---
title: "Grassroots Look at Ability, Middle Management at Virtue, Top Management at Vision"
description: "Enterprise management is about managing people, and the key to managing people is using them well. The article outlines standards for hiring and promoting: grassroots staff are judged on ability, middle managers on virtue, and top executives on vision. It emphasizes a people-oriented approach, treating valued subordinates as the 'first God,' and offers practical advice on compensation, emotional engagement, and career development to retain talent at all levels."
author: "New Distribution"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
telephone: "+8615854817671"
published: "2016-02-20"
language: "en"
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# Grassroots Look at Ability, Middle Management at Virtue, Top Management at Vision

> Enterprise management is about managing people, and the key to managing people is using them well. The article outlines standards for hiring and promoting: grassroots staff are judged on ability, middle managers on virtue, and top executives on vision. It emphasizes a people-oriented approach, treating valued subordinates as the 'first God,' and offers practical advice on compensation, emotional engagement, and career development to retain talent at all levels.

When enterprises talk about management, it's about managing people, and the key to managing people is using them well. So, as a business leader, how do you ensure that your 'first God—the subordinates you appreciate' won't leave you?
**Hiring Standards:
Grassroots look at ability, middle management at virtue, top management at vision**
If you compare an enterprise to a sports field, then grassroots are athletes, middle management are coaches, and top management are referees. Grassroots only do things, not deal with people; middle management both do things and deal with people; top management doesn't do things, only deals with people! For assessing grassroots athletes, the gold medal is the goal; they have no right to criticize! Do more and talk less! The goal is the gold medal; do things well and achieve the goal—that's the standard! Don't talk about anything else! Let data speak for everything; make good things better, and make bad things perfect! That's an excellent grassroots employee! Only then can you talk about dealing with people!
For assessing middle-level employees, they are coaches; coaches must both do things and deal with people. Because a good coach is an athlete who has won a gold medal, with inherited traditions and innovative experience. Such a coach must both do things and deal with people—that is, they must do their work well and lead the team well, combining dealing with people and doing things. If you are selfless in dealing with people, you have no fear; if you are selfless in doing things, you also have fear. Only then are you a qualified middle manager!
For assessing top management, they are referees; referees only manage people, not things. Because top management is only responsible for using people well; manage when you should, and absolutely don't manage when you shouldn't! Leave more space for those below, allow people to make mistakes, so that subordinates can grow quickly. Never be like Zhuge Liang, who exhausted himself and still led to the fall of the state, because it wasn't that there were no successors, but that he didn't cultivate talent.
**Ability, virtue, and vision—these are the standards for testing grassroots, middle, and top management.**
Everyone understands ability and vision; what needs explanation is the middle one, virtue. What is 'de' (virtue)? It means character. What is 'xing' (conduct)? It means personality. First-class people: character is upright and resolute, like a mountain, responding to change with constancy; personality is flexible and tactful, like water, responding to constancy with change. That is virtue.
**Hiring Philosophy: Emphasize competence over diplomas, performance over titles, capability over experience, dedication over seniority, and style over morality**
This hiring philosophy is necessary for small, medium, and large enterprises. Especially for small businesses, they may lack theory, but they must have a philosophy. In hiring, without the correct philosophy, even if you recruit people, it's in vain! In the end, to strengthen your strength, you blindly expand numbers, and the more you hire, the bigger it gets, but it will only become a big bubble that bursts when poked. General enterprises in their hiring philosophy emphasize diplomas, titles, experience, seniority, and morality. But my experience is different; these things are not entirely correct for me. They should be considered, but an enterprise is not a political arena, not academia, and not a pure charity. There's no government funding, and no one can pay for you. So in hiring, I emphasize competence, performance, capability, dedication, and style.
The so-called diploma is academic qualification. In today's educational context, many people study for the sake of the diploma. After finally graduating from university, if you ask them about elementary school textbooks, they've long forgotten! Nowadays, even bachelor's degree holders can't find a suitable job, so what's the point of talking about knowledge changing destiny? Isn't competence more important than a diploma?
Let's talk about professional titles. An undergraduate in accounting can easily pass the CPA exam with a little review, but if you actually put them in a large company, they can't even do the job of a cashier. A truly competent chief financial officer can handle all financial matters smoothly, but if you ask them to take the CPA exam, they might not pass! It's like a real American failing China's CET-6 English exam. So having a title doesn't mean you're competent!
