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The First Commandment of an Emperor
In our lives each of us can become an emperor. And it doesn't matter what he rules over - his life, his home or his work. Because first of all an Emperor is a special state of one's spirit, , it is a person who made a decision to rule over his destiny by himself, he chooses significant goals by himself, and also the way he walks along. And, as a matter of fact, an Emperor carries personal responsibility for his decisions and actions. The price of an Emreror's mistake is not just personal losses. Frequently it is a ruin of the empire and sorrow of many people, who trusted themselves and their destiny to him. That's why an Emperor is deprived of a right to make mistakes which have irreversible consequences. An Emperor's power must rest on a solid foundation, otherwise it will tumble down.
The first commandment which has to be known and kept to by every human, who chose the way of a monarch for himself, can be expressed in two words: "Solid and empty". Solid is your every step, every decision, every action. It is a food-hold on the way which leads to the aim. But empty is a marsh abyss under your feet. So walking upon it will not lead you to the goal, on the contrary, you will stick in the mud, or just sink down. It is necessary for you to understand: where do you have the solid, and where is the empty. Draw a limit, separate one from the other, and just throw away what do you not need.
The law of "Solid and Empty" should be understood this way. You rule, you yourself, understand what you do, understand the situation in which you act, and understand the factors which form the situation. Look into everything, understand where your solid is, and where you have your empty. Draw a limit, separate one from the other. Throw away the empty: only the solid can be a foundation for decisions and actions. Rule having a support in the solid.
"Solid and Empty" is a fundamental law of management. The more completely and strictly this law is followed. The higher the efficiency and the results of management. All the rules and leaders who are considered to be great and successful consciously or intuitively followed this law.
SOLID
Solid is you yourself.
Do you have necessary knowledge, abilities, skills, experience, qualification, workmanship, talent for successful managing with yourself, the others, business, destiny? Do you have enough character and the force of the mill to overcome different obstacles the way to the goal? Do you have a good health to deal is physical and emotional loads? And now think while answering these questions, how much you work honest to yourself.
First of all it is necessary to realistically evaluate yourself and surrounding world, not to dissemble and not to see to yourself. Whether I can or not, whether I am able or not - it depends only on you. And no any plans to anybody. If you realize that, if you limit how to tell truth to yourself, then you are a potentially finished ruler.
A person, who is able to lie to himself sees the world through to the thing called "pink-colored spectacles ". And the picture of the world distorts, he takes desirable for actual, rumors for faces and impressions of a person for this person's essence, promise for fulfillment, flattery for a compeiment:
The tendency of a ruler towards self-deception " encourages" his environment for trickery. People start to getting groups which study their own interests around him. They whisper in both his ears: " What an outstanding person we have here ! What great goals you place before us! What brilliant results we will reach under your wise rule!". Soon such people will completely isolate the emperor from the reality, and he will start getting false picture of the world. The rule with positive results becomes impossible.
Solid is information.
Information is a "bread of management", it is a force, it is a power. If you doubt it, then recall the foundations of blackmail. While information is missing, the whole situation is a peculiar "black box". What is inside of it is not clear and plain. And successful management is impossible until it will be "unsealed".
One has to be able to get the information which is necessary for the success of the deal. You have two channels receiving the information: working-official (colleagues, business partners, subordinates) and personal (friends, acquaintances, "connections" ). Skilful usage of these channels opens access to people and documents, to projects and plans of events.
And one more. Learn access any information impartially (You don't want to be lied to, do you? ). A ruler who accepts only pleasant, positive messages and who orders to "execute the messenger for bringing bad news", forces those who surround him either "fitter" the truth, or hide it until time.
It is better to act like this: no emotions, cell the messengers are better to be accepted impartially, outwardly even indifferently. It is natural that the emotional impartially to a message does not mean indifference to deals and lives. Do not heap everything up in one pile. It is necessary to understand: there is no other way to solve the deal correctly and to be in charge of one's destiny except basing your decisions and actions upon solid information.
Solid is a person, a team , your subjects.
Why is it so important (and even more than that - vitally necessary) to deal with solid people in management?
