Managing Up and Modern Stratagem
By Tiffany Chang--- There are also some skills of Managing Up and Modern Stratagem in the American and Asian worlds.
***Jesus said, "Everyone who bears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock." --- Matthew 7:24-25 of the "Bible"
"The art of management has made the United States a paradise of richfulness and prosperity. On the very top floor of the mansion at the Graduate School of New York University, I was impressed by the crowded traffic and the brilliant night scenes down on the ground. And looking at the groups of mensions standing under the heavenly sky at this Fifth Street reminded me that: All these golden Squares and proserity at the time of the May Flower period was nothing but an empty land. For our Las Vegas, we've realized the same story of development and prosperity," said Dr. Tony Lei, President of Washington Business and Technology Institute (WBTI), on the Grand Openning of the Las Vegas City Park.
"It made me remember the story of the next dynasty King after the Emperor Ching. Impressed by watching the greatness of the Emperor with his large marching team on the road one day at his young age, the young boy said, 'Do it brightly and we should make it the same also, excellency! (Meaning explanation for 'Yu Wei Jer Yi Loi Hsie' in Chinese.)' Nowaday, the entrepreneurship made America great is not just important for individuals, but it is also critical for a company or a country."*1
The above initiative spirit of the United States is originated from the first paragraph of the Preface of a text book written by Tony Tung-tien Lei entitled "Managemnt Behavior" published by Buffalo Publishing Inc. in 1989 (2nd Edition).
Together with his text book "Business Management", "Management Behavior" had been used by Dr. Tony Lei as a reference book in National Taiwan University, National Chengchi University, and National Chungshsing University from 1975 through 1990.
"MANAGING UP shows what you can learn when you keep your eyes and ears open and happen to work for/with a terrif boss. Great lessons for leaders here, managing up, down, and sideways," said Warren Bennis, Distinguished Professor of Business at the University of South Carolina about the book written by Rosanne Badowski in 2003. The book is entitled "How to Forge an Effective Relationship with Those Above You."
The Chairman of Chinese American Academic Association of Nevada, Dr. Tony Lei, received by air mail on February 22, 1997 a book named "Modern Stratagem" The book was written and sent by Professor Tu Lin.
In the preface, Dr. Ko-wang Mei pointed out that: It is the person who uses stratagem to face problem and chellenge and to integrate a project or principle for processing of problem solving. Most of famous stratagems in the human history were used on politics and military. From its broad significance, in order for a person to successful both in production and human relations, he or she needs stratagem to attain his or her objectives. The Chinese idiom of "Action after taking stratagem" may show the good understanding of the above meaning.
The book entitled "Modern Stratagem" was written by a Chinese, while the book entitled "How to Forge an Effective Relationship with Those Above You" is written by an American. The latter talks about "Managing Up" in a business. The following are some of its principles:
Principles of Managing Up
"* Managing is not the exclusive property of MBA grads.
* At times we are all managers, and we are all support staff; managers have to roll up their sleeves and get in the trenches.
* Those who manage up have to think--and act-- like managers.
* A good managers is a student of cause and effect.
* It's not good enough to be aware of what's happening around you; you have to know why it's happening.
* If you're not helping, you're hindering.
* Ask yourself: Did the work I performed today help achieve a goal?
Common Sense Takeaways
* Your boss's agenda comes first. Period.
* When those above you win, you win.
* It's people! Organizations don't run on money, products, or procedures.
* Trust your instincts-- they are based on a lot of experience. Then again, don't always trust instincts.
* Go ahead, take a swing: Better to be too bold than too timid."*2
The first of the above two books was prefaced by Dr. Ko-wang Mei, the former President of Tunghai University and now the President of Taiwan Regional Development Institute.
Dr. Mei believed that: The successful degree of a stratagem can not be depended only on individual's wisdom, knowledge,and experience. It has its team works, integrity, scientific background, and philosophic thought. Therefore, there never appears a stratagem in an emptiness. It needs deliberate planning and logic thinking. The large the area of stratagem and the deeper of the degree of a stratagem, the large and deeper the need for information collection and analysis. In the recent half of the century, it is one of the most important subject in 'The study of Administration'. In a practical and general speaking, 'stratagem' is 'decision making' in a promotional sense. In order to have a stratagem effective, efficient, and perfect, the conclusion of a stratagem should be attained through scientific collection, analysis, judgment, study of information. It is why the 'Stratagem' is an important and useful study.
Its good to have some inspiration on the findings of some of the chapters of the second book:
"Preparedness Takeaways
* By seeing thing from someone else's perspective, you'll be better able anticipate what will be needed in the future.
* Share what you know. This was the centerpiece of Jack Welch's GE. We shared ideas, best practices, and information.
People who hoard knowledge hunt the company.
*Be ready to improvise.
*Stay on top of current events, not just concerning your company but the international business community. It will help give context to what you do, and it's a good conversation starter.
Communication Takeaways
*Communication is more than a management tool--it is a catalyst for change.
*Don't be afraid to ask. And then ask again.
*Question yourself constantly; if you don't like your answers, do something about it.
*Be a loudmouth--one whose ideas and messages get spread through every level of your business.
*Nagging doesn't mean you have to be a pain in the neck--but timed correctly, it's very effective.
Teamwork Takeaways
*Celebrate--you deserve to recognize accomplishments.
*Take a central role as team member and team builder.
