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Taking Notes in the AI Era Is Like an agents.md File

Sun, 05 Apr 2026 13:24:00 +0800

Lately, while using various AI tools, I’ve slowly started to notice a shift: many systems include a lightweight file—something like agents.md or a similar configuration.

These files share an interesting consensus: don’t write too much.

Don’t write what the model can find on its own. Don’t write general knowledge. Don’t even write many things that “seem important.” What actually gets preserved is often just a small fraction—things the model doesn’t know but that influence its behavior.

In Future Teams, Roles Are Verbs, Not Nouns

Sun, 29 Mar 2026 11:09:00 +0800

In recent years, a subtle shift has been quietly unfolding within organizations. It’s not dramatic or noisy, but once you notice it, it becomes hard to understand teams the old way.

In the past, we were used to defining people with “nouns.”

Product manager, engineer, operations, sales—each person corresponded to a position, a set of responsibilities, and a clear boundary. The logic of organizational operation was to break complex problems into standard modules and assign them to different people to complete.

Logic: A Subject Worth Revisiting

Tue, 24 Mar 2026 08:38:00 +0800

A while back, I was chatting with a friend who works in business. He was a bit puzzled: his team worked hard and executed well, but many of their decisions always seemed “right on the surface, yet the results were wrong.” During post-mortems, everyone could offer a rationale, but when you pieced those reasons together, something just felt off.

I asked him a question: “Do you deliberately train your team on how to think?”

Rethinking UGC and DingTalk's Embrace of CLI

Sun, 22 Mar 2026 16:14:00 +0800

I’ve been following some of DingTalk’s technical evolution recently, and one change has made me think deeply. They aren’t simply layering AI on top of their existing system; instead, they’re refactoring in a different direction—gradually CLI-fying their capabilities.

If you view this purely from a tooling perspective, it’s easy to interpret as just a shift in technical choices. But if you zoom out and look at the longer arc, it starts to feel more like a directional bet.

Structural Trends Always Trump Operational Advantages

Thu, 19 Feb 2026 10:44:00 +0800

Today is the third day of the Lunar New Year. When the pace slows down, it’s easier to notice things we usually overlook.

This morning, I came across a post from an entrepreneur friend lamenting: the team has optimized everything possible—processes refined to the extreme, conversion rates broken down to two decimal places—yet growth remains stagnant.

It reminded me of a phrase I encountered recently: structural trends always trump operational advantages.

The Ultimate Destination of Automation is Unmanned Operation

Tue, 17 Feb 2026 14:51:00 +0800

Last night, watching the Spring Festival Gala, I saw a dense row of robots standing on stage—dancing, turning, syncing to the beat, their movements more precise than many human performers.

In the past, when we saw robots in the news, they were mostly on factory assembly lines—welding,搬运, assembling. Now, they stand center stage, facing a national audience, becoming part of the show.

For a moment, I felt a bit dazed.

Add a Layer of Abstraction, But the Core Is Just One Layer

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 20:28:00 +0800

In software engineering, there is a phrase that has been repeatedly validated and cited: any complex problem can be solved by adding another layer of abstraction.

This saying has endured because it holds true in countless real-world scenarios. Modularization, layered architecture, interfaces, and platformization are all practical manifestations of this principle.

For a long time, I believed in this logic without question. When a system got complex, I abstracted; when boundaries blurred, I added a layer; when changes came frequently, I wrapped it in yet another layer. Each abstraction brought a short-term sense of certainty: the structure became clearer, responsibilities more defined, and complexity seemed to be “tamed.”

Key Characteristics of Organizational Transformation in the AI Era: Reducing Interruptions, Speed, and Parallelism

Sun, 01 Feb 2026 16:14:00 +0800

The first time I truly realized something was wrong with the organization wasn’t because of low efficiency, but because time had started to feel fragmented.

In traditional management contexts, we hold a nearly naive assumption about time: if a task requires eight hours, that means one working day. So plans, schedules, and performance goals are all built around this assumption.

But the reality is that for most people, the truly continuous, uninterrupted working time in a day might not even add up to two hours. Meetings, messages, ad-hoc coordination, layers of approvals—these stretch an “eight-hour task” into two days or even longer.

Being Transparent While Complying with Confidentiality Rules

Sat, 31 Jan 2026 19:17:00 +0800

In today’s organizational governance and business management, “transparency” and “confidentiality compliance” are often mistakenly seen as natural opposites.

Some worry that emphasizing transparency will weaken competitive advantage, while an exclusive focus on confidentiality can breed information asymmetry, internal suspicion, and execution inefficiency.

In reality, this is not an either-or choice. Mature organizations find a stable and replicable balance between the two, treating transparency as a governance capability and confidentiality as a strategic capability.

Using Evaluation to Bring Large Models from the Black Box Back to the Rational Boundaries of an Organization

Sun, 25 Jan 2026 10:19:00 +0800

In traditional systems, we have a natural sense of security about “predictable outcomes.”

Rules may be complex, but they are always rules: what the input is, what judgments are made along the way, and what the final output will be—these can largely be enumerated, traced back, and explained. Business stakeholders have a clear picture, and technical teams can provide a safety net. The system may not be smart, but it is “transparent.”

The Right Thing to Do vs. The Thing You Have to Do

Sat, 24 Jan 2026 11:10:00 +0800

Looking back years later, I’ve become increasingly convinced of one thing: most management decision failures are not due to a lack of judgment, but because we debated what is “right” at the wrong level.

Within a company, what “looks right” typically forms a complete logical loop. It stands on high-level concepts like long-term value, strategic alignment, user experience, and organizational health—each of which is hard to refute on its own. More importantly, it can be clearly articulated, understood by most people, and recorded in PPTs and post-mortem documents.

Results-Only Work Environments

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 22:39:00 +0800

At some stage, many managers begin subconsciously championing an environment that minimizes explanations, processes, and emotions—focusing solely on results. It appears calm, professional, and depersonalized, like a more “advanced” form of management. Especially when business pressure mounts and cycles shorten, this environment becomes almost an instinctive choice.

I once endorsed this approach myself. After all, results are clear enough to simplify judgment, make decisions appear decisive, and spare the organization from endless debates. But over time, I’ve come to realize that a results-only approach is not a neutral choice—it’s actually an assumption about how the world works.

Transparency and Consistency Should Not Be Confined to OKRs

Fri, 16 Jan 2026 23:10:00 +0800

Transparency and Consistency Should Not Be Confined to OKRs

In recent years, OKRs have been burdened with excessive expectations in many organizations.

They have been treated as the starting point for transparency, a mechanism for alignment, and even a marker of organizational maturity. It seems that simply introducing OKRs will naturally clarify goals, smooth collaboration, and reduce the cost of mutual understanding. But those who have actually run them for a while often encounter an awkward truth: OKRs themselves haven’t solved these problems—they’ve merely presented the existing issues in a different form.

Influence Comes from Conviction

Thu, 15 Jan 2026 23:20:00 +0800

Influence Comes from Conviction

I used to have a rather utilitarian understanding of “influence.” Whoever held a higher position, commanded more resources, and had a stronger voice was the one with influence. Over time, this view seemed self-evident in organizations and aligned with most people’s intuition. Your position in the system largely determined the leverage you could exert.

But later, I realized this understanding only explained half the picture.

In real organizations, there are always people who, by conventional logic, “shouldn’t have influence.” They don’t hold key positions or control many resources, yet they can shift things at critical moments. Their opinions are repeatedly cited, their judgment is sought as a reference, and even when they’re not in the room, their thinking still shapes decisions.

Getting Started Lightly with Secondary Data

Wed, 14 Jan 2026 13:30:00 +0800

Getting Started Lightly with Secondary Data

When many organizations talk about data, they often operate under a single implicit assumption: the data must be “our own.” It must be collected firsthand, fully controllable across the entire chain, with unified definitions, and ideally, capable of being accumulated as a long-term asset. This premise sounds professional and aligns with engineering intuition, but in real-world decision-making, it often leads not to certainty, but to delay.

Looking Back at ByteDance's Re-emphasis on 'Pragmatic Romanticism' in Early 2025

Sun, 11 Jan 2026 12:22:00 +0800

Looking Back at ByteDance’s Re-emphasis on ‘Pragmatic Romanticism’ in Early 2025

“Pragmatic romanticism” is not a new phrase. Zhang Yiming had mentioned it much earlier. And precisely because it wasn’t new, when management brought up these four words again in early 2025, I didn’t take it too seriously.

The context at the time was very pragmatic. Doubao held no advantage in model capability, product mindshare, or industry visibility. From an external perspective—or even from a relatively rational management standpoint—it was easy to arrive at a seemingly sober judgment: the gap had already formed, and revisiting this philosophy at this point felt more like finding a dignified narrative for an uncomfortable reality.

The Rearrangement of Organizational Value Coordinates | Reading the Anthropic Economic Index Report

Sat, 10 Jan 2026 11:15:00 +0800

The Rearrangement of Organizational Value Coordinates | Reading the Anthropic Economic Index Report

I’ve been reading a report repeatedly lately: the Anthropic Economic Index, released and continuously updated by Anthropic in 2025.

