Feng Tang's Five Qualities

Source and verification limitations (2026-11-02): The source is an article narrated by Feng Tang, edited by Sansan, supplied by Qingting FM, and published by Zhenghe Island. The first-person voice in the text belongs to the source author. The original WeChat article uses “not greedy for money” at its beginning and end, while this post uses “not pursuing private gain”; that difference between the sources is retained. The four sayings attributed to Zeng Guofan have not been checked against their original source. The hospital case and book dates have not each been independently verified. Sources and reference links (see the explanation above for the scope of verification): https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/xL_0bVoZrVudMdjyFKF2lA ---- Five qualities of people who achieve great things: not foolish, not afraid to die, not impatient for fame and fortune, sparing no effort, and not pursuing private gain. ----- From the perspective of getting things done, “not foolish” comes down to nine Chinese characters: be organized, boast less, and follow through more. First, be organized. We often see people who, when a leader assigns a task, always say it cannot be done yet: they need to go back and ask others or gather more information. But think about it: does your leader have that much time to wait for you? After a few repetitions, you will find that the leader's confidence in you has fallen considerably. Now imagine the outcome if, using the information and data you already have, you could organize and distill your recommendations and conclusions and present them to your leader. Second, boast less. While working, do not keep thinking about telling everyone how good or how damn impressive you are. Once the job is done, we can open a bottle of wine and talk about how good and impressive you are. Simply put: less big talk, more real work. Third, follow through more. Do what you say you will do. If you cannot, report back promptly. The worst thing is for a task to be assigned and then never mentioned again, until everyone forgets about it. Those nine Chinese characters may look unremarkable, but actually living up to them is not easy. ------ Zeng Guofan spoke of being “not afraid to die” during wartime. What does it mean in peacetime? Do not fear mistakes or cling to established ways. Dare to try things and make sacrifices. When I became CEO of China Resources Healthcare, we were considering acquiring a hospital belonging to a mine in Xuzhou. As everyone knows, Xuzhou is a crossroads connecting four provinces, and its people have a fierce, tough temperament. Doing the job well would require substantial time and energy, and the possibility of doing it badly was high. Many middle managers therefore avoided it, citing young children, elderly and ill parents, lack of experience, poor health, and all sorts of other reasons to dodge the task. When I was at a loss, someone said to me: “Boss, let me go. I've thought it over, and of the twenty or thirty people you have, I'm the most suitable.” He really did go, and did quite well. From my perspective, I was very grateful that, at that moment, he was willing to take a risk and try something new. Why do I give this example? To tell you that leaders particularly appreciate people who are unafraid of mistakes or of “dying,” and who dare to try. ------ Do not be impatient for fame and fortune. Do not keep thinking about how to get your leader's attention, how large a bonus you should receive, or what position you should hold. It is best not to ask these questions at the outset. “Focus on cultivating the field, not on the harvest.” Good leaders notice, good subordinates notice, and good colleagues notice. Tell yourself sincerely: do not rush to gain recognition. I do not do this well enough myself, because I like to compete and come first in everything. Knowing this about myself, I ask before starting something whether I have what it takes to come first. If not, I first build a solid foundation, keep digging deeply over the long term, and wait for opportunities. Then, when I do come first, it will be deserved, and others will have nothing to object to. Here is something from my own experience. In 1998, I began writing Wanwu Shengzhang (《萬物生長》), the first book in my Beijing Trilogy. The third, Beijing, Beijing (《北京北京》), was not published until 2007. That one trilogy kept me busy for almost 10 years. More than twenty years have now passed. All three books in the Beijing Trilogy—Wanwu Shengzhang, Shiba Sui Gei Wo Yi Ge Guniang (《十八歲給我一個姑娘》), and Beijing, Beijing—have been adapted for film or television. If you want to see the early years of reform and opening-up, youth, or Beijing, this trilogy is impossible to avoid. In a sense, it has already become a classic. I am not giving this example to show off, but to say: do not be impatient for fame and fortune. Do not keep asking why a major award has not landed in your lap, why you are not yet number one in sales, or why you have not been promoted to vice president. It is the same for everyone: first build a solid foundation, then strive to become number one in a particular field when the opportunity comes. Do not be impatient for fame and fortune. It is not a good thing; rushing too much can actually slow you down. ------ Spare no effort. When it comes to getting things done, doing matters more than talking. Rather than sweet-talking people, pick up the tools and do the job yourself. Too many people think a great deal without saying anything, let alone acting. So do not just keep thinking to yourself. Express your ideas and make constructive suggestions. Leaders most appreciate middle managers who say less and do more. Whether you are speaking, acting, or thinking, the important thing is not that you think on your leader's behalf. It is that, as a middle manager, you overcome difficulties one by one through what you do and say. That is what sparing no effort means. ----- Do not pursue private gain. Middle managers must not be greedy for money! Many people instinctively think that nobody should be greedy for money, so why emphasize middle managers? Compared with senior executives, middle managers are closer to the smaller sums of money, have more purchasing authority, and have more opportunities for embezzlement and bribery. They may also be shorter of money and attach greater importance to it. So when senior executives get into trouble, it will be on a large scale; but if middle managers are greedy for money, they will get into trouble sooner. I once asked an entrepreneur who was exceptionally good at investing. He was the second-in-command at a large company and had been one of my most important clients. I asked him: “Mr. Zhao, we've worked together for four years and done many projects together. I've seen many of your investments succeed, and, at least from what I've observed, you have never suffered a serious failure. Are you smarter than other people? Do you work harder, or have more resources? What's your secret to investing?” Mr. Zhao smiled: “Do you think I'm no smarter than anyone else? Do you think I've taken lots of shortcuts? In fact, the most important secret to investing is two Chinese characters, gongxin—being public-minded—or three, bu mousi—not pursuing private gain. “Whether expressed in two characters or three, it means the same thing: do not mix personal interests into it, and do not be greedy for money. Greed makes it easy to get into trouble. If you assess a case with a public-minded outlook and without pursuing private gain, you will usually do better than many clever people with selfish motives.” This made a deep impression on me, and I still benefit from it. If you use a methodology for getting things done, together with a basic MBA education and business training, you are quite likely to avoid particularly serious mistakes. But if you cannot remain public-minded, you may fall very hard. ----- Zeng Guofan said: “A person leading troops must, first, have the ability to govern people; second, not fear death; third, not be impatient for fame and fortune; and fourth, spare no effort.” I believe “not pursuing private gain” should be added. Anyone who can do these five things is a very good middle manager and has the foundation to become a senior executive. Original: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/xL_0bVoZrVudMdjyFKF2lA