The answer begins with the establishment of an obvious fact: the goal of the activity is reached with the help of joined efforts. One emperor is in no condition to do all the work, and so it has to be divided between many people. Every person brings in this personal contribution can have a determinant meaning.
But how to form a team of "solid" personalities only? What qualities one has one has to possess to deserve that proud definition of "solid"?
At first solid is competent, professionally trained. A special work has to be done by a specialist; it is desirable that it would be the best specialist, in ideal - a specialist who can not work bad at all. And only in this case you can hope for a positive result. But if you will start a business with obliging fools "Is that worth continuing?"
Solid also means loyal. But it need to be correctly understood: loyalty is not a personal of a citizen to his ruler, it is rather a willingness and ability of a person to put business interests and interests of the state above his own ones.
A personally devoted man will shut his eyes upon his emperor's mistakes. But a conscientious helper, who, what is called, "grieves" about the business, will be brave enough to direct emperor's attention to omissions. More than that, he will try to warn him against mistakes. Such an employee will survive temporary displeasure and a possible negative reaction. Not without purpose the empress Ekaterina the great taught her citizens: "Give preference only to those people, who can contradict you at a case, and to those who prefer your good name to your mercy".
Beside that, the tasks your subjects will get can be very different and advantages and disadvantages, simple and complicated, easy difficult and also unpleasant, dangerous: A disloyal employee and convenient variant for himself and will refuse from the other tasks. Or he will start failing the tasks on the stage of execution, pleading real but most of the time take reasons. And soon the empire will get under a threat.
A loyal person will not let you down, will not be afraid of hardships, will not fall for temptations, will not run away in a tough hour of trial. And the highest stage of displaying of loyalty is readiness for self-sacrifice for the success of the common business.
Finally, solid is healthy. It healthy, than ready to serve the empire and the emperor. Lack of health can bring many merits of a person to nothing.
Professionalism, loyalty and health, showed in it's trinity either in a particular person, or in subjects in general - that is the solid. To have such people is the highest valor of an emperor. Five centuries ago Makiavelly said the following about it in his classical work "Sovereign": "Firstly they judge of the rulers intellect according to what people he retains ".
Solid are resources
Not any resources in general, but only such resources (machinery and equipment, raw-materials, finances), which are enough for the success of a business and which are available at your disposal. Only when these conditions are simultaneously observed, resources can be evaluated as solid.
Solid is your authority (reputation)
From the first right it seems that authority and reputation is rather a moral category, only an opinion or a judgment. But it is correct only partly. In reality authority and reputation have a great material power. You can put your personal authority on the "scales" of success when you need to do that, and also your business reputation and titt the balance in your favor.
There are, who are never lied to and let down. There are managers, whose tasks will be impeccably performed by his subordinates and will be taken as an honor. There are merchants, who are believed by taking on trust. There are organizations which are always given preference. There are empires, interests of which are never touched.
An authority is needed to be taken care of an strengthened. The only reliable way is to do everything better than anybody else. You, what is called, are "fully armed" yourself. You have full, strict, confirmed by different sources in information, you are able to evaluate the situation correctly and to form the right decisions . You have in prosperity all the necessary recourses. Your decisions and actions are based upon the solid. Nothing empty. Success is guaranteed! All that you undertake goes well, positive results are reached. Success is being connected with you, because you exactly are the head to it all! This is your personal success, you have everything solid!
Empty
Empty is everything you have just read and learned, but taken with the opposite sigh, with the minus. Empty is the antipode of solid.
Empty is perhaps, most likely, somehow.
This trio are any person's, any ruler's worst enemies. Perhaps it will go well, most likely I'll cope with it, what if I'll have good luck! But no: it did not go well, you didn't cope with that, you had bad luck! The aims are not reached, the business is failed, the results are negative. You did not want that , but that is what you have. It could not be different.
Empty is information
Incomplete, inaccurate, unchecked information.
Empty information has lots of variants. An idle conversation. An incompetent opinion. A conscientious delusion. A lie "for the rescue". A rumor. A gossip. A premeditated deception. Misinformation
All military traps are built upon the enemy's deception. A war is a way of deception. That is why appear: stealnity put plans , imaginary deserts, false positions, deceptional maneuvers:
Grief to the one who believed that, who get tricked. Remember about it and do not too much rely on what you overhead or peeped, because there is a possibility that it was a put up job.
