For a character like Guan Yu, you must both praise and flatter, and also attack. For a character like Zhang Fei, you don't need to flatter, just encourage. For someone like Zhao Yun, you must constantly praise. For someone like Wei Yan, who is prone to having two minds, you must maintain dignity. There are many different types of people, so use them skillfully.
Zhuge Liang is considered a master in using people. He was a person who came from a rural peasant family, joined the faction with no power, no money, no territory led by Liu Bei, and soon conquered Jingzhou, Yizhou, Hanzhong, and took the position of one of the three rulers of the world. The reason was completely based on Liu Bei's personality. This process was like using only a small amount of capital to win a large sum of money. And it was also like a private company temporarily established to compete with a large enterprise to share the market. Through this, we can see that Zhuge Liang was truly a great businessman, his success not only encouraged generations of intellectuals, but also provided extremely valuable experiences on how to pass the "gate of martial arts".
Managers are very interested in Zhuge Liang, especially his wisdom in using people. He attracts talented people, uses talented people, and manages talented people.
Zhuge Liang had noticed this point from a very early age. That is, although Liu Bei had no money, he had a kind of wealth that everyone else did not have. First, Liu Bei was a minister in the Han Dynasty's royal family, considered by the Emperor as his Imperial Uncle, and was assigned to carry the imperial edict to punish the traitor Cao Cao. Thus, he acted in a legitimate manner. Finally, Liu Bei used the method of forming brotherhood, gathering talents such as Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Yun. This was an inexhaustible source of human resources.
In this so-called “political group”, Liu Bei was equivalent to the position of Chairman of the Board of Directors. He had to “visit the thatched cottage three times” to invite Zhuge Liang to be the General Director of the company, of course he fully supported Zhuge Liang’s business philosophy and security measures. Zhuge Liang thus brought into play two roles of Liu Bei. One was the role of opening a legitimate business for the Han Dynasty and the other was the role of the leader of this organization. Therefore, Zhuge Liang issued all the orders and they were carried out right next to Liu Bei and did not make his own decisions.
Guan Yu was Liu Bei's sworn brother in the peach garden, equivalent to the position of Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors. He had excellent martial arts skills, had the feats of beheading Hua Xiong, Yan Liang, Zhou Wenshi..., had a great reputation for his golden seal, passing the five senses, beheading six generals, returning to Han from Cao Cao... in all situations he had special abilities. However, he was too arrogant, somewhat disdainful of the pale-faced scholar Zhuge Liang. On the one hand, Zhuge Liang could not help but review his actual achievements for Guan Yu to acknowledge. On the other hand, he praised Guan Yu endlessly so that he would use all his might to support Liu Bei. At the same time, Cao Cao was in Huarong Road, reminding him not to be too arrogant. Although Zhang Fei's position was behind Guan Yu, his ability was not inferior to Guan Yu's. His fiery personality also showed his skepticism of Zhuge Liang's ability. Zhuge Liang believed that this was a human resource that needed to be exploited, and repeatedly encouraged him to brainstorm to solve many difficult problems. Because Zhang Fei, who was considered simple-minded, would use strategies that would make it difficult for his opponents to guard against.
Zhao Yun did not participate in the Peach Garden Oath. In order to pursue his political future, he only knew how to strive actively and be loyal to Liu Bei. Zhuge Liang saw this clearly and assigned the most important task to Zhao Yun. Furthermore, whenever he had the opportunity, he praised Zhao Yun's achievements and contributions in front of everyone, making Zhao Yun play an important role in the process of Zhuge Liang "running" the Shu Han cause.
It can be seen that Zhuge Liang's way of using people was very carefully calculated. With Guan Yu, he flattered and praised him with criticism, with Zhang Fei, he flattered and encouraged him, with Zhao Yun, he often praised him, and with Wei Yan, who was easily swayed, he maintained his dignity.
(Collected)
