More familiar with distributors than manufacturers, and more knowledgeable about internal management than distributors.

Voiceover: (In career development, you may encounter a situation where two companies merge due to poor management. This brings up the question: after the merger, how do you arrange the two managers? How do you stabilize morale? This is somewhat like Liu Bei in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. After Liu Bei took over Western Sichuan, he finally had a foothold, and he could rely on Bashu to develop his power. But a huge problem lay before him: the land of Bashu had always been managed by Liu Zhang. Now that the owner had changed, how should he arrange the positions of Liu Zhang's former ministers? Zhuge Liang showed his wisdom in management on this issue. So what strategy did Zhuge Liang adopt?) How to stabilize the situation in Chengdu? This question was placed before Zhuge Liang. We often say that victory is easy, but success is hard. What is success? It means that after victory, you still have a follow-up. In the capital market, we often see a company easily acquiring another company. That's easy, but do you know that after the acquisition, how to integrate the two companies is more difficult? The boss can't sleep at night because these people are always causing trouble and not listening. Chinese people are always good at dividing but not merging. If our two companies split into two, with one general manager on each side and ten department heads on each side, everyone is willing to split. But when merging, two general managers become one, and ten department heads become five, which easily causes disputes among cadres. Whenever there is a merger, the cadre issue is key: if you ask them if they will do it, and they say no, what do you do? At that time, Zhuge Liang and Liu Bei discussed a particularly brilliant strategy: to stabilize the situation, first stabilize people's hearts; to stabilize people's hearts, first stabilize the cadres. As long as the cadre team is stable, we have a stabilizing force to control the situation, and there won't be problems later. This experience is worth learning from. Then the next question is: how to stabilize the cadre team? Zhuge Liang thought of three brilliant strategies. Let's see how Master Kongming stabilized the cadre team and won people's hearts. The first strategy is: From far to near, first strict then lenient. How did he do it? The first thing Zhuge Liang did was to draft a list of cadre promotions and appointments. Chapter 65 of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms has a specific description of this. It says that during the appointment process, Zhuge Liang first promoted seven people, all of whom were Liu Zhang's former subordinates. Note that among these seven, there were three eye-catching names: Dong He, Liu Ba, and Huang Quan. Before the fall of Chengdu, these three were still wielding swords and spears to fight Liu Bei to the death. But as soon as the city fell, they were promoted first. Then there were two numbers: 26 and 40. These two numbers are very subtle. What does 40 mean? After breaking into Chengdu and occupying Western Sichuan, Liu Bei promoted more than 40 cadres in total. Among the 40, the first batch of 26 were all Liu Zhang's surrendered generals. They didn't promote their own Jingzhou cadres at all. They didn't promote their own people; they promoted all the original opposition. Some might think, why is the opposition so favored? Why would he elevate those who opposed him so highly? This is a strategy called: Give treatment, from far to near. Only in this way can people's hearts be stabilized. Why does this stabilize people's hearts? Let's give an example. As long as we carefully observe the laws of life, we can know that when giving children snacks, those who know how to manage children are very good at psychology. A kindergarten teacher gives apples to children. The teacher brings a basket of apples and says, "Now let's eat apples." A bunch of children rush up. The teacher doesn't give to those who rush. The teacher says, "Line up." The children don't listen and don't line up. The teacher takes an apple and sees a child standing in the corner, not fighting or grabbing, just watching. An inconspicuous child, even with a bit of snot. The teacher says, "Come here, I'll give you one." The teacher says, "See, whoever listens gets one." The children stop grabbing. Why? Because the children got the message: whoever listens gets one. The other children start lining up because they have confidence. Only those with confidence will line up. Why is buying train tickets so crowded? Because