The Three Kingdoms period was a period of great turmoil and strife in our country's history. At that time, the Eastern Han Dynasty's regime declined, peasant uprisings arose, regimes changed one after another, and heroes competed in the world, especially among the increasingly powerful Cao Cao, Sun Quan, and Liu Bei, sharp and complex political contests and successive military struggles took place. These political and military groups sometimes collude with each other, sometimes criticize each other; sometimes fight with each other, and sometimes drink and drink; they have multi-faceted and multi-level complex relationships and contradictions with each other. In the thrilling political turmoil and life-and-death wars, anyone who does not strive for progress, sticks to the past, is indecisive, or ambiguous will miss opportunities; anyone who has countless thoughts, is careless, ill-considered, and makes hasty decisions will incur heavy losses. It can be said that a single gesture determines success or failure, as well as wealth and life. Therefore, attaching importance to decision-making and being good at decision-making are the common characteristics of many people in the "Three Kingdoms". In "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms", the concept of "decision-making" is clearly put forward. This is hundreds of years before the concept of "decision-making" was formally proposed in the West. In particular, some outstanding figures in the "Three Kingdoms" had the overall situation in mind and a far-sighted vision. They were able to think about problems from an overall and long-term perspective. They were good at handling large-scale relationships. They were able to grasp the general direction of the development of the situation during changes and strive for strategic gains. Initiative and advantage, so from small to large, from weak to strong, a vigorous career has been achieved.
"The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" describes many successful strategic decisions.
Before Liu Bei got Zhuge Liang, he was in despair and suffered repeated setbacks, so he had no choice but to defect to Liu Biao in Jingzhou. Later, after being recommended by Mr. Shui Jing, Sima Hui and Xu Shu, he visited the thatched cottage three times and invited Zhuge Liang to help. Zhuge Liang during his first meeting with Liu Bei. First of all, he analyzed the general trend of the world incisively and pointed out that Cao Cao "has gathered millions of people to hold the emperor to command the princes. This sincerity cannot be competed with. Sun Quan has occupied Jiangdong for three generations. The country is in danger and the people are attached. This can be used as reinforcement." It’s impossible to achieve”; then, he briefly explained the important strategic position of Jingzhou and Yizhou, and finally told Liu Bei that in order to achieve hegemony, he should “let Cao Cao occupy the sky in the north, and let Sun Quan occupy the territory in the south. Jingzhou became their home, and later they took Xichuan to build their foundation, so as to form a tripartite force, and then they could conquer the Central Plains." This is the Longzhong decision that has been praised throughout the ages. In this famous decision, there are both strategic goals and strategic measures, as well as several strategic stages to achieve the goals. When Liu Bei heard this, he suddenly became enlightened. It was precisely by gradually implementing this correct decision that the Liu Bei Group was able to survive the desperate situation, establish a firm foothold, and develop day by day. It stood side by side with the Wei and Wu regimes established earlier and existed and continued for more than 40 years.
When talking about the Soochow generals before and after the Battle of Chibi, people often think of the majestic Zhou Lang first. In fact, among Sun Quan's camp in Soochow, the one with the clearest strategic intentions was Lu Su. Historical records show that Lu Su had great ambitions when he was young and had a clear understanding of the situation in which the heroes were competing for power at that time. Although he grew up in the East City of Linhuai under the rule of Yuan Shu, when he saw that although Yuan Shu was temporarily powerful, it would never last long, he refused Yuan Shu's invitation to become the mayor of the East City and resolutely crossed the river to join Sun Quan. "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" records the major strategic decisions Lu Su made for Sun Quan after crossing the river based on historical facts. He said to Sun Quan: "The Han Dynasty cannot be revived, and Cao Cao cannot be eliminated. For the general's plan, we can only stand in the east of the Yangtze River to observe the provocations (changes) of the world." At present, he must take advantage of the troubled opportunity of the melee in the north to "wipe out Huang Zu." , marched against Liu Biao, and held on to the extreme point of the Yangtze River; then he was named Emperor to benefit the world." It can be said that the establishment and expansion of the Soochow regime was the result of the implementation of this correct strategic decision. Later, at the important moment when Liu Biaoxin died and Cao Cao's army moved south, it was he who sized up the situation and promptly proposed to Sun Quan the correct decision to "work with one heart and one mind to defeat Cao Cao" with Liu Bei. To this end, he actively traveled between Sun and Liu: first he came to Jingzhou in the name of mourning and stated to Liu Bei the importance and urgency of the alliance between Sun and Liu, and then accompanied Zhuge Liang across the river to discuss the plan to fight Cao Cao. , against all opinions, finally contributed to the formation of the Sun-Liu alliance, laying a solid political and diplomatic foundation for the victory of the Battle of Chibi. The Soochow regime's survival in the crisis was still the result of accepting Lu Su's correct decision-making plan.
