The top 10 management principles: when should they guide one’s life?

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Top 10 Classic Management Theories That Will Be Useful for Life 1. Peter’s Principle: Every organization is composed of various positions, ranks, or levels, and everyone belongs to one of these levels. Peter’s Principle is a concept proposed by the American scholar Lawrence Peter after studying the phenomena related to employee promotions within organizations; it states that in various organizations, employees tend to be promoted to positions for which they are not competent. Peter’s Principle is sometimes also referred to as the principle of climbing upward. This phenomenon is ubiquitous in real life: a competent professor, once promoted to university president, is unable to handle the role ； An excellent athlete was promoted to a position in charge of sports, but did nothing. For an organization, once a considerable number of its members are pushed to levels where they are not competent, it leads to overstaffing and inefficiency, results in mediocre individuals rising to the top, and causes stagnation in development. Therefore, this requires a change in the corporate employee promotion system, which currently relies solely on contributions; one should not assume that someone who performs excellently in a certain position will necessarily be competent for a higher-level role. Promoting an employee to a position where they cannot fully utilize their talents is not a reward for that person; rather, it prevents them from expressing their abilities to the best of their capacity and also causes losses to the company. 2. The Law of Wine and Sewage: The Law of Wine and Sewage states that when a spoonful of wine is poured into a bucket of sewage, what results is still a bucket of sewage ； If you pour a spoonful of sewage into a bucket of wine, what you get is still a bucket of sewage. In any organization, there are almost always a few difficult people whose existence seems to be aimed at ruining things. The worst part is that they are like rotten apples in a fruit basket; if not dealt with promptly, they will spread quickly and ruin the other apples in the basket as well. The horror of rotten apples lies in their astonishing destructive power. A honest and capable person entering a chaotic department may be overwhelmed, while someone lacking both integrity and competence can quickly turn an efficient department into a mess. Organizational systems are often fragile, built on mutual understanding, compromise, and tolerance, and are easily undermined or corrupted. Another important reason for the Destroyer’s extraordinary abilities is that destruction is always easier than creation. A ceramic piece carefully crafted by a skilled artisan over days can be destroyed in just one second by a donkey. If an organization has such a donkey in it, no matter how many skilled craftsmen it has, it won’t achieve much decent work. If you have such a donkey in your organization, you should get rid of it immediately; if you’re unable to do that, you should tie it up. 3. The barrel theory: The barrel theory states that the amount of water a barrel can hold depends entirely on its shortest plank. In other words, this is a common problem that any organization may face: the various components that make up an organization are often of uneven quality, and it is usually the weaker components that determine the overall level of the organization. The bucket theory is different from the wine and sewage theory; the latter deals with the destructive forces within an organization. The shortest plank is still a useful part of that organization, albeit one that is of lower quality than other parts – it cannot be discarded like a rotten apple. Strength and weakness are relative and cannot be eliminated; the issue lies in to what extent you are willing to tolerate such weaknesses. If they become a bottleneck that hinders work, then you must take action. 4. The Matthew Effect: There is a story in the New Testament, in the Gospel of Matthew: Before setting out on a journey, a king gave each of his three servants a piece of silver, instructing them to go and do business, and to return to see him when he came back. When the king returned, the first servant said, “Lord, the silver piece you gave me I have turned into 10 pieces.” So, the king rewarded him with 10 cities. The second servant reported: Master, I have earned 5 silver bars from the one bar of silver you gave me. So, the king rewarded him with 5 cities. The third servant reported, \"Master, the silver coin you gave me, I kept it wrapped in a handkerchief all the time, fearing it would be lost, so I never took it out.\" So the king ordered that one silver coin belonging to the third servant be given to the first servant, saying: Whatever is lacking shall be taken from him, even everything he possesses. Anything extra should be given to him, so that he has even more – this is the Matthew Effect, reflecting a common phenomenon in today’s society, namely the idea that the winners take everything. For the operational development of enterprises, the Matthew Effect tells us that to maintain an advantage in a certain field, it is necessary to grow rapidly within that field. When you become a leader in a certain field, even with the same return on investment, you can more easily achieve greater profits than your less competitive peers. And if one does not have the capability to quickly grow in a certain field, it is necessary to keep seeking new areas for development in order to ensure good returns. 5. The principle of zero-sum games: A zero-sum game is one in which the players have winners and losers; what one party wins is what the other loses, and the total outcome of such a game is always zero. The principle of zero-sum games has attracted much attention because similar situations can be found in various aspects of society – behind the glory of the winner often lies the sorrow and hardship of the loser. In the 20th century, humanity experienced two world wars, rapid economic growth, technological advancements, globalization, and increasingly severe environmental pollution; the concept of a zero-sum game was gradually being replaced by the idea of a win-win situation. People are beginning to realize that self-interest does not have to be built on harming others. A happy ending through effective cooperation is possible. But shifting from a zero-sum game to a win-win situation requires sincerity and courage in cooperation from all parties; one should avoid being cunning in such collaborations and not always try to take advantage of others. It is necessary to abide by the rules of the game, otherwise a win-win outcome will not be possible, and it will ultimately be the collaborators themselves who suffer losses. 