---
title: "Professional Managers, Why Are You Still Poor?"
description: "A survey among professional managers in Guangdong reveals that many are considered poor by current standards, and the article explores why 80% of professional managers remain poor, attributing it to scarcity mindset, indecisiveness, lack of courage to change, and poor financial management, while offering advice on planning and wealth accumulation."
author: "冯建军"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
telephone: "+8615854817671"
published: "2015-12-29"
language: "en"
canonical: "https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/professional-managers-why-are-you-still-poor-175b698d/"
markdown: "https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/professional-managers-why-are-you-still-poor-175b698d.md"
original_source: "https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/IqPoSmIbfwQ40azsi4kzkw"
translation: "https://xinjignxiao.com/zh/articles/%E8%81%8C%E4%B8%9A%E7%BB%8F%E7%90%86-%E4%BD%A0%E4%B8%BA%E4%BB%80%E4%B9%88%E8%BF%98%E6%98%AF%E7%A9%B7%E4%BA%BA-175b698d.md"
attribution: "New Distribution — https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/professional-managers-why-are-you-still-poor-175b698d/"
usage_policy: "https://xinjignxiao.com/ai-policy.txt"
---

# Professional Managers, Why Are You Still Poor?

> A survey among professional managers in Guangdong reveals that many are considered poor by current standards, and the article explores why 80% of professional managers remain poor, attributing it to scarcity mindset, indecisiveness, lack of courage to change, and poor financial management, while offering advice on planning and wealth accumulation.

Preface
Not long ago, a consulting firm in Guangdong conducted a market survey among professional managers, which included a question: In today's commodity economy society, what are the criteria for recognizing the rich, the petty bourgeoisie, and the poor? It stirred up a wave of discussion, but one dramatic result was puzzling: it was believed that at this stage, the rich are defined as those whose monthly income can buy a commercial housing unit locally, the petty bourgeoisie as those whose monthly income can buy one square meter of commercial housing locally, and the poor as those whose monthly income cannot buy 0.5 square meters of commercial housing locally...
Seeing this, many professional managers may feel, like the author, a sense of discomfort, not necessarily questioning the reasonableness of these criteria, but realizing that in today's commodity economy, the relationship between value, wealth, and success has quietly kept pace with the times, making the undifferentiated human labor and its orientation standards of professional managers so market-driven. This indeed makes the author feel the pressure on both shoulders suddenly increase.
How to Understand Poverty
Looking up the Shuowen Jiezi, the character "qiong" (poor) originally means "extreme," meaning reaching the end. The current meaning of "lacking money" was called "pin" in ancient times. Now pin and qiong are often used interchangeably; qiong is pin, pin is qiong, and without money everything stops, fully reflecting the characteristics of a commodity economy. However, upon careful consideration, the ancients' use of characters was more precise. Lack of money is only part of life's difficulties; those who are at a dead end are not only the poor. All those who have reached the end, those in困境, whether in wealth, career, or prospects, who see no hope, will have the frustration and panic of the poor. In essence, poverty is the inevitable result of a long-term negative state of mind.
But the spiritual damage poverty brings is often more terrifying than material deprivation.
What Does the 80/20 Rule Explain?
There are various academic definitions of professional managers. A representative one is: a professional manager is someone who, in an enterprise where ownership, legal property rights, and management rights are separated, bears the responsibility for maintaining and increasing the value of legal property, fully responsible for enterprise management, with absolute management and operational rights over legal property, appointed from the enterprise's professional manager market (including social professional manager market and internal corporate professional manager market), and whose main compensation is salary, stock options, etc., as a professional enterprise management expert.
Simply put, professional managers eat by ability and performance, not by capital. In other words, they eat by human capital, not monetary capital.
From the beginning of our careers, whether in internal management, marketing, data analysis, or employee training, we have deep feelings and different understandings of the 80/20 rule, whether through passive or active training. The 80/20 rule originates from Richard Koch's book "The 80/20 Principle," which explains the widespread "80/20 phenomenon" in society based on the late Italian economist Pareto's theory of unbalanced returns.