After that, in order to "manage more enemies," he established his own party, giving Cao Cao one more enemy and Soochow one more friend. He tried every means to ease the conflicts between Sun Quan, Liu Bei, Zhou Yu, and Zhuge Liang, especially in the extremely sensitive Jingzhou On the issue, Lu Su, who acted as a mediator to maintain the alliance between Sun and Liu, seemed to have a better understanding than Zhou Yu, who was eager for quick success. Imagine if Lu Su had not formulated the correct plan for Soochow. Zhuge Liang's strategic vision of dividing the world will inevitably suffer setbacks. The history of the Chibi War will be rewritten. The established Soochow regime may have already surrendered to Cao Cao.
The successful cases in "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" effectively reveal that strategy is not only a problem that must be solved, but also a crucial event for a political and military group. Those who make mistakes sing songs of victory, and those who make mistakes are like the bells in the morning and the drums in the evening, which are always worthy of vigilance.
The importance of strategy also exists in the business activities of modern enterprises. In an era of rapid development of science and technology, economy, and society, we are in an era of extensive division of labor, close collaboration, and unprecedentedly complex social connections. With the progress of my country's economic system reform, our country's enterprise management has transformed from a production-based to a production-based management. From execution type to decision-making type, from closed type to open type, enterprises can no longer wait and rely on superiors but must actively adapt to the changes of the times, consciously meet the needs of the market, and bravely meet the challenges of competition. A business leader must expand his vision from the inside to the outside, from the immediate to the long-term, and think systematically and developmentally. That is to say, after the business strategy is determined, the business goals of an enterprise must be defined. and business policies, determine the business scope and scale of an enterprise, select the organizational structure, management system, etc. of the enterprise, thereby fundamentally affecting the enthusiasm of all employees, affecting the working order of the enterprise as a whole, and affecting the development direction and development direction of the enterprise in the long run. It can be said that business strategy is inevitable for the development of the times and the commodity economy, and is necessary for the survival and development of enterprises. Looking at China and foreign countries, it has become a trend for enterprises in various countries to formulate and develop business strategies. To implement the business strategy, the company must do a good job in strategic management. The so-called strategic management does not only mean that managers and ordinary employees of all departments of the company must consciously carry out pioneering work around strategic goals, and cannot stop at maintaining daily routines. In terms of operation management and production; in particular, high-level managers of enterprises are required to devote their main energy to thinking about strategies, formulating strategies, and implementing strategies. It should be understood that this is the most glorious part of a high-level manager's work. .
