Nowadays, the season has come to winter, and the atmosphere is also cold. Even President Ma Yun, who has not appeared for a long time, has come out to contribute his famous saying, "All great companies are born in winter... I firmly believe that Alibaba will change." Another e-commerce giant, Brother Qiang from JD.com, also spoke up, saying, "JD.com must change, otherwise there is no way out... No matter what, I will not lie down." With a few words, the anxieties of the big shots are vividly displayed.
Facing the current situation, it has become a consensus for many bosses that if they don't change, they will perish. Of course, there are also some companies that have not had time to change or simply don't want to change, and they have already fallen before the dawn of spring. Although they have different ways of dying, there are common signs to follow. That is, on the eve of their downfall, they have already started to slack off in various ways. Let's talk about these "slacking off highlights" and hope to inspire everyone.
01 Good employees slacking off: Whipping the fast ox, scattering the team's morale#
The faster the water buffalo runs and the more fields it plows, the more it gets whipped. On the other hand, the lazy yellow ox leisurely eats grass without getting whipped much. The result is that the water buffalo can't bear it anymore, breaks free from the plow and runs away. This is called "whipping the fast ox." In a chaotic company, when there is confusion and disarray, with no direction and blind trial and error, these excellent employees are likely to be treated as firefighters on various "frontlines". They will be given various tasks for various reasons and in various ways, often with an "urgent" demand. After they work overtime to complete the tasks, they usually receive no feedback, or the version they just completed is overturned and stopped by the leaders, requiring them to start from another direction... In this way, they keep trying and making mistakes repeatedly, like headless flies, without any sense of accomplishment at work or reasonable economic rewards. Instead, they do more and make more mistakes. After a long time, even the best employees will not accompany the company in its aimless struggle, but will start slacking off in various ways, either by doing side jobs or secretly applying for other jobs.
All breakups are premeditated. Excellent fast oxen who are used to being compared with slow oxen can't tolerate not knowing who they are fighting for and why. If even the fast oxen start to regress, slack off, or run away from the plow, it often means that the company has major problems, or even its survival is at stake.
02 Team slacking off: Serious internal conflicts#
When a company's external business is blocked, unable to handle customers, and unable to get orders, it can only focus its frustration internally, starting to "introspect" and "reflect" on itself. Sometimes, it says that the company's management system is problematic, and sometimes it feels that the employees' morale is not positive. Therefore, various reforms are initiated, strict attendance management is implemented, and full-scale KPIs are implemented. The boss acts as if he is injected with chicken blood, but the employees see through it. Now that the company is not doing well, is it because of attendance or the system? When the business boomed in the first half of this year, didn't the company use the same methods? Why is it sometimes sweet and sometimes bitter?
In fact, the company's intentions are not difficult to understand. First, it needs to relieve anxiety through formal turmoil. Second, it tries to make some people's workload appear more saturated and have "soft achievements" through these "quantifiable" means. Third, it attempts to improve morale and win people's hearts while making some "troublemakers" who cannot stand it or have many ideas voluntarily leave. But the final result is often a situation where there are policies at the top and countermeasures at the bottom. Everyone knows how to handle work, attendance, and KPIs. Everyone knows that what truly consolidates people's hearts and morale is everyone working together to promote the company's business development and generate positive expectations for the company's future. When the team collectively engages in internal conflicts with the company (not individual people), the company is likely to be on the verge of failure.
03 Management slacking off: Proliferation of "pseudo executives"#
Pseudo executives usually have their own set of "upward management" skills for bosses, and a common one is "flattery and deception." "Flattery" means pleasing the boss, such as playing "social skills" with the boss, publicly admiring the boss's calligraphy or singing skills. "Deception" means disregarding reality and bragging in front of the boss, regardless of the actual performance of the company. Whether the company's performance is "slowly improving" or "doing great" depends on the situation.
More importantly, with such executives, it is easy to create a situation where the top is ineffective and the bottom is inefficient, showing the "Parkinson's Law" effect. By the time the boss realizes it, at least a year or more has passed. At this time, the pseudo executives have already prepared their new resumes and are having coffee and discussing new job offers with headhunters as corporate executives.
If a company is filled with pseudo executives and a management team that idolizes them, neglects their duties, and slacks off in various ways, such a company generally does not have a good ending. It is better to quickly find a new employer for oneself.
04 Boss slacking off: Trapped in an "information cocoon" and unaware#
Some time ago, I read an article about Mr. Xu, the boss of Evergrande. The article tells a funny story about Evergrande's advertising placement in the digital advertising industry. It is said that more than ten years ago, Evergrande's key demand for website advertising was for Mr. Xu to see their advertisements on the homepage every day. As long as this could be achieved, the advertising fee was negotiable, and the actual advertising effect didn't matter. Some websites even went so far as to target Mr. Xu's office IP for advertising. So, hundreds of millions of advertising fees were spent not to attract users, but to please one person, the boss.
Aren't all these "fancy" methods deliberately created to build an information cocoon for the boss? Over time, the boss who can only see these filtered and deliberately manipulated information can only slack off passively and be "locked" in a terrible cocoon, unable to see the truth, hear real feedback, and make timely and correct strategic judgments and decisions. Without breaking the information cocoon, how can such a company have good development?
Winter has come, but will spring be far behind? This may be a cliché motivational phrase, but drinking this bowl of chicken soup at this time may warm you up. In the cold season, to maintain the necessary energy and warmth, take more steps, practice more internal skills, refuse to lie down, and avoid slacking off, because once you slack off and lie down, you are prone to freeze and be completely eliminated. I wish all my friends can stay positive in the winter and have a bright outlook. Keep going!