What draws me to it isn’t how “novel its conclusions are,” but rather how it shifts the way we look at problems.

Most discussions about AI habitually ask one question: Will this job disappear?

This report deliberately avoids that framing. Instead, it does something more “grounded”—and closer to reality—by breaking jobs down into tasks.

All Language Is True, Precisely Because Language Has No Fixed Truth

Tue, 06 Jan 2026 20:12:00 +0800

All Language Is True, Precisely Because Language Has No Fixed Truth

I used to care deeply about whether a statement was “factual.”

In meetings, retrospectives, and conversations, whenever I sensed someone was “embellishing,” “dancing around,” or “speaking in platitudes,” my instinct was to resist—even feel a bit impatient. I would subconsciously think: This isn’t the truth. This is just posturing.

Only later did I realize how naive that judgment was.

Rising Is a Leading Indicator; Falling Is a Lagging Indicator

Mon, 05 Jan 2026 22:48:00 +0800

Rising Is a Leading Indicator; Falling Is a Lagging Indicator

I used to judge “results” in a very straightforward way: if something went up, we did something right; if it went down, something was wrong.

Whether it was business metrics, team morale, or personal growth, I habitually interpreted the world through this simple causal logic. Over time, I came to realize that this understanding wasn’t just simplistic—it was dangerous.

What truly shook me were a few experiences where “everything seemed fine, yet things suddenly collapsed.”

The Non-Disruptive Subordinate

Sun, 04 Jan 2026 18:56:00 +0800

The Non-Disruptive Subordinate

Over the New Year holiday, I watched The Annual Party Can’t Stop! again.

I didn’t immediately think of terms like “organization” or “structure.” Instead, my reaction was deeply personal: some scenes made me laugh with a hint of guilt. Because I suddenly realized that I both dislike “non-disruptive subordinates” and, at certain moments, have quietly rewarded them.

That realization made me uncomfortable.

When I wasn’t in a management role, I resisted the idea of being “non-disruptive.” You see the problem clearly, you know the plan has flaws, yet you nod in the meeting, echo agreement, and add, “I really align with this direction.” It feels like participating in a performance everyone knows is staged. After the meeting, the real discussions happen in the break room, private chat windows, and late-night rants. In those moments, I felt the organization was forcing people to learn a set of survival tactics that weren’t exactly honorable.

When You Have Two Bosses Who Don't Talk to Each Other

Sat, 03 Jan 2026 20:47:00 +0800

When You Have Two Bosses Who Don’t Talk to Each Other

For a time, I was constantly walking a tightrope.

One boss demanded a complete proposal by Wednesday; another wanted a different version and hinted that the first could be set aside.

I sat at my desk, mouse in hand, my mind endlessly weighing options: If I finish A first, will I anger B? If I do B first, A’s timeline slips.

2023–2025: Organizational Evolution Through the Lens of Large Models

Thu, 01 Jan 2026 11:59:00 +0800

2023–2025: Organizational Evolution Through the Lens of Large Models

At first, I didn’t really see this as an “organizational-level” issue.

Back in 2023, when large models first entered the company, our discussions were still centered on efficiency. Who could use them faster, who could write more accurately, who could save a bit more on labor costs. The consensus back then was simple: this was a tool problem, not a structural one. Whether a tool was good or not, and whether it was used, depended more on individual ability and attitude. The organization just needed to “keep up,” not “restructure.”

Bottom-Up and Top-Down in Organizations

Wed, 31 Dec 2025 09:05:00 +0800

For a long time, I was genuinely drawn to the phrase “bottom-up.”

It sounds fair, open, and respectful of those on the front lines. Ideas can flow upward, problems can be seen, and smart people won’t be overlooked. From an individual perspective, it’s an incredibly appealing narrative. You work hard, you think, you speak up—and the world should respond in kind.

But over time, I realized that while this narrative is gentle on individuals, it isn’t necessarily gentle on organizations.

Overly Aggressive KPIs Are a Breeding Ground for Favoritism Culture

Wed, 24 Dec 2025 09:07:00 +0800

In many organizations, things were simple in the early days. Goals were clear, tasks were concrete, and people moved forward on instinct, a sense of responsibility, and a bit of shared common sense. Then the business grew, headcount increased, and management became more “professional.” KPIs were introduced—and often with aggressive targets from the start. Growth had to be fast, metrics had to be tough, and results had to be immediately visible. The intention was usually good: use pressure to drive efficiency, use numbers to combat chaos.

Silence: Both a Conscious Choice and a Passive Defense

Tue, 23 Dec 2025 08:04:00 +0800

More often than not, silence is not a lack of stance, but a calculated response. What makes it complex is that the same act of “not speaking” can stem from two entirely different psychological states: one is deliberate restraint born of clarity, the other is withdrawal under pressure. From the outside, they look the same, but the person experiencing it knows the difference clearly.

Let’s start with silence as a conscious choice. It typically emerges after someone has fully assessed the situation. You know that speaking up won’t change the outcome—it might even make things worse. You also know that some opinions don’t need to be voiced right now, and some judgments are better held in reserve, waiting for the right moment. This kind of silence is not weak. On the contrary, it often comes from experience, judgment, and a respect for complexity. It’s not that you have nothing to say; it’s that you choose not to say it—for now.

Outside the Organization, Who Has the Resources You're Missing?

Mon, 22 Dec 2025 09:19:00 +0800

For a long time, I operated under a default assumption: as long as I did my job well within the organization, the resources would eventually follow. Skills, opportunities, perspectives, influence—these all seemed like things that “circulated internally.” If you positioned yourself correctly and put in your time, your turn would come.

Eventually, I realized that this very mindset was shutting out a lot of possibilities.

Of course, an organization will give you resources, but it does so with a very clear premise: it only solves its own problems. What you get isn’t determined by what you lack, but by what the organization needs at that moment. When these two things don’t align, your growth hits a strange plateau. You work hard, you’re cooperative, but you feel stuck somehow.

Promising a Brilliant Future While Sacrificing Your Present

Sun, 21 Dec 2025 10:16:00 +0800

Often, control is not exerted through commands but through promises. It doesn’t force you to do anything; it simply keeps telling you: hold on a little longer, things will get better later. A bigger stage, a more important role, a freer life—all beckon to you from the future. There’s only one condition: set aside the present for now.

This narrative is effective because it precisely targets a psychological vulnerability. The future is vague, but precisely because of that vagueness, it can be infinitely romanticized. The present is concrete, and because of that concreteness, it feels trivial, arduous, and full of uncertainty. So, it’s easy for people to rationalize their present overexertion through their imagination of the future.

In Management, There Are No Best Teachers, Only Best Students

Sat, 20 Dec 2025 12:53:00 +0800

Many people, when learning management, instinctively look for a teacher. They seek out gurus, models, and success stories—ideally a “proven” methodology they can follow and apply with confidence. But the deeper you go into management, the more you realize a fundamental truth: unlike mathematics or physics, management has no stable theorems or standard answers. What truly determines how far you go is never how great your teacher is, but whether you, as a student, possess the ability to continuously learn, reflect, and adjust.

Like Labor, Writing Is a Form of Physical Engagement

Fri, 19 Dec 2025 20:17:00 +0800

Many people regard writing as a “mental task.” As if, once you’ve thought things through clearly, the words will naturally fall onto the page. But those who have written for any length of time know this is an illusion. Writing is more like labor than calculation. It doesn’t wait for clarity before beginning; rather, in the repeated act of putting pen to paper, it forces you to turn the vague into the concrete and transform chaotic feelings into structure.

Thinking Through Contradictions

Thu, 18 Dec 2025 22:13:00 +0800

Once you start thinking, it’s hard to avoid encountering contradictions. Experience tells us something is feasible, yet data suggests it’s not replicable; theory says it should be one way, but reality stubbornly goes the opposite.

Many people rush to pick a side at such moments, flattening the world into “right or wrong.” But truly valuable thinking often lies not in eliminating contradictions, but in moving forward within them.

Contradictions don’t necessarily mean someone is wrong. More often, they represent conclusions from different levels appearing at the same time. Short-term versus long-term, local versus global, efficiency versus safety—these don’t even exist in the same coordinate system. Forcing them into alignment only yields an answer that appears consistent but is actually distorted. Acknowledging the existence of contradictions is, in fact, the most basic respect we can pay to a complex world.

Filtered Messages, the Truth You Learn Last

Wed, 17 Dec 2025 21:23:00 +0800

Spend enough time in an organization, and you’ll gradually notice something intriguing: many “important things” aren’t things you don’t know—they’re things you find out too late.

By the time you actually hear the news, it has already been interpreted, softened, packaged, and even transformed into “a result that no longer matters to you.” The truth hasn’t disappeared; it has simply been filtered layer by layer before reaching you.

At first, I didn’t pay much attention to this filtering. Organizations naturally need hierarchies and division of labor—some information simply can’t and doesn’t need to be shared with everyone simultaneously.