The basic factors of strategic management include the following two aspects:
Thinking of the overall situation
Modern enterprise is a complex large system and an external open system. Internally, its operating elements include people, finance, material, technology, information, etc., and its operating links include supply, production, and sales; externally, it must obey market demand and consider competitors, and these are subject to political and economic factors. , technology, culture, nature and many other factors. Therefore, the overall comprehensiveness of modern enterprises is strengthened and the "radiation radius" is extended. This requires that strategic management must reflect overall awareness, macro awareness, and even global awareness; it must be both overall and hierarchical; it must have a high-level perspective, make overall plans, and think in all directions to prevent focusing on one thing and losing sight of the other, and making omissions; and it must also distinguish clearly Different levels, different priorities. "Sun Tzu's Art of War" puts forward the "Five Matters" and "Seven Strategies", which are to look at the problem comprehensively; and the "Five Matters" and "Seven Strategies" are headed by "Tao", which also reflects the hierarchy of strategic thinking. In his decision-making in Longzhong, Zhuge Liang not only analyzed the enemy, ourselves, and friends, but also took into account the time, location, and people; he also distinguished the advantages and disadvantages, and planned the overall strategic goals and phased goals. Here is the question of how to understand and deal with the relationship between the global and the local. The whole world is composed of parts at different levels. The global restricts the local, and the local affects the global. When there is a conflict between the local part and the overall situation, we must be able to decisively abandon the part in order to grasp the key points and ensure the overall situation; when the part may lead to the failure of the whole, we must attach great importance to the part and implement it step by step. Although defending Jingzhou is a partial issue, it is an overall strategic issue. Guan Yu later lost Jingzhou, which dealt a major blow to Zhuge Liang's strategy.
Looking for the long term
Reality is the foundation of the future, and future is the development of reality; reality is the foothold and starting point, and the future is the focus and goal. When an enterprise formulates its own strategic plan, it can only innovate and adapt to changes and developments in the internal and external environment by basing itself on reality and focusing on the future, so that it can maintain the initiative and lead in the long term, and seize and win the future. Therefore, strategic management must reflect future awareness and transcendence awareness, and establish the concept of "tomorrow is today". Zhuge Liang's Longzhong decision created a lasting legacy for Shu for decades, so people praised it as "a pair that will last for a long time."
To plan for the long term, we must first observe the problem in the long term
Businessman Ji Ran in the Spring and Autumn Period. He once put forward the principle of "dry means boats, water means cars", which emphasizes that we should not just look at the present, but look further. It can be seen that "looking for the long term" is a business principle that connects ancient and modern times.
Long-term plans require long-term arrangements
Strategic management must also follow two basic principles:
The principle of rationality
From an epistemological perspective In other words, business strategy is a subjective category. The so-called rationality is to unify the subjective consciously and actively with the objective. A high-level manager of an enterprise, in the process of strategic management, must make strategy formulation and execution reach this level through their own efforts. Those whose strategic management conforms to this principle will win, and those who violate this principle will lose. Numerous business cases strongly prove this point.
The objective reality of an enterprise includes the following aspects: macro principles and policies; social requirements, especially market demand; the situation of competitors; the situation of resource suppliers; its own conditions and qualities, etc. . To follow the rational principle in strategic management, we must consider whether it conforms to the country's requirements, interests and development; whether it conforms to the needs, wishes and interests of consumers; whether it conforms to its own conditions and qualities; whether it can lead and win in the competition. wait. It should also be noted that the objective situation changes and develops, and strategic plans must have a certain degree of flexibility and be adjusted in a timely manner to adapt to changes in the situation. In short, the formulation and implementation of strategies must comply with the needs of the country, society and consumers, and be conducive to the survival and development of the enterprise itself.
The principle of pursuing profits
The so-called pursuit of profits requires striving to obtain the best economic benefits based on the idea of ??"seeking benefits and avoiding disadvantages". Following the principle of profit-seeking, we must strive to invest the least in strategic operations, save resources to the greatest extent, and take the least risks; strive for the greatest results and successfully achieve strategic goals; strive to achieve the most results in the shortest time, that is to say Be efficient.