Speaking of experience, it's indeed important, but compared to capability, experience is weak. Many people pride themselves on their experience, but forget that experience is only the past; it doesn't represent the present, let alone the future! An enterprise is built through action, and all glory only represents the past; the future is always blank. So, you can use experience to dream big, but you must use capability to act down-to-earth!
Many places promote based on seniority, but that was in the era of shortage economy. In today's surplus economy, those with seniority need to talk about dedication. Learn to dedicate, and give opportunities, honors, and applause to the younger generation. That's a sign of maturity—when rice is ripe, it bows its head. Why not dedicate more sunshine and rain to the young so they can thrive? In business, avoid having people who exhaust themselves but leave no successors. With seniority, you must dedicate even more!
Finally, let's talk about morality. What is morality? Sincerity is the way, and benevolence is virtue; that is morality. Morality is essential for being a person, and for those in business, in addition to morality, they must also emphasize style.
This can be summarized as: **'Emphasize competence over diplomas, performance over titles, capability over experience, dedication over seniority, and style over morality.'**
**Hiring Mindset:
The first God is the subordinates you appreciate, the second God is the leaders you respect, and the third God is loyal customers.**
Speaking of mindset, it's not just about subordinates; it's about what mindset the enterprise should have when facing everyone. An enterprise is not a government, not for academic research, and not a charity. So anyone in the enterprise faces three main groups: first, subordinates; second, leaders; third, customers.
Many people say 'You are my God,' saying customers are God, customers are our bread and butter; that was the voice of the early reform and opening-up. In today's evolving times, have entrepreneurs reflected in their hearts who the real first God is? I tell you, the real first God is not others but the subordinates you appreciate. I have always promoted and treated well the people I appreciate. Why do I do this? Because my first God is the subordinates I appreciate.
If you truly want to use people well, treat the people you want to use as God! Say it, and do it. I responsibly say, if you want to cultivate subordinates, first be a good subordinate to your subordinates; if you want to train a secretary, first be a good secretary to your secretary; if you want competent subordinates, first be a good subordinate to your subordinates; if you want subordinates to provide good service, first provide good service to your subordinates! Don't put on airs; you can talk about seniority, but absolutely don't act like a veteran!
As management, towards subordinates, you must show this mindset from thought to action: 'What can I do for you? What else can I do for you? What can you let me do for you?' Only with such a mindset can you meet the needs of the enterprise! For example, when dining with the team, subordinates may toast you, but as the leader, can you toast your subordinates first? Can you serve the team with practical actions once?
In my years in business, I have always treated the subordinates I appreciate as my first God! Only by doing this, starting from the heart, and then using practical actions to appreciate your subordinates, will they work harder for this appreciation. You must use practical actions to make subordinates achieve 'two bags' (pockets and heads) harvest! That is, both material and spiritual civilization.
The second God is the leaders I respect! I do whatever the leader says, and use down-to-earth actions to implement the leader's lofty ambitions. When the leader speaks, we must make good things better and handle troublesome things perfectly. How to implement specifically? Set standards meticulously, build brands perfectly, execute projects flawlessly, race against time, and ensure safety without fail!
Loyal customers are my third God! As decision-makers, externally raise a clear banner, internally gather an elite team. In the end, turn the buyer's market into a seller's market, achieve excellence in size, quality, strength, or specialization. Serve the first God (appreciated subordinates) and the second God (respected leaders) well, and the third God (loyal customers) will naturally come. It should be noted that although customers are ranked third, they are still God!
**Hiring Culture:
Six-point talent, eight-point use, ten-point treatment**
Many bosses have a fixed pattern in hiring: 'I'll pay you according to how much you work.' What kind of subordinates will that produce? Subordinates will only 'work according to how much you pay.' In the end, the enterprise either becomes rotten or dies. If your heart is not broad enough and your culture is not good, how can you use people well? How can you achieve a large enterprise?
Why can't you treat employees generously? To put it bluntly, you're too stingy! Someone said, 'What's pride? It's being cocky! What's modesty? It's pretending! What's frugality? It's being cheap!' If you're so stingy that you're unwilling to pay wages or raise benefits, why are you in business? Why can some enterprises retain people? It's because of 'six-point talent, eight-point use, ten-point treatment!' Only by letting a six-point person do eight-point work and giving them ten-point treatment, allowing them to continuously improve through mistakes (because their ability doesn't match), can you truly cultivate the right talent! Some enterprises promote employees every time they make a mistake, and because employees are doing things they're not competent for, but are given more than expected wages, they will definitely cherish it and work harder to do everything well, achieving 'selfless in doing things but also with fear.' When the employee becomes competent through your training, you give them a higher position, more treatment, allow them to make bigger mistakes, and let them grow and mature again. Through repeated training, as long as they are a person of potential, you can develop them! And you won't have to worry about other things. In the end, the team you have is one you built yourself, not a parachuted army. They have become your loyal generals and most faithful subordinates, who can walk with you to the end of your career. Then how can your enterprise not become bigger, finer, stronger, and better? Be more generous to your subordinates in this hiring culture! It should be noted, not just treat them well, but serve them generously! Use generous actions to serve employees!
