What is the 70 principle?

Mr Kōnosuke Matsushita, the founder of Panasonic, is called "the God of Management" by Japanese. He has a unique understanding of employing people. We can sum up his thought as: the wisdom of employing people in a muddled way-the 70% principle. This management thought is the development of China's "golden mean" thought. Through the 70% principle, a balance can be achieved at the level of 70%, and the contradictions in employment can be effectively handled. "Clear water means no fish", perhaps the 70% principle can solve the contradiction of employing people more effectively.

First, the 70% principle employs talents.

Panasonic prefers middle and upper-class talents with 70 points or so. This is related to the development of Panasonic. At the beginning of Panasonic's business, the company was not well-known and could only attract unwanted people from big companies such as Mitsui, Sumitomo and Mitsubishi to become employees. Panasonic believes that the rapid growth of his career is the result of these people who are regarded as inferior talents.

In fact, the "70-point talent" has its unique advantages.

First, they are generally easy to integrate into the team.

A talented person, a "top-notch" talent, is always self-centered. He looks down on the people below and doesn't listen to their opinions, so he often can't fit into the team well. The "70-point talent" is different. They often bow their heads and think about their own shortcomings, hoping to let themselves grow with the help of the team, so as to complete the tasks arranged by the supervisor well. So that they can be well integrated into the team.

Second, they have the motivation to pursue the "top".

As the saying goes, "it is difficult to start a business, and it is even harder to keep it." When the "top" talents are struggling for defeat and relying on self-discipline to find the driving force for progress, the "70-point talents" are struggling to catch up with the "top" talents. They often have a mentality of competing with the top, and this clear goal and mentality will generate strong motivation to reach the top. Just like a marathon, the runner who runs in front of the first runner is long and empty, so he often looks back to see where the people behind him are. The second contestant is different. Their eyes have been fixed on the first place. They can hide behind the first place, and when the time is right, they can surpass it.

Third, they are grateful and more loyal to the company.

Supervisors often feel that "top" talents often complain that their jobs are neither suitable nor suitable. He doesn't seem to be particularly grateful to you and the company for training him to be an executive, because he will feel that he deserves it. However, 70% of the middle and upper class talents are different. They think that they can achieve today's achievements without the cultivation and esteem of their superiors and companies. So they are grateful and more loyal to the company. This is why the boss of a medium-sized private enterprise gave up a graduate of a famous university and chose a self-taught candidate when recruiting. He said, I want to train him to be the sales manager of the company. Both of them are excellent, but I think he will be more loyal to our company if he is trained as a self-taught candidate.

Second, the 70% principle uses talents.

Supervisors often have doubts when employing people, because it is not clear whether this person is qualified for the job. Panasonic believes that judging whether an employee is competent for a job can only be 70% at most, and the remaining 30% can only be found when he is doing it. Just like falling in love and getting married, falling in love can only know 70% of each other at most, and the remaining 30% can only be discovered slowly after getting married. In that case, why should the supervisor worry about not knowing whether this employee is 100% competent for this job? If he knows that this employee has a 70% possibility of being qualified for this job, it is already very good, and he should be allowed to do so, and the remaining 30% should be inspected during the process. Third, the principle of 70% trust in employees. Supervisors often worry about one or two black sheep among their employees. So they are wary of all employees, distrust all employees, think that all employees want to steal company secrets, and make strict rules to restrain employees and prevent employees from participating in company decision-making. Panasonic believes that supervisors should have a broad mind, and they should not be depressed all day and lose trust in all employees because of one or two black sheep. If 70% of the company's employees are trustworthy, then the supervisor should trust all the employees and manage the company on this basis.

Panasonic believes that regulators need not worry too much. Business management is completely artificial. In order to develop business and cultivate talents, it should be based on mutual trust, and business development should not be affected by a little secret. Of course, such an approach needs to be investigated in advance, and 70% of this new employee can be trusted. In fact, if the business is to develop, it means that there are 10 employees in 500 employees and 100 employees in 5000 employees who are glib. However, in this case, Panasonic is not particularly concerned about whether to fire or what to do. Anyway, it can always be solved by then. That's what he thinks.

Fourth, the 70% principle finds the advantages and disadvantages of employees.

To appreciate your subordinates, a supervisor should look at the advantages of employees with 70% eyes and the shortcomings of employees with 30% eyes. Zhong Hui was a minister of Wei in the post-Three Kingdoms period. When Zhong Hui was 7 years old, his father took him and his younger brother to see Wei Wendi's Xelloss. When his brother saw the majestic emperor, he was scared and sweated, but he was as cool as a cucumber. When Wendy saw this scene, he asked his brother, "Why are you sweating?" His brother replied, "I'm afraid of war. I'm sweating like a pig." Wendy looked at the clock meeting again and asked him, "Why don't you sweat?" Zhong Hui replied, "I'm afraid to sweat." Cao Pi marveled at his courage and talent and fell in love with him. If Cao Pi only saw the child's rare ambition and liked sophistry from Zhong Hui's answer, then there would be no later Zhong Hui.

A supervisor should pay attention to the advantages and disadvantages of employees at the same time, as Wei Yuan, a thinker in the Qing Dynasty, said: "If you don't know the short, long, short and long of people, you can't employ people or teach people." We might as well use the 70% principle to draw a line, look at the advantages of employees with 70% eyes, look at the shortcomings of employees with 30% eyes, and look at people in the sun instead of standing in a dark corner.

Verb (abbreviation for verb) is authorized by the 70% principle.

The 70% principle authorizes, that is, 70% is released and 30% is managed. Panasonic believes that after the supervisor is authorized, he should not interfere excessively and should be tolerant to 70%. However, if it is found to be inconsistent with the overall direction, it is necessary to remind. Otherwise, it is equivalent to giving up your carefully selected talents, not paying attention to their growth, and not taking the ultimate responsibility after authorization by the supervisor. So the supervisor should take care of 30%, otherwise it is very irresponsible. Authorized by the 70% principle, the appointee can not only exert his subjective initiative, but also avoid being completely out of control and making big mistakes.

Six, get the 70% principle of employee satisfaction.

Six out of ten things in life are unpleasant. The same is true for supervisors to obtain employee satisfaction. Panasonic believes that, generally speaking, two of the ten subordinates are very congenial to us; Turn with the wind and obey the general trend; Of course, it is inevitable that one or two people will object. Some people may think that the opposition of subordinates will affect the development of business. But in his view, this is worrying. Moderately accommodating different viewpoints can promote the work to proceed more smoothly.

The supervisor always wants all employees to be satisfied with themselves. This idea is good, but it is difficult to realize in real life. In the end, the supervisor will become a good person, commonly known as the "bad guy", giving people a feeling that they have no opinions and cannot take on heavy responsibilities. Besides, if all good people say you are a good person and all bad people say you are a good person, then there is something wrong with you as a good person. Therefore, if the supervisor's work is recognized by 70% employees, it will be very good and the work can be carried out smoothly. Of course, if a supervisor has 70% employees against him, then his job will be very difficult and he will deeply reflect on himself.

The above six 70% principles are a partial summary of Panasonic's muddled wisdom in employing people and the author's understanding. They are essentially a concept of employing people, a summary of practical experience and an extension of China's doctrine of the mean. Sometimes it seems rare for a supervisor to be confused, which may solve the problem more effectively.