The principle of rationality and the principle of profit-seeking are an indispensable organic whole. The former is the premise and condition of the latter, and the latter is the concreteness and depth of the former. If the former is violated, the strategy will lose its scientific basis; if the latter is violated, the strategy will lose its value and significance
2. Who will realize the big dream first? I know this in my life
— —Forecasting is the prerequisite for strategic decision-making
Correct strategic decisions must follow scientific decision-making procedures. The first step in the decision-making process is to understand the present and predict the future through research and comprehensive analysis. There is an old Chinese saying: "Knowing things comes first, followed by judgment" ("Xue Wenqing Gong's Political Records"). Understanding objectivity is the basis and starting point for all correct decisions, and it is the guarantee of the rational principle of strategic management. It should be said that for a person with certain professional knowledge, mastering modern decision-making technology is not unattainable. The key and difficulty lies in how to accurately estimate the probability values ??of various states. Because decision-making faces the future, future events can only be estimated and predicted. If the information required for decision-making is relatively comprehensive, accurate, and timely, and if the analysis of the information is realistic and logical, then the prediction of the future will be relatively accurate, and the probability estimates of various states will be basically consistent. The true face of the objective world, the decisions made will bear less risk and the possibility of success will be high.
As a work of art, "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" uses various activities of typical characters in typical environments to visualize and artisticize the general methods and principles of investigation and research, leaving extremely profound lessons for future generations. .
Zhuge Liang is a man who is good at decision-making, but his vast talent is not an improvisation without foundation.
"The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" "Zhuge Liang is said to be very wise and close to the devil" (Lu Xun's "A Brief History of Chinese Novels"), saying that he is good at observing the sky at night and predicting events like a god. All this has little temptation and temptation for modern humans. Infected. What people pay more attention to is that every correct decision made by Zhuge Liang is based on a full, accurate and timely grasp of the objective situation. Before many battles, he either sent out "spies" or "spies", or used surrendered generals to capture soldiers, or personally investigated the enemy's troop deployment, ascertained the quality, ability, and psychology of the enemy generals, observed the terrain, and then formulated plans. Favorable combat plan to defeat the enemy. On the eve of the Chibi War, it was during Cao Cao's march south to Jingzhou and after experiencing several battles with Cao's army that he accurately grasped the strengths and weaknesses of both the enemy and ourselves, and thus made the correct prediction that Cao Cao would be defeated. The reason why Longzhong's decision was an incisive and pertinent analysis of world affairs was the result of Zhuge Liang's huge and long-term labor. Zhuge Liang, who had great ambitions and temporarily secluded himself in the mountains and forests, paid attention to collecting information in various ways and from all aspects to understand various social, political, and military trends. He studies hard in his daily life, and his reading method is to "look at the outline alone", so he has a wide range of knowledge and a deep understanding. He pays attention to socializing. Shi Guangyuan from Yingzhou, Cui Zhouping from Boling, Xu Shu and Meng Gongwei from Runan are all his close friends. After passing them, he met Pang Tong, known as "Feng Chu", and Sima Hui, known as Shui Jing. His brother Zhuge Jin was involved in the secrets of government affairs in Soochow. His younger brother Zhuge Jun and his father-in-law Huang Chengyan were both very knowledgeable and sharp-minded people. Zhuge Liang exchanged letters with these people, or gathered and talked, forming an intelligence network as it is said in modern times. Zhuge Liang, who aspires to the world, is the advanced storage and processing center of this network. Zhuge Liang also liked to travel in the clouds to explore mountains and rivers, geography, passes and obstacles, and learn about customs, climate, products, etc. Therefore, it is false that Zhuge Liang was still young, but it is true that he knows the world. This is not a prophetic vision, but reflects the epistemological truth that knowledge comes from practice. When Xu Shu bid farewell to Liu Bei in tears and went straight to Wollongong to implore Zhuge Liang to assist Liu Bei, although Zhuge Liang declined on the surface, he actually wanted to conduct further investigation and research. After that, he wandered around for days without returning, and Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei visited the thatched cottage without success. He wants to further add the latest information and think over and over again about the plan to mediate heaven and earth. When he was lying high in the thatched cottage waiting for Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei to arrive for the third time, his strategic decision-making for the three-part world was already fully outlined. Otherwise, where did the wall map of the fifty-four states of Xichuan come from? How could Zhuge Liang point to it with a smile as if he were familiar with it? How could he put forward his first important suggestion to Liu Bei just after he came out of the mountain and arrived in Xinye: "Cao Cao is here Jizhou built Xuanwu Pond to train its sailors, which must have the intention of invading the south of the Yangtze River. "Can we secretly send people across the river to find out the truth?"