Collaborative Work Is an Organizational Capability, Not Just a Tool

Tue, 16 Dec 2025 20:52:00 +0800

In recent years, nearly every company has been talking about collaborative work, and almost all of them inevitably touch on a key term: digitalization.

Migrating systems to the cloud, putting processes online, and making information visible have all been hailed as markers of organizational evolution. Many managers hold an implicit assumption: as long as everyone is on the system, collaboration will naturally happen. But after actually going through the process for a while, there’s often an unspoken sense of disappointment—the tools are all in place, people are busy, yet the organization hasn’t become smoother as a result. Instead, a new layer of friction has been added.

Replace Control with Perception

Mon, 15 Dec 2025 21:14:00 +0800

I used to be a believer in “control.” In the early days of management, faced with team chaos and inefficiency, establishing processes and breaking down KPIs seemed like the only way to bring certainty. This approach worked well for a time—processes aligned actions, and metrics drove results.

But trouble quietly took root. As the organization grew and business complexity increased, control began to sour. Layers of processes and rules piled up, managers’ burdens grew heavier, and the organization’s responsiveness became increasingly sluggish. Then came the most dangerous signal: everyone was “executing the process correctly,” but the results were wrong. Projects were completed on schedule, yet the direction had been off from the start. All metrics were met, but user experience kept declining. No one was accountable, because every individual was flawless within the process.

Shift the Focus of Management from In-Process to Pre-Process

Sun, 14 Dec 2025 18:03:00 +0800

Many management problems appear to occur during execution, but in reality, they are already determined before the work even begins.

You only start chasing progress when a project is already out of control. You only pull people together to align when collaboration has already stalled. You only hold a retrospective when the results fall short. None of these actions are wrong, but they share one thing in common: management intervenes too late.

Management Actions Need a Certain Frequency

Sat, 13 Dec 2025 21:26:00 +0800

When I first started managing, I had no concept of “exertion.” When the team ran into problems, I’d crack down hard; when metrics dropped, I’d work around the clock; when things were calm for a while, I’d unconsciously let go, thinking the system was “running smoothly.”

Looking back, what I was doing wasn’t management—it was emotionally driven intervention: either too forceful or completely absent.

Until one day, I realized a long-overlooked truth: management isn’t a one-time action; it’s a rhythmic, sustained behavior.

Flexibly Leveraging Your Past for the Future

Fri, 12 Dec 2025 19:23:00 +0800

Many people view growth as a race to constantly “push forward,” overlooking the truly critical posture—turning back to gather materials.

Every step toward the future is actually built from the materials of the past. The issue is never whether you have a past, but whether you know how to deconstruct, reorganize, and repurpose it.

We often talk about retrospectives, but they are not meant to commemorate yesterday—they are meant to configure tomorrow. If a retrospective merely recounts experiences, it’s no more than a running log. True retrospection transforms experiences into a logical asset library.

The Greater the Power, the More Silently It Operates

Wed, 03 Dec 2025 21:38:00 +0800

I’ve come to realize that true power often makes no sound.

You might think that those who make the final call in meetings or issue public directives are the ones truly in charge. But reality often tells a different story—the deepest power is like an undercurrent beneath the water: invisible in shape, yet constantly and silently steering the entire team’s direction.

Have you noticed that many critical decisions aren’t actually made in formal meetings?

Thoughts on Corporate Longevity: Cultivating the Soil

Tue, 02 Dec 2025 22:04:00 +0800

In recent conversations with several founders, a shared concern emerged: when a company is small, the team is vibrant and agile in responding to the market. But as the organization grows to hundreds of people, with systems and processes gradually perfected, the company’s “vitality” quietly slips away.

We seem trapped in a management paradox—the more we try to eliminate chaos, the more we feel our entrepreneurial spirit eroding.

This keeps me pondering: as creators and stewards of an enterprise, what exactly are we building? A perfect machine that runs on precise instructions, or an organic, self-sustaining entity capable of continuous growth?

Forging People Through Tasks

Mon, 01 Dec 2025 19:56:00 +0800

In management, I’ve come to realize that simply chasing transactional results often leads teams into short-term thinking.

What truly builds organizational capability and personal growth is treating every task as an opportunity for development—I call this “Forging People Through Tasks.”

This is not an empty slogan but a practical management philosophy: honing people’s abilities through concrete tasks, allowing the organization to grow naturally through daily work.

Wang Yangming once said, “People must be tempered through tasks to stand firm.” This means that knowledge, will, and character must be tested in real-world tasks to truly develop.

Why Did Xiaomi Choose to Celebrate When the System Still Faces Questions?

Sun, 30 Nov 2025 21:21:00 +0800

Xiaomi recently held an internal celebration for the Xiaomi 17 series and HyperOS 3.

In recent years, Xiaomi has been pushing into the high-end market while continuously emphasizing improvements in system stability and smoothness. As outsiders focus on the system’s shortcomings and question the timing of the celebration, doubts naturally arise: Was it premature to hold a celebration when the system still has room for improvement?

Today, I’d like to discuss the significance of such celebrations from a business management perspective and why Xiaomi chose to hold one at this particular moment.

In Pursuit of Efficiency, But Where Is the Goal? (Part 7): Can Large Models Help Us Navigate the Cycle

Sat, 29 Nov 2025 19:09:00 +0800

Looking back on this series, we have journeyed from the rigid organizations of the industrial age, through the individual anxieties of the information age, to the drift of purpose under the lens of capital—all in search of the ultimate meaning of “efficiency.”

Today, we stand at a historic inflection point defined by large models and generative AI. This is not merely a technological upgrade, but a paradigm shift touching the very foundations of civilization, compelling us to re-examine the nature of value, organization, and even humanity itself.

In Pursuit of Efficiency, But Where Is the Goal? (Part 6) Case Analysis

Fri, 28 Nov 2025 19:10:00 +0800

In the previous five articles, we explored the organizational efficiency dilemma, employee anxiety, strategic choices of leaders, and the dual lens of capital and users, layer by layer analyzing the profound impact of “goal ambiguity” on organizations.

Yet no matter how profound the theory, it must ultimately be tested on the real battlefield of business. History is the most unforgiving teacher, and the rise and fall of enterprises serves as a thick textbook of case studies, telling us one thing: whether an organization can sustain high efficiency hinges on its ability to define, adhere to, and continually refresh its goals.

In Pursuit of Efficiency, But Where Is the Goal? (Part 5): The Judgment of Value

Thu, 27 Nov 2025 19:10:00 +0800

In the previous four parts, we dissected the multifaceted impacts of ambiguous goals—from organizational efficiency traps and employee anxiety, to strategic choices at the helm, and external pressures through the lens of capital.

But no matter how meticulously internal management is refined, or how much capital favors short-term returns, the ultimate arbiter has never been numbers, processes, or power. It is the user—the person who ultimately consumes your product or service. In their presence, efficiency must face its most rigorous and direct test: the judgment of value.

In Pursuit of Efficiency, but Where Is the Goal? (Part 4): The Lens of Capital

Wed, 26 Nov 2025 19:10:00 +0800

In the previous three articles, we examined the impact of vague goals on organizations, from the dilemma of organizational efficiency, to employee anxiety, to the choices of leaders.

But no matter how hard individuals try or how clear-sighted leaders are, organizations do not operate in a vacuum. Their survival and decision-making often confront an invisible yet powerful external force—capital.

Capital acts like a lens through which an organization’s goals, sense of time, and even its measure of value can be refocused, or even distorted.

In Pursuit of Efficiency, But Where Is the Goal? (Part 3): The Leader's Choice

Tue, 25 Nov 2025 19:10:00 +0800

In the first two articles, we discussed how vague organizational goals trap teams in an efficiency paradox, and explored the anxiety and helplessness employees feel in such environments.

Ultimately, all these issues point to one core: the leader—the person steering the team—must make a choice in the fundamental responsibility of “goal-setting.”

Many leaders understand the importance of goals, but they easily fall into a common trap: treating numerical targets as their true North Star.

In Pursuit of Efficiency, But Where Is the Goal? (Part 2): Employee Anxiety

Mon, 24 Nov 2025 19:10:00 +0800

In the previous article, we discussed how unclear organizational goals can trap teams in an “efficiency paradox”—everyone is busy bustling around, yet no one knows where they’re headed.

Today, I want to shift the focus to the individual level and explore what employees truly experience when goals are ambiguous. You’ll find that this anxiety is not simply pressure; it’s a persistent drain and unease that comes from sprinting at full speed through a fog.

In Pursuit of Efficiency, But Where Is the Goal? (Part 1)

Sun, 23 Nov 2025 19:00:00 +0800

In an era that moves faster by the day, “efficiency” has become the ultimate creed of organizations. Processes must be smoother, tasks faster, decisions shorter—even thinking itself is expected to be compressed. People have grown accustomed to equating speed with competitiveness, busyness with value, and dense execution with team maturity.