The 80/20 rule is constantly validated in our surroundings. Among our professional managers, let's see what phenomena the 80/20 rule presents in today's commodity economy:
"The truly rich may be just that 20% of people. When 20% of professional managers dominate the labor and value creation of 80% of professional managers, and 20% of professional managers enjoy the wealth and commodity value of 80% of professional managers; 80% of professional managers still complain about consumption overdraft and poor financial management, 80% still dissatisfied with no salary increase, 80% still headache over lack of ideal savings, 80% still worry about unemployment and displacement, 80% still distressed about career development and life planning, 80% still struggle with life pressures such as buying houses and cars, daily expenses, children's education, and elderly medical care, and 80% still struggle for commercial housing and children's education."
So, today, 80% of professional managers are still poor...
Why Are 80% of Professional Managers Still Poor?
A famous domestic economist once asked: "To maintain a normal life, how much money does a professional manager need to earn in a lifetime to be free from worries about food and clothing, and live a normal, happy life?"
Assuming under normal circumstances, from birth to adulthood at age 22 when graduating from university, we are fortunate to work until age 60, so our professional life as professional managers is generally 38 years. These 38 years are for preparing for the future. If we can live to 80, in the 20 years from 60 to 80, if our monthly necessary living expenses are 1000 yuan, and monthly medical reserve expenses are 500 yuan (because diseases will frequently visit and trouble us then), we must have 360,000 yuan in pension reserves. This doesn't even include expenses beyond age 80! Thus, we know how much we need to earn. Assuming stable currency value and no inflation, to maintain a simple life, earning 4000 yuan is enough (with the premise that basic housing is no longer a problem), of which 2000 yuan for current monthly living expenses, 1000 yuan for pension reserves, 500 yuan for medical reserves in old age, and 500 yuan for children's education investment.
If 80% of us professional managers are still fearful of the current 2000 yuan monthly living standard, and if earning 4000 yuan is not enough, then what will our future life be like? If 80% of us still plan to invest in projects, pursue further education, live in larger beautiful houses, or travel abroad, then this amount is far from sufficient. Now our parents have work units to rely on, have our generation with conscience to help, have colleagues and friends' warmth, and social attention and care. But what will await us in 20 or 30 years?!
Not long ago, a close friend told me a true story: In early spring this year, my friend accompanied his 72-year-old father to Wuhan to visit relatives. Unexpectedly, just before returning, the father suddenly fell ill and fainted. They called 120 and sent him to Wuhan Tongji Hospital for emergency treatment. After several hours in the emergency room, the old man was out of danger. The hospital said the patient had multiple organ failure, poor physical condition, and a complex condition, requiring long-term hospitalization and observation. However, the key doctors at Tongji were resting, and medical rescue forces were limited, so they asked the family to take the old man back to the local hospital for treatment and observation. Since the old man couldn't fly or take a train after surgery, the hospital suggested renting a new ambulance from Tongji Hospital. The family agreed, and to ensure safety, they used a first-level care plan. The ambulance was equipped with oxygen, blood transfusion, and other hardware, and also had one doctor and two nurses. Finally, they safely returned the old man to the local area, then quickly arranged for him to stay in the best local hospital, found the best specialists for treatment. After more than three months of auxiliary treatment and careful care, his condition gradually controlled and improved, and now he can get out of bed.
At this point, my friend showed a troubled expression, saying, "Now our conditions are better, we have this ability. My old father is luckier than my mother (his mother also passed away a few years ago due to worsening illness)." Then he took out the old man's outpatient bill and waved it in front of me. I took it and saw a long list of expenses with a total clearly marked: 247,900 yuan. My friend sighed and added, "This doesn't include the several days of hospitalization and surgery fees of 50,000 yuan at Wuhan Tongji Hospital, nor the 20,000 yuan for renting the ambulance. I don't know how much more will be spent; I just hope the old man recovers..."
Writer Shi Tiesheng, when talking about his kidney disease and having to rely on hemodialysis to maintain life, said: "The cost of dialysis is so high that few can afford it on their own. Fortunately, I received support from various social sectors; otherwise, it would be unimaginable. What would happen otherwise? One is to slowly suffocate (those with a little money), and the other is to quickly suffocate (those without money). But the process of suffocation is equally cruel: the body gradually swells, breathing becomes difficult, consciousness feels strange as if elsewhere, and everything around seems soaked in poison, gradually stiffening and cold. But this is not the worst feeling. The worst feeling is: your loved ones watch helplessly as you go through this painful process, unable to do anything."
