Workplace Three Kingdoms

Author: Ma Shuo
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-11-01
Features: This book is a lively commentary on ancient tales, career guidance, and life inspiration. However, this liveliness is deeply profound, broad, flavorful, and philosophical. Therefore, it is suitable for college students who are currently struggling with the anxieties and confusions of job hunting, as well as for those who have been in the workplace for many years. Author Ma Shuo explicitly explains the structure of the book in the opening: "It is precisely because of different personalities that career youths end up differently. To vividly illustrate this principle, we have conducted an in-depth exploration of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, uncovering many details, insights, and even errors that Luo Guanzhong initially overlooked. We deeply reveal the career fates of the 'Outstanding Youth' Zhao Yun, the 'Questioning Youth' Lü Bu, and the 'Frustrated Youth' Yang Xiu, jointly studying how personality determines destiny." The content of the book covers sensitive issues everyone encounters, such as job interviews, job-hopping, relationships between superiors and subordinates, and colleague dynamics, as well as social phenomena like office romances, sisterly relationships, and mistresses. It is vast in scope and deeply comprehensive. This playful yet well-founded, logical, interesting, and absurdly offbeat approach makes for an easy and humorous read that is also thought-provoking. As the saying goes:
"The Yangtze River flows eastward, its waves wash away heroes. Success and failure in the workplace are fleeting. A stool is forged of iron and remains, with heroes competing in constant rotation. Outstanding, questioning, and frustrated youths all endure cold winds and warmth. Boiling wine under the plum tree, watching life unfold—throughout history, the cold and hot have been the same."
Personality determines the kind of stool you sit on.
"The Yangtze River flows eastward, its waves wash away heroes. Success and failure in the workplace are fleeting. A stool is forged of iron and remains, with heroes competing in constant rotation. Outstanding, questioning, and frustrated youths all endure cold winds and warmth. Boiling wine under the plum tree, watching life unfold—throughout history, the cold and hot have been the same."
In Luo Guanzhong's Romance of the Three Kingdoms, the wars are not only a struggle for power among heroes but also a competition for "stools." The extremely high (elimination rate) allows some to rise to fame, while many remain mediocre or even vanish into oblivion. Today's workplace similarly plays out like the history of the Three Kingdoms—originating from elite institutions, possessing high talent, and entering the business world, yet the outcomes differ vastly. Some are favored, rise to leadership, and sit firmly on "hot stools," full of vigor; others face hardships yet remain on "cold stools," enduring hardship; still others fall into the depths, lost in despair. Why? The Indian saying goes: "Plant habits, harvest character; plant character, harvest destiny." This applies to any field of life, especially the bureaucracy, and certainly the workplace. Fundamentally, the workplace is a form of bureaucracy. It is precisely because of different personalities that career youths end up differently. To vividly illustrate this principle, we have conducted an in-depth exploration of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, uncovering many details, insights, and even errors that Luo Guanzhong initially overlooked. We deeply reveal the career fates of the 'Outstanding Youth' Zhao Yun, the 'Questioning Youth' Lü Bu, and the 'Frustrated Youth' Yang Xiu, jointly studying how personality determines destiny.
Zhao Yun, Lü Bu, and Yang Xiu in the book are all talented youths, but their career outcomes differ greatly. Zhao Yun is the epitome of an outstanding youth. He is goal-oriented, strong-willed, adaptable, capable of steady work while excelling in interpersonal relationships. He practices self-cultivation, deeply understanding the art of leveraging others. He possesses true talent and knows how to approach superiors, gain their favor, and maintain good relations with colleagues. What is most important is that he never acts impulsively, willing to sacrifice immediate gains for long-term goals. Thus, he continually seizes opportunities to achieve greatness, naturally drawing closer to his objectives. From a workplace politics perspective, Zhao Yun's personality is perfect, offering many lessons for us to learn. However, he is overly calm, rational, and emotionally detached, appearing cold and lacking warmth. As a person, he is not particularly likable, especially not as a friend.
Lü Bu represents the problematic youth. Though he has high ideals, he is too eager for quick success, lacking long-term vision and being extremely shortsighted. At the same time, he lacks necessary moral principles, constantly resorting to illegal means to achieve his goals. With his "Heavenly Sky" phone and "Red Horse" carriage, he charges ahead, only to be consumed by the workplace and become the famous "Questioning Youth." This is a cautionary tale. Yang Xiu is the pioneer of the frustrated youth. His personality is deeply contradictory—he desires to remain noble, pure, and idealistic, hoping to act freely and be called a "man of true character," yet he is equally obsessed with worldly fame and wealth. These two desires are irreconcilable. This contradiction determines that Yang Xiu could never find a suitable "stool." Once in the workplace, if Yang Xiu refuses to play by the rules of workplace politics, his only path is to become a disillusioned cynic. If Yang Xiu and the "frustrated youths" he represents could truly embrace poverty and contentment, free from worldly desires, their talents would allow them to live a peaceful life. But they don't. They want everything—worldly gains and noble reputation alike—and end up with nothing, living in pain and exhaustion. The life goals of the "frustrated youths" are appealing, but their attitudes are at odds with their ideals.
Hot stools, cold stools. The workplace is a part of society, just as complex as society itself. Whether it's the "Career Wisdom of the Outstanding Youth Zhao Yun," the "Red Horse Rampage of the Questioning Youth Lü Bu," or even the "Clammy Career of the Frustrated Youth Yang Xiu," these are the raw feelings of today's workplace professionals. The author has compiled and presented these experiences, revealing the lessons of hot and cold stools. If this brings you both enjoyment and enlightenment, then the author is deeply grateful.