On the death line of management, there is a choice that determines the life and death of a CEO. It is about self-interest and altruism! It sounds easy. It is about dedicating oneself to management while considering one's own interests and appropriately balancing them for the benefit of others. However, the virtue of moderation, often referred to as 'flexibility', does not apply to the CEO's management death line. Whether it is the identity of the company, its ideology, business model, or pipeline, these are secondary, and the trigger that clearly reveals the life and death of a CEO's management is succumbing to the thoughts of self-interest and altruism.
As imperfect beings, humans always need something to fill their empty cups, whether it becomes religion or ideology, we inevitably become slaves to them. CEOs are no exception. The act of management cannot easily operate solely on the imperfect control of humans. Therefore, a management ideology is necessary, and the autobiographies of great CEOs sell like hotcakes. Among them, the core trigger is the 'choice' at the fork in the road between the path of self-interest and the path of altruism.
What is self-interest? The dictionary definition is "seeking only one's own benefit." Of course, there are no 100% selfish CEOs, and like well-spread butter, many successful CEOs can elegantly express their management ideology through a convenient concept of 60:40 or prioritizing self-interest before employees. However, the essence is not that simple.
The important truth is that the golden ratio of 50:50 can never exist. As the Buddha stated, human beings are composed of the conflict and harmony between the 'true self' and the 'ego', and depending on which side they lean towards, they can become conscientious humans or unethical criminals. Sometimes, like Siddhartha, they may reach nirvana as 100% true selves.
However, the majority of ordinary people can make selfish or altruistic choices in front of the scale of 50.0000000000000001% and 49.999999999999999999%. The same goes for a CEO's management.
Who is management for? What is management for? Ultimately, who is this management tool for? The above questions are by no means philosophical questions. They are extremely metaphysical questions that are directly tied to the livelihood of workers. I regret that it is overly pedantic, but I hope you understand that it is a rhetorical flourish to ensure that smart CEOs do not take offense, and I will pose one question.
The sacrifice of the small for the great is merely a basic choice like the set chapter in 'Mathematics Essentials', and naturally, the sacrifice of the small is a rite of passage for great CEOs. The question is, what is your 'great'? For example, a company may need restructuring to survive, and there may be times when it is necessary to coldly cut off breadwinners with beloved children hanging on. But for survival? For the sustainability and prosperity of the company? What is that sustainability and prosperity for? Is it a means to increase the wealth of an owner family as worthless as an orange peel? Is it for the enduring existence of essential industries that contribute to the national economy? Is it a kind of donation to society like a social enterprise?
If you are a CEO, you need a clear definition of the above concepts. In simple terms, what are you managing for? Put aside the metaphysical 'self-interest or altruism' and ask yourself, what are you managing for? Is that 'selfishness' or 'altruism'? Now, what remains is your honest answer.
Let me elaborate a bit more exaggeratedly. Successful con artists and failed entrepreneurship. Is your choice the former or the latter? As you know, the mechanism of capitalism does not consider the qualitative aspects of successful con artists and failed entrepreneurship. Therefore, a successful con artist can be evaluated as a successful 'mission accomplisher' under the mechanism of capitalism.
However, capitalism is merely a definition of thoughts created by the synapses in human brains. Shouldn't humans be human? And the most vivid demonstration of human-ness is choosing 'altruism' at the crossroads of self-interest and altruism.
Now... the answer has become easier. Will you live as a successful mission accomplisher in the mechanism of capitalism? Or will you take the 'narrow path' that retains the humanity expressed by Jesus? This is the absolute question that will determine the life and death of your business. Whether your business thrives or turns the world upside down, just remember. Was your choice the 'narrow path'? Or was it the 'successful quest completion character' of capitalism?
The answer lies within you.