we're afraid we won't get a ticket and feel uncertain. If you say, "There are plenty of tickets today," everyone will line up obediently. Conversely, if you take a big apple and give it to a chubby, well-behaved child who looks like an apple, the other children will see that and think, "We're like sweet potatoes and potatoes, we'll never get one." A few mischievous ones will immediately overturn the basket, causing chaos. "If I can't get one, no one else will." They all rush and mess it up. At this time, we have to use strategy: give treatment from far to near. First give to those who seem average, those who look unpleasant, even those who have had conflicts with you. Give these people fair and appropriate treatment, and you can give everyone confidence. At that time, Liu Bei's situation was like this: many people, anxious hearts, no order. Everyone was waiting, but we give treatment not like scattering flowers or throwing wedding candy. We really need to observe carefully and consider slowly. There are many people, and they are anxious, and you still need to observe carefully. Everyone can't wait. What should you do? You must first give to the one who looks unpleasant, even the one you've had conflicts with, the one who seems not so good. Give him fair treatment. This is the stabilizing force. Then everyone will have confidence. After everyone has confidence, you can slowly arrange cadres. While arranging cadres, Zhuge Liang also did another important job: formulating national laws. Systems are the foundation of management, so we say: Management cannot rely on personal character. Good management can guide devils to do angelic things, while bad management can force angels to do devilish things. You don't need to turn everyone into an angel. As long as the system is in place, we can guide everyone to exhibit angelic behavior. If you want to turn this old man into an angel, think about it: his parents raised him for over forty years and didn't change his character. Do you really think giving him two months' salary will change him? That's ridiculous. You don't need to change him at all. The key is to have system guidance. So Zhuge Liang first worked on laws. The Zizhi Tongjian says that the policies Zhuge Liang formulated were very thorough and very strict. After they were set, a man named Fa Zheng came to offer advice. Fa Zheng said, "Your legal penalties are too strict. Can we be more lenient? That would win people's hearts! When Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang entered the pass, he only had three chapters of law, and everyone submitted, and the world was at peace. Your three hundred chapters seem a bit too detailed." Zhuge Liang smiled slightly and said, "Do you know why Emperor Gaozu had three chapters of law when he entered the pass? The reason is simple: because the Qin dynasty was cruel and its laws were harsh, and the people were full of complaints. So our Emperor Gaozu could win the world and the people's hearts with leniency. But now, our predecessor Liu Zhang is the opposite. His problem is not being too strict, but too lenient. He is kind but lacks authority, only lenient but not strict, too lax. So at this time, we must have strict laws." In the Three Kingdoms, there is a passage that explains this, and we think it captures the essence of people's hearts. Zhuge Liang said, "Liu Zhang led his team only by giving treatment, mainly relying on favor to win people's hearts." But management is not charity. If you always give favor and treatment, after giving too much, he won't be grateful; if you don't give, he will resent you. At this point, favor turns into grievance. So Zhuge Liang said, before giving treatment and praise, we must first make the system strict. Only when the system is strict will he know honor when you praise him. Only when treatment is limited will he cherish it when you give it. When you give a child food, if you tell him there's plenty, his taste will drop by half. If you tell him there's not much, he'll eat it with relish. Unfortunately, many parents always tell their children, "There's plenty, we have plenty of money, plenty of food, plenty of time." What if you don't have it? You should tell him it's limited. So Zhuge Liang said we must have strict laws and limited treatment, so that everyone understands management and knows how to do the work. This is where Zhuge Liang was more clever. We call this strategy: First strict, then lenient. Liu Zhang's problem was that he didn't establish authority, didn't make demands, and just called everyone brothers and gave treatment all day, but as a result, he couldn't lead the team. Zhuge Liang said we must