---
title: "\"Let It Go This Time\" Is Not Acceptable in Management"
description: "Many managers use \"let it go this time\" to handle employee violations, calling it humane management, but this practice undermines institutional authority, fairness, and managerial credibility, ultimately fostering a culture of non-compliance."
author: "毛小民"
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published: "2014-12-22"
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# "Let It Go This Time" Is Not Acceptable in Management

> Many managers use "let it go this time" to handle employee violations, calling it humane management, but this practice undermines institutional authority, fairness, and managerial credibility, ultimately fostering a culture of non-compliance.

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In my work practice, I often see many enterprise managers who like to use "let it go this time" (xia bu wei li) to handle situations where employees or subordinates violate rules and regulations, and they euphemistically call it humane management. Some managers even like to announce decisions of "let it go this time" for employees and subordinates at meetings or in public places, to show off their lenient management style. However, in practice, this approach leaves endless troubles.

Institutionalization has always been a persistent effort for many enterprises to strengthen management, but in reality, institutionalization in many enterprises becomes a mere formality. A large number of systems are shelved, and employees remain indifferent to them. Some experts and managers attribute this phenomenon to the Chinese people's weak awareness of rules and low employee quality. Of course, there are cultural and other factors in the ineffective promotion of institutionalization, but little do they know that "let it go this time" is also an important factor that hinders the effective advancement of enterprise institutionalization.

So what are the main harms of "let it go this time" to enterprise management?

First, "let it go this time" harms the authority of the system.

Once an enterprise system is introduced, it should have a certain rigidity. Violators should pay a corresponding price, so that violators can learn a lesson and recognize the seriousness of the system. At the same time, it serves as a warning to those employees who are tempted to violate the system with a fluke mentality. Over time, adhering to the system will form a habit of conscious compliance. However, "let it go this time" makes the system lose its authority, and a system without authority is naturally difficult to implement effectively. But some managers might say that "let it go this time" only applies to first-time offenders, and for repeat offenders, punishment is meted out according to the system, so it does not deny the authority of the system. In fact, it is this kind of thinking that harms these managers. This is because an enterprise's systems cannot be just one kind. If this system can be "let go this time," then can all systems be "let go this time"? If all systems have to be "let go this time," then how can the authority of the system exist? If employees are all thinking of ways to violate a system once to win a "lenient treatment" of "let it go this time," then who will consider where the authority of the system lies? So if managers really want to "let it go this time," then they should write "let it go this time" directly into the system. Obviously, no manager would do that.

Second, "let it go this time" undermines the fairness of the system.

In the process of promoting institutionalization, enterprises need to establish the principle of equality before the system. Otherwise, if the system is seen as a game that targets people rather than matters, it will be difficult for everyone to be convinced and thus comply.

Although managers think that "let it go this time" is their "leniency beyond the law" for first-time offenders, and that the unpunished will be grateful, and their warning can also serve as a deterrent to other employees, little do they know that this has already undermined the fairness of the system. Everyone will think, "Why can he get 'let it go this time' and I can't?" Moreover, the manager's original intention is hard to achieve. Those who are "let go this time" will initially think the manager is taking care of them, thus developing a sense of superiority. Since they got away this time, maybe they can get "leniency beyond the law" next time. So these people will become the first "warriors" to continue breaking the system, which puts the manager in a very awkward position. If they punish them, the gratitude turns into resentment; if they don't punish them, other employees become unmanageable. As for other employees, since the system is unfair, why should they obey it honestly?

Third, "let it go this time" damages the manager's authority and credibility.

I once attended a company's sales meeting. At the meeting, the sales vice president had just announced a punishment decision for a sales manager who had violated the system, but as soon as it was announced, the manager immediately protested, and we were all stunned. The sales vice president immediately got angry and said, "This is the company's system. If you violate it, you should be punished. How can you have objections?" The sales manager immediately said loudly, "I have no objection to being punished for violating the system, but last month Manager Wang also violated the same system. Why didn't you punish him? This time I violated it, and you punish me. Aren't you treating people differently? Are you relatives?" The sales vice president then said, "Last month, the system had just been announced not long ago. Manager Wang was the first to violate it after the announcement. I already said that considering Manager Wang was the first offender after the system was introduced, I said 'let it go this time.' Whoever violates it in the future will be punished according to the system. Didn't you hear my words at that time?" The sales manager seemed even more agitated: "Manager Wang was not punished for the first violation, and this is also my first violation. Why is he not punished for the first offense, but I am? Anyway, I don't accept the punishment. Either everyone is punished, or no one is punished for the first offense."

The meeting had to be adjourned amid the argument, and some topics that were supposed to be discussed could not proceed.

From the above case, we see that although the sales manager's way of handling the problem was problematic, the root cause was the sales vice president. His "let it go this time" made him taste the bitter fruit he brewed.

So, although "let it go this time" seems to be a feasible management tool in the eyes of managers, improper handling can seriously damage the manager's authority and credibility. It will directly cause employees and subordinates to question the systems and words promoted by the manager, leading to a loss of trust in the manager, making it impossible for the manager's work to proceed effectively.

Fourth, "let it go this time" will form a toxic culture in the enterprise where everyone does not follow the rules.

In an enterprise, whether you admit it or not, culture always exists, and this culture affects employees' daily behavior. In a sense, what kind of corporate culture there is, there will be what kind of employee daily behavior. This is because no one can escape the influence of their environment, and what's more terrible is that this influence on employees is a subtle process that happens unconsciously. We often find that some employees in a company with standardized management and strict system implementation will consciously comply with the company's systems, but when they go to a company with chaotic management where no one takes the system seriously, over time they will become employees who don't take the system seriously.

So once "let it go this time" becomes a cultural phenomenon in the company, it will cultivate a habit of "let it go this time" in subordinates and employees in their daily work. Over time, the enterprise will form a phenomenon where everyone does not follow the rules, and thus the toxic culture of the enterprise is born.

So when our managers are still complaining about employees' lack of system awareness, weak execution, and difficult management work, they can reflect on whether they themselves are managers who use "let it go this time." In fact, sometimes management is not complicated; it's just that everything in the world fears the word "seriousness."

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