Someone said to the King of Qin, "I am privately perplexed. Your Majesty's closeness to your ministers is not as deep as a father's love for his son; nor is the bond among your courtiers as intimate as that between brothers. If this is so, why does Your Majesty not examine the matter carefully? Zeng Shen, though filial, was still doubted by his father; Boyi, though incorruptible, was still suspected by others. Now those who present memorials to Your Majesty all say: 'I have heard that a loyal minister serving his sovereign must exhaust his wisdom and strength, not shunning death itself.' Yet Your Majesty does not investigate this, and I fear that loyal ministers will no longer be employed. I have heard: 'To speak without understanding the situation is unwise; to know the truth yet remain silent is disloyal.' As a minister, disloyalty warrants death; speaking without prudence also warrants death. Nevertheless, I am willing to set forth in full what I have heard, and I only hope that Your Majesty will render judgment."
💡 商战启示录
This strategy reveals the crisis of trust between leaders and subordinates: though subordinates may profess loyalty, if the leader fails to examine deeply or establish genuine trust, even the faithful will grow disheartened and depart. In modern business, when executives are parachuted into companies, employees often appear compliant on the surface yet covertly defy orders beneath. The root cause lies in leaders who do not observe their subordinates with the care of a father or elder brother, relying solely on reports or performance metrics, which distorts the truth. For instance, a tech company CEO who over-relied on mid-level briefings while ignoring frontline feedback saw his core team resign en masse and his projects collapse. Conversely, Ren Zhengfei of Huawei advocates "letting those who hear the cannon fire call for the artillery," fostering transparency through grassroots immersion and open communication channels, thereby emboldening employees to speak frankly and deepening their loyalty. This strategy further warns that leaders must discern "loyal counsel" from "flattering words," just as the King of Qin had to scrutinize the motives behind memorials. In modern commerce, managers should establish multi-channel verification mechanisms—such as anonymous feedback and skip-level interviews—to avoid being deceived by one-sided narratives. Likewise, like Zeng Shen's father, one must anchor judgments in facts rather than emotion or appearances, even when dealing with those closest to them. Ultimately, trust is never one-directional; leaders must proactively "examine," demonstrating through action their regard for talent, so as to inspire the team's devotion to "exert all wisdom in service," achieving a win-win for both organization and individual.