From the moment each professional manager leaves their parents and enters the workplace, accompanied by the natural process of wealth creation, material consumption, and spiritual consumption, they face the lifelong challenge of defying fate and realizing self-worth. With the progress and changes of the times, facing the challenge of China's medical industry, a high-barrier government consumption and service sector, for the dignity of life and health and happiness of our families, every professional manager should be vigilant in times of peace and prepare for the future. It is necessary for every professional manager to adjust their understanding and mindset, and to make a medium- and long-term financial project budget and capital plan for themselves.
Reason 1: 80% of Professional Managers Have a Scarcity Mindset
It is said that there is a folk method for catching monkeys: dig two holes in a wooden board, just enough for a monkey's hand to reach through. Put some peanuts behind the board. When the monkey sees the peanuts, it reaches in and grabs them. But with its hand clenched into a fist, it can't pull it back out, and the board becomes a living shackle. The monkey is thus easily caught because it clings to its peanuts. Poor monkey, it does this because it lacks food and values it too much...
Although 80% of us professional managers won't make the same tactical mistake as the monkey, in strategic awareness, we often show the same pattern. Because we don't think of danger in times of peace and lack long-term life planning, we can't let go of immediate things, ultimately gaining little and losing too much.
In Jack London's novel "Love of Life," there's a story of a lost man. This unfortunate man struggles alone in the wilderness, enduring hunger, fatigue, loneliness, and despair, with a wolf as hungry and tired as he is, following him, waiting for him to fall. But in the end, it's not the wolf that eats him, but he eats the wolf. The novel ends with the man finally returning to the ship, eating a lot, and becoming fat, yet still fearfully hoarding bread, filling every corner of the cabin with stale bread, and still compulsively collecting more.
The poor have strong survival abilities, and their perseverance in overcoming hardships is touching, but what they strive to obtain may just be a pile of stale bread.
Reason 2: 80% of Professional Managers Are Always Anxious About Gains and Losses
I remember a TV program that told this story: Fiana is a 43-year-old Australian woman currently studying English literature at a university in Los Angeles. She was introduced to a writer named Greg to edit a series of short stories he had written. Fiana had never edited novels before, but 15 years ago, during her time in Australia, she worked as an assistant to a documentary editor. She has a natural love and instinct for drama. In the past 15 years in the United States, Fiana encountered many setbacks and lived a rather hard life. To make a living, she often had to do boring, low-paying jobs. She hated the world and had a very negative attitude toward money and people. Six months ago, she was fired from a job selling used cars, and she was unemployed again.
Despite Fiana's lack of a career record showing her talent, Greg gave her a chance after meeting her. He agreed to pay her $3,000 for every three short stories edited. After working with Greg to edit one story, Fiana began to think that maybe her labor was too cheap. To earn more money, she proposed to Greg that they switch to an hourly rate. Greg said if Fiana could accurately record her effective working hours, he would agree, paying her $25 per hour. Fiana was happy because she had never received such a high salary.
So Fiana began editing another story. Soon, she realized that after deducting her effective working hours, including 15 minutes per hour for smoking, bathroom breaks, and rest, her actual effective working time was very little. She spent only 10 hours on this story, which meant her pay per story became $250. She found that she had only shot herself in the foot. So she renegotiated with Greg again, but this time, the writer Greg did not agree and finally let her go...
Many of us 80% of professional managers may have Fiana's psychology, and perhaps similar events have happened to us. Many of us have been complaining about unrecognized talent and lack of appreciative bosses, but when opportunities are placed before us, we are often dissatisfied and anxious about gains and losses, thinking the grass is greener on the other side. How can we focus on doing one thing well like that?
Reason 3: 80% of Professional Managers Lack the Courage and Confidence to Change Reality
We 80% of professional managers have been waiting all along, waiting for so-called opportunities, waiting for conditions to mature. But even now, opportunities haven't come, conditions haven't matured, and the quality of our real lives hasn't improved.
