--- title: "Marketing Management Personnel Series Part 2: Selecting, Using, and Tolerating People" description: "This article discusses the importance of selecting, using, and tolerating people in marketing management, emphasizing that choosing the right people is crucial for team efficiency and success. It highlights the challenges of personnel management in Chinese enterprises, where personal relationships and authority often override formal systems." author: "蒋军" publisher: "New Distribution" email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com" telephone: "+8615854817671" published: "2014-12-22" language: "en" canonical: "https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/marketing-management-personnel-series-part-2-selecting-using-and-tolerat-97e715fb/" markdown: "https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/marketing-management-personnel-series-part-2-selecting-using-and-tolerat-97e715fb.md" original_source: "https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/iAavfY7zvq1DNzryM_caEw" translation: "https://xinjignxiao.com/zh/articles/%E8%90%A5%E9%94%80%E7%AE%A1%E7%90%86%E4%BA%BA%E5%91%98%E7%B3%BB%E5%88%97%E8%B0%88%E4%B9%8B%E4%BA%8C-%E9%80%89%E4%BA%BA-%E7%94%A8%E4%BA%BA-%E5%AE%B9%E4%BA%BA-97e715fb.md" attribution: "New Distribution — https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/marketing-management-personnel-series-part-2-selecting-using-and-tolerat-97e715fb/" usage_policy: "https://xinjignxiao.com/ai-policy.txt" --- # Marketing Management Personnel Series Part 2: Selecting, Using, and Tolerating People > This article discusses the importance of selecting, using, and tolerating people in marketing management, emphasizing that choosing the right people is crucial for team efficiency and success. It highlights the challenges of personnel management in Chinese enterprises, where personal relationships and authority often override formal systems. **Tip: Click the blue text above to follow "FMCG Distributor Professional Consulting" for more insights on marketing and distributor internal management.** Discussing this topic is the most thankless task, because China has always been a country of "power tactics." Since Emperor Wu of Han, the orthodox ideology has been Confucianism, but in reality, beneath this Confucian cloak lies a core of Legalist thought. From this perspective, every Chinese person is an "expert" in this area. The essence of power tactics is "rule by man" rather than "rule by law." Therefore, in personnel decisions, a single sentence can determine a subordinate's fate or career. It is evident that China's "ancient" power tactics make talent selection and appointment a nerve-wracking and thrilling affair—both superiors and subordinates are constantly seeking balance and a way out in this game. For our marketing managers, selecting, using, and tolerating people are unavoidable topics in marketing work. Even if you are not responsible for recruitment, you still need to have a clear understanding, meet requirements, and ensure smooth communication, often requiring careful attention. In fact, to make a team efficient—ready to come, ready to fight, and ready to win—you must excel in these three aspects, especially for middle and senior managers in enterprises. **Selecting People** Personality can change, but it is very difficult to change, as the saying goes: "A mountain is easy to move, but a person's nature is hard to change." Moreover, when faced with thorny problems or emergencies, one's true nature will be exposed. Therefore, it is crucial to choose the right person for the right job. For marketing-related work, which is highly challenging, it is important to select people with resilience and strong character. Today, while handling affairs, due to an error by a staff member in a relevant functional department, all previously processed documents were invalidated. After several days of effort, it felt like wasted work. Honestly, I was frustrated and angry, but I restrained myself because I knew that seeking justice from a government administrative department is like asking a tiger for its skin, so I endured it. Upon returning, I communicated with a person from a partner company. This woman was very domineering. As soon as I got out of the car, she shouted at me: "This project has been delayed because of this matter, causing our company heavy losses. You must compensate our company for the tens of thousands of yuan lost." Originally, the project's early stages were handled jointly with her company at the functional department. The problem originated from a certain functional department, not from me or my company (and I am their client). Why should I bear the responsibility? Already full of grievances, I encountered this situation and raised my voice: "If you have the ability, go to that department and sue them." Over the past few days, I have discovered that not only are some functional department staff careless and incompetent, but even some private enterprises in the service industry are of low caliber. I really don't understand how they survive in this big city. She even boasted to me that she had bought several apartments and shops in Shenzhen... With such a low level, someone who can't even find the door to handle affairs, yet buys this and that, I seriously doubt it. I couldn't be bothered to sneer; I just laughed it off. I've said all this to illustrate: every profession requires a certain "temperament." After all, I am her company's client. Actually, I am not fond of the saying "the customer is God," because God is too illusory and unrealistic. I only ask for equal dialogue, mutual benefit, long-term development, and the provision of valuable things. That is true cooperation, and such an employee clearly does not meet even the slightest requirement. When encountering problems, she jumps to conclusions, acts impulsively, ignores the process, and acts arbitrarily. Is this customer service? When problems arise, instead of finding out why and where they occurred and solving them, she first complains about this and that, shifting blame. Is this fighting for her company's interests? In short, she is just trying to absolve herself of responsibility. Can such a person do their job well? Can