HOW TO TALK LIKE A MAOIST GENERAL

By liu jue (刘珏)

HOW TO TALK LIKE A MAOIST GENERAL

By liu jue (刘珏)

How to rule the boardroom with revolutionary rhetoric

在商场即战场的今天，如何带领团队走向胜利？

If you’re in the job market today,

you might have noticed that every employer is looking for leadership skills. You also might fi nd that your potential superiors insist on comparing the boardroom to a battlefield, but quoting Sun Tzu’s The Art of War in business school is so passé. To stand out and bring real revolutionary zeal to your workplace, it’s not a bad idea to turn to China’s other master military tactician and theoretician, Chairman Mao.

With your pen at attention and your rolodex cocked and loaded, start by addressing the troops with your wise, thoughtful pearls of wisdom, such as:

no reVoluTion coMeS WiThouT oBSTacleS, and you need To MaKe Sure ThaT your TeaM doeSn’T loSe hope

不打无准备之仗。

As military advice, that’s pretty standard. This rule was outlined as one of the 10 military principles in a report entitled “The Current Situation and Our Tasks” that Mao made in 1947 at a Party meeting amid the war against the Nationalists. That year was the war’s turning point for the People’s Liberation Army, and they went on the offensive. Sun Tzu also said something similar: “preparation is the foundation of victory.”

However, preparation isn’t everything. Anyone who makes a plan based on pure assumptions or simple experience is bound to fail. Mao emphasized this lesson to Communist Party cadres in the 1930s after conducting extensive research on the economic situation in a Jiangxi village.

没有调查，就没有发言权。

One thing every leader needs is confidence, and as a leader in the workplace, you’ll need that in spades, what with the hateful bosses, scheming colleagues, and corporate takeover culture. Assure your staff of your wisdom with:

战术上重视对手，战略上藐视对手。

Seemingly contradictory, it means that you have go into the conflict with every confidence that you’ll beat your rival, but you are still very cautious when it comes to the specific measures, careful to approach one problem at a time to make sure that step ensures victory. This sentiment appears frequently in Mao’s military writings, expressing something found in one of his more famous metaphors: the paper tiger (纸老虎zh@l2oh^). Mao used this concept to explain imperialists’ and reactionaries’ lack of real power, and you could say the same of rival companies to boost confidence.

一切竞争对手都是纸老虎。

But what is confidence if you can’t inspire? No team of workers ever starts out at the top. There is no end of ordinary platitudes you could choose from, but for a truly revolution-ready phrase to rally your workforce, the Chairman has got you covered:

星星之火，可以燎原。

No revolution comes without obstacles, and you need to make sure that your team doesn’t lose hope. Mao’s inspirational words about the fate of China back in 1945 may come in handy.

前途是光明的，道路是曲折的。

Of course, you can also play the“collective power” card to motivate your team from time to time; mentioning a common goal is a pretty good move, reminding them why they are with you. So, try this following heart-stirring proclamation found in Mao’s 1944 essay, “To Serve the People.”

我们都是来自五湖四海，为了一个共同的目标，走到一起来了。

But to really inspire your team, you may have to set an example yourself. As the Chairman also said, “Thepower of the model is infinite.” (榜样的力量是无穷的。B2ngy3ng de l#li3ng sh# w%qi5ng de.)

When it comes to specific business strategies, Mao still had a great deal to offer, such as his still-relevant insights into the socio-economic structure of China. For instance, if your goal is to make your brand a household name across the nation, follow the revolutionary steps of the Chairman and his strategy of “base areas,” or 根据地 (g8nj&d#).

We first want to establish base areas in small-to-medium cities.

我们首先要在中小城市建立品牌的根据地。

For the next step, we have to look at Mao’s general policy of revolution: from the countryside to the city, or“encircling the city from the rural areas” (农村包围城市n5ngc$n b`ow9i ch9ngsh#). Today, you can apply this to many different business models, including e-commerce.

“农村包围城市”是我们的市场战略。

Of course, business is often extremely competitive, so you have to be patient. Be prepared for a protracted war, or 持久战 (ch!ji^zh3n), as the Chairman did in 1938 regarding the Anti-Japanese War.

iF By any chance your projecT FailS on accounT oF unconTrollaBle FacTorS, iT’S oKay To leT go

竞争对手打算跟我们打持久战。

In a time of war, the Chairman may order the army to have “obedience to orders in all actions.” But an authoritarian leadership style might ultimately hurt productivity and creativity in other situations. Learn to delegate, like the Chairman.

你办事，我放心。

Those were supposedly the words Mao spoke to his hand-picked successor, Hua Guofeng, before his death. If all goes well, you and your team will succeed in your business endeavors, but ever the vigilant general, you have to remind your team of the larger goals, much like Mao did after the Party had won the civil war in 1949.

完成这个项目只是万里长征的第一步。

But there’s no harm in a little optimism when things go well. Be sure to bolster morale:.

我们的事业将从胜利走向胜利!

If by any chance your project fails on account of uncontrollable factors, it’s OK to let go. Like Mao, you can express your disappointment with folk slang.

Of course, the actual workplace requires tact and not everything the Chairman did is a good idea in the office. Let’s say it was 70 percent right and 30 percent wrong.

For more articles like this, go to our language section on the website, theworldofchinese.com