Delegating
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Fu Zijian was appointed governor of Danfu in Shandong. He was concerned that Duke Ai, the ruler of Lu, might listen to his opponents in court and hinder him in his work. He came up with an idea and asked the duke to send two of his aides to come with him to Danfu.
The local officials all came out to greet him. Fu Zijian told the two aides to make a record. When they were writing, he pulled at their elbows. As a result, they could not write properly. Fu Zijian scolded them for poor handwriting and sent them back.
The two men reported what happened to Duke Ai.
“I got his message,” the duke said. “He was telling me not to interfere with his work.”
The duke sent a letter to Fu Zijian, telling him that he had a free hand running Danfu and might report back in five years.
As governor of Danfu, Fu Zijian did not seem very busy. In fact, he had time to play the lute everyday. Nevertheless, Danfu was well run.
He was succeeded by Wu Maqi. Governor Wu worked from morning till night, but there seemed to be no end of problems. Frustrated, he called on Fu Zijian for advice.
“I heard when you were the governor, you had time to play music and everything was fine. I spend all my time on my job but things are still not going well. What’s the secret of your success?”
“I trust my subordinates and delegate responsibilities to them,” Fu Zijian replied. “But you prefer to take on everything yourself. No wonder you are exhausted, and you still can’t do a good job. Learn to delegate. It will make a world of difference.”
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Balance of Power
Wise Proverbs
- Send a wise man on an errand, and say nothing to him.
- 智者当差，不用交代。
- Wise man have their mouths in their hearts.
- 智者嘴在心里。
- Confidence in yourself is the first step on the road to success.
- 自信是走向成功的第一步。
Editor Says:
If a man has no self-confidence and no sense of security, he won’t be able to trust others and delegate.