first be strict, and only with that foundation can we gradually be lenient. This is where Master Kongming was much more clever than Liu Zhang. We call it first strict, then lenient. Voiceover: (According to the principles of from far to near and first strict then lenient, Zhuge Liang safely passed a personnel crisis. Liu Zhang's former ministers each performed their duties, and people's hearts were stable. But people are different. Even with systems, some will still be special. Such people are common in life. They may be the boss's favorite, so they rely on the boss's authority and behave excessively. For such people, what clever tricks does Zhuge Liang have?) With the foundation of first strict then lenient, we need to consider two things. When you are the leader, you lead a group with systems. But how do you lead one person? You need strategy for one person. So after Master Kongming set the systems, he still faced a challenge: some cadres were particularly excessive. The most prominent among them was Fa Zheng, also known as Fa Xiaozhi. Fa Zheng made great contributions when Liu Bei took Western Sichuan, so after taking Western Sichuan, Liu Bei appointed Fa Zheng as General of Yangwu and Prefect of a commandery, a high official. The Records of the Three Kingdoms records that once Fa Zheng gained power, he became arrogant. He dug up all past favors and grievances, big and small, and took revenge without mercy. "If you were good to me, I'll be good to you. If you had a grudge against me, including if you glared at me or ignored me, I remember." He behaved excessively, not like a broad-minded person. Everyone reported to Zhuge Liang, saying Fa Xiaozhi was too overbearing. "Master Kongming, we should criticize and educate him." So what strategy did Zhuge Liang use for such an overbearing and unreasonable cadre? Zhuge Liang used: Respect above, authority below, reuse publicly. Zhuge Liang told everyone, "In the past, our ancestor Liu Bang was in Jingzhou, fearing Cao Cao to the north and Sun Quan to the east, and was stuck there. But with the assistance of people like Fa Zheng, we achieved today's success. So how can we forbid him and let him do things his own way?" After Zhuge Liang said this, the cadres at the time and later historians had two doubts about Zhuge Liang: first, that he was compromising principles and being a peacemaker; clearly he made mistakes, why didn't he deal with him? Second, that he was afraid of Fa Zheng and didn't dare to confront him directly. Let's analyze whether he was afraid of Fa Zheng or being a peacemaker. No, because Zhuge Liang, as the second-in-command, considered one thing: at that time, Fa Zheng was the biggest favorite under Liu Bei. The most favored was not Zhuge Liang, but Fa Zheng. Liu Bei liked him very much. How much? Let's give a literary metaphor: in spring he looks like a flower, in autumn like a fruit, in summer he feels like ice, in winter like fire. He called him Xiaozhi all day long, so pleasing to the eye. Although you, Zhuge Liang, just became the second-in-command, your first task is to deal with the leader's favorite, the most favored one. At the least, you don't know your place; at the most, you're challenging the leader. The leader himself doesn't feel it, but will the media think so? Yes. If it gets on some tabloid or the internet, this matter will be brought up: "Our team is united, the unit's image, the leader's image." So when you just become the second-in-command, you can't pick on the leader's favorite and deal with them one by one. The first reason is to be cautious, otherwise it will affect team unity. Second, Fa Zheng made great contributions in recovering Western Sichuan. If you just took power and then deal with him, people who don't understand will think you're "killing the donkey after it finishes grinding." How will the masses think? How will the surrendered cadres think? They'll be disheartened. "I won't work for you. The donkey is gone; who will grind for us?" For the stability of the cadre team, you can't do that, right? Third, Fa Zheng is not a confused person. Why did he take revenge? Because he was suppressed for too long. Why does a spring bounce so high? Because it was pressed down for a long time. He is over-rebounding. His heart is a bit twisted, but his nature is good. If you look at Fa Zheng's background, you'll know that his father and grandfather were aloof and talented intellectuals, with talent and character. Fa Zheng grew up in such a family. Look at his name: his surname is Fa (law), his given name is Zheng (upright), and his courtesy name is Xiaozhi (filial and straight). It's rare that his surname is Fa, and he is