Sun Quan made the mistake of abandoning the famous minister Zhou Gu: How to play different talent cards?

Under the overall interests of the company, leaders at different levels have different interest demands. There are often certain differences between the company's big accounts and the boss's small accounts. How to place two different types of talents who are good at the company's big accounts and those who are good at the boss's small accounts in appropriate positions while maintaining a balance of interests is the key to testing the boss's way of observing and employing people. Sun Quan reused Lu Fan and abandoned Zhou Gu

Sun Quan, the founding emperor of Soochow in the Three Kingdoms, was just a small Yixing County Magistrate (Yang Xian Chang) when his brother Sun Ce was in charge. As a county magistrate, you will inevitably have to engage in some unplanned projects and borrow some funds from public funds. His two accountants, Lu Fan, the chief bookkeeper, and Zhou Gu, the meritorious official, adopted completely different attitudes: Lu Fan turned every small account into a big account and reported it to Sun Ce in a disciplined manner, causing many unplanned projects to have to be closed. Stop and go, Sun Quan's small treasury is also in danger; Zhou Gu, overtly and covertly, helps Sun Quan to make false accounts, allowing Sun Quan to spend his private money happily, while his brother and leader Sun Ce is also kept in the dark.

When Sun Quan took charge of his own business, Lu Fan was immediately put into important positions, and later became a famous official in Soochow, while Zhou Gu, a master of accounting, was not used for life because he could help him as the county magistrate. If you deceive the leader, you can help others who are subordinates deceive yourself as the leader. The stronger the ability, the more skillful the accounting, and the greater the harm.

Later generations mostly praised Sun Quan for doing a good job in this matter. They could understand the saying of Liu Xiu, Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty, that the emperor is not the same as the common people. They knew that once the leader became the master, the small family became everyone. I changed from a small accountant to a small accountant, from a small leader who deceived others, to a big boss who was most afraid of being deceived by others. The dull accountant Lu Fan, who used to dislike the small county magistrate, became the most trustworthy good housekeeper. Zhou Gu, a master of financial management who once made him feel comfortable and relaxed, has become a financial bug that the emperor must be careful to guard against. He advances and retreats, and seems to be taking it very seriously.

But Sun Quan’s use of accounting can only be considered a passing grade at best: on the issue of reusing Lu Fan, his thinking is very insightful, switching from being responsible for one aspect to dominating the overall situation, abandoning the previous Due to personal egoism, it is naturally an admirable choice to promote a principled and law-abiding accountant like Lu Fan to meet the needs of everyone's financial security; but the treatment of Zhou Gu is only half right - for this kind of It is absolutely right for people to be wary and keep them away from key financial departments; but not to reuse them may not be the best choice for a decision-maker. The usefulness of Zhou Gu

Cen Wenwen, a famous minister during the reign of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, once said that wisdom can make you brave, and greed can make you stupid. Therefore, the wise are happy to achieve their merits, and the brave are willing to carry out their ambitions. The greedy seek profit, but the foolish do not care about their own death. In the past, holy messengers must gain their strengths and abandon their weaknesses, which means that no one is perfect, even stupid or greedy people, if used properly, can still play an important role and avoid negative effects. A wise leader should make use of people's strengths and discard their weaknesses, rather than seeking perfection and blaming others to beat them to death with a stick.