The object of any decision-making is a complex system. A system is an organic whole that changes due to the interaction between internal elements and the internal and external environment. Therefore, decision-making is not a simple summary of information, but a leap in understanding. It requires analysis and synthesis of objective situations under the guidance of scientific methods. This analysis should follow some of the following principles.
The first is to be comprehensive and systematic and compare with each other
On the eve of the Battle of Guandu, in order to eliminate Cao Cao’s concerns, Guo Jia, a scheming and decisive person, pointed out: "Shao has ten defeats, and Gong has ten. Victory, although Shao's army is prosperous, there is nothing to fear; Shao is rich in etiquette, and the public is left to his own devices, this is the way to win; Shao is rebellious, and the public is obedient, this is the way to win; since Huan and Ling, the government has failed due to To be lenient, Shao is lenient and aids, and the public is fierce in correcting, this is the way to win; Shao is lenient on the outside and taboo on the inside, appoints many relatives, is concise and clear on the outside, and employs people according to their talents, this is the victory; Shao has many plans and few decisions, and the public has When Shao is able to act according to his plans, this is how he seeks victory; when Shao is dedicated to collecting reputations and treats people with sincerity, this is the virtue of winning; when Shao is concerned about the near and sometimes far, and when public considerations are not neglected, this is the kind of benevolence that wins; when Shao listens to slander and confusion, and cannot be infiltrated by public, this is the victory. It is clear victory; it is the confusion between right and wrong, the public law is strict, this is the victory; the good power is false, the military is not important, the public uses a small number to defeat the crowd, and the military is like a god, this is the victory of martial arts." These ten aspects include. Politics, line, rule of law, magnanimity, judgment, morality, benevolence, insight, military use, etc., almost all aspects that determine the outcome of a war are involved. It was this detailed comparative analysis of the enemy and ourselves that clarified the misunderstanding of the situation and eliminated some of Cao Cao's doubts, which enabled Cao Cao to make the right decision.
On the eve of the Battle of Chibi, Sun Quan could not make up his mind for a while, so he recalled Zhou Yu to help him make a decision. The peaceful and war sides of Soochow started a debate in the court hall.
Zhang Zhao, a representative of the pro-surrender faction, believed that politically Cao Cao took the initiative by "taking advantage of the emperor and conquering all directions in the name of the imperial court"; in terms of military strength, "it was close to Jingzhou, which made his power even greater"; at the same time, the geographical conditions of Jiangdong had been lost. : "The one who can resist Cao in the east of my river is the Yangtze River. Today, there are more than thousands of Cao Mengyou's warships? How can we take advantage of them if they advance both by water and land?" Therefore, Soochow had only one way out - surrender. Zhou Yu pointed out tit for tat: Politically, Cao Cao "was a traitor to the Han even though he pretended to be the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty", while Sun Quan was trying to eradicate cruelty and violence for the country; militarily, Cao Cao violated the four taboos of military strategists: First, the rear was uneasy, and Ma Teng and Han This caused subsequent troubles. Secondly, most of Cao's troops were from the north and were not familiar with water warfare. Thirdly, it was cold in the middle of winter and there was no wormwood for the horses. Fourthly, the soldiers were not accustomed to the water and soil and were prone to diseases. So he came to the conclusion: Cao's troops "will be defeated even if they are numerous. The general captures Cao today." Zhou Yu's relatively comprehensive comparative analysis inspired Sun Quan's spirit and initially strengthened Sun Quan's determination to resist Cao. Afterwards, Zhuge Liang pointed out that Sun Quan was "cowardly because of the large number of troops and expected to be outnumbered" and that "his mind was not yet stable and he could not make decisions." He must further "explain the situation with the number of troops to make it clear, and then great things can be accomplished." So Zhou Yu met with Sun Quan again at night and analyzed Cao Cao's military strength in detail: Cao Cao claimed that he had "millions of troops on land and water", but in fact "compared with the reality: the Chinese troops he commanded were only 150,000 to 60,000, and they had been exhausted for a long time; the Yuan family he had obtained The crowd only numbered 70,000 to 80,000, and there were still many doubts that were not convinced." Then he confidently said: "Zhou Yu has 50,000 troops and can defeat him on his own. I hope my lord will not worry about it." (Chapter 44) At this point, Sun Quan's doubts were eliminated and he made up his mind to fight Cao Cao decisively.