upright, filial, straight, and law-abiding. In fact, Fa Zheng's family education was very strict. He would never have excessive thoughts or character problems. Even if he had some excessive behavior, it was due to emotion. A reminder would correct it. There's no need to make a big deal. So, considering team unity, cadre team stability, and the face of the person involved, Zhuge Liang did not slam the table and hold on to the mistake. For such a person with talent, contributions, status, and good character, why would you hold on to his minor faults? Holding on to minor faults harms him and harms yourself. So Zhuge Liang used kind reminders, and reminded him in the form of praise. As soon as Zhuge Liang reminded him, Fa Zheng immediately restrained himself. Speaking of this, we think about dealing with people. To make the other party listen to you, to make them submit, there are two methods: one is called submission by force, which is slamming the table, glaring, showing a knife or gun, using force to make them dare not disobey. The other is called submission by respect, which is bowing, raising your thumb, and smiling. Saying, "You're great, you have glory, you have merits." You praise him, use affirmation, and make him submit from the heart. Zhuge Liang used the method of respect for Fa Zheng, not force. Rewards and punishments only solve temporary problems, not permanent ones. There's a saying in management: Warm methods are always more effective than cold ones. Respect is better than force. Let's give an example. We've all taken care of children. A parent asks a child to sweep the floor. What does the parent do? The parent slams the table and says, "Go! Sweep the floor! If you don't, you're a lazy bug, dawdling. You're a slowpoke, a meat sandwich." And then adds, "Just like your father." See, scolding one isn't enough; you have to scold two. If you do this, will he sweep? First, he'll be hurt. He'll feel he's not good enough, lose confidence, and even give up. Second, he'll think, "This parent isn't educating me; he's clearly targeting me, picking on me!" Even if he can do it, he won't. But on the contrary, if you want him to sweep, you come up with a smile and say, "Oh, darling, this homework is really well done! Your handwriting has improved recently! Also, when you have time, please sweep the floor. I'm really happy when you sweep, and I find you sweep very well." Think about it: if you say that, not only will the floor be swept, but we'll also have a confident child who loves labor. So use the method of respect as much as possible, not force. When punishment and encouragement achieve the same effect, we think encouragement is more effective. A wise person should learn to use warm methods to make people bow and acknowledge. Zhuge Liang used this method, and it was particularly effective for Fa Zheng. After using respect on Fa Zheng, he also used it on another person, Xu Jing. As we mentioned earlier, when the city fell, what did Xu Jing do? He jumped off the city wall to surrender. Xu Jing was not an ordinary person. He was a famous scholar in Yizhou. How famous? In the Three Kingdoms, it says Xu Jing was elegant, talented, and handsome, with a majestic appearance. He was both an idol and a powerhouse. At that time, people said he was the benchmark of talent. Girls in Sichuan, when asked what kind of boyfriend they wanted, would say, "One like Xu Jing." Xu Jing had image and talent, but his actions were lacking. Before the fall of Chengdu, Liu Ba and Huang Quan were willing to die for their country. But Xu Jing wanted to jump off the city to surrender. Not only Liu Zhang, but even Liu Bei despised Xu Jing. But later, Xu Jing actually became a high official like Taifu in Liu Bei's team, a position higher than Zhuge Liang's. Zhuge Liang took the lead in respecting Xu Jing. When he met Xu Jing, he even performed a grand salute. Look at the Three Kingdoms: in the Shu Han regime, Zhuge Liang only performed grand salutes to three people: the late emperor, the later emperor, and Xu Jing. Why did Zhuge Liang bow to such a person? This is Zhuge Liang's cleverness. Although Xu Jing held a high position like Taifu and was considered a member of the leadership, did he have power? He had no power at all. He couldn't mobilize troops, interfere in personnel, or participate in government leadership. He was just a person with a high position but no power. This strategy is called honor but not use. We often say to reuse someone. We tell you, honor and use are two different things. Honor is giving status and respect. Use is giving power and resources. Zhuge Liang's attitude toward Xu Jing was: I give you status