But spend enough time in any organization, and you’ll confront a glaring truth: efficiency without direction is a high-intensity form of getting lost.

Let Some People Start First

Thu, 20 Nov 2025 21:00:00 +0800

Every year during year-end reviews, a fact emerges so clearly it’s almost impossible to ignore: in any industry, whether you can achieve deterministic results often depends on a few key factors—and the most important one is technological and cognitive leadership.

This kind of leadership cannot wait until everything is “ready” to begin. It can only be driven by a subset of people who start first.

This principle has been repeatedly validated in our team’s past experience.

When Do We Perceive Aggression?

Wed, 19 Nov 2025 21:45:00 +0800

In the workplace, almost everyone has felt at some point that someone’s words or actions were “sharp.” That tightening in the chest, the instinctive urge to brace yourself—it doesn’t depend on your position. Whether you’re a newcomer just starting out or a seasoned manager leading a team for years, it can happen to anyone.

What matters is understanding that this feeling is not simply a matter of being “oversensitive” or “bad-tempered.” It is a complex phenomenon in workplace communication.

Optimists Are Right

Tue, 18 Nov 2025 22:15:00 +0800

In business management, optimism is never blind emotion; it is a strategic resource.

It does not mean ignoring problems, nor is it simply being positive. Rather, it is the ability of a mature manager to maintain momentum in a complex environment.

For many years, I believed that accurately predicting risks and clearly identifying problems were the most essential capabilities of a manager. Only later did I realize that while these are important, what truly drives a team further is a forward-looking mindset—mature optimism.

Make Your Voice Heard

Mon, 17 Nov 2025 22:09:00 +0800

Over the past few years, I’ve found myself holding back countless thoughts that swirled in my mind, afraid to speak them aloud.

When I noticed strategic goals lacking specificity, mounting pressure on the team, or imbalanced resource allocation, a string of questions would pop into my head: “Will speaking up change anything? Will it cause trouble? Is it worth the cost?”

Most of the time, I swallowed my words.

At first, I thought nothing of it—at least it avoided immediate conflict.

A Thought Experiment: Examining the Boundaries of Large Language Models Through Nietzsche

Sun, 16 Nov 2025 23:14:00 +0800

In recent months, the hottest topics in my social circles have been “embodied intelligence is coming,” “language models have hit their ceiling,” and “the next wave of technological revolution has moved beyond text.”

Being grounded in business, I don’t really care about what papers academia publishes today, nor am I trying to compete with anyone over GPU density.

But the performance of language models in enterprise applications has indeed gradually revealed “glimpses of a ceiling”: more and more fine-tuning, ever-expanding prompts, increasingly complex RAG pipelines… improvements are becoming painfully slow, while costs keep climbing.

Group Identity (Revisiting Organizational Culture)

Sat, 15 Nov 2025 21:31:00 +0800

With nothing much to do this weekend, I tidied up my bookshelf again. I happened to come across Wang Xiaobo’s The Silent Majority, a book I truly love. I flipped through it to revisit some passages and stumbled upon these lines again.

Wang Xiaobo wrote: “One of the main reasons I choose silence is that from speech, you rarely learn about human nature, but from silence, you can.” He also said, “When speech is controlled by power, what is imprisoned is not language, but the independence of the individual. To preserve one’s independence, one has no choice but to remain silent.”

Why Layoffs When Growth Falls Short of Expectations?

Fri, 14 Nov 2025 21:43:00 +0800

That day, sitting in the conference room, staring at a set of perfectly normal positive numbers on the financial report, I suddenly realized a bizarre truth: the company’s profits were rising, yet we were about to lay people off. Not minor tweaks, but a full-fledged “slimming campaign.”

The data was fine. The business was fine. Customer orders were even higher than last year. But management’s mood was tense, and the investors’ tone was cold: growth wasn’t fast enough.

No External Enemy, No Internal Peace

Thu, 13 Nov 2025 21:00:00 +0800

In organizational theory, there is a brutal rule: when a team loses its shared external adversary, its internal order often begins to unravel. On the surface, everyone is still working toward the “mission,” but in reality, energy has shifted from “how to win in the market” to “how to distribute credit” and “who can survive longer within the system.” The enemy is no longer the competitor—it’s the person next to you.

The Butterfly Effect of Performance Appraisal Methods (Reflections on Li Auto's HR Restructuring)

Wed, 12 Nov 2025 22:16:00 +0800

Today I came across a piece of news about Li Auto: an internal company announcement revealed that HR head Yang Haishan now reports directly to CEO Li Xiang, and OKR has replaced PBC as the primary performance appraisal method. Over the past year, the PBC model had triggered vicious competition within the sales team—issues like cross-region poaching and information hoarding. Now OKR is making a comeback, accompanied by the exit of former Huawei executives from management roles.

Emotional Self-Sufficiency

Tue, 11 Nov 2025 22:15:00 +0800

This week I pulled Les Misérables off the shelf again, trying to find Jean Valjean’s last words, only to realize I had no idea which page they were on. So I opened it randomly in the middle and found myself reading about him carrying Marius through the sewer. That suffocating feeling was all too familiar—not in a literary sense, but the literal inability to breathe. Last month, I had a bad cold and couldn’t sleep, so I picked up the book in the middle of the night. When I got to that passage, my nose was completely blocked, forcing me to breathe through my mouth until I actually made myself lightheaded from lack of oxygen. In that moment, I felt a kinship with Jean Valjean—both of us stuck in some filthy, stinking tunnel, carrying something of questionable worth, searching for an exit.

The Law of the Workplace: Every Effect Has a Cause

Mon, 10 Nov 2025 22:43:00 +0800

Lately, there’s a familiar scent in the air—the unmistakable aroma of year-end. Performance reviews, year-end bonuses, awards, promotion lists, and those faint whispers of “someone’s about to leave.” Screenshots start circulating in group chats, the break room buzzes with chatter, and even the quietest colleagues suddenly become well-informed. Every year at this time, the office feels like a pot of soup about to boil—calm on the surface, but bubbling furiously underneath. As a seasoned veteran who’s navigated the workplace for years, I’m especially attuned to these “shifts in the air”—when the wind blows, even if it hasn’t rained yet, I know the weather is about to change.

Why Company Culture Has Become the Scapegoat

Sun, 09 Nov 2025 18:20:00 +0800

In recent years, “company culture” has become the ultimate scapegoat in the workplace.

A project fails? Blame the culture. A key employee leaves? Culture wasn’t properly embedded. Teams are fractured? Culture must be the issue. It’s like a ghost that shows up at every accident scene, yet no one has ever truly seen it.

But is culture really the problem?

The more I think about it, the more I believe it isn’t.

The Essence of the Dining Table Is Connection

Sat, 08 Nov 2025 21:08:00 +0800

It’s the weekend, and I attended a gathering of old classmates today.

We sat around the table, joking, catching up on family, and chatting about work. The food wasn’t particularly great, and the conversation wasn’t especially deep, but after the meal, I felt an unexpected sense of ease.

It was probably that feeling of being “seen.” Not because anyone delivered profound insights or showed exceptional warmth, but because of the unspoken understanding that “you’re still here, and so am I.” The dining table allows people to momentarily set aside their roles and defenses, reaffirming each other’s presence.

Only by Intensifying Conflicts Can We Resolve Them

Fri, 07 Nov 2025 20:05:00 +0800

Lately, I’ve noticed a subtle phenomenon: many problems persist not because no one is aware of them, but because they are buried under organizational inertia. Too much energy is consumed by daily operations, and these issues never get the chance to surface.

Only when a conflict is intensified does it attract enough attention to be addressed.

In any team, task allocation always has gray areas. Person A feels overwhelmed but chooses to endure; Person B feels their contributions go unrecognized but stays silent. The manager, caught up in daily routines, has little insight into these underlying tensions. On the surface, everything seems fine, but beneath it, everyone harbors a vague unease. It’s not until a critical task is delayed due to unclear responsibilities that the conflict finally comes to light.

Model Thinking

Thu, 06 Nov 2025 22:19:00 +0800

I developed a natural affinity for “models” early on.

It started with algorithm design—abstracting reality, extracting variables, identifying patterns. Later, when I read books on management and psychology, like Thinking in Systems and The Fifth Discipline, I realized that machines, organizations, and people all follow similar underlying logic. That moment struck me: models aren’t just the language of algorithms—they’re a way of thinking about the world.

Because of this ingrained habit, when I face complex problems, I instinctively “model” them: I ask, what are the inputs? What are the outputs? What are the feedback loops in this system?—whether it’s code, a team, or a decision, I want to see it as a system that can be simulated. This isn’t deliberate “rationality”; it’s a habit—I’ve always felt that if you can draw the structure, chaos becomes visible.

The Art of Reporting: The Subtext Behind Quantitative Metrics

Wed, 05 Nov 2025 21:35:00 +0800

The Art of Reporting: The Subtext Behind Quantitative Metrics

In Can Quantification Help You Manage Your Team?, I compared quantification to a lighthouse: it can illuminate hidden rocks, but it cannot steer the ship for you.