Learn to distinguish facts from numerous. There are many many rumors, but there are few facts. To avoid mistakes, accept everything, except stable determined facts, for information, which needs to be checked. Never start acting basing on the information, the truth of which was not determined.
Empty is people
A friend, who promises but does not fulfill his promises will let you down. A sentry who falls asleep on his post will ruin the army. An ally who chases his own benefits will betray you. Corrupted officials only defame you and your power.
You personally are responsible for people. Here is a situation: your ally betrayed. You trusted, and they let you down. Disappointing, isn't it? There is a strong desire to draw out your index finger, to point it at the betrayer and to say: look who is to blame, it was he who let down, it is not me. It possible that there are some reasons for your claims: indeed your confidence had been betrayed.
But look attentively at your hand. It is only your index finger that is headed forward. And what do the three others situated lower, point at? At yourself! It seems that they all ask a question: who chose that person to be an ally? I did. And who took on trust everything he said and promised, and didn't labour at checking it once again? We again. And who made a decision about the cooperation, connected hopes with him? I did it all. And it turns that this is a personal fault, no one is to blame. The other person just used favorable conditions for himself.
Empty is resources
These resources which are necessary for the success of the business, but either they are not enough, or they are not in our disposal.
God hord himself taught future rulers a lesson on how to rule: he created human's (a man and a woman) only on the 6-th day of creation, and preliminary he had created the environment - the sky and land, the moon and the sun, the air and water, grass and trees, fishes, birds and and animals. And only after that he said: "Propagate and multiply!", not earlier.
It is necessary to have resources. . It is necessary in the point that it is a condition which can not be avoided. It will not do in another way.
Empty is authority(reputation)
Some people have a long "tail" authority characteristics drugging after them: light, muddle-headed, narrow-mind, can let one down. And such evolution can be enough for the others not to even greet them, and we are not talking about dealing with them. Once format, negative opinion can turn out to be quite stable. It is possible that a person had got rid of and corrected his past drawbacks, but he is still being blamed for them again and again. Rumours widely spread negative evolutions of a person and his activities. This is joy for you enemies, and danger for you.
Highest art
All human activity consists of solid and empty, and one has to be able be distinguished one from the other.
Human learns that skill. If we suspect that the rope can tear, we will try to tear it. If we have a doubt, that the path under our feet can collapse, we try to press on it.
If we have a doubt about a person, whether he will let us down, we will organize a test. The lack of knowledge and skills we take away by studies and practice. And so in the ascending line, from simple to complicated, to the summits of mastery.
To rule learning on solid is the most important in an emperor's case. Every step towards the goal, every decision and action have a support on the solid. And nothing empty. It is necessary to follow the next rule: "As in mathematics the product of plus on minus gives minus, so is in the rule, the combination of solid and empty gives empty". The simplified approach to the business of ruling an empire, which is expressed by a sadly famous phrase " we wanted the better but it happened as always" is completely not suitable.
Many adults what used to simplifying and expressing in round numbers. They sincerely suppose that if they are ready for something " in general", "basically", "in principle" (this is in the best case), then it is equal to the fact that they are ready completely. And only the real march of events, facing with unpleasant unexpectedness, lost opportunities to do one thing and to achieve the success finally dethrone all illusions: plans, projects, work (but sometimes life itself)- all in vain. It is not your way. It is not an emperor's business.
There are no small things in ruling. In the Middle Ages the German people who are famous for their accuracy and punctuality had a proverb, which is a sort of a national expression of the law "Solid and empty": "Little things do not have a deciding meaning, little things determine everything!". It's important to understand that.
If you want a complete success, victory - get ready completely. Readiness "in general", "basically", "in principle" is not the guarantee of the victory.
A ruler who learned how to separate solid from empty inside and outside of himself becomes self confident and strong. He comes to his goal like a winner. No obstacles can stop him on his way to the chosen aim.
The next article will be dedicated to the emperor's choice.
Terentyev Vladimir Konstantinovich - the head of the department of management of human resources of the Chuvash Republic Institute of Education.
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