The two golden rules for professional managers

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Professional managers attract so much attention in China because, as the country transitions from a planned economy to a market economy, there is an urgent need for a group of highly qualified professional managers to help Chinese enterprises develop rapidly and healthily in the fierce market competition. Given that China has only been operating a market economy for a short time, relevant legislation regarding professional managers, as well as effective mechanisms for their training, employment, and evaluation, have not yet been established. As a result, the relationships between professional managers and companies remain ambiguous, with each side claiming to be in the right. But as a professional manager, there are still some ironclad rules that need to be followed. Compliance with corporate strategy: Strictly speaking, the role of professional managers within a company should be that of those who carry out and implement the company’s strategy, rather than being the ones who formulate it; at most, they can act as participants in the strategy-formulation process. However, in practice, the conflict between enterprises and professional managers is essentially a conflict at the corporate strategy level. And this kind of conflict causes the greatest harm to businesses, as it directly leads to operational chaos and leaves employees at a loss as to what to do. On the one hand, once business owners discover that professional managers’ actions deviate from the company’s strategy, they will intervene in those managers’ work. On the other hand, if professional managers do not agree with the company’s strategy, they will use the resources at their disposal to enforce what they consider to be the correct approach. As a result, in the struggle between companies and professional managers, the companies suffer greatly, and professional managers also end up in a difficult situation, because once a company reaches its limit of tolerance for such managers, it will order them to leave. Through follow-up analysis of some companies, the author found that as these firms continuously replaced their senior professional managers, their strategies remained unstable, and such companies actually ended up in a declining state. Of course, professional managers will complain that many companies in China lack a clear strategy, or that their strategies are simply ineffective or even wrong, especially among the numerous small and medium-sized enterprises. It should be said that such a situation does exist. So, how should a professional manager act correctly? I. There is nothing wrong with the company’s strategy itself; in fact, it is objectively correct. Therefore, as professional managers, one should formulate a governance plan within the framework of the company’s strategy, optimize the allocation of corporate resources, and develop appropriate strategies in order to achieve the company’s strategic objectives. II. The company’s strategy is problematic or even wrong. Therefore, as a professional manager, one should utilize their expertise in combination with the actual situation of the company to explain things in detail to the company’s owners and decision-makers. If the business owners and decision-makers are aware of this, then the company’s strategy can be appropriately adjusted and modified to a certain extent, after which it can be put into practice. However, as professional managers, it is essential to be clear about this, as well as to ensure that the business owners and decision-makers understand that strategic adjustments and changes will lead to changes within the company. Such changes require a long-term effort, and they may even cause some chaos within the company in the short term. This requires professional managers to secure the greatest possible support from the owners and decision-makers of the company, and to achieve the highest level of consensus within the company during various operational processes and stages, so as to effectively advance the company’s work. If the business owners and decision-makers stick to their opinions and refuse to make adjustments or changes to the company’s strategy, professional managers can leave while submitting their recommendations; as professional managers, they must understand that they are not saviors. III. Regardless of whether a company’s strategy is correct or not, sometimes the belief that there is an issue with its strategy may be merely a subjective judgment, and that may not be the case in reality. As a professional manager, if one cannot reach an agreement with the company, they can choose to leave; however, they must never use the resources and skills at their disposal to force a change in the company’s strategy, as such actions will only result in harm for both parties. Learn to say no. Learning to say no is necessary because professional managers and corporate resources have certain deficiencies or shortcomings to some extent or in certain aspects. And if professional managers or companies fail to recognize this, they are prone to making mistakes in their decisions. Therefore, as a professional manager, one must have a clear understanding of oneself and an objective assessment of the company’s resources. Mr. A used to be the marketing manager of a company. Once, he saw that a company was looking for a general manager and, given the attractive benefits offered, he applied for the position even though he knew he didn’t yet have the skills necessary to hold such a role. Thanks to his eloquent speaking skills and fake work resume, he managed to get the job. However, it was not long before this person had to leave because his abilities were not sufficient to meet the requirements of the position of general manager; naturally, the generous benefits were no longer within his reach. When Mr. B first arrived at a food company, upon seeing the company’s luxurious office building and beautiful factory premises, he had no doubts about its strength. As the company’s vice president of marketing, the chairman asked him to come up with a marketing plan as soon as possible. He assured him that the company had substantial financial resources, and there was plenty of cash available that couldn’t be utilized; therefore, he could focus on working boldly. As a result, this person did not assess the company’s actual capabilities; instead, he created a marketing plan based