6. Washington’s Law of Cooperation: This law states that when one person is perfunctory, two people shift responsibility onto each other, and with three people, nothing will ever get done. It’s a bit similar to the story of the three monks. Cooperation between people is not a simple addition of human efforts; it is much more complex and subtle. In such cooperation, assuming that each person’s ability is 1, the result of 10 people working together is sometimes much greater than 10, and at other times it is even less than 1. Because people are not static entities, but rather like energies moving in different directions; when they push against each other, the results are better, while when they oppose one another, nothing is achieved. In our traditional management theories, there is not much focus on collaborative research. The most obvious reflection of this is that most current management systems and practices are aimed at reducing unnecessary waste of human resources, rather than using the organization to enhance people’s efficiency. In other words, it can be said that the main purpose of management is not to make everyone perform better, but to avoid excessive internal strife. 7. The Watch Theorem: The Watch Theorem states that when a person has one watch, they can know what time it is; but when they have two watches, they are unable to determine the time. Two watches cannot tell a person the more accurate time; instead, they cause the person looking at them to lose confidence in the accurate time. The watch theorem provides us with a very intuitive insight into business management: when managing the same person or organization, it is not possible to use two different methods at the same time, nor set two different goals; moreover, one person should not be supervised by two people at once. Otherwise, the company or that person will be at a loss as to what to do. Another meaning implied by the Watch Theorem is that no one can choose two different sets of values at the same time; otherwise, one’s behavior will become chaotic. 8. The Law of Worthlessness: The most straightforward expression of this law is that things that are not worth doing are not worth doing well. This law is extremely simple, yet its importance is often overlooked and forgotten by people. The law of worthlessness reflects a certain psychological tendency: when a person is engaged in something they consider unworthy, they tend to adopt a sarcastic and perfunctory attitude. Not only is the success rate low, but even if success is achieved, they don’t feel much sense of accomplishment. Therefore, for an individual, one should choose among various available goals and values to strive for, and then work toward achieving them. Choose what you love, and love what you choose – only then can it inspire our fighting spirit and give us a sense of peace of mind. For a company or organization, it is necessary to carefully analyze the personality traits of its employees and assign tasks appropriately; for example, those with a strong desire for achievement should be given the task of carrying out work that involves risks and challenges, either on their own or as team leaders, and they should receive timely recognition and praise once they complete such tasks ； Encourage employees with a strong need for attachment to participate more in a certain group* while working ； Assign employees with a strong desire for power to positions as managers that are suited to their abilities. At the same time, it is necessary to strengthen employees’ sense of alignment with the company’s goals, so that they feel their work is worthwhile, which in turn can inspire their enthusiasm. 9. Mushroom Management: Mushroom management is a management style used by many organizations toward newcomers. Beginners are placed in obscure corners (underutilized departments or given menial tasks), drenched in manure (unjustified criticism, blame, and taking on others’ mistakes), and left to fend for themselves (without the necessary guidance and support). I believe many people have had such an experience with mushrooms. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, especially at the beginning; experiencing mushrooms for a few days can help dispel many of our unrealistic fantasies, bringing us closer to reality and allowing us to view things more practically. Generally, an organization treats new employees equally, with no significant differences in terms of starting salary or job responsibilities. No matter how talented you are, at the beginning you can only start with the simplest tasks. Mushrooms’ journey is like a cocoon for young people who are growing up – it is a step that must be gone through before they can emerge as adults. Therefore, how to navigate this phase of life efficiently, drawing as much experience from it as possible, growing mature, and establishing a reliable personal image is a challenge that every young person entering society must face. 10. Ockham’s Razor: In the 12th century, William of Ockham in England advocated nominalism, acknowledging only those things that actually exist; he considered those empty, abstract general concepts to be useless burdens that should be ruthlessly eliminated. He argued that entities should not be added unless necessary. This is what is commonly referred to as Occam’s razor. This razor once posed a threat to many people and was considered heresy; William himself also suffered as a result. However, this has not diminished the sharpness of this \"knife.\" On the contrary, over the course of hundreds of years, Ockham’s Razor has become increasingly sharp through the forces of history, and has long since gone beyond its original narrow scope to acquire broad, rich, and profound meanings. Ockham’s Razor can be further developed in business management into the law of simplicity and complexity: it is easy to make things complex, but difficult to make them simple. This law requires that when dealing with matters, we must grasp their essential core and the main trends, address the most fundamental issues, and especially follow the natural order – avoiding artificial complications – in order to handle things properly.