I remember a very pessimistic Greek folk song: "Apollo the sun god is a warrior; he can knock down fierce enemies with one punch, but he cannot change his own fate. Prometheus is a wise god; he can steal fire from Zeus and teach poor people to see light, but he himself is pecked at the liver by an eagle, which is fate's joke on him!" This is an example of people believing that their own strength cannot overcome their fate or change reality.
But let's look at these examples: The great British playwright Shakespeare worked as a groom in a theater, and his back was struck by an actor's whip. The Russian literary giant Gorky was a poor vagrant who walked barefoot through many parts of Russia. The great writer Dickens was a shoemaker's apprentice, and his father was imprisoned for debt, causing young Dickens to spend time in prison as well. Carnegie was poor in his childhood and had to do odd jobs to make a living. Jack London's life was also miserable; he was a poor wretch, hungry and cold, in rags, without a fixed abode, which was almost a true portrayal of his early life.
We 80% of professional managers don't want to change our real lives; we have a sense of urgency and want to change our "poor" appearance, but we always have fear because we have never had the experience of independently controlling our own destiny. It's like someone who has never used a computer, afraid of pressing the wrong switch or button and burning it out, or pressing too hard and breaking the keyboard, or getting a virus once online. Things aren't that scary. For those who fear computers, the most important thing is to plug in the power and then turn it on in sequence.
Of course, we 80% of professional managers in the workplace are always responsible for the work itself, responsible to the company and the boss, so we wait for conditions to mature. But in reality, making these conditions happen often consumes a lot of energy and delays a lot of time. Sometimes, before conditions mature, the surrounding environment has already changed. Old conditions haven't been met, and new problems arise, leaving us at a loss and ultimately giving up. So, for us 80% of professional managers, the most important thing is to understand the principle "a bird in hand is worth two in the bush," and to make up our minds, establish the courage and goals to change reality. This is the most critical and important.
80% of Professional Managers Must Learn Financial Management
80% of professional managers haven't yet achieved a petty bourgeoisie life, not because they earn too little, but because they spend too much. The Wangfu Hotel, located in the bustling Dongdan area of Beijing, has first and second floors filled with the top fashion brands you can see in China: Versace, Armani, Chanel. T-shirts costing thousands of yuan, leather shoes costing nearly ten thousand yuan—who are they sold to?
Previously, according to a comprehensive survey by a white-collar magazine of professional managers in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Chengdu, and other places, the results showed that Chinese professional managers' pursuit of "brand names" and consumption frenzy is astonishing. In one city, professional managers change their mobile phones an average of 2.5 times per year; in another, they own an average of 5 high-end suits; in another, they own 9 pairs of leather shoes; in one city, 85% of professional managers' monthly income just covers expenses; in another, 44% have no fixed monthly savings or financial plan...
Chung Ju-yung, South Korea's richest man and founder of the Hyundai Group, was extremely frugal despite his wealth. Before starting his business, he had a stable job and considerable income, but he once admonished his subordinates to be thrifty, saying "drinking coffee wastes foreign exchange." In the early 1980s, to save on shoe sole replacement costs, he nailed iron plates to his shoe soles. Until his death, he wore work clothes from the 1970s, and his home TV was a 17-inch set from 1988.
Iwasaki Yataro, founder of the Mitsubishi conglomerate in Japan, was a mythical figure. During Japan's Meiji era, he monopolized Japan's shipping, and his wealth could influence all of Japan, earning him the title of economic leader of the Meiji era. Despite this, Iwasaki Yataro was generous in public welfare and charity, but lived a simple life, and the company absolutely did not allow any waste. His capable right-hand man, Kondo Renpei, once used company letterhead for personal letters. When Iwasaki Yataro discovered this, he immediately cut his monthly salary by one-third. Iwasaki later said: "When the bung of a wine barrel falls out, anyone would hurry to plug it. But if there's a leak at the bottom of the barrel, often no one notices or takes it seriously. Although seepage is a negligible loss, over time it becomes significant, more serious than the bung falling out."
So, many times, thrift is not entirely about reducing costs; strictly speaking, it's a mindset, and over time, it becomes a product of realm and habit.
Of course, for us 80% of professional managers, we often say, "Money is earned, not saved." But even when it comes to earning, we 80% may not have good business awareness.
