Think like a frog

Author: Wu Man Lan Jiang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-04-01
Features: The name of this book is "Think Like a Frog." Why is it named so? Is a frog's way of thinking more advanced than that of humans? But if you know the other two names of this book, you won't have such doubts. The other two names of this book are "Research on the Philosophy of Mud Pit Management" and "Practical Outline of Corporate Unwritten Rules." Regardless of what negative opinions you may have about frogs, one thing is certain: in the mud, frogs have a broader space for survival. So, what is a mud pit? Have you ever encountered a mud pit? To resolve this confusion, let's first look at the top ten corporate mud pits listed by the author:
Mud Pit No. 1: Are you loyal to your duty or to your boss or superior?
Analysis of the Phenomenon: If you answer that you are loyal to your duty, it undoubtedly shows that you do not agree with your boss or superior. The company can only consider replacing you with a member of higher loyalty. Conversely, if you say you are loyal to your boss rather than your duty, the company can only reluctantly let you go. Without exception, all organizational systems only need frogs, not slaves.
Mud Pit No. 2: Your boss or superior secretly asks about your colleagues' movements.
Analysis of the Phenomenon: If you answer truthfully, your frog-like qualities will be greatly questioned. A frog that betrays its friends is unreliable, and from then on, your boss or superior will keep you at a distance. Conversely, if you refuse to tell the truth or just give a (: -) response, your loyalty will become an issue. No boss or superior likes dishonest employees. You had better take care of yourself.
Mud Pit No. 3: Your boss or superior asks you to do something that clearly violates the law.
Analysis of the Phenomenon: You must do it, because it is the boss's order. Only by doing it well can you prove your loyalty. However, you absolutely cannot do it. If you do, what awaits you in the future will be something terrible. Of course, you can explain to your boss, but your boss or superior will not show mercy in negotiations. So, what should you do? This is truly a difficult problem for you.
Mud Pit No. 4: You discover that your superior is disloyal to the boss.
Analysis of the Phenomenon: Why did you happen to discover this behavior? If you haven't asked this question, you can only consider the following options:
1. Report the boss. The consequence is that your superior is more important than you, and the boss, under your superior's (: -), will have to fire you to comfort the one who has been hurt.
2. Stay silent. Then you are in trouble. Believe me, everyone in the company, including the boss, knows what you saw. Everyone is waiting for your action, but you remain deaf and dumb. No matter how foolish your boss is, I can guarantee he will not want a deaf and mute employee.
The last option is to go along with your superior. But you forgot, this is just your one-sided wish. Your superior, for the sake of safety, will pin all the misconduct on you. In short, you're done.
Mud Pit No. 5: Two or more superiors ask you to do different things at the same time.
Analysis of the Phenomenon: Act immediately—this is without a doubt. The problem is that you first have to follow which superior's instructions. The usual answer is to first choose the one with a higher position, then the direct superior. But you forgot, when you ignore the superiors and directly work for a higher leader, what will the superiors think? How will they resolve their inner anxiety and sense of crisis? In short, no matter how you choose, the result will be that all superiors and the boss will have an opinion of you, which is not good for your future.
Mud Pit No. 6: Two or more superiors ask you to do the same thing, but they require you to follow different plans or procedures.
Analysis of the Phenomenon: This mud pit is similar to the previous one, except that superiors or bosses seem to prefer using this method to prove the necessity of the mud pit for you. You must choose one of the two or several plans, in other words, you must choose the one among the superiors or between the superiors and the boss who will ultimately kick you out of the company. Do you prefer to be driven out by whom? Your preference will not change the outcome.
Mud Pit No. 7: A colleague in a difficult situation takes you as a friend or asks for your help.
Analysis of the Phenomenon: What is worse than a bad situation is that a dismissed or marginalized employee suddenly discovers you and clings to you, treating you as their savior or family member, sharing intimate details of your time together in the public eye. What should you do? Your pain does not lie in explaining anything to him, but in how to show others that you have nothing to do with him. But this is difficult. No matter how hard you try to wash yourself clean, you cannot erase the impression that everyone expects: that you're done, that you don't care about the company's wishes.
Mud Pit No. 8: A colleague with connections exposes a major blunder and asks you to cover it up.
Analysis of the Phenomenon: This matter is originally none of your business and should be left alone. But your colleague believes you have an obligation to help him. If you disagree with this view, a "conflict of ideas" between you and him is inevitable. And he has connections and backing—he is not just one person but a "team." The result of the "conflict of ideas" will inevitably be his "idea" winning over yours. But if you agree to his request, you are completely dead. The company will make you pay a heavy price for your recklessness, and the time you regret it will be far longer than you imagine.
