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Power and organisation

Wei Zheng

Plain speaking

Wei Zheng (Tang · 580–643) — Plain speaking.

Power and organisationQin, Han and the Six DynastiesPlain speaking

What actually happened?

At a banquet, with the wine going round, Li Shimin said to Zhangsun Wuji: when I will not take Wei Zheng's advice, he stops answering me. Why? Wei Zheng said: I speak because the thing is wrong; if I answered every time you ignored me, it would be taken as agreed and done. Li Shimin said: you could agree for now and raise it again later. Wei Zheng quoted Shun's charge to his ministers, not to nod in the court and complain afterwards. If I agreed to your face and then remonstrated, that is complaining afterwards. Li Shimin laughed. People say Wei Zheng is rough in manner, he said; I only find him charming.

Making a man dare to speak takes two people

After that answer Wei Zheng added: it is because you draw me out that I dare to speak; if you did not accept it, how would I dare to touch the dragon's scales again and again? He credited half of his courage to the other man's willingness to hear it.

If you want people below you to tell the truth, look at how you reacted the last time someone pushed back.

Say it to his face; do not just comply

He would not agree on the spot and raise it later, because that is two speeches. His way was: if he disagreed, he did not answer on the spot, so the other man knew the matter was still open.

If you disagree in a meeting, do not nod and then send an objection afterwards. Say so while the room is still there.

Use a precedent as a ladder

When the princess Changle was to marry, Taizong meant her dowry to be double that of her aunt, Princess Yongjia. Wei Zheng did not say no; he cited Emperor Ming of Han, who had said his sons could not equal those of the founder. Taizong gave way, and Empress Zhangsun sent four hundred thousand coins and four hundred bolts of silk to Wei Zheng's house.

To stop your boss going over budget, do not argue principle: show him the rule he set himself last year.

How do I use it today?

Pick one thing you recently disagreed with and nodded at. Go back and write down what you would have said out loud, not 'sure'. Then pick the last time someone told you no, and write down your first reaction; if you want him to do it again, that is the thing to change. Wei Zheng did both: not agreeing meant not answering, and when others disagreed he heard them out.

Deep read

If the Crown Prince Had ListenedWhen an old position is raised in your face, answer with what you actually said then, without retracting it or beggingThe new ruler asked why he had set brothers against each other, and he gave one sentenceThe Prisoner at CizhouWhen those above have promised no reprisals and someone below is still arresting people, make the promise true firstSent to pacify the north, he met a man being marched to the capital and let him go on the spotBegin Well, End WellBe as straight with people in good times as you were in hard ones: write it down before you are pleased with yourselfHe wrote the emperor a list of ten mistakes that only happen after success

Read alongside

Yan YingBoth said unwelcome things to their lords. Yan Ying went round it: the market price of crutches against shoes, and the duke cut the punishments himself. Wei Zheng said it to his face, and could, because Taizong was willing to be pushed and let him go on. Duke Wen of JinDuke Wen is the man whose old enemy comes knocking; Wei Zheng is the one who knocks, asked by Li Shimin about the past. The two pages look at the same meeting from either end.

Further

Li Shimin Yan Ying Duke Wen of Jin Xiao He

Lines to keep

It is because you draw me out that I dare to speak.

Do not nod to his face and complain behind his back.

They say he is rough in manner; I only find him charming.