and respect, but I never give you power to do things. Why give status and respect? Because Xu Jing was famous all over the world. Let him be a nominal consultant or image spokesperson for the company, and everyone will like the product. We want to borrow his fame to establish our team's glory and attractiveness. So we borrow his power, but because such a person's values are inconsistent with ours, and we don't approve of his work style, we give him a high position but don't let him manage specific affairs. We just borrow his name. This was indeed very clever. And in fact, it really played a big role. Many talents came because of his fame, expanding attractiveness. So for people like Xu Jing and Fa Zheng, the methods used first require sufficient respect and sufficient honor. With respect and honor, whether to use him depends on your needs. So Zhuge Liang managed both talents well. Voiceover: (We say managing such talents is challenging, but it's not the biggest challenge. The biggest challenge is managing the leader's trusted people, those close to the leader, with special relationships. The most awkward thing for a boss is when a trusted person makes a mistake. When such a person makes a mistake, everyone around watches the boss to see how you handle it. So how did Zhuge Liang manage the boss's trusted people?) In managing trusted people and those with special relationships with the boss, Zhuge Liang also used a very interesting technique. This technique is called: Strict with those close, lenient with those far, punish superiors to establish authority. Who did he manage? He managed Liu Bei's adopted son, Liu Feng. First, let's look at Liu Feng's background. Historical records say Liu Feng was originally the son of the Kou family of Luohou. He wasn't originally named Liu Feng; he was Kou Feng. When Liu Bei arrived in Jingzhou, because he had no son, and Liu Feng was older than Liu Bei's son Liu Shan, Liu Bei adopted Liu Feng as his son. In the year Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang took Western Sichuan, Liu Feng was in his early twenties, a young man full of vigor and with outstanding martial arts. He led troops to Western Sichuan and made many achievements. After taking Yizhou, he was appointed as Deputy General of the Central Army. Later, Liu Bei sent Meng Da, a former surrendered general from Western Sichuan, to take Shangyong Commandery. Where is Shangyong? It's in the area of Zhushan County in the northwest of Hubei Province. Worried that Meng Da would be hard to control, Liu Bei sent his adopted son Liu Feng to the army to command troops together with Meng Da. From this, we can see that at that time, Liu Bei trusted Liu Feng. After the victory in the Shangyong campaign, Liu Feng was promoted again from General of the Central Army to General of the Deputy Army, stationed there with Meng Da to guard Shangyong. But after achieving success and promotion, Liu Feng became a bit "crazy." Liu Feng made three huge mistakes. These three mistakes were related to three people: First, related to Guan Yu. When Guan Yu attacked Xiangyang, fought at Fancheng, and flooded the Seven Armies, he sent a special messenger to Liu Feng, hoping Liu Feng would send troops to help. But Liu Feng found an excuse: "Shangyong has recently submitted, the situation is unstable, I can't spare troops for you." He didn't send a single soldier. Later, Lü Meng crossed the river in white, and Guan Yu lost Maicheng and lost his head. So Guan Yu's death was directly related to Liu Feng. Liu Bei was very angry about this and deeply hated him. Earlier we mentioned hating Liu Ba; now he hated Liu Feng. The second mistake was related to Meng Da. Once Liu Feng became General of the Deputy Army, he became arrogant, looked down on others, and bullied Meng Da. Finally, he forced Meng Da to rebel and defect to Cao Wei, causing great losses to the Shu Han regime. So we can see that Liu Feng was someone who didn't consider the overall situation and didn't value unity. The third was related to Shen Yi, a former rebel general in Shangyong. Shen Yi secretly plotted to rebel, and Liu Feng didn't detect it in advance or take precautions. After the rebellion, he fought but lost, losing the strategic location of Shangyong, and finally fled back to Chengdu alone. With these three mistakes, Liu Bei's attitude toward Liu Feng did a 180-degree turn. Liu Bei was furious. To use a movie phrase, "The leader is very angry; the consequences are serious." Liu Bei asked Zhuge Liang, "What should we do?" Unexpectedly, the usually gentle and tolerant Zhuge Liang was exceptionally tough on Liu Feng's issue. Zhuge Liang said, "We must deal with