The above examples illustrate that when analyzing and studying existing information, only a comprehensive and systematic approach can avoid bias; only by paying attention to comparison can we reveal differences and contradictions, highlight the advantages and disadvantages of both parties, and reduce various problems. uncertainty of factors and improve the accuracy of prediction.
The second is to pay attention to changes and dynamic analysis
In the early days of the Battle of Niuling, Lu Xun saw that Liu Bei "raised his troops eastward, won more than ten battles in a row, and was in full swing", so he ordered Take advantage of the high ground to guard the danger, and do not go out to fight, "to see what happens." The Shu army was allowed to "insult Bai Duan" in front of the battle, and even "take off their clothes and armor, and sleep or sit naked." Lu Xun only ordered "stop listening" and turned a blind eye, adopting the policy of strategic retreat. This prompted Liu Bei and his Shu army to become arrogant, restless, tired, lax, and underestimating the enemy, until Liu Bei "moved his camp across the river and occupied 700 miles across the river, with more than 40 villages, all surrounded by streams, ravines, and trees." Wherever it flourishes", the situation of the war turned in favor of Soochow. At this time, Lu Xun, a scholar who was ridiculed by both sides as a coward and coward, went against his normal behavior and seized the perfect opportunity to counterattack. He acted vigorously and resolutely, mobilized his troops and punished the generals, and carried out a fire attack, which was overwhelming and successful. The dialectics of the battlefield shows that everything has opposite and mutually complementary opposites. We should pay attention to the study of the laws of mutual transformation of opposites such as advantages and disadvantages, interests and losses, gains and losses, advance and retreat, movement and stillness, and strive to create conditions to promote the transformation of things to one's own advantage, and in a timely manner Make timely decisions. Static analysis and immutable plans cannot adapt to dynamic systems and the ever-changing objective world.
The third is to pay attention to particularities and analyze specific things concretely
In Luo Guanzhong's writings, he describes countless wars, large and small, and no two are the same. "Burning Chibi with fire" and "flooding the seven armies", one is a fire attack and the other is a water attack, each using different tactics. Even the fire attack used by Zhuge Liang has its own unique characteristics. The heart-stirring feeling of "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" lies precisely in the fact that the author uses his rich imagination and swaying writing style to reveal the particularity of each conflict and reflects the diversity of ways to resolve conflicts. Chapter 85 describes "Zhuge Liang settled on Pingwu Road", which is most ingenious and thought-provoking. Cao Pi sent an army of 500,000 troops to advance in five directions to attack the Shu Han. The Shu Han regime was shaken by both the government and the public, and the successor who had just succeeded was even more panicked. At this time, Zhuge Liang thanked his guests and excused himself from illness. After detailed analysis, he understood the talents, characteristics, psychology of each enemy general, as well as their internal and external relationships, as well as the terrain and geographical advantages of each army, and then dispatched different generals and adopted various methods. Different countermeasures and measures can turn danger into safety without any loss of life. This example shows that only by analyzing specific things concretely and knowing ourselves and our enemies can we make correct judgments, find the most targeted and effective solutions to problems, and remain invincible. On the contrary, if you do not study the particularities of each thing, are satisfied with a general understanding, and stay in a general analysis, you will not be able to find an effective solution to the problem, or even make things worse.