on the unrealistic exaggerations made by the company’s chairman regarding its strengths. After submitting this plan to the chairman, no objections were raised, and the chairman proceeded to implement it. However, not long after the plan was implemented, it could not be carried out due to the company’s financial constraints. It was only then that the man realized that both the company’s office building and factory facilities had been built using bank loans, and that the company’s working capital was extremely tight, making it impossible to fund the implementation of his plan. As a result, this person had no choice but to leave, leaving behind a messy situation for the company to deal with. Learning to say no is not only a form of courage but also a virtue. As a professional manager, one must realize that they are responsible not only to the company but also to themselves. Sometimes saying no is also a sign of responsibility. In the article, Person A ended up failing because they were unable to say no to themselves ； Mr. B failed to conduct an effective assessment of the company’s resources and did not reject its unrealistic planning ideas, which led to failure for both the company and himself. If he had been able to investigate the company’s resources and develop effective plans based on those findings and the actual conditions of the company, a win-win situation might have been achieved. Be responsible for the fate of the enterprise. As professional managers, they are given certain resources and authority within the company, which enables them to have an impact on the company’s present and future. Therefore, taking responsibility for the fate of the company should become the primary principle for professional managers in making decisions and in their conduct. Several signs that professional managers are not responsible for the fate of a company: 1. Using the company as a tool to vent their frustrations and achieve their own hidden goals. Such situations mainly occur when professional managers become dissatisfied with their previous employer; after joining another company, they treat their former employer as an enemy. They then use the resources of their current company to launch destructive attacks and acts of retaliation against the former employer’s key markets and products. They may also poach employees from the former employer, spread rumors about them, and do the same to the former employer’s distributors. Once professional managers engage in such behavior, it not only causes losses to their original company but also disrupts the plans and strategies of the new company they work for. This can even force the company to bear unnecessary and heavy costs. For example, in an attempt to poach employees and distributors from their original company, they may have to incur high expenses and unsustainable labor costs. Moreover, such unrestrained acts of retaliation can lead to excessive strain on a company’s resources, pushing it down a path with no way back. 2. Group job transfers. Group job-hopping is increasingly occurring in many industries in China, thereby exacerbating the tensions between professional managers and companies. This phenomenon not only causes significant harm to professional managers but also results in irreparable losses for the companies. Some companies have made such a decision in order to stabilize their workforce – professional managers hired by the company are not allowed to bring anyone with them into the company. Some professional managers are good at winning people over, so they build their own \"guardian\" teams while still in a company, often using \"brotherhood\" as the bond that holds them together. Once these professional managers decide to seek new opportunities, they take these \"loyal employees\" with them – first so as not to be bullied in their new company, second so as to have support to carry out their work, and third so that they have the means to hold the company accountable if it fails to meet their expectations. 3. Use the enterprise as a tool to achieve one’s own “goals”. As individuals, everyone wants to achieve fame and success, but \"a gentleman who seeks fame should do so in an honorable manner.\" However, some professional managers, in an effort to quickly increase their visibility or gain faster recognition from society, focus on \"visible indicators\" in business operations, such as a company’s sales volume, growth rate, number of customers, and market size, completely ignoring the company’s resource capacity and its ability to sustain sustainable development. As a result of excessive strain on corporate resources, this kind of forced acceleration creates significant risks for the company’s future development. 2. Use the enterprise as a tool to achieve one’s own “goals”. As individuals, everyone wants to achieve fame and success, but \"a gentleman who seeks fame should do so in an honorable manner.\" However, some professional managers, in an effort to quickly increase their visibility or gain faster recognition from society, focus on \"visible indicators\" in business operations, such as a company’s sales volume, growth rate, number of customers, and market size, completely ignoring the company’s resource capacity and its ability to sustain sustainable development. As a result of excessive strain on corporate resources, this kind of forced acceleration creates significant risks for the company’s future development. Therefore, as a professional manager, one must cherish one’s reputation and honor just as a bird cares for its feathers, as these are the main components of a professional manager’s brand. An excellent professional manager should regard the fate of the company as their top priority, possess a sense of ownership over the company, and have a mindset similar to that of a boss. The increasing value of a professional manager is largely attributed to the reputation they had in their previous companies. Retaliation against the original company will gradually block one’s own path of retreat ； Group resignations not only damage one’s reputation but also lead to the breakdown of one’s own \"small team\" due to conflicts over interests, resulting in complete disgrace; this is essentially the outcome of all such group resignation incidents that have occurred in companies over the years ； The attempt to gain fame through improper means ultimately leads to a sharp decline in one’s reputation due to the poor performance of the company.