King Chu intended to send Zhang Zi away from the state of Chu, yet he feared that Zhang Zi might harm Chu's interests. He thus said to his ministers, "I have heard that Zhang Zi's wisdom is sufficient to discern the hearts of all rulers. I wish to have him depart, but I am afraid he may act against Chu." The ministers replied, "If Your Majesty could heed our counsel, then Chu would have no cause for worry. We beg Your Majesty not to let Zhang Zi go, but rather to increase his stipend and soothe his heart. Zhang Zi will surely be grateful for Your Majesty's kindness and thus remain loyal to Chu. Should he prove otherwise, then Your Majesty may dispatch troops to intimidate him, and Zhang Zi would not dare harbor any thought of betrayal." The King of Chu said, "Well spoken." Thereupon he treated Zhang Zi with generous emoluments and did not allow him to leave. Zhang Zi, indeed moved by the King's favor, stayed in Chu and offered his counsel, whereby the state of Chu was kept in peace and stability.
💡 商战启示录
This strategy embodies the wisdom of "talent management" and "risk control" in modern commercial warfare. The core dilemma facing King Chu was this: a man of superior intellect (Zhang Zi) might well become a rival, yet to expel him by force could drive him into the enemy's camp, thereby magnifying the very danger he sought to avert. Modern enterprises frequently encounter analogous predicaments—when a key technical pillar resigns to found a startup or defects to a competitor. King Chu's choice of "generous emolument to retain talent," rather than outright confrontation, constitutes a form of "soft locking" of human capital—binding interests to diminish the incentive for betrayal. Parallel cases abound: Apple once offered lavish compensation to retain its pivotal designer Jony Ive, preventing his design acumen from flowing to rivals; or Huawei's "Genius Youth" program, which secures top-tier researchers through handsome salaries and equity stakes. At the same time, King Chu preserved the deterrent of "approaching with arms," corresponding to modern legal instruments such as non-compete clauses and patent protection—a dual defense of "carrot and stick." The strategic lesson for managers is this: when faced with core talent, rather than forcibly expelling them or letting them drift away, one should convert them into loyal internal forces through resource investment—compensation, equity, culture—while retaining institutional constraints to safeguard the organization's essential assets. Yet caution is warranted: "generous emolument" must be grounded in value assessment, for excessive concession may embolden talent to hold the organization hostage. The balance between input and output must be struck, just as modern enterprises tie performance to incentives rather than bestowing unconditional largesse.