Ma Su, a military dogmatist, ignored the specific factors in reality and mechanically copied the formulas in the book. As a result, he lost the street pavilion. This is a typical negative example.
The fourth is to iterate up and down, and be cautious
The so-called iteration means that even if the decision-maker has his own preliminary considerations, he still has to put it aside, think about it, and listen to it. Listen to all opinions, both positive and negative, especially negative ones. Even if there is no counter-opinion, you should imagine possible counter-opinions and question yourself. In this way, through repeated thinking and research, step by step, you can truly clarify the situation.
In this regard, Sun Quan's decision-making before the Battle of Chibi should be commended. When Liu Biaoxin died, Liu Bei was defeated, and Cao Cao's army went south, Lu Su proposed to go to Jiangxia in the name of mourning to persuade Liu Bei to "work as one heart and defeat Cao Cao." Sun Quan "happily followed his words"; when Zhang Zhao and others When people advocated surrendering Cao Cao, Sun Quan secretly sighed to Lu Su and said: "Everyone is talking about it, and I am greatly disappointed." When Kong Ming pretended to persuade him to surrender Cao Cao, he "unconsciously changed his color, stood up from his clothes, and retreated into the back hall." ". It can be seen that Sun Quan has always been inclined to resist Cao Cao ideologically. So, why hasn't he made a decision? Because Soochow still doesn't know the truth about Cao's army, which is known as "a million soldiers and a thousand generals". Therefore, he hopes to gain an in-depth understanding of various situations and fully listen to various opinions and their reasons through fierce debates with different opinions. Therefore, in public, whether it was Lu Su's remarks about pro-war or Zhang Zhao and others' remarks about surrender, he just "said nothing" and never commented. After Zhuge Liang and Zhou Yu exposed the lie of Cao Jun's superiority from all aspects and analyzed many of Cao Jun's fatal weaknesses, he finally made it clear that "I will fight Cao's thieves personally, and there is no doubt about it." Some people think that these plots in "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" are meant to accuse Sun Quan of having no strategy, but this is not the case. When a powerful enemy was approaching and the survival of Soochow was at stake, before making a decision, Sun Quan repeatedly explored and cautiously applied the "counterplay method" to allow various opinions to be fully expressed. The author's implication is: It should be so!
The guiding ideology and general methods of investigation and research revealed in "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" should be said to be universally applicable to all human activities, including the strategic decision-making of modern enterprises.
Before making strategic decisions, enterprises must first master the intelligence information related to decision-making as comprehensively and detailedly as possible. For example, the external environment of the enterprise: the situation of resource suppliers, the situation of customers and users, the situation of competitors competing with the enterprise for suppliers and customers, and various factors that may affect the enterprise. These factors are both domestic and international; they are natural, economic, technological, and the product itself, as well as social, political, cultural, and psychological. Another example is the internal conditions of the enterprise, which mainly refers to the various operating resources of the enterprise, such as human, material, financial resources, natural conditions, information acquisition capabilities, the number of technology patents, the quality of product reputation, etc. Secondly, we need to compare and process the intelligence information we have in order to eliminate the false and retain the true, and to discard the rough and select the essential; conduct an in-depth and specific dynamic analysis of the external environment and internal conditions to clarify the possible changes in external factors, the degree of impact of these changes on the enterprise, and the spirit of the employees of the enterprise. Appearance and morale, the production capacity, technical ability, sales ability, management level that the enterprise can actually exert, the primary and secondary relationships of various factors, and the way, intensity, and time of the connections and effects between them. This allows for a clear understanding of the decision-making context as a whole and in dynamics, and accurately predicts the future.
Paying attention to information collection and systematic analysis before decision-making is the unique rule for the success of all enterprises at home and abroad.
3. "Three-divided strategy", "take Jingzhou first and then Sichuan"
- Talking about strategic goals
Goals are the eternal theme of action . Without goals, there is no decision-making or action. Decision-making is to achieve a dynamic balance between the external environment, internal conditions and action goals, and action is the subjective effort to achieve the goal. Only decisions and actions that contribute to a desired goal have value.