**Hiring Methods:
Use with doubt, doubt with use; rational doubt, emotional use; open doubt, transparent use**
'Use without doubt, doubt without use' was from the era of shortage economy; it doesn't work in today's surplus economy. In hiring methods, remember that any person of significance is controversial, and any talent has personality. In many countries' elections, the final elected president often doesn't get more than half the votes, proving that leaders are controversial. Enterprise hiring should be the same.
In hiring, as long as they have ability and no character issues, use them boldly! Those with ability often have personality. Look through history, and you'll notice that famous prime ministers and capable generals all had personality. As an enterprise, in hiring, you should 'care for personality, respect personality, protect personality,' and tolerate capable people, as long as they have one center (one center is 'zhong', two centers is 'huan').
It's hard to use talent well. What's this talk of 'use without doubt, doubt without use'? Which era does that belong to? That era is long gone! In today's business, 'use without doubt' is irresponsible to the enterprise, and 'doubt without use' is the greatest crime against the enterprise! I believe 'use with doubt, doubt with use; rational doubt, emotional use; open doubt, transparent use' is the best hiring method for enterprises!
As long as the enterprise can truly achieve 'fairness, justice, and openness,' it can have a lasting foundation.
**Hiring Skills:
Good at discovering, caring for, tolerating, and generously using**
First, discover the strengths of capable people, then care for their ideas, tolerate their personalities, and finally boldly delegate authority, giving them their own stage. Such talent can not only be retained but also treat the enterprise as home and work as a career. In the end, such talent can speak as masters, do master's work, and fulfill master's duties.
**Hiring Vision:
More appreciation, less blame; use their strengths, tolerate their weaknesses; sharp tongue, soft heart**
Know that appreciation makes people grow, and blame makes people mature. A first-class enterprise is a first-class business school. How to make employees grow quickly? Continuously appreciate and praise them, letting their steps keep up with their hearts. When it's time for employees to mature, use a 'sharp tongue, soft heart' attitude to blame them, letting their hearts wait for their steps. What is maturity?—'When rice is ripe, it bows its head.'
**Hiring Realm:
For grassroots—retain with treatment; for middle—retain with emotion; for top—retain with career**
How to retain people? Here, it's divided into three levels. For grassroots, use treatment to retain them, because grassroots are simple and have low pay; they need money. Be as generous as possible to them; people can't take money to the grave, so why not use it for the people? Let grassroots live better lives, making them work harder—isn't that a win-win?
For middle-level, use emotion to retain them. Pure material civilization can no longer satisfy their needs. Only by interacting with true feelings, treating these people as family, can be strict or lenient, appreciative or blaming. Truly treat employees as family, and then this level of employees will treat the company as home and invest more loyalty and effort into their own home.
For top-level, use career to retain them. People at this level often can handle things independently and indeed want to make a difference and carve out their own sky. Treatment and emotional investment cannot satisfy such people. What do they need? They need the dignity of a career! Give them a platform and space to develop, provide financial and material support, and even make them your partners—why not?
**Hiring Philosophy:
Growth type, maturity type, success type**
Whenever philosophy is mentioned, many people will spout a lot of correct but useless words. In fact, excellent things are simple, but simple doesn't mean excellent. My hiring philosophy is also simple, divided into three levels: growth type, maturity type, and success type. In today's society, we can't generalize 'failure is the mother of success'; it's irrational and irresponsible. For growth type: failure is the mother of success; for maturity type: success is the mother of failure; for success type: clear strengths and weaknesses are the mother of mothers. That's my philosophy.
**Successful Hiring:
Dare to negate, be brave to innovate, be good at learning from failure, be willing to choose, and succeed in resetting**
How to use people successfully? That is, 'successful hiring.' In my view, it's just five simple phrases: 'Dare to negate, be brave to innovate, be good at learning from failure, be willing to choose, and succeed in resetting.' As long as you achieve these five phrases, it's impossible not to succeed.
**-END-**
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