Regarding Zhou Gu’s case specifically, he had impure motives for falsifying accounts, was irresponsible to senior leaders, and wanted to flatter his immediate superiors. These are all serious shortcomings. But he has a flexible mind, is proficient in financial rules, and dares to deal with problems flexibly. These are actually desirable. During the Three Kingdoms period, states and counties were very independent. Taking Soochow as an example, until Sun Quan's later years, the relatively primitive, backward and decentralized tribal system and land acquisition system were still implemented. Each local official and general received a varying number of When a general dies, part of the troops and land will be recovered and redistributed by the state, and the other part will be taken back by one or several of his sons. inherit. In Sun Ce's era, this decentralization and fiscal decentralization were even more prominent. It can be said that when Sun Quan, the county magistrate of Yixing, demanded more fiscal autonomy, it was actually normal and reasonable in his era. Zhou Gu's Although the method seems to be tricky, it cannot be said to be too extraordinary. It is at best a legal tax avoidance. However, Lu Fan's method of reporting everything was a bit strange at that time - because even if he reported it, under the loose system at that time , Sun Ce would not be too harsh on local officials who had to raise their own military and office expenses (not to mention the relationship between Sun Quan and Sun Ce).

Sun Quan’s reuse of Lu Fan and abandonment of Zhou Gu showed to a large extent his longing for centralization of power. From then until his death, he had been trying to change this backward decentralization and land acquisition system. and the hereditary system of military power, but the results are limited. It should be said that Sun Quan's wish is good and is in line with the company's development plan and his own interests. But even so, Zhou Gu is still an accounting talent who can take advantage of his strengths and abandon his weaknesses——

Judging from historical data, Lu Fan is an immigrant, originally from Xiyang, Runan (now Taihe, Anhui). Not only did he serve as an official in a different place under Sun Ce, but he was probably still on probation. Being careful in everything is both a moral and personal characteristic. His performance is somewhat self-protective, and he has to worry about losing his job. If he were an accountant in his hometown of Runan, it is hard to say whether he would still behave like this; Zhou Gu is a descendant of the Zhou family, and the Zhou family's county Wang is Yangxian, which means that he is a native official with a good family background. He is bolder and has more ideas. In fact, he is somewhat confident and confident.

In view of this, Zhou Gu was removed from his hometown of Yangxian and transferred to a position far away from his hometown and party. He was paired with suitable deputies and supplemented by a complete audit and supervision mechanism. He made good use of it. The advantages of rules, the courage to do things, and proficiency in financial management can be fully brought into play, while the personality defects of people who like to play tricks and take advantage of loopholes can also be effectively restrained.

Not only that, but in some special positions, those who dare to spend money, dare to be responsible, and do not care about small accounts are more useful than accountants who follow the rules.

The idol and ancestor worshiped by businessmen and accountants in ancient China was Tao, who once helped King Gou Jian of Yue to successfully revenge, and later retired from office, abandoned his official position and went into business, and became a famous rich man. Zhu Gongfan Li. Fan Li lived in Tao (now Dingtao) in his later years. His second son was imprisoned by the State of Chu for murder and had to spend money to take care of him. Fan Li originally wanted his youngest son to go there, but his eldest son, who had been his assistant for many years and was shrewd and capable, felt that his pride was hurt. He was hurt and determined to go, and even used his mother as a lobbyist. Fan Li had no choice but to let him go, but immediately started preparing for his second son's funeral. As expected, the second son could not be rescued. When Mrs. Fan asked him how he knew that his eldest son was not good and his younger son was good, Fan Li explained that his eldest son had gone through many ups and downs with him and knew that money was hard to come by and he had to be careful when spending money. However, his second son had indeed committed a capital crime, so it was natural for him to be so stingy. This failed to impress the corrupt officials of the Chu State; on the contrary, the younger son was born with all the glory and wealth, thinking that money was easy to come by, and when he arrived in the Chu State, he would be generous and ignore minor debts, which would actually save the second son.

This is the case for our small family, and it is the same for everyone. During the confrontation between Chu and Han, Chen Ping, who was known for his bad character and dirty hands and feet, was worried about being under Xiang Yu's hands. However, under Liu Bang, a good general, he was assigned to do enemy work, instigation of rebellion, and intelligence work. All expenses were paid and detailed accounts were taken. No matter, in the end, this unqualified accountant was like a fish in water and made irreplaceable achievements for Liu Bang's final victory. It can be seen from this that there are no accountants who cannot use good people, only managers who cannot use people.