Chinese Wisdom for LeadersHuibert de Man en Helen de HaanWijsheid in Bedrijf, juni 2013

Uw ervaring en kennis•Wie heeft wel eens Chinese filosofie

gelezen (origineel of vertaald)?•Wie heeft gelezen over toepassingen van

Chinese filosofie in leiderschap/management/strategie?

•Wie is in China geweest?•Wie heeft ervaring met zakendoen met

Chinese bedrijven?•Welk praktisch nut verwacht u van de

Chinese filosofie?

Confucius and Lao Zi

老子 Lao Zi 604-507 (?) bC

孔子Kong Zi 551 – 479 bC(Confucius)

Different timeDifferent languageDifferent assumptionsDifferent culture

Sun Zi 孫子 Art of War 兵法Know thyself, the enemy and the terrain: contextual action and clever use of circumstances…

Two authors:

孫武 Sun Wu (544-496 bC)

孫臏 Sun Bin (380-316 bC)

The Chinese Mirror: What it tells us about our thinking

• Our two world theory• Unity based on

principles• Essences• Transcendental truth

•Our individualism• Relationships between

individuals• Freedom• Intention

•Our style of reasoning• Dialectics and formal

logic• Rhetoric and debate• The legal style of

reasoning

Chinese quotes: philosophical tea tasting

Wise persons know their limits• 知之為知之，不知為不知，是知也。

Zhi zhi wei zhi zhi, bu zhi wei bu zhi, shi zhi ye.

• To know what you know and know what you do not know- then this is wisdom.

知智

Teachers connect old and New• 子曰 : 溫故而知新，可以為師矣• The master said:

reviewing the old as a means of realizing the new - such a person can be considered a teacher

學

Leaders are not selfish• 君子喻於義，小人喻於利 • Exemplary persons

understand what is appropriate, petty persons understand what is of personal advantage.

Leaders Care and Develop• 子曰 : 不患人之不己知，患不知人也。

• 子曰：君子成人之美，不成人之惡。小人反是。

• The master said: Don’t worry about not being acknowledged by others, worry about failing to acknowledge them.

•  The master said: the exemplary person (junzi) helps to bring out the best in others, but does not help to bring out the worst. The petty person does just the opposite.

 

人 ＋言 = 信 person + word = trust

•子曰：君子恥其言而過其行。Exemplary persons would feel shame if their words were better than their deeds.

•君子欲訥於言敏於行。The exemplary person wants to be slow to speak yet quick to act.

•論篤是與，君子者乎？色莊者乎？Allowing that a person is earnest in his words, the question is: is he an exemplary person or is he just pretending to be serious?

Confucius: ritualized living•Li ( 禮 ) order, ritual• Yi ( 義 ) appropriateness, justice•Ren( 仁 ) moral quality, humaneness•Xiao ( 孝 ) respect for parents, piety•Zhi ( 智 ) wisdom and its practical use•Xin( 信 ) keeping word, trustworthyness

It is all about balance, harmony 和 he.

The unspeakable origin of the world• Dao De Jing 道德經 :

chapter 1

道，可道也，非恆道也。　名，可名，非恆名也。無名，萬物之始也有名，萬物之母也。

Way-making (dao) that can be put into words is not really way-makingAnd naming (ming) that can assign fixed reference to things is not really namingThe nameless (wuming) is the fetal beginnings of everything that is happening (wanwu)While that which is named is their mother.

Wise persons do not Impose their Logic•道汎呵，其可左右也。

成功遂事而弗名有也。

•是以聖人之能成大也，以其不為大也，故能成大。 

• Way-making (dao) is an easy-flowing stream.Which can run in any direction.With all things accomplished and the work complete,It does not assume any proprietary claim.

• It is thus that the capacity of the sages to become greatIs simply because they do not try to do great things.This is why they are indeed able to be great.

Pan Gu: the creation myth

Pan Gu separated Dark (Yin 陰 ) and Light (Yang 陽 ), pushed Heaven (Tian 天 ) and Earth (Di 地 ) apart. The parts of his body became the sun, the moon, the mountains, the rivers etc.

The world: dynamic play of opposites• 易經 Yi Jing = Classical

Book of Changes• Mathematical system of

Yin-Yang changes▫ Extremes change into

opposites▫ Every situation contains

potential futures▫ You need to read the

situation in terms of change.

A play of opposites…•將欲翕之，必固張之將欲弱之，必固強之將欲去之，必固與之將欲奪之，必固予之。是謂微明。柔弱勝剛強。

(…)

• Whatever is gathered inMust first be stretched out;What ever is weakenedMust first be made strong;Whatever is abandonedMust first be joined;Whatever is taken awayMust first be given.This is called the subtle within what is evident.The soft and the weak vanquish the hard and the strong.(…)

Daoism: the Wu ( 無 ) = ‘do not’ forms•無為 wuwei non-coercive action•無形 wuxing without fixed form•無知 wuzhi unprincipled knowing•無名 wuming without giving a fixed name•無欲 wuyu objectless desire•無心 wuxin unmediated feeling and

thinking•無爭 wuzheng striving without

contentiousnessWays of doing, being, knowing, naming and desiring that do not force things, are not coercive.

Sun Zi:

He who knows the enemy and himself will never in a hundred battles be at risk.

He who does not know the enemy but knows himselfwill sometimes win and sometimes lose;

He who knows neither the enemy nor himselfWill be at risk in every battle.

Chinese art of war: contextual thinking

Flexible Strategy and Tactics•勝可知，而不可為

Victory can be anticipated, but it cannot be forced

•始如處女，敵人開戶，後如脫兔，敵人不及拒。 At first be like a modest maidenAnd the enemy will open his door.Afterwards be as swift as a scurrying rabbitAnd the enemy will be too late to resist you.

What do we see in the mirror?

????

Context and agency

Wise persons

Leaders

Emperor Yongzheng (1678-1735)

Dark and Light Wiertz: Triumph of Light

China: dynamic balance

Natural and rational

Relationship and person

What can we learn from the ancient Chinese? •Strategy in organizations: context and

flexibility•Change and stability•The organization as a community•Moral principles of leadership•The balance between soft and hard

aspects of management•How talk needs validation in action•The limitations of language and debate•…

The End

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