Here's a case from an MBA textbook: A rich man used 100 yuan to buy 50 jin of fruit, sold it at 3 yuan per jin, and got 150 yuan. A poor man receives a monthly living subsidy of 100 yuan, all spent on rice, oil, and salt. The same 100 yuan: the rich man's 100 yuan increased in value through business, becoming capital. The poor man's 100 yuan had no change in value; it was just a living expense, soon consumed. So in financial management, the tragedy of the poor is that their money rarely turns from living expenses into capital. If we change the approach: give the poor man 200 yuan in the first month, allowing him to use the remaining 100 yuan to start a fruit business, he'd have 150 yuan after a month. The second month, give him another 200 yuan, and he can use 250 yuan to wholesale fruit, earning another 125 yuan. By the third month, he'd have 375 yuan, and after deducting 100 yuan for living expenses, he'd have 275 yuan in capital. You no longer need to give him relief; he can support himself, and within a year, he can completely escape poverty.
So, for 80% of professional managers, lacking capital is not terrible; the tragedy is lacking capital awareness, and not seriously learning, mastering, and accumulating the experience and skills of operating capital. As a result, they only revere the boss's success and charm in thought, and treat the employer's words as sacred in action. During the day, they seriously study and implement workplace textbooks like "Send the Letter to Garcia" and "No Excuses," and at night, they tear up over the enlightenment and dreams of "Rich Dad, Poor Dad."
How Should 80% of Professional Managers Plan Their Future?
A philosopher once said: "A half glass of water is half empty, but it's also half full. Thinking will take us further."
I remember a management training story: Three people were to be imprisoned for three years. The warden agreed to grant each of them one request. The American, who loved cigars, asked for three boxes of cigars. The Frenchman, who loved romance, asked for a beautiful woman to accompany him. The Jew asked for a telephone to communicate with the outside world. Three years later, the first to rush out was the American, with cigars stuffed in his mouth and nostrils, shouting, "Give me a light, give me a light!" He had forgotten to ask for matches. Next came the Frenchman, holding a small child in his arms, the beautiful woman holding another child, and pregnant with a third. Finally, the Jew came out, tightly shaking the warden's hand, saying, "For the past three years, I've been in contact with the outside world every day. My business not only didn't stop but grew by 200%. To show my gratitude, I'll give you a luxury car!"
When we professional managers see this story now, our understanding is certainly different from before. Indeed, our choices determine our lives. Today's life and everything we enjoy are determined by the choices we made three years ago, and today's choices will determine our life and pattern three years from now.
So, for us 80% of professional managers, to achieve a carefree petty bourgeoisie life and ultimately realize the dream of entering the rich class, we must learn career planning and rational financial management. Career planning and rational financial management are lifelong subjects for us, and we must consider them comprehensively in our life and career development plans. From now on, we should "build confidence, set goals, rely on ourselves," orderly complete the long process of career planning and rational financial management, and strive to build and form an all-round perspective transformation. Then, through a financial intelligence development plan where angle is better than strength, we can safeguard and enhance the quality of our life and living space.
**-END-**
Content Selection
**Reply with the following keywords to query and read related articles:**
Sales Supervisor, Second-tier Management, Regional Manager, Distributor Management, New Channels, City Manager, Competition, 2015, Manufacturer-Dealer Game, Product Slow Sales, Terminal Visit Management, Route Management, Deep Distribution, Internal Management, Sales Skills, Profit Improvement, Recruitment, Distribution, Daily Management, Team Motivation, Trade Promotion, Sales Misconceptions, New Product Launch, Township Market, New Product Pricing, Sales Target Achievement, Closing Deals, Market Visit Inspection, Baijiu, Beer, Sales Increase, Agency Products, Channel Crossing, KA, Terminal Merchandising, New Market, Market Operation, Learning, Book Recommendations, Inventory Management, Sales Novice, Consumer Promotion, Execution, Old Products, Expired Product Handling, Model Market, Investment Attraction, New Media, Distributor Development, Performance Appraisal, Assessment, Annual Planning, Shopping Guide, Morning Meeting, Display, Transformation, Stock Pressure, Holidays, Distributor Cost Control Channel Operation, Marketing Theories and Laws, Brand Truth, Order Meeting, Team Management, Training, Work Report, Work Report.


---

## 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