The goal is a command piece, which can guide the behavior of a system in the direction and guide the behavior of a system in practice; the goal is a coordination piece, which can communicate the relationship between various departments and links within the system and ensure the good cooperation of various internal forces. Achieve a harmonious balance between top, bottom, left, and right, and achieve overall optimization of the system; the goal is a march, which can boost the morale of organizational members, mobilize their enthusiasm and initiative, and inspire them to perform creative actions to achieve the same goal under various conditions. Thinking and activities, therefore, determine the objectives of strategic decisions based on research. is a crucial link.
Determining decision-making goals should reflect the following principles:
- It is the principle of aggressiveness and feasibility.
The second is the principle of reasonable structure.
The third is the principle of target compression.
The fourth is the principle of specific goals.
The fifth is the principle of goal adjustment.
Some decision-making goals in "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" have the main qualities of high-quality goals.
First forming a tripartite force, and then charting the Central Plains are the two-stage strategic goals Zhuge Liang formulated for Liu Bei in Longzhong. The former is short-term and low-level, and the latter is long-term and highest. The hierarchy between the two is clear and the structure is reasonable. The formulation of these two goals is based on a proper analysis of the general trend of the world that Cao Cao cannot fight, Sun Quan cannot conquer, Liu Biao cannot defend, Liu Zhang is very weak, and Liu Bei is "the crown prince of the imperial family, his faith is spread all over the world, he takes charge of heroes, and he thinks of virtuous people." thirsty” based on their own conditions. Prospering the Han Dynasty and Tu Zhong were originally the highest goals of Longzhong's decision-making. Putting forward this goal fully demonstrated Zhuge Liang's far-sighted vision, his courage to defy destiny, and his enterprising spirit to overcome obstacles. Before Zhuge Liang came out, several of his good friends clearly pointed out that Zhuge Liang "had the master, but not at the right time" and that he had to "mediate the world and make up the world. It may not be easy, and it will be a waste of effort and effort." Zhuge Liang, who is extremely clever, would not fail to see this situation. However, in order to achieve the big goal of restoring the Han Dynasty, he still went out despite the difficulties. After achieving the first stage goal of standing as a tripartite, the Shu Han, who was leaning towards one side in the face of the powerful Cao Wei, needed a spiritual pillar to support them, a political initiative to gain political initiative, and a strategy to use offense as defense. Therefore, Zhuge Liang proposed the difficult decision-making goal of advancing into the Central Plains. His "Later Departure" expresses the pain and contradiction deep in his heart with a desolate and firm tone; his "Liu De Qishan" uses an indomitable will to implement and promote his set goals and strategies. People shed tears because of his failure to succeed, and were even more moved by his failure to overcome difficulties. People will not blame him for "going against the will of heaven", but will respect his enterprising spirit. In terms of reducing the goals, Zhuge Liang turned "taking Jingzhou as his home first" into a means, thereby merging the original three goals, namely taking Jingzhou, taking Xichuan, and Tu Zhongyuan, into two major goals. Due to the difficulty of advancing into the Central Plains, the situation of the Three Kingdoms will definitely exist for a long time. Therefore, there is a long-term time interval and paragraph difference between the Tripod World and the Entering into the Central Plains. Further merging them will lose the clarity and feasibility of the goal. . In addition, in terms of expression of goals, "the power of a tripod" has a clear image; "the original in the picture" is a concise summary, which is the crystallization of highly condensed thinking.
In the actual business management, many companies take the revitalization of China and the realization of the four modernizations as their own responsibilities, and put forward very high requirements for themselves when determining strategic goals. Some of them are determined to fill a certain gap in the country, some are based on accumulating more funds for the country, and some dare to compete with big manufacturers and famous products. Some even look at the world and regard catching up with and surpassing the world's advanced level as their own goals. goal