The first Chinese word Zhong 中 stands for right at the center, mid-point, just right, no more and no less, not bending toward either side, or in perfect balance, or at the pivot.
The second word Yong 庸 stands for common or universal. Hence, the Doctrine of the Mean, ZhongYong, should be translated as the Universal Law of Centrality or Just-Rightness or Balanced. It is the right way of behavior for common men. Some scholars added the dimension of the situation and then it means to stick to the righteous principles no matter what in all situations. i.e. One cannot be tempted or threatened to give up one's principles.
I just wish to add that from the teaching of I-ching, this balance is not a static one but a dynamic one. It shall depend on the situation, the forces and the stakeholders at play. We continue to maintain balance as the situation changes - it is not a one-off thing.
As an example, should a leader lead from the front or from the back?
The answer given by a CEO of a listed company with worldwide presence is that he sometimes leads from the front, sometimes from the back, sometimes in the middle and sometimes from the sidelines.
- For a start-up or a new project, maybe the leader should be at the front so that others can follow his lead. The pivot then is at the front.
- For an established company, when developing the younger managers, the pivot could be at the middle or at the back depending on the capability and maturity of the younger managers.
- When they are fully developed, then the pivot should be at the sidelines, giving advice only when needed, ensuring the governance and let the 2nd generation run the show.
The Mind Map of Doctrine of the Mean
The ideal state is Rightly Balanced Harmony
Chapter 1:5 致中和，天地位焉，万物育焉. tells us that the ideal state is “rightly balanced fair and unbiased harmony”.
That is the position of heaven and earth and the abundant reproduction of all living things.
It also proclaimed that this is the law or the way of heaven and that man should follow and not depart from it.
There are therefore two key thoughts – centrally balanced and harmony. They both work like two sides of a coin. If we don’t go to extremes but hold the extreme in balance, we can have harmony. If we have harmony of differences working together well, we must have held the right balance.
The teaching is then about telling the leaders, the government and the kings, how to move and sustain the ideal state of centrally balanced pivot where optimum harmony and synergy is reached.
Love is the Way – People-Centered Management
The main teaching of how to govern a country is about having love and compassion for the people. It could be called “People-Centered Management”.
Chapter 20 is a long chapter but contains the key ideas for governing a country.
- 20:3 people-centered way smooth the operation of governing, earth-centered way facilitates the growth of trees.
- v4 Governing is the responsibility of man. Select the people by their character. Character is built by following the Way. Following the Way begins with Love(Compassion).
What is Love?
20:5 「仁者，人也，亲亲为大。 义者，宜也，尊贤为大。亲亲之杀，尊贤之等，礼所生也。 」
Love (Compassion) is about people. The main thing is about caring and being intimate with your close ones (relatives or friends). Righteousness is about suitability. The key thing is about respecting capable (talented people). When there is no love, no respect for the able, then you need to have rules of conduct. We can see here that the best form of motivation and management is intrinsic motivation. It is behavior from the inside. When we need to use rules to force behavior, we are operating at a lower level of performance.
Types of Relationships
20:8 tells us that there are five kinds of relationships.
- King and his officers. In modern term – Bosses and Staff
- Parent and Children.
- Husband and Wife.
- Brothers and Sisters (Older and Younger)
- Friends.
- Knowledge/Wisdom 智 – like to learn is close to knowledge.
- Love (Compassion) 仁 – doing good work is close to love.
- Boldness 勇 – knowing shame is close to boldness. (dare to face up to one’s mistakes and take corrective action is boldness).
The way to grow is to do the three things – ever learning, loving and boldly do the right things (not shameful things).
Integrity, Sincerity 诚, Trust 信, Keeping Promises are the Way of Heaven. (20:17-18)
There are many other chapters and verses that cover trust and sincerity.
The teaching of Ru School stressed on five values of Love 仁， righteousness 义, rules of conduct （good manners) 礼, knowledge 智, and trust 信 as in Sang Zi Jing(Three Character Bible). We have covered all the five here and have one more – Boldness 勇。
Jack Welch, former chairman of GE, likes to promote the quality, candor, which is about openness, fair-mindedness, honesty and bold. It overlaps with a few of the attributes of Zhong Yong.
Leadership begins with developing oneself, serving one relative, understanding people and the ways of heaven.
The Nine Laws of Governing (20:12-14)
- Develop Character. Know the right ways. Have integrity. Dress appropriately. Don’t break the rules of good conduct.
- Respect the Capable. Then one will not be confused. Get rid of the inferior evil little people. Stay away from sexual lusts. Think lightly of wealth but value good morals.
- Love and Care for your Relatives. Then there will be no complain and hatred from your relatives. Put them in higher positions and give them a high salary. Share their love and hates (i.e. same values and beliefs). In the present time, maybe ‘relatives’ can refer to those people that are close and trustworthy to you.
- Respect the High Ranking Officers. Then when the crisis comes there will be no panic. Support them with many staff. i.e. increase their span of control and allocated resources.
- Compassionate towards All officers. Then they will be committed to serving you. Truthfully put them into the right jobs. Pay them well.
- Love the People like your children. Then you gain loyalty. Let them harvest at the right time. Collect fewer taxes.
- Employ Craftsmen. Then you will have an abundance of goods. Monitor their productivity regularly and reward them accordingly.
- Treat the Foreigners well. Then all the people around will be obedient and follow your leading. Welcome them when they come. Send them off well. Rewards those that are able and help those that are in need.
- Gain the following of the Feudal Lords. Then all the people in the world will respect you. Help the lost countries to stand up again. Stop rioting. Solve the crisis. Regularly accept their requests for paying respects. Accept their gifts and return, shower them with a greater abundance of gifts.
Perhaps we can treat the people as our customers, foreigners as foreign talents or subcontractors, feudal lords as our suppliers or even competitors. The lessons seem to be to treat all of them well with love, respect, right assignment of jobs and corresponding high salary and rewards. Our competitors in one deal may be our partners in other deals. Building a good relationship with all is key for the long term and global success. See also the 3 Objective and 8 Steps taught in The Great Learning DaXue.
Planning (20:16)
Everything being with a plan so that there could be a success. Prepare first, then negotiate and get an agreement before taking actions so as to prevent premature stoppages, pains, and poverty when you execute your plan.
Learning (20:9,19-21) – Just DO IT! It gets better by practicing.
- Know it whether by birth, by learning or forced by circumstances.
- Do it till success; whether in good time, for-profits, or be forced to do it.
- How we learn:
1. as broad as can be
2. question it
3. meditate on it
4. discern it.
5. practice it often.
Repeat 1-5 until you fully understand it. - I try harder. Some people do once and get it. I may do a hundred to get it. Some do ten times, I do a thousand times.
- If we learn like above, then the dump becomes bright and the weak become strong.
(updated 8 March 2011, edited again 22 Sep 2011)
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