Shen Buhai once asked Marquis Zhao to appoint his cousin to an official post. The Marquis declined, and Shen Buhai's face showed resentment. The Marquis said, "Is this not the very principle I learned from you? Should I follow your request and abandon your doctrine, or uphold your governance and refuse your plea? You once taught me to assign offices according to merit and to rank officials by seniority. Now you make a personal request of me—which of your words am I to heed?" Shen Buhai then rose from his mat, bowed in apology, and said, "You are truly the enlightened ruler I have always envisioned!"
💡 商战启示录
In modern enterprises, leaders often face the conflict between personal relationships and institutional rules. The story of Shenzi's request for an official position reveals a core management principle: once institutions are established, leaders must lead by example; otherwise, the system becomes a mere formality. Nepotism undermines organizational fairness, dampens employee motivation, and ultimately erodes a company's competitiveness. For instance, a tech company founder once appointed relatives to key positions, causing the core team to become disaffected and performance to decline. In contrast, Huawei's Ren Zhengfei adhered to the principle of "concentrating efforts and rewards through a single channel," rejecting nepotism and establishing a promotion system based on contribution, thereby achieving global competitiveness. Marquis Zhao's refusal did not negate Shenzi's value but rather reinforced his authority by upholding the rules. Modern managers should, like Marquis Zhao, maintain strategic resolve under the pressure of personal relationships and ensure procedural fairness. Meanwhile, Shenzi's willingness to acknowledge and correct his mistakes is also worth emulating—when managers themselves violate rules, they should courageously admit it and return to the institutional track, which paradoxically strengthens team trust. For a company to achieve enduring success, it must internalize a performance culture of "rewarding merit and following due order" into its very fabric, rather than relying on personal preferences or nepotistic ties.