Today, let’s push the scenario one step further—reporting. When you have to present that beam of light to others, where it shines and how brightly determines whether the ship continues under your guidance or gets towed back to port on the spot.

The Best Way to Pass a Resolution Is to Announce It Suddenly at a Meeting

Tue, 04 Nov 2025 22:10:00 +0800

The Best Way to Pass a Resolution Is to Announce It Suddenly at a Meeting

I previously wrote an article about not bearing undue pressure—this one can be seen as a more detailed scenario.

Sometimes, the most effective way to pass a resolution in an organization is surprisingly simple: announce it suddenly at a meeting.

On the surface, this may look like a small trick, but behind it lies a power play that exploits time gaps and psychological inertia. When the meeting is winding down and participants are mentally fatigued, the facilitator drops a line like, “So let’s just settle it this way.” Many people instinctively nod along or stay silent—because there’s no time to react, because they don’t want to create conflict on the spot, because verbal agreement feels “easier” than public opposition. And so, the resolution is rubber-stamped in near-silent compliance. Efficiency appears to improve in the short term, while real disagreements are swept under the rug until after the meeting.

Assume Everything Is Learnable

Mon, 03 Nov 2025 21:28:00 +0800

Assume Everything Is Learnable

I’ve always been fascinated by the concept of “learning”—not because of the knowledge it brings, but because it’s like a door that leads us from “certainty” to “possibility.”

Recently, I came across a simple yet striking phrase: “Assume everything is learnable.” It immediately resonated with me. The sentence isn’t complicated, but intuitively, it captured some thoughts I’ve been having lately.

This phrase represents a reset of our underlying assumptions. If everything can be learned, then what we call “talent,” “personality,” or “limitations” are merely temporary states. In other words, we aren’t trapped by our boundaries—we’re trapped by our beliefs about those boundaries.

Productivity Determines Relations of Production

Sun, 02 Nov 2025 21:50:00 +0800

Productivity Determines Relations of Production

Team dynamics have always been a puzzle I revisit repeatedly—who influences whom, who gets marginalized, and where those subtle tensions actually come from.

It was a quiet weekend, and I picked up Marx’s A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy again. When I came across the line “productivity determines relations of production,” something clicked: those inflection points where team atmosphere swings hot and cold—aren’t they just micro-level footnotes to this very idea? So I went back over the cases I’ve observed in recent years, trying to reconstruct how this “invisible lever” actually turns inside the office.

What Is Reason? Whatever Can Be Explained Is Reason

Sat, 01 Nov 2025 21:40:00 +0800

What Is Reason? Whatever Can Be Explained Is Reason

In the corporate world, “being reasonable” is often undervalued. Many people believe that the workplace is about results, not reason—about resources, power, and position, with no room for logic. But over time, I’ve come to realize that those who truly stand firm and navigate complex systems with ease are often very skilled at reasoning.

The reasoning they employ isn’t about textbook truths; it’s an “art of explanation.” A logic that others can understand, trust, and willingly act upon—that is reason.

The Essence of Buying Time Is Buying Experience

Fri, 31 Oct 2025 13:34:00 +0800

A while back, I listened to a podcast featuring Luo Yonghao and TIM from FilmStorm. TIM remarked that the essence of a podcast is “experience theft”—stealing decades of a guest’s life experience and delivering it to the audience in one sitting.

That comment reminded me of a vague thought I’d had long ago: buying time is, at its core, buying experience—and often, the experience itself comes bundled with it. These two things are strung together by the same thread: time, money, and experience are just different scales on the same chain.

Users Pay for Results, Not for the Process

Thu, 30 Oct 2025 12:50:00 +0800

Recently, I’ve been pondering: what is the true essence of a payment model?

One sentence: just pay.

These five words represent the most elegant promise in modern business. They mean—once the user pays, everything else is taken care of. No waiting, no learning, no repeated trial and error. The result emerges naturally, and value is delivered directly. What users are truly buying is a guaranteed outcome, not a complicated process.

The Depth of a Moat Is the Thickness of Time

Wed, 29 Oct 2025 12:47:00 +0800

Not long ago, I was reviewing the transformation case of an old brand. The company had been around for over twenty years. On the surface, its products were no longer novel, and market competition was intensifying. Yet oddly enough, it had never been replaced. That steady, almost unshakable state of “just surviving” reminded me of one word: moat. Over time, I came to realize that the reason it could remain so stable wasn’t because it moved fast—but because it had accumulated depth.

The More You Grasp, The More You Control

Tue, 28 Oct 2025 12:37:00 +0800

I came across a quote a few days ago that went something like: “Truly large projects cannot be fully controlled.” I stared at it for a few seconds. That familiar feeling hit me right in the gut. Because I realized that, over the years, the moments when I felt most in control during projects were precisely those things I was “too familiar with.” The clearer something is, the more I can break it down; the more I can break it down, the more I want to control it.

Jargon as a Discourse System

Mon, 27 Oct 2025 12:34:00 +0800

Sometimes I find myself wondering: in any organization, what changes a person first is never the rules or regulations—it’s the language itself.

When you first join a new team, you notice that the people around you use certain words you can roughly understand but don’t fully grasp what they truly point to. So you start picking up these terms, mimicking the tone and rhythm, and gradually you can say them naturally in meetings. In that moment, you feel like you’ve fit in. But in reality, you’ve already begun to be shaped by this discourse system.

Reflections on Being Sick

Sun, 26 Oct 2025 11:03:00 +0800

In the past, when I got sick, I just felt uncomfortable and knew my body needed rest—my mind rarely dwelled on it. Back then, I was young, recovered quickly, and never realized that my body had anything to tell me. Illness was just a minor inconvenience in life, nothing worth reflecting on.

But this time was different. On a feverish morning, I stood in the sunlight and looked at my arm, suddenly feeling a sense of unfamiliarity. The texture of my skin, the loosening of its lines, and the way the light fell upon it all made me realize—my body is truly changing. In that moment, it wasn’t fear or sadness, but a quiet, gentle reminder: time has left its marks on me.

Teleology of the Past

Sat, 25 Oct 2025 12:31:00 +0800

Sometimes, a single sentence can completely upend the way you see the world. The first time I read Adler’s concept of “teleology of the past,” it felt like a wake-up call. He argued that people are not driven by the past, but drawn by the future. In that moment, I froze—perhaps our constant refrain of “the past determines the present” is just an excuse for being too lazy to redefine ourselves.

Organizational Structure Is the Embodiment of Organizational Will

Fri, 24 Oct 2025 02:09:00 +0800

I have always believed that the true soul of an organization lies not in its vision statements or beautifully designed culture handbooks, but in its organizational structure.

Structure is not a cold, lifeless diagram—it is a map of power and trust, the most honest expression of management’s answer to the question, “How should we get things done?”

Look closely: companies that claim to practice “flat management” often quietly revert to hierarchy amid the chaos. Institutions that constantly preach “people-first” values often find their people trapped by processes, and their processes drowned in reporting layers. Structure is never neutral. It reflects what an organization truly believes, tolerates, and fears.

Experiencing Setbacks Is Like Getting a Vaccine

Thu, 23 Oct 2025 21:06:00 +0800

When I was young, I always treated “setbacks” as a label for failure, believing that avoiding falls meant saving face. But as I walked further along the path, I gradually came to realize that setbacks are more like a vaccine—they sting when injected, but what they leave behind isn’t just a scar; it’s an ability to withstand future shocks.

Setbacks are frightening because they are so direct. They don’t sugarcoat or comfort you; they simply shine a light on your blind spots: those self-righteous judgments, those unnoticed biases, those illusions that “effort alone is enough.” Once reality pulls back the curtain, you have no choice but to face yourself. This process is uncomfortable, but it is real. That’s precisely why setbacks teach you proportion and humility better than any theory ever could.

How to Report to Your +2 Leader?

Wed, 22 Oct 2025 13:02:00 +0800

The “managing up” that people often talk about in the workplace almost always refers to your direct supervisor—your +1. Most tutorials and experience-sharing focus on how to satisfy your immediate boss, how to grasp what they care about, and how to present your work clearly.

But reporting to your +2 leader is something rarely discussed.

What does a +2 leader mean? They may decide resource allocation, key strategies, and even influence your career trajectory. Yet as a regular employee, you have very few opportunities to directly engage with your +2. Most of the time, your results and ideas are filtered through your +1.

Clear Rewards and Punishments Are Not a Silver Bullet

Tue, 21 Oct 2025 09:20:00 +0800

The first time I tried to implement a strict reward-and-punishment system within my team, I was genuinely excited. I thought I finally had a “hardcore weapon” in my hands. Everyone’s KPIs were clearly defined, and the incentives and penalties were crystal clear—only to find that reality didn’t follow the script I had in mind. Some people gritted their teeth and completed tasks just to avoid punishment, all while secretly scheming in their heads. Others, upon receiving rewards, simply relaxed their efforts. A few even found ways to bypass the rules, engaging in subtle “slacking off” maneuvers. In that moment, I realized that clear rewards and punishments are far from a universal solution.

