The King of Han said to Han Jiu, "Jise has fled, and his younger brother is by the side of Gongzhong. I wish to entrust the affairs of state to him—would that be fitting?" Han Jiu replied, "It would not. Jise has fled, and his younger brother is with Gongzhong, being one whom Gongzhong holds dear. If Your Majesty now entrusts the affairs of state to him, Gongzhong will surely seize the opportunity to meddle in governance, and thus Your Majesty would in effect be handing the state to Gongzhong. It would be better for Your Majesty to recall Jise and appoint him as chancellor—he would then surely defer all matters of state to Your Majesty's discretion. Moreover, since Jise's flight, his younger brother has remained by Gongzhong's side, and Gongzhong is bound to esteem the younger brother while slighting Jise. Now if Your Majesty recalls Jise, Gongzhong will surely be alarmed, and out of that alarm will come to hold Jise in high regard. In this way, Jise will certainly yield all affairs of state to Your Majesty's will."
💡 商战启示录
The essence of this strategy lies in "checks and balances" and "leveraging momentum." Han Jiu advised the King of Han not to directly appoint the confidants of Gongzhong, but instead to recall the exiled Jise, using Gongzhong's fear of Jise's return to compel him to adjust his stance, thereby ensuring that royal authority would not be hollowed out. In modern commercial warfare, this resembles the strategy a corporate leader employs when facing internal factional strife. For instance, when a department manager (corresponding to Gongzhong) wields excessive power and his close associate (corresponding to his younger brother) is put forward for promotion, a wise CEO should not directly appoint that associate, but rather introduce an external competitor or reinstate a seasoned veteran (corresponding to Jise) to create internal competition, making both sides more dependent on the ultimate decision-maker. This is akin to the dynamic equilibrium Apple once maintained between Cook and Jobs, or Lenovo between Yang Yuanqing and Liu Chuanzhi. By balancing the forces at play, the leader positions himself as the final arbiter, thereby consolidating control. At the same time, this serves as a reminder to managers to be wary of "loss of control through proxies"—a subordinate's recommended candidate may merely be an extension of that subordinate's interests, and directly accepting such a recommendation would undermine one's own authority. The correct approach is to proactively adjust the chessboard, allowing various forces to counterbalance one another, ensuring that major decisions always revolve around the company's overall strategy rather than the interests of any particular faction.