the black China hand

Where is the role model for the manager who really needs a role model most—the one who by any objective measure of performance cannot, and should not, manage at all? An obvious candidate is Mao. Yes, he was head of a country, not a company. But he self-consciously carried a business-like title, “chairman”, while running China from 1949 until dying in office in 1976.

CLB posted a few days back about what seems to be a new trend in business management philosophy (read: Sun Tzu is out. Maoist Thought is in). Naturally then, I was a bit shocked to see this article when I picked the latest Economist. Nevertheless, since it was so short (I read it in the checkout line) that I had no choice but to read all. It is an interesting read that makes sense. To summarize: the author suggests that managers would benefit from following three principles that Mao used aplomb to guarantee his success at managing the country, namely: (1) commit to manipulating the media to get your story/spin out; (2) sacrifice your friends and colleagues to get ahead (don’t ever let anyone get so close) and (3) if you’re incompetent at least be active because activity delays the inevitable (read: people learning that you are incompetent). Now these are business principles to live by, don’t you think.

Staying at the top–Mao and the art of management