The Mandate of Heaven
There is a wonderful story of a small village that was experiencing terrible weather. The village elders sent for a famous monk to calm the storm. When he arrived, he locked himself alone in a house and remained there for three days. When he came out, the storm had passed. People were curious and wanted to know how he had calmed the storm. He said that the reason why there was such a heavy storm in the area was because there was a lack of harmony in the village. His job was first to find harmony within himself and second to vibrate in unison with the universe so as to bring harmony to the entire village. It was the harmony which calmed the storm. The same harmony everyone would feel for miles around when the Buddha would visit a village.
The job of the CEO is very similar to that of the monk. If a corporation is going through difficult times, it is because the employees do not vibrate in unison. All that is needed is a CEO who will first find harmony within his own soul and then bring harmony to the entire corporation. This is something Leo Apotheker could not do for Hewlett Packard. Everyone knows there is no harmony in HP. One scandal after another has left the employees angry, disappointed and in despair. What is really needed is a leader who, like the monk in the story, has harmony within so that he may bring harmony