The More Experience You Gain, the More Guarded You Become

Mon, 20 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0800

As I accumulate more experience, I find myself becoming increasingly sensitive to trust. In the past, a simple smile might have been enough to convince me that someone was reliable. But now, even in the midst of a smile, I find myself weighing the pros and cons. This shift is not mere coldness or a facade of worldliness—it is the natural accumulation of psychological cost that comes with experience. Trust itself has a price, and experience teaches us how to measure it. Yet the very act of measurement also breeds hesitation and caution.

The Profit Model of Large Language Models Resembles Traditional Manufacturing

Sun, 19 Oct 2025 14:16:00 +0800

The Profit Model of Large Language Models Resembles Traditional Manufacturing

Recently, I chatted with a few friends working in AI, and they all laughed, saying, “You think we’re in the internet business, but it’s more like running a factory.”

At first, I didn’t take it seriously, assuming they were exaggerating. But upon reflection, it’s strikingly true. The logic behind the investment, operations, and profitability of large language models (LLMs) bears an uncanny resemblance to traditional manufacturing.

The Days of Going It Alone

Sat, 18 Oct 2025 13:07:00 +0800

The Days of Going It Alone

In my early years, I always believed that making myself better was the master key to everything. I tried time management, energy allocation, and task prioritization one by one, even cobbling together my own set of custom tools and workflows, attempting to squeeze the utmost out of every minute. During those days, checklists and plans became my alter ego, and efficiency and a sense of accomplishment convinced me that as long as I relied on myself, everything was under control.

Trust, Expectations, Promises, and Follow-Through

Fri, 17 Oct 2025 12:50:00 +0800

Trust, Expectations, Promises, and Follow-Through

Most disappointments between people don’t happen all at once. They accumulate slowly—starting from the very first promise that wasn’t kept. You said you’d change, you’d show up, you’d reply, you’d do it together… and then it all faded into a sentence with no ending. Others may say “it’s fine,” but deep down, they’re keeping score—“Oh, I can’t count on you for this anymore.” That’s how trust breaks. Not shattered in one blow, but worn down little by little.

Those Who Shift Blame Get Promoted; Those Who Do the Work Take the Fall

Thu, 16 Oct 2025 13:33:00 +0800

Those Who Shift Blame Get Promoted; Those Who Do the Work Take the Fall

Understanding the unity of power and responsibility through the lens of credit theft.

In the workplace, nothing raises your blood pressure more than overtime or meetings—it’s that moment when your hard work ends up credited to someone else’s name.

You’re burning the midnight oil refining a proposal, while someone else is waiting to grab the mic. You write a ten-page report, and they sum it up in one sentence: “The team worked hard on this.” You smile and say, “It’s nothing,” but inside you’re thinking: It wasn’t “the team” that worked hard—it was me, and I’m going bald from the stress.

Under the Banner of Flexibility, Cutting Costs Is the Real Goal

Wed, 15 Oct 2025 12:52:00 +0800

Bosses love it, employees resent it, policies are vague, and platforms abuse it.

In just a few words, the awkwardness of “flexible employment” is laid bare.

This employment model, once hailed as a game-changer, was supposed to make organizations more efficient and individuals freer. Instead, it has become a term steeped in resentment. When people hear “flexible,” they no longer think of freedom—they think of insecurity. When they hear “employment,” they don’t think of collaboration—they think of price-cutting. Flexible employment was meant to break down constraints, but it has ended up becoming a new kind of shackle.

I Feel Like a Middleman, Just Executing What Others Decide — The Power of People, Budget, and Business Decisions

Tue, 14 Oct 2025 12:34:00 +0800

I Feel Like a Middleman, Just Executing What Others Decide — The Power of People, Budget, and Business Decisions

I’ve seen too many busy managers whose schedules are packed from morning to night. They appear to be in control of everything, yet the number of decisions they can truly make is surprisingly small. Every day, they coordinate resources, track projects, and deliver reports. It looks like they’re “in charge,” but in reality, they’re just “executing.” A friend once sighed and said, “I feel like a middleman, just executing what others decide.” That moment made me realize that many people think they’re in control of their work, when in fact, the work has long been controlling them. True power doesn’t lie in your job title — it lies in three things: personnel authority, financial authority, and business decision-making authority.

Life Is Not a Test: Mistakes Don't Correct Themselves

Mon, 13 Oct 2025 12:23:00 +0800

The analysis of a problem must be thorough.

I used to think it was just carelessness. Back in school, I miscalculated a digit while multiplying two numbers—a perfectly ordinary math problem. I told myself I’d pay more attention next time, no need to dwell on it. A few days later, when I revisited the same problem, I was stunned to find myself making the exact same mistake, down to the same final digit. In that moment, I froze—it dawned on me that “carelessness” wasn’t a fluke, but a fixed mental trajectory quietly running in my brain. When that familiar error surfaced again, I even felt a chill. That was the first time I realized: mistakes can become entrenched.

When the CEO Does the VP's Job

Sun, 12 Oct 2025 19:12:00 +0800

There was a company where the CEO worked relentlessly. He personally oversaw marketing campaigns, revised proposals himself, and even attended client meetings. When the VP suggested holding a meeting, he said, “No need—I’ll go negotiate directly.” By the time the project was rolled out, the entire department was baffled—no one could say who had made the decisions, and no one knew who was responsible for what.

On the surface, the CEO seemed incredibly diligent. But in reality, the entire company was slowing down. This looks like “hard work,” but it’s actually a collapse of professional boundaries.

The Cost of Explaining vs. the Cost of Verifying

Sat, 11 Oct 2025 12:45:00 +0800

The Cost of Explaining vs. the Cost of Verifying

Sometimes, explaining isn’t the hard part—it’s who you’re explaining to. Once you enter the context of “explaining,” the mindsets on both sides shift: the explainer is patching holes, while the listener is looking for them. That’s the cost of explaining—it’s not just an investment of time and logic, but a psychological drain. The more you explain, the guiltier you appear; the more the listener listens, the more they suspect something is wrong. In this way, explaining becomes a losing game from the start.

A New Leader's First Moves Are Often Path Dependence on Their Past Self

Fri, 10 Oct 2025 12:41:00 +0800

A New Leader’s First Moves Are Often Path Dependence on Their Past Self

“A new leader’s first moves” has become a near-universal ritual when organizations change leadership. Some people’s first instinct upon taking office is to act—restructuring the org chart, adjusting processes, reshuffling personnel. On the surface, this looks like decisiveness and an assertion of authority. But in reality, it’s often less about judgment of the future and more about a continuation of the past. Those first moves don’t usually burn down the old system; they burn the new leader’s own past logic. In other words, it’s a form of “path dependence”—people habitually use familiar approaches to face unfamiliar environments.

Political Tasks Outside the Government

Thu, 09 Oct 2025 12:54:00 +0800

Political Tasks Outside the Government

Sometimes, you hear a phrase with almost ceremonial weight in the office: “This is a political task.” The tone is solemn, the atmosphere heavy—as if the air itself has thickened. But here’s the thing: we’re not a government agency, nor are we in officialdom. What we’re doing is simply pushing projects forward, optimizing operations, or running brand campaigns. Yet once that phrase lands, logic, priorities, and cost-benefit analysis all automatically step aside. Because it’s no longer a task—it’s a signal war of “must be done.” At that point, savvy people understand that the game is no longer about the quality of the plan, but about who can read between the lines of what the boss really means.

Discussing Too Many Problems at Once Only Presents Problems, Not Solves Them

Wed, 08 Oct 2025 13:25:00 +0800

Discussing Too Many Problems at Once Only Presents Problems, Not Solves Them

In many meetings, we often see this scenario: a whiteboard filled with agenda items, everyone taking turns speaking, each person seemingly engaged in active thinking. But when the meeting ends, the room suddenly falls silent—not a single problem has been solved. Everyone disperses, left with only a vague impression: “We discussed a lot today, but nothing got done.” This kind of meeting is a classic example of the “information dense, decision scarce” trap. Discussing too many problems at once ultimately only presents problems, without solving them.

Leading Teams with a Public and Private Domain Mindset

Tue, 07 Oct 2025 20:16:00 +0800

Leading Teams with a Public and Private Domain Mindset

Anyone in operations knows that users come from two worlds: the public domain and the private domain. The public domain is a traffic arena—open, competitive, and won through exposure and conversion. The private domain is a trust ecosystem—cultivated, connected, and retained through relationships and experience. Businesses acquire customers in the public domain and nurture them in the private domain. Behind this lies a fundamental truth about human nature: capture attention in unfamiliar settings, and build trust through familiarity.

“Seeing” Is the Most Direct Shift from “How Could This Happen” to “Why”

Mon, 06 Oct 2025 13:33:00 +0800

“Seeing” Is the Most Direct Shift from “How Could This Happen” to “Why”

You see it. In that instant, the thought that surfaces is, “How could this happen?” The scene before you touches a nerve, like gently nudging open a door you never noticed. Your breath quickens slightly, your thoughts feel as though they’ve been torn open—yet they’re unexpectedly clear. You realize that this moment of seeing isn’t just visual; it’s a jolt that strikes straight at the heart.

