1. Matthew Effect
2. Watch Principle
3. Not Worth Law
4. Peter Principle
5. Zero-sum Game Principle
6. Washington Cooperation Rule
7. Wine and Sewage Law
8. Bucket Law
9. Mushroom Management
10. Occam's Razor
11. Pareto Principle (80/20 Rule)
12. Money Issue
1. Matthew Effect: In the New Testament's Gospel of Matthew, there is a story about a king who, before going on a long journey, gave each of his three servants one silver coin and instructed them: "Go do business, and when I return, come see me." When the king returned, the first servant said: "Master, the silver coin you gave us, I have earned 10 coins." Thus, the king rewarded him with ten cities. The second servant reported: "Master, the silver coin you gave me, I have earned five coins." So, the king also rewarded him with five cities. The third servant presented: "Master, the silver coin you gave me, I kept wrapped in a handkerchief because I was afraid of losing it, so I never took it out." Then the king ordered that the third servant's silver coin be given to the first servant, saying: "For whoever has little, even what he has will be taken away. But for whoever has much, more will be given, so that he may have an abundance." This is the Matthew Effect. Look around us, and we can find many examples of the Matthew Effect. People with many friends can gain more friends through frequent interactions; those lacking friends will remain lonely. Especially in terms of money, even if the investment return rate is the same, someone who invests ten times more than others will also earn ten times more. This is a winner-takes-all society; skillfully using the Matthew Effect, and you could be the winner. For business development, the Matthew Effect tells us that to maintain an advantage in a particular field, one must quickly grow large in that area. When you become the leader in a certain field, even with the same investment return rate, you can more easily earn greater profits than weaker competitors. And if you lack the strength to quickly grow large in a specific area, you must continuously seek new development areas to ensure better returns.
2. Watch Principle: The watch principle refers to a person knowing the time with one watch, but being unable to determine it with two watches simultaneously. Two watches cannot tell a person more accurate time; instead, they make the person lose confidence in precise time. What you should do is choose the one you trust more, try to calibrate it, and use it as your standard, following its guidance. Remember Nietzsche's words: "Brother, if you are lucky, you only need one morality and not too much, so you can cross the bridge more easily." If everyone "chooses what you love and loves what you choose," regardless of success or failure, they can feel at peace. However, many people are troubled by "two watches," becoming confused and exhausted, unsure which one to believe. Some, under environmental or social pressure, unwillingly choose paths they dislike, leading to a lifetime of depression, even if they achieve notable success, they cannot experience the joy of success. The watch principle gives us a very intuitive insight into enterprise management: the management of the same individual or organization cannot adopt two different methods at the same time, nor can it set two different goals. Even one person cannot be commanded by two people simultaneously, otherwise, the enterprise or this person will be at a loss. Another layer of meaning in the watch principle is that each person cannot simultaneously choose two different value systems, otherwise, their actions will fall into confusion.
3. Not Worth Law: The most straightforward expression of the Not Worth Law is: things not worth doing, aren't worth doing well. This law seems simple enough, but its importance is often overlooked by people. The Not Worth Law reflects a psychological aspect where a person engaged in something they consider unworthy tends to take a cold and indifferent attitude, handling it carelessly. Not only does this reduce the chances of success, but even if successful, they won’t feel much sense of achievement. Which tasks are worth doing? Generally speaking, this depends on three factors:
1. Values: Regarding values, we've already discussed much. Only tasks that align with our values will we approach with full enthusiasm.
2. Personality and temperament: A person doing work completely contrary to their personality and temperament is hard to do well, such as an outgoing person becoming an archivist, or a shy person having to deal with different people daily.
3. Current situation: The same job done in different situations gives us different feelings. For example, in a company, if you initially do odd jobs and running errands, you might think it’s not worth it, but once you're promoted to team leader or department manager, you won’t think so anymore.
In summary, worthy tasks are: consistent with our values, suitable for our personality and temperament, and allow us to see hope. If your job lacks these three factors, you should consider switching to a more suitable job and strive to do it well. Therefore, for individuals, among multiple available choices of life goals and values, select one and then strive for it. "Choose what you love, love what you choose" can inspire our fighting spirit and bring peace of mind. For a business or organization, analyze employees' personalities carefully, allocate work reasonably, like letting employees with strong achievement motivation independently or lead to accomplish risky and challenging tasks, giving timely recognition and praise upon completion; let employees with strong dependence participate more in group collaborative work; let employees with strong power desire take on a managerial position suitable for their ability. At the same time, enhance employees' recognition of corporate goals, making them feel that the work they do is worthwhile, thereby inspiring employees' enthusiasm.
