《管理之道：善用人的自私性，做好堵与疏》

Abstract

This article argues that the essence of management lies in recognizing and strategically harnessing human selfishness, rather than attempting to eliminate it. Human selfishness has two orientations: upward selfishness (pursuit of fame, profit, competition, and self-fulfillment), which drives individual effort and organizational vitality; and downward selfishness (aversion to work, free-riding, and coasting), which leads to a collective decline akin to a “wet skirt spreading urine”—where low standards infect the entire group. The Way of Management lies in channeling upward selfishness through guidance—through piece-rate wages, performance-based pay, promotion ladders, honors, and public recognition—so that individuals naturally create value for the organization while pursuing their own interests. Simultaneously, it uses blocking to curb downward selfishness—through minimum output quotas, elimination of persistent low-performers, supervision, and penalties—to prevent inertia from undermining fairness. The article critiques management failures such as egalitarian “same pay for different work” and hollow slogans that ignore human nature. It concludes that management need not force selflessness; it only needs to design rules that align self-interest with collective benefit. Only by balancing channeling and blocking, combining flexibility with firmness, can management ignite motivation, maintain order, and achieve sustainable efficiency.

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