The King of Chu asked Fan Huan, saying, “I wish to establish a chancellor in the state of Qin—who would be suitable?” Fan Huan replied, “I am not capable of knowing such a matter.” The King of Chu said, “Of those I might send to Qin to serve as chancellor, who is equal to the task?” Fan Huan answered, “If Your Majesty desires to place a chancellor in Qin, I have heard that one should not send one’s own trusted confidant to hold that office. The chancellor is a weighty minister of state, and the matter cannot be taken lightly. I have further heard that if Zhang Yi were to become chancellor of Qin, he would surely strengthen Qin and weaken Chu; but if Gan Mao were made chancellor, then although Qin might be powerful, it would assuredly hold Chu in high regard. Now, if Your Majesty wishes to install a chancellor in Qin, none is more worthy than Gan Mao.” The King of Chu said, “Gan Mao is my personal enemy—this cannot be.” Fan Huan said, “When a king employs the worthy, why must he quibble over old grudges? Gan Mao is a good minister of Qin; in character he is loyal and trustworthy, and he is skilled in managing relations with Qin. If Your Majesty employs him, he will surely treat Chu generously, and Qin will for this reason esteem Chu as well. Now, if Your Majesty casts him aside because of a private resentment, this is no sound strategy. Moreover, Your Majesty once sent Shao Hua to the state of Yue; he stirred up internal strife there, throwing Yue into great disorder, and thereby Chu was able to fortify the passes of Li in the south and establish commanderies east of the Yangtze. That Your Majesty could accomplish this was due to the chaos within Yue. Now, if Your Majesty employs Gan Mao, Qin will surely fall into internal turmoil, and Chu may then seize the advantage—this is an opportunity not seen in ten thousand generations. Why should Your Majesty begrudge a single enemy and lose a benefit that would last ten thousand ages?” The King of Chu said, “Well spoken.” Thereupon he sent Gan Mao to Qin to serve as chancellor.
💡 商战启示录
Fan Huan advised the King of Chu to appoint his adversary Gan Mao as the prime minister of Qin—ostensibly for Qin's benefit, but in truth to weaken a rival state and strengthen Chu's own interests by installing a pro-Chu proxy. This was a masterstroke of "borrowing force to strike," a strategy of leveraging one enemy against another. In modern business, this teaches leaders to rise above personal grudges and consider talent deployment from a strategic height. For instance, Apple's founder Steve Jobs once had disagreements with current CEO Tim Cook, yet Cook was entrusted with great responsibility for his exceptional supply chain management, ultimately leading Apple to new heights of glory. Similarly, when Huawei expanded into international markets, it recruited senior executives from competitor Ericsson for key positions, leveraging their industry experience and networks to help Huawei establish a firm foothold in the European market. This wisdom of "turning enemies into assets" demands that decision-makers possess far-sighted vision and magnanimous breadth of mind, transforming the capabilities of rivals or adversaries into driving forces for one's own development. Moreover, Fan Huan's counsel underscored the critical importance of the "prime minister" as a pivotal post, reminding enterprises that in core positions, one must look beyond mere competence to consider the potential impact on one's own interests—using deft personnel arrangements to leverage a grander strategic landscape.