4. Peter Principle: The Peter Principle is a conclusion drawn by American scholar Laurence Peter after studying the phenomenon of personnel promotion in organizations: In various organizations, due to the habit of promoting competent personnel at a certain level, employees tend to be promoted to positions where they are incompetent. Sometimes referred to as the "upward climb" principle, this phenomenon is ubiquitous in real life: a competent teacher becomes an incapable university president; an excellent athlete becomes an ineffectual official overseeing sports. For an organization, once a significant portion of its personnel are pushed to levels where they are incompetent, it leads to redundancy, inefficiency, mediocrity rising to prominence, and stagnation in development. Therefore, it requires changing the single "promotion based on contribution" employee promotion mechanism in enterprises. One cannot assume that someone who excels in a certain position will necessarily be able to handle a higher-level position. Establish a scientific and reasonable personnel selection mechanism, objectively evaluate each employee's abilities and levels, and assign employees to positions they can handle. Do not regard position promotion as the main reward for employees; establish more effective reward mechanisms, rewarding more with salary increases, vacations, etc. Promoting an employee to a position where they cannot fully utilize their abilities not only fails to reward the employee but also causes losses to the company. For individuals, although we all look forward to continuous promotions, don't make climbing up as your only motivation. Instead of struggling in a position you can't fully handle, it would be better to find a position where you can excel and showcase your specialties.
5. Zero-sum Game Principle: When you see two players playing chess, you can say they are playing "zero-sum game." Because in most cases, there will always be one winner and one loser. If winning is counted as +1 point and losing as -1 point, then the sum of scores between the two players is: 1 + (-1) = 0. This is exactly the basic content of "zero-sum game": players have wins and losses, what one party wins is exactly what the other party loses, and the total score of the game is always zero. The reason why the zero-sum game principle has received widespread attention is mainly because people have found similar situations to "zero-sum game" in all aspects of society. Behind the glory of the winners, there is often the bitterness and sorrow of the losers. From individuals to nations, from politics to economics, it seems to verify that the world is a huge "zero-sum game" arena. This theory holds that the world is a closed system, wealth, resources, and opportunities are limited. An increase in property for ordinary people, regions, and countries usually means a seizure from others, other regions, and other countries. This is an "evil evolution" style world of survival of the fittest. But after humans experienced two World Wars in the 20th century, rapid economic growth, technological advancement, globalization, and increasingly severe environmental pollution, the "zero-sum game" concept is gradually being replaced by the "win-win" concept. People begin to realize that "self-interest" does not necessarily have to be built on "harming others." Through effective cooperation, satisfactory outcomes are possible. Moving from "zero-sum game" to "win-win" requires sincere cooperation from all parties and courage. In cooperation, don't play petty tricks, don't always try to take small advantages over others, follow the rules of the game, otherwise, a "win-win" situation will not appear, and ultimately, you will be the one to suffer.
6. Washington Cooperation Rule: The Washington Cooperation Rule states: one person works diligently, two people blame each other, and three people will never get anything done. It is somewhat similar to our "three monks" story. Human cooperation is not simply adding human efforts; it is far more complex and subtle. In human cooperation, assuming each person's capability is 1, sometimes the result of cooperation among 10 people is much greater than 10, and sometimes even less than 1. Because humans are not static animals but more like energies moving in different directions. When forces push together, results are naturally achieved half the effort, and when forces conflict, nothing gets done. In our traditional management theories, research on cooperation is relatively insufficient. The most direct reflection is that most current management systems and industries are dedicated to reducing unnecessary human resource waste rather than utilizing organizational improvements to enhance human efficiency. In other words, it can be said that the main purpose of management is not to make everyone perform best but to prevent excessive internal conflicts. The 21st century will be an era of cooperation. Fortunately, more and more people have realized the importance of sincere cooperation and are striving to learn how to cooperate. Bonny's Human Power Law: one person can dig a hole in a minute, but sixty people cannot dig a hole in a second. Cooperation is a problem, and how to cooperate is another problem.
7. Wine and Sewage Law: The Wine and Sewage Law states that if you pour a spoonful of wine into a bucket of sewage, you get a bucket of sewage; if you pour a spoonful of sewage into a bucket of wine, you still get a bucket of sewage. Almost in any organization, there are a few difficult people whose purpose seems to be to ruin everything. They stir up trouble everywhere, spread rumors, and disrupt harmony within the organization. The worst part is, they are like rotten apples in a fruit box. If you don't handle them promptly, they will quickly infect and spoil other apples in the box. The terrifying aspect of "rotten apples" lies in their astonishing destructive power. A decent and capable person entering a chaotic department might get drowned out, while a morally and professionally deficient person can quickly turn an efficient department into one filled with disarray. Organizational systems are often fragile, built on mutual understanding, compromise, and tolerance. They can easily be harmed or poisoned. Another significant reason for the exceptional destructive capabilities of saboteurs is that destruction is always easier than construction. A skilled craftsman spends days carefully crafting a ceramic piece, but a donkey can destroy it in a second. Even if you have numerous skilled craftsmen, you won't achieve much meaningful work. If your organization has such a "donkey," you should immediately remove it. If you are unable to do so, at least tie it up.