they contribute to the company's and clients' development? The answer is obvious. So selecting people is the first priority. For selecting marketing personnel, HR experts might say the principle is simple: the right person in the right position. Of course, that's correct, but it's too vague. What constitutes the right person is the key. First, for marketing personnel, the right person is someone who, when encountering problems, tries different methods to achieve the goal. This is the biggest difference between excellent salespeople and mediocre ones. Second, do not try to completely change a person's "weaknesses," but rather leverage their greatest "strengths." People do not want to be changed; just use their strengths. Moreover, no one is perfect. Some prefer to think at home and act when the time is ripe; others act immediately and adjust along the way. There is no "good or bad" in this. Third, base on communication, avoid extremes, and tolerate "flaws" in cooperation. "Water that is too clear has no fish"—this is a Chinese characteristic. You should see others' small shortcomings, but also tolerate them, reach consensus through communication, and sometimes make strategic compromises. A book I read a few years ago, "First, Break All the Rules," was based on scientific research by American professors, scholars, and economists on company managers and employees. They found that selecting the right person is more efficient than training someone to be competent; it leads to better results and success. So selecting people is the foundation and is crucial. **Using People** "Use people without doubt; doubt people without using them" is an ancient Chinese adage, but in reality, it is difficult to achieve. A large part of the reason is that Chinese enterprises are not "rule by law." Trust someone, let them act freely, and once a problem arises, immediately "get rid of them." The so-called "doubt" or "no doubt" is just the boss's word. No wonder there are dark humors like: "If they say you can, you can, even if you can't; if they say you can't, you can't, even if you can." Using people comes after selecting them. Using people tests your initial judgment. Caution is necessary, but rights and responsibilities must be equal. Many small business owners started as salespeople or laborers themselves, so they want to be involved in everything and do everything themselves. It's not that they want to; it's a habit, as if they would lose control if they didn't intervene. Besides, they don't feel at ease. The consequence is: the boss is the most tired, middle managers are the most comfortable, and employees suffer. Why? Middle managers are "bypassed," and many are just coasting (the boss directly manages employees, so middle managers have nothing to do). Those who don't want to coast leave. Meanwhile, lower-level employees have to work overtime constantly according to the boss's "arrangements," yet still fail to meet the boss's requirements (it's hard for grassroots employees to reach the boss's level), so they are exhausted. Many small private business owners privately tell me: "Our employees work very seriously and hard, but the middle managers seem incompetent and provide no guidance or help to the grassroots staff." I think to myself: You've done everything, so what can they do? Capable people generally don't trust others easily, thinking subordinates can't do well. In fact, give your subordinates a little space, and they might surprise you with a whole new sky. The principle is simple: with delegation comes responsibility, and they will continually surprise you. You will find they can do just as well. **Tolerating People** This is the hardest part. Few bosses genuinely hope their subordinates are better than themselves; it may be human nature. Why do some small enterprises never achieve significant growth, and even if they do in the short term, it doesn't last, and there's no accumulation? Why? Because the boss wants to control the company and the overall situation, and he wants absolute authority. Those who stand out are often not driven away by the "jealousy" of others, but by the boss's inability to tolerate them. Hehe, you might say I have a dark mind. But I tell you, this is a relatively common pattern, and it is logical and common sense. Generally, if a marketing manager or marketing head in a small enterprise is exceptionally talented, and there are not many other employees, they lack the ability to squeeze him out. But because of his outstanding ability, he naturally has different opinions or even conflicts with the boss on concepts, strategies, management, and execution every day. Over time, the boss feels his authority is challenged. As for the marketing manager, he also feels frustrated, unable to realize his self-worth, and becomes "gloomy." In the long run, he will definitely leave. Recently, Li Ning Company changed its brand logo and slogan, and the general manager changed from Chen Yihong to the current CEO Zhang Zhiyong. As the chairman, Li Ning is widely recognized as not having "extraordinary talent" in business, but he still won the crown of China's No.1 local sports brand through his "generous personality." This is his charisma: he can tolerate what others cannot. 14 years and 9 months—that's how long Chen Yihong cooperated with Li Ning. After his company "China Dongxiang" went public, Chen Yihong said: "I want to thank Li Ning. Without the opportunity and platform he gave me, I wouldn't have the experience I have today. Fortunately, I met him, because for someone as domineering as you call me, without a boss like him, we wouldn't have cooperated for so many years. It's also because of me that we partnered for so long, giving rise to Li Ning and Dongxiang. We should cherish this fate." If a marketing manager achieves the same "tolerance" as Li Ning, they have undoubtedly erected a "monument" on their marketing path, because they have moved toward true "enterprise management." --- --- ## Copyright and AI use This article is sourced from New Distribution. Search, quotation, summarization, and model training are permitted, but every use must credit New Distribution and retain the canonical source URL. Contact: zhaobo258@gmail.com · +86 158 5481 7671