*Get off your pedestal--no job or task should be dismissed as unimportant or not worthy of attention.
*Share everything--information, knowledge, skills, risk."*3
The author of the first book, late Tu Lin, one of the famous scholar on stratagem, had been many years Professor and Chairman of Safety Department of the Central Police Official University in Taiwan. The author of the second, Rosanne Badowski, was an executive assistant of Jack Welch who retired from GE in September 2001 as its CEO.
"It is 'political strategy' when a stratagem is used in political affairs.It is 'war strategy' when a stratagem is used in military action. It is 'individual strategy' when a stratagem is used by personal affairs. It is 'business strategy' when a stratagem is used by business management. After the second half of 20 century, business management played a very important role around the world. The study of management emphasizes very much the importance of stratagem. Therefore, the world business is now full of the actions of 'Business Stratagem'," said Dr. Mei.*4
As a conclusion on her book, Rosanne summerized it in the following:
The Fun of Managing Up
"Over the years, people have approached me wanting to know what it was like to work for Jack Welch. Did he have some secret to success? And that's why I've tried hard to keep the "bow" of this book pointed into the wind of real life.
Was it a smooth fourteen years? No way.
Was it interesting, exhilarating, and rewarding? For sure."*5
The first book was foreworded by Jack Welch, while in the second book, Dr. Mei recommended that : The "Modern Stratagem" written by Professor Tu Lin is one of the best in the field. It can be a good reference text for persons in political affairs. It is a fine dictionary for military experts. And it can be also effectively used in business management. Finally, it is a very valuable book for an individual to use it as an electric power to brighten his or her career both in production and human relations.
Rosanne continued on her conclusion that "Under the circumstances, managing up was, for me, a survival skill mastered on the job and on the run. But it was not one based on secrets, luck, or genius. For me, managing up came right off the rack, right off the shelf, and right off a list of basic ingredients that are as commonplace as they are priceless:
Chemistry. It's what got us off to a good start and kept us going.
Trust. Trust was what our partnership was built on--and what made our partnership last.
Confidence. The key term to describe Jack--something that propelled his every action.
Impatience. It appears to be a negative, but it gave us the speed to accomplish as much as we did in limitd time.
Energy. It kept us buoyant and helped us persevere.
Resilience. The ability to keep going when a roadblock got in the way.
Humor. It made every day fun, no matter what the circumstances.
Common sense. A lifesaver when it came to tough decisions.
Preparedness. This gave us the edge to rise above the pack.
Adaptability. The ability to embrace change.
Simplicity. In other words, keeping things uncomplicated and easy to understand.
Fairness. Treating people in a way we like to be treated.
Communications. The determination to tell the world and each other what was going on.
Teamwork. It let us bring our friends along--they helped us bail out the boat when the water was rising, and they were there in the end for the party.
Passion and purpose. They are what life, and business, are all about."6
She concluded finally that "Together, these fifteen managing-up ingredients produced an extraordinarily effective working partnership-- and a whole lot of sheer fun. Yes, there I go again--fun. If work isn't fun, there's some-thing wrong. Well-paid drudgery is still drudgery. It's painful and demeaning. By managing up you make an investment that pays a handsome dividend in satifaction and self-respect."7
Dr. Mei recommended that : The "Modern Stratagem" written by Professor Tu Lin is one of the best in the field. It can be a good reference text for persons in political affairs. It is a fine dictionary for military experts. And it can be also effectively used in business management. Finally, it is a very valuable book for an individual to use it as an electric power to brighten his or her career both in production and human relations.*8
The late Tu Lin, one of the famous scholar on stratagem, had been many years Professor and Chairman of Safety Department of the Central Police Official University in Taiwan. Dr. Ko-wang Mei, Professor Tu Lin, and Dr. Tony Lei were good friends for many years. Professor Tu was the Founder and Chairman of Taipei Marketing Research Association on a national basis. He was also Chairman of Board of China File and Micrographic Information Management Institute. In order to promote the collaboration of academy between both sides of China on the pacific ocean, Professor Tu was the Chairman and held the 1966 Seminar on File and Micrographic Academy of both sides of the Straits of Taiwan on November 4-11, 1996.*9
"Our knowledge, wisdom, and professionalism are all achieved by our sincere love to God!" said President Dr. Tony Lei of Washington Business and Technology Institute (WBTI).*10
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Refernces
*1. Moss, Cheryl; Ung, Becky; and Chang, Tiffany. 'The art of management brought U. S. prosperity,' (January 8, 2003), Las Vegas, Nevada: WBTI.
*2. Badowski, Rosanne. (2003) "How to Forge an Effective Relationship with Those Above You," New York: A CURRENCY BOOK, Published by Doubleday.
*3. Ibid.
*4. Tu, Lin. (1996) "Modern Stratagem," Taipei, Taiwan: Nation Publishing Co..
*5. Ibid.
*6. Badowski. Ibid.
*7. Badowski. Ibid.
*8. Chang, Tiffany. 'Modern Stratagem,' "PPAA18 of WBTI website," (January 21, 2004), Las Vegas, Nevada: Communitylink of Las Vegas Review-Journal.
*9. Ibid.
*10. WBTI. 'Message from the President of Washington Business and Technology Institute (WBTI) for the 2002 New Year,' "The section of 'Message from the President' of the WBTI website," (January 1, 2002), Las Vegas, Nevada: Communitylink of Las Vegas Review-Journal.
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