First Impressions and Last Impressions

Sun, 05 Oct 2025 22:35:00 +0800

First Impressions and Last Impressions

When you first join a company, you’ll find yourself unusually concerned about how others perceive you. Every comment in a meeting, every project update, every chance encounter in the break room leaves an impression on your colleagues and managers. Your attitude, your response time, your ability to learn and adapt—these details add up to the “first impression” you give your team. It determines whether you can integrate quickly, and whether you’re likely to earn trust and resources.

Empathy, Perspective-Taking, and Harmony in Diversity

Sat, 04 Oct 2025 19:44:00 +0800

Empathy, Perspective-Taking, and Harmony in Diversity

Sometimes I notice that I don’t get angry as easily anymore.

It’s not just that my temper has mellowed—it’s that I’ve slowly come to realize that many things simply aren’t worth taking to heart. When someone speaks bluntly, they’re not trying to offend you. When someone does things differently than you’d like, it’s not a personal attack. In the past, I might have felt a twinge of irritation; now I just smile and think: that’s just who they are. The world is complicated like that.

Are You Too Busy to Improve?

Fri, 03 Oct 2025 19:56:00 +0800

Are You Too Busy to Improve?

Have you ever felt this way? Every day is a blur of activity: endless meetings, messages to reply to, tasks piling up. You come home from work, only to be hit by a wave of chores and errands. Finally, when you collapse into bed, a thought creeps in—what am I actually busy with? Am I really getting any better by staying this busy?

Many people are stuck in this very state. We equate “busy” with “hardworking,” believing that the busier we are, the more we’re progressing. But the truth is, busyness does not equal growth. You might just be trapped in a cycle of low-level repetition—like pedaling a stationary bike, putting in effort but going nowhere.

True Psychological Safety Is Not About Avoiding Conflict

Thu, 02 Oct 2025 19:52:00 +0800

True Psychological Safety Is Not About Avoiding Conflict

Many teams mistakenly equate “psychological safety” with “getting along harmoniously and never arguing.” I used to think the same—that as long as everyone nodded in agreement during meetings, the team was safe. But reality has taught me that teams with this kind of surface-level harmony often harbor hidden risks. True psychological safety isn’t about eliminating conflict; it’s about enabling members to voice dissenting opinions without fear of being ostracized or humiliated.

What Has Large Language Models Really Changed?

Wed, 01 Oct 2025 17:10:00 +0800

What Has Large Language Models Really Changed?

Lately, I’ve been pondering a question: What have large language models really changed?

Sometimes, I feel their impact runs deeper than what meets the eye. In the past, there was always a certain “rhythm” to how we worked. A proposal took days to prepare, a process took weeks to complete, a document was written slowly by one person. Time and space acted as natural constraints, framing everyone within their boundaries.

Leaving Early and Team Assets

Tue, 30 Sep 2025 19:52:00 +0800

Leaving Early and Team Assets

National Day is just around the corner, and the company suddenly announced: everyone can leave early today. To be honest, most people had already bought their tickets and couldn’t change their plans at the last minute. But the moment this news came out, the office atmosphere immediately lightened up. Some people laughed and said, “Finally, I can leave without hitting traffic for once,” while others simply made plans to grab a drink with colleagues. This small change got me thinking about four words: organizational assets.

Can Quantification Help You Manage Your Team?

Mon, 29 Sep 2025 22:14:00 +0800

Can Quantification Help You Manage Your Team?

When I first started managing a team, I was filled with confusion and anxiety about “quantification.” My boss handed me a target number, and I mechanically broke it down for the team, then stared at tasks and progress every day. What happened? Although the metrics seemed to be met, team morale plummeted—everyone operated like cogs in a machine. That’s when I realized: quantification itself is not the goal; it’s just a tool. But I was using it wrong.

Schrödinger's Face

Sun, 28 Sep 2025 19:47:00 +0800

Schrödinger’s Face

Have you ever noticed this scenario: the same words, sometimes they don’t bother you at all, and other times they sting like a needle. If it’s between two casual acquaintances, it’s no big deal. But once a superior-subordinate dynamic is involved, that subtle tension emerges. It’s like Schrödinger’s cat—half joke, half explosive—until you “observe” it, you never know the outcome.

When I was younger, I thought I didn’t care much about “face.” I could laugh off whatever others said. But as I’ve grown older, I’ve noticed my “threshold” quietly shifting: the same remark that once rolled off me like air now makes me pause for a beat. It’s not that I’ve become more thin-skinned—it’s that life experience, social costs, and emotional value have accumulated, turning “face” from an abstract concept into an emotional balance that needs careful handling in every interaction.

Life Isn't About Hardship Giving Way to Happiness, But Joy and Sorrow Walking Side by Side

Sat, 27 Sep 2025 21:42:00 +0800

Life Isn’t About Hardship Giving Way to Happiness, But Joy and Sorrow Walking Side by Side

I used to believe deeply in the idea that “hardship gives way to happiness.” Back in my student days, staying up all night to cram for exams, only to see my grades improve, was the strongest positive reinforcement. I was convinced that life was a straight line: first the bitter, then the sweet—just endure, and the reward would eventually come.

The Company Can Run Without Anyone, So Why Is Asking for Time Off So Hard?

Fri, 26 Sep 2025 22:51:00 +0800

The Company Can Run Without Anyone, So Why Is Asking for Time Off So Hard?

There’s a saying in the workplace that sounds reassuring: “The company can run without anyone.” But when it’s your turn to ask for leave, the vibe shifts instantly, and your boss’s expression becomes harder to read than the weather forecast. You think to yourself: “Didn’t they say the company can run without anyone? Why does it get so complicated when it’s my turn?” — The truth is, there’s a whole set of “workplace physics” hiding beneath the surface.

Focus and Flow

Thu, 25 Sep 2025 22:46:00 +0800

Focus and Flow

I first encountered the concept of “flow” some time ago—a state of complete immersion in an activity where time seems to pass differently, thoughts become unusually clear, and a sense of pleasure and self-worth emerges. Initially, I thought flow was a special state that only occurred when writing code or designing, but I gradually realized it can exist in any scenario that demands focus: reading, taking notes, organizing materials, or even planning a day’s work.

Don't Bear the Pressure You Shouldn't Have To

Wed, 24 Sep 2025 21:01:00 +0800

Don’t Bear the Pressure You Shouldn’t Have To

In the workplace, many people share a common habit: when a problem arises, they try to handle it on their own first. They believe that working a few extra hours or brainstorming a few more solutions will be enough to fix things. But the issue is, some pressures were never yours to bear in the first place. Toughing it out not only fails to solve the problem but can also make things more complicated.

Middle Managers Are Often the First to Break

Tue, 23 Sep 2025 18:16:00 +0800

Middle Managers Are Often the First to Break

In the workplace, people often say, “Senior leaders set the strategy, and frontline staff execute it.” But the ones who truly buckle under pressure are usually middle managers. Strategy is decided at the top, execution is carried out at the bottom—but middle managers are stuck in the middle, bearing the brunt. They must answer upward, reassure their teams downward, and somehow figure out how to turn unrealistic goals into tangible results.

I Don't Want to Hear Hot Takes

Mon, 22 Sep 2025 22:08:00 +0800

I Don’t Want to Hear Hot Takes

This morning, I scrolled past a trending headline: “AI Can Already Write Academic Papers—University Professors Will Be Unemployed Within Three Years!” The accompanying image was an AI-generated face, with hollow eyes and a slight smirk, as if sneering. I stared at the screen, and only one thought crossed my mind: here we go again. My heart rate spiked for a moment, but then I realized how absurd this sense of panic really was—it stirred up emotion without offering any valuable information.

What Does R&D Management Really Entail?

Sun, 21 Sep 2025 19:59:00 +0800

What Does R&D Management Really Entail?

After years in R&D management, one thing has become increasingly clear: management is not about chasing task progress or simply acting as a “messenger.” True management lies in constantly balancing pressures from above, execution capabilities of the team, institutional constraints, and human considerations. Every day brings this tug-of-war: sudden changes in upper management’s demands, unexpected team emergencies, rigid institutional frameworks, and nuanced interpersonal dynamics. Management, at its core, is about finding actionable footholds amid these conflicts—enabling the team to be both efficient and resilient.

Retrospection and Chain of Thought

Sat, 20 Sep 2025 23:12:00 +0800

Retrospection and Chain of Thought

Lately, I’ve been pondering one question: Is retrospection really worth the time? Many people only reflect after a failure, and even then, they do it reluctantly. But gradually, I’ve come to realize that whether in success or failure, retrospection is essentially building a chain of thought for yourself. Simply put, it’s not just about looking back at the past—it’s about organizing logic, clarifying cause and effect, and making your next move more deliberate.

