even to a fool.

Those cadres whose bonuses were deducted were like completely different people the next morning. They frantically dealt with the backlog of work and replied to emails faster than ever before, fearing that they would once again be ranked last next month.

The atmosphere in the entire command center immediately changed; internal friction disappeared, and efficiency greatly improved.

In the evening, Guo Xiaojun walked into Chen Pingfang's office. Looking out the window at the once bustling yet orderly office area, where everyone was working like clockwork, he sighed sincerely:

"Director, your approach, which combines punishment and reward, is more effective than any form of ideological education."