Mud Pit No. 9: Your superior, um, is of the opposite sex, and they show you overly affectionate behavior. What should you do?
Analysis of the Phenomenon: Agree, enjoy yourself, what's the harm? Are you like that? Then you're in trouble. The consequences of office affairs are far from as beautiful and romantic as they are depicted in novels. The entanglement of work and romance is enough to provoke a fierce attack from colleagues who are jealous of you. Being kicked out is not a pleasant experience. What? You don't agree? You try your best to refuse? You will receive friendly reminders. Office sexual harassment is a topic that everyone loves to chew on.
Mud Pit No. 10: The boss places great hope in you and assigns you a task, but you unexpectedly face strong resistance from all your colleagues. How should you handle it?
Analysis of the Phenomenon: On one side is your boss, the one who feeds you, and on the other are your colleagues and friends. If you take the boss's side, you will be blamed by all your colleagues and friends. What's worse is that the boss needs them more than you, and what's even worse is that the boss needs them more than you. When the day of reckoning comes, you will have no chance to turn things around. So, what about choosing your colleagues and friends? Unfortunately, this option does not exist, because the boss will not allow it. So, what should you do? If you have encountered this situation in a company, or if you would rather have a sharp mind to avoid or solve the above ten mud pits, then please enter this book. Let us together uncover the secret rules of the hidden social organizational system and analyze the formation and avoidance mechanisms of the mud pit phenomenon. All of this will help improve and mature your EQ.
The name of this book is "Think Like a Frog." Why is it named so? Is a frog's way of thinking more advanced than that of humans? However, if you know the other two names of this book, they are "Research on the Philosophy of Mud Pit Management" and "Practical Outline of Corporate Unwritten Rules." Regardless of what negative opinions you may have about frogs, one thing is certain: in the mud, frogs have a broader space for survival. So, what is a mud pit? Have you ever encountered a mud pit? To resolve this confusion, let's first look at the top ten corporate mud pits listed by the author:
1. Are you loyal to your duty or to your superior?
2. Your boss or superior secretly asks about your colleagues' movements.
3. Your boss asks you to do something that clearly violates the law.
4. You discover that your superior is disloyal to the boss.
5. Two superiors ask you to do different things at the same time.
6. Two superiors ask you to do the same thing, but they require you to follow different plans or procedures.
7. A colleague in a difficult situation takes you as a friend or asks for your help.
8. A colleague with connections exposes a major blunder and asks you to cover it up.
9. Your opposite-sex superior shows you overly affectionate behavior.
10. The boss places great hope in you and assigns you a task, but you unexpectedly face strong resistance from all your colleagues.
If you have encountered this situation in a company, or if you would rather have a sharp mind to avoid or solve the above ten mud pits, then please enter this book. Let us together uncover the secret rules of the hidden social organizational system and analyze the formation and avoidance mechanisms of the mud pit phenomenon. All of this will help improve and mature your EQ. Compared to "The Evolution Manual of Workplace Animals," this book focuses more on guiding and training your mindset, but this training process is integrated into a complete story system. Just like "The Evolution Manual of Workplace Animals," our story is expressed in the form of a fable, teaching us to think like a frog. Here, the frog's way of thinking is established as a clear ideological background, highlighting the existence and application of unwritten rules. Therefore, some plots in the book may inevitably be exaggerated, compressed, and distorted. If used to validate the current state of enterprises, it would lead to very discouraging conclusions.
For the same reason, the main arguments in the book are not based on empty one-sided wishes but on the entropy value of the system's internal structure. All arguments and deductions are based on this foundation. Corresponding to the frog's way of thinking is the dinosaur's mindset, which implies a series of idealistic wishes and behaviors. When dinosaurs learn to observe the world and think from the frog's perspective, vast intellectual thoughts can only gain the most basic basis for survival in the mud pit of unwritten rules.
Another aspect of this book focuses on the framework of power management, conducting quantitative analysis of the elements of power and deriving relevant power functions. Correspondingly, there are numerous cases of power operations. These realistic power practices give the book a stronger fable-like quality, preventing us from mistakenly absorbing negative elements from these (: -) -, such as fighting for power, playing power games, scheming, and unscrupulous means. Although these negative elements are important components of corporate unwritten rules, the author still maintains confidence.