it seriously, and never tolerate it." Liu Bei asked why he couldn't tolerate it. Zhuge Liang gave two reasons: First, Liu Feng is your adopted son, a trusted person. If we forgive the adopted son's mistakes, how can we manage others in the future? If we can't manage our own people, how can we manage others? So remember, if there are family members in a company, it's very passive. If you manage them harshly, they hate and resent you; if you manage them lightly, employees hate and resent you; if you don't manage them, they hate and resent you even more. The boss hates and resents you. It's hard to grasp the scale. So Zhuge Liang said, to educate the masses, we must deal with him seriously. Then Zhuge Liang mentioned the second issue: Liu Feng is your adopted son, with the status of a prince. Now he's in his twenties, with outstanding martial arts, and holds military power. He just reached the position of general and is already so arrogant. In the future, after we pass away, when the Shu Han regime is handed over, what if he causes trouble? If he does, it will be a big deal! Chinese people say, "Disaster arises within the walls." That means real disasters happen close to you. It's said, "Don't fear the sky falling far away; fear a brick falling on your head." So, under Zhuge Liang's insistence, Liu Bei gritted his teeth and made a harsh decision: he ordered Liu Feng to die, forcing Liu Feng to commit suicide. Through handling Liu Feng's case, we see Zhuge Liang's first principle in managing trusted cadres: Strict with those close, lenient with those far. What does that mean? It means be strict with those around you, and lenient with grassroots comrades. Why be strict with those around you? Because you're with them all day, and you have time to communicate feelings, exchange ideas, and build closeness. But the fear is that over time, they become disrespectful, say things they shouldn't, and do things they shouldn't. So you must set clear rules for those around you and never allow mistakes. Because mistakes by those around you bring three disasters: First, intensifying conflicts. As we said, disaster arises within the walls. If something happens, it directly threatens you. This is intensifying conflicts. Second, ruining your reputation. When someone close to you makes a mistake, think about it: if a driver or secretary makes a mistake, do people scold him? No, they scold you. They say, "What kind of leader is this? The people around him are all garbage; the leader is a trash can." We entrusted our career to these people; it's really unfair. See, your reputation is ruined. Third, causing the spread of bad behavior. The masses say, "If the leader's close people make mistakes and he doesn't care, then we can make mistakes too." If your close person makes one mistake, the masses will dare to make ten. So people who do big things must manage those around them well: drivers, secretaries, assistants, aides, teaching assistants, brothers-in-law, adopted sons. If you don't manage them well, you'll ruin your career. So Zhuge Liang's principle was to manage those around him strictly. But for grassroots comrades, it's different. You don't see them all year. When you meet, should you glare and shout? Don't. If they make mistakes, scold their leaders. This is called "Whose child is scolded by whom; whose subordinate is managed by whom." You don't need to scold them. If a provincial-level leader goes to the grassroots and scolds an old farmer in the field, is it his lack of skill or yours? So grassroots comrades don't see us all year. When they finally meet, they have more awe than intimacy. We should go to the grassroots with a smile. Also, think about it: grassroots work has many advantages. A blank sheet of paper with a dot. Ask what's on the paper. Do you see the white or the dot? You definitely see the dot. People are sensitive to mistakes. A black dot covers a white sheet. Grassroots have many advantages. You should go to the grassroots with warmth and affirmation. This strategy is called strict with those close, lenient with those far. Voiceover: (For people like Liu Feng, it's the most challenging in management. If not handled well, it not only affects yourself but may also offend the boss. But why did Zhuge Liang insist on dealing with Liu Feng? What effect would his insistence have?) Through handling Liu Feng's case, Zhuge Liang also supplemented another strategy. This strategy is called: Punish superiors to establish authority. Why did Master Kongming advocate dealing with Liu Feng seriously? Because at that time, the Shu Han regime was weak. They had defeated Liu Zhang, Cao Cao, and Zhang Lu, and the