AI for Employees vs. AI for Leaders

Fri, 19 Sep 2025 19:24:00 +0800

AI for Employees vs. AI for Leaders

Recently, a friend shared their team’s experience with AI usage, and it gave me a new insight—employees and leaders use AI in fundamentally different ways. When employees use AI, it’s typically to boost personal efficiency—writing articles, coding, organizing materials. It acts like a magnifying glass, making each task more precise and efficient. When leaders use AI, however, it often involves organizational decision-making and team management, with deeper and more complex implications.

Outsiders Directing Insiders

Thu, 18 Sep 2025 19:31:00 +0800

Outsiders Directing Insiders

At first, the idea of an outsider directing an insider felt instinctively off to me. It seemed like a disrespect to professionalism—like someone who has never cooked trying to teach a chef how to stir-fry. Expertise, by its nature, comes with a threshold, and the voice of an outsider often sounds, well, amateurish.

But as I gained more experience, I gradually realized that this is not an isolated phenomenon—it is a normal part of how society operates. A company’s CEO may not understand the technical details of R&D, yet they make the final call on product direction. Investors may not be engineers, yet they decide whether a project lives or dies. Even in families, parents often offer unsolicited advice on their children’s development without any background in pedagogy. The idea of outsiders directing insiders may seem absurd, yet it is everywhere.

Proactive Pursuit vs. Reactive Response

Wed, 17 Sep 2025 21:15:00 +0800

Proactive Pursuit vs. Reactive Response

When it comes to time management, I’ve come to realize that it’s not about packing every day to the brim, nor about mastering a toolbox of productivity apps. The real key lies in how you view time: do you pursue tasks, or do tasks pursue you? These two mindsets are like two forces in life—one actively rows the boat, the other lets the current carry it forward. Combining both makes work and life more flexible and composed.

Misalignment Between Self-Positioning and External Expectations

Tue, 16 Sep 2025 22:46:00 +0800

Misalignment Between Self-Positioning and External Expectations

Lately, I’ve noticed a very common phenomenon: how we position ourselves often doesn’t fully align with how others perceive and expect us to be. No matter how hard we try to complete our work or fulfill our roles, people frequently find a gap between how they see themselves and how others see them. This misalignment can be confusing at times, and frustrating at others. I’ve been thinking about why this gap exists. Is it a misunderstanding on our part, or is it simply that the expectations of the environment and others are inherently different? Hard work alone is often not enough—we also need to understand the mechanisms behind this misalignment.

Seize the Moment, Achieve Twice the Results with Half the Effort

Mon, 15 Sep 2025 19:47:00 +0800

Seize the Moment, Achieve Twice the Results with Half the Effort

In life, there are always moments that strike like lightning splitting the clouds, bringing unexpected illumination. Perhaps it’s a flaw suddenly discovered while organizing documents late at night, or an inconspicuous point in a team discussion that unexpectedly connects the entire picture. Many call this “opportunity,” but I prefer to call it a “pivotal moment.” Opportunity is a random gift from the outside world, while a pivotal moment is often quietly brewed within our own thinking and actions. Seize that moment, and the heavy burden of pushing a boulder uphill suddenly becomes surprisingly light—you achieve twice the results with half the effort.

Building a Panoramic View

Sun, 14 Sep 2025 21:36:00 +0800

Building a Panoramic View

In the past, I always thought that drawing process flows and outlining frameworks was just a way to organize notes—nothing special. It wasn’t until recently, while studying a business problem, that I suddenly realized: “building a panoramic view” is a concept worth exploring on its own. When I came across terms like “roadmap” and “mental map” in books, it finally clicked—what I had been doing in a scattered way was essentially building a panoramic view. I just hadn’t recognized the methodological value behind it before.

Is Meritocracy Enough? The Real Struggles of Outside Leaders

Sat, 13 Sep 2025 21:40:00 +0800

Is Meritocracy Enough? The Real Struggles of Outside Leaders

Many people believe that a good leader only needs to know their people and assign them wisely to lead a team effectively. But in reality, things are rarely that simple. This is especially true for outside leaders—those who parachute into a new team—who often step into a minefield of invisible pitfalls from day one.

I once observed a team like this. It had been running smoothly under a long-time leader, but when a new leader came in from outside, all the established order was disrupted. The team had several key members: Xiao Li, technically strong but completely uninterested in management or responsibility; Xiao Wang, highly capable but deeply suspicious of the new leader, openly challenging decisions in meetings and quietly influencing others behind the scenes; and Xiao Zhang, average in ability but always risk-averse, dodging responsibility whenever possible. The new leader started out confident, believing that simply putting the right people in the right roles would make things run. But he soon discovered that reality was far more complex than any paper-based plan.

Skill Progress or Technique Progress

Fri, 12 Sep 2025 20:22:00 +0800

Skill Progress or Technique Progress

September—time to open the list I made at the start of the year. The crossed-out items look clean and decisive, but a lingering doubt creeps in: Is this real progress? Or did I just get by with a few clever tricks, barely scraping through the tasks?

We all know that optimization has no end. Yet along the way, tempting shortcuts appear—deadlines push us to compromise, ROI calculations shake our resolve. Once we give in, these shortcuts become fleeting comforts that fail the moment the context changes.

Ideation Creates, Thinking Destroys

Thu, 11 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0800

Ideation Creates, Thinking Destroys

When I first heard the phrase “Ideation creates, thinking destroys,” my gut reaction was that it sounded a bit extreme. How could thinking be destructive? Hasn’t it always been regarded as the hallmark of rationality and assurance? But the more I observe software engineering in practice, the more I realize this statement isn’t exaggerated—in fact, it cuts straight to the core.

An idea is a spark. It excites people, instantly igniting a team’s passion and opening up new possibilities: whether it’s the bold declaration to “go microservices” or the impulse to “refactor an entire module,” ideas make the future feel within reach. But no matter how bright the spark, if it isn’t broken down and examined, it may just ignite a pile of dry grass—blazing up in an instant, only to leave behind a heap of ashes.

The Power of Consensus

Wed, 10 Sep 2025 21:56:00 +0800

The Power of Consensus

At work, I’ve increasingly come to realize one thing: many tasks fail not because of a lack of execution, but because of a lack of consensus.

When I first started my career, I believed that being obedient and executing quickly made a good employee. Whatever others asked, I would jump into action immediately, never asking too many questions. Yet the results were often the same: I would spend a lot of time, only to have my work go unrecognized, or worse, get bogged down in explanations and finger-pointing. In those moments, I felt both helpless and anxious, silently blaming myself for never quite keeping up with “everyone else’s” pace. Gradually, I came to understand that the problem wasn’t my lack of effort—it was that I hadn’t confirmed from the start whether we were all on the same page.

Do Less, Achieve More: The Power of Restraint

Sat, 06 Sep 2025 23:05:00 +0800

Do Less, Achieve More: The Power of Restraint

When I first started working, I was always in a rush to get things done as quickly as possible. My to-do list was never empty—it only grew longer. Looking back, all I felt was the satisfaction of having “done a lot,” but I rarely had any truly deep thinking to show for it.

In recent years, “cost reduction and efficiency improvement” has become a buzzword in corporate circles. Alibaba talks about focusing on the core, ByteDance speaks of pragmatic romanticism—at their heart, they all point to the same truth: our limited energy must be concentrated where it creates the most value. During a work conversation, someone once asked me: “Are you really okay being this busy?” That question made me seriously reflect on whether busyness itself equals effectiveness.

Programming for Scaling

Fri, 05 Sep 2025 22:27:00 +0800

Programming for Scaling

Lately, one idea has been circling in my mind: all design patterns ultimately boil down to programming for scaling.

Observing the recent evolution of large language models, I’ve come to deeply realize a fundamental truth: a system’s true capability often stems from scaling, not just local optimization. It is through the continuous expansion of compute power, parameters, and data that large models are able to exhibit complex abilities and behaviors. This has led me to reexamine those familiar goals in software engineering and business development—scalability, maintainability, decoupling, reusability—which, despite their different names, are all essentially designed to ensure a system can evolve steadily as its scale and complexity grow.

The Pleasure of Information and the Trap of Cognition

Thu, 04 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The Pleasure of Information and the Trap of Cognition

In an era of information overload, it’s easy to fall into the illusion that scrolling through news, reading updates, and chasing trending topics means we are constantly acquiring new knowledge. But upon closer reflection, most of this content is fragmented. It delivers instant gratification but rarely crystallizes into genuinely valuable understanding. It’s like snacking—tasty in the moment, but lacking the long-term nourishment of a proper meal.

About

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Hello, I’m KingdeGuo.

This blog was founded in 2023, initially driven by LLM-generated content. Later, I realized that I could write not only code but also articles. Since then, I’ve been writing non-stop at a pace of about one article per week, gradually documenting my understanding of organizational management, workplace culture, AI influence, and personal growth.

The blog content mainly covers:

Organizational management and workplace observation
The impact of AI on organizations and individuals
Cognitive frameworks and mental models
Reading notes and life reflections

Feel free to connect with me:

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