8. Bucket Law: The Bucket Law explains that the amount of water a bucket can hold entirely depends on its shortest plank. This suggests that any organization may face a unique issue where the parts forming the organization often determine the overall level of the organization. The components forming the organization are often uneven in quality, and the inferior parts often decide the entire organization's level. The "Bucket Law" differs from the "Wine and Sewage Law," as the latter discusses destructive forces within the organization, whereas the "shortest plank" is an effective component of the organization, just slightly worse than others. You cannot discard them as rotten apples. Strength and weakness are relative, and eliminating them is impossible. The question is to what extent you can tolerate such weaknesses. If it seriously hinders work as a bottleneck, action must be taken. If you are in an organization, you should:
1. Ensure you are not the weakest link;
2. Avoid or minimize the impact of this weak link on your success;
3. If unfortunately, you are in this weak link, you can adopt effective measures to improve or change jobs.
9. Mushroom Management: Mushroom management is a method used by many organizations to manage newcomers. Beginners are placed in obscure corners (unimportant departments or menial tasks), dumped with criticism and blame (endless criticisms, accusations, scapegoating), and left to survive on their own (without necessary guidance or promotion). Many people have had such "mushroom" experiences, but this isn't necessarily bad, especially when everything is just starting. Being a "mushroom" for a few days can dispel many unrealistic fantasies, bringing us closer to reality and allowing us to view problems more practically. For an organization, newly hired personnel are usually treated equally, from starting salaries to work assignments. Regardless of how talented you are, you must start with the simplest tasks. The "mushroom" experience for young people growing up is like a cocoon, a necessary step before becoming a butterfly. Therefore, efficiently navigating this phase of life, learning as much as possible, maturing, and building a trustworthy personal image is a challenge every young person entering society must face.
10. Occam's Razor: If you believe that only by working tirelessly and busily can you achieve success, you are mistaken. Things tend to develop towards complexity, and complexity leads to waste, while efficiency comes from simplicity. Most of what you do may be meaningless, and truly effective activities are only a small part, often hidden within complex matters. Find the critical part, eliminate unnecessary activities, and success doesn't have to be so complicated. Occam's Razor: If it can be avoided, do not multiply entities unnecessarily. In the 12th century, William of Ockham in England grew tired of endless arguments about "commonalities" and "essences" and advocated nominalism, acknowledging only concrete existing things, considering abstract general concepts as useless burdens that should be mercilessly "shaved off." He argued, "If it is unnecessary, do not multiply entities unnecessarily." This is commonly known as "Occam's Razor." This razor threatened many people and was considered heresy. William himself suffered harm. Nevertheless, this did not diminish the sharpness of the razor; on the contrary, it became sharper over hundreds of years and has long surpassed its original narrow scope, acquiring extensive, rich, and profound significance. Occam's Razor in enterprise management can further deepen into the Simple and Complex Law: making things complex is simple, making things simple is complex. This law requires that when handling matters, we grasp the main essence of things, focus on the mainstream, and solve fundamental problems. We should adapt naturally and not artificially complicate things, which allows us to handle matters better.
11. Pareto Principle (80/20 Rule): 80% of the results in your completed work come from 20% of your efforts, while 80% of your efforts yield only 20% of the results.
12. Money Issue: When someone tells you, "It's not about the money, it's about the principle," nine times out of ten, it's about the money. In another sense, money is the standard of value, a medium of exchange, and a store of wealth. However, this definition overlooks its other side — its intoxicating, maddening, and stimulating aspects, ignoring the psychology of loving money. Marx said that money is the "centrifugal force of human relationships," referring to this aspect. Regarding the essence, role, and merits and demerits of money, from ancient times to the present, people have left countless profound and insightful aphorisms and witty remarks. We often see people happy about money, striving to earn it, and using the picture of wealth to entice themselves. The influence money exerts on the order of the world and our lives is great and universal. This influence is sometimes latent, and we often fail to realize how significant it is. Yet intriguingly, it is entirely a human invention. The drive to get rich does not originate from biological needs, and no comparable phenomenon exists in animal life. It cannot serve fundamental goals or satisfy basic needs — indeed, "getting rich" is defined as obtaining more than one needs. However, this seemingly aimless drive is one of humanity's most powerful forces. Humans harm each other for money far more than for any other reason.