situation was excellent. The generals' arrogance began to grow. Zhuge Liang keenly noticed this problem. To educate cadres and deter those with arrogance, we must take someone with enough weight to educate the masses and cadres. This is called punishing superiors to establish authority. Why must it be someone with enough weight? Let me give an example. Imagine we lead a group of elephants to work. These elephants don't listen to commands. They don't work and just stand around, with big tempers. How do you educate these elephants? You hold a meeting for the elephants and say, "Dear elephants, I'm very similar to you. We're all our own people. Work should be based on feelings. But I am a person of principle. I never trade principles. Whoever violates discipline, I will be ruthless." You look back and see a small ant squatting at the door. "Which department is that dark little thing from? Dare to violate discipline?" You grab it, crush it with a snap, flatten it with a slap, and throw it away. Do you think the elephants will fear you? All the elephants will curl their trunks and say, "Hoo hoo hoo, pfft." That's weakness. Crushing an ant to show the elephants only earns ridicule. Now imagine we lead a group of ants. The little ants are standing there. You say, "Dear ants, I also have the surname Ma. We're all our own people. Work should be based on feelings. But I am a person of principle. I never trade principles. Whoever violates discipline, I will be ruthless." You look back and see an elephant sitting at the door. "Which company is that? Is it a pig or an elephant?" You drag it over. "Dare to violate discipline?" With a snap, you slap it flat, stomp it with a foot, and throw it on the ground. Look at the ants: they all stand up, raise their little fists, and say, "Support the leader!" They immediately show their stance. This strategy is: Crushing an ant to show the elephants earns ridicule. Crushing an elephant to show the ants earns shock. Look at classic cases in ancient Chinese history: Sun Wuzi beheaded the king's concubines to establish authority, and Sima Rangju beheaded the supervisor to become a general. These are typical applications of punishing superiors to establish authority. If people don't submit, you can't deal with everyone. You deal with one. What kind? Find the one with deep roots, a big temper, a thick neck, and a fierce nature. Without saying a word, cut him down from his horse, and you'll shock everyone. Through this strategy, we reflect on the idiom "kill the chicken to scare the monkey." This idiom has psychological issues. Think about it: which is bigger, the chicken or the monkey? The monkey is bigger, right? A big gorilla like King Kong stands there and says, "Fear me, fear me." You little chicken looks down, and he crushes you. The monkey isn't afraid of you. The monkey says, "Pfft, bird flu. People aren't afraid of you." Now think: these little chickens are standing there. You say, "We should value feelings, but we also need discipline. Whoever violates it, I won't tolerate." As you speak, you drag the monkey over, the big gorilla, and without saying a word, slap him flat with a bang. Look at the little hen: her legs go weak, her face turns red, and with a plop, she lays an egg on the spot, making an on-the-spot contribution. This is punishing superiors to establish authority. To establish authority, you must deal with someone of sufficient weight. Why did Zhuge Liang insist on dealing with Liu Feng? First, dealing with one trusted person stabilizes a team. Second, dealing with one trusted person avoids future disasters. Third, dealing with one trusted person can deter everyone and establish authority. Educate other cadres to work hard. "If someone as powerful as him makes a mistake and is still dealt with, you can save everyone." But dealing with Liu Feng also brought Zhuge Liang a worry. What worry? Think about it: Zhuge Liang was the second-in-command. A second-in-command could have the final say in dealing with the leader's adopted son and make the decision. Isn't that a bit too much? This is called "merit overshadowing the lord." Zhuge Liang then encountered the problem that all powerful second-in-commands in Chinese history have faced: your power is too great, your influence is too great. Objectively or subjectively, it creates a very passive situation. Master Kongming discovered this problem early. So, in handling the relationship between the second-in-command and the first-in-command, and doing a good job in career positioning, Zhuge Liang adopted several effective methods, thus avoiding conflicts within the team.

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