Lord Mengchang dispatched an envoy to the state of Wei, who sought to persuade the King of Wei, saying: "The strength of Qi does not lie in the vastness of its territory, nor in the multitude of its soldiers, but in the presence of a worthy minister such as Lord Mengchang. Now that Lord Mengchang has been banished from Qi, no sovereign among the feudal lords has yet been swift enough to employ him. Should Wei gain the service of Lord Mengchang, then Qi is certain to decline, while Wei is certain to prosper. I earnestly entreat Your Majesty to receive him without delay, lest Qi repent and summon him back." The King of Wei replied, "Well spoken." Thereupon he sent envoys to welcome Lord Mengchang. When Lord Mengchang arrived in Wei, the King appointed him Chancellor. Upon learning of this, Qi dispatched envoys bearing a thousand catties of gold and a hundred chariots, offering apologies to Lord Mengchang and beseeching him to resume his former office. Lord Mengchang then returned to Qi, and the King of Wei raised no further objection.
💡 商战启示录
This strategy can be regarded as an ancient version of the "war for talent." Its core lies in identifying key assets (worthy talents) and acting swiftly, while leveraging the opponent's hesitations to create a sense of urgency. In modern business warfare, top talent or core technology plays the role of "Lord Mengchang," and a competitor's turmoil presents the perfect opportunity for poaching. For instance, in 2010, Tony Fadell, a former Apple executive, founded Nest Labs with the backing of Google, precisely because of his expertise in the smart home sector. Google subsequently acquired the company for $3.2 billion, rapidly seizing the smart home market. Similarly, after Huawei faced sanctions in 2019, its chip experts were lured away by competitors with lucrative offers. However, Huawei retained its core team through equity incentives and career platforms, preventing the loss of its "Lord Mengchang." This strategy also reveals the wisdom of "crisis management": when talent departs, the former employer is often willing to pay a higher price to win them back (as exemplified by the King of Qi offering heavy reparations). Enterprises should anticipate this risk and establish deeper interest alignment before talent leaves, rather than resorting to remedial measures after the loss. A true strategist must possess both the decisiveness of King Wei in "urgently welcoming" talent and the discernment of Lord Mengchang in "returning to Qi"—in business, talent mobility is the norm, but how to enable talent to create maximum value amidst decisions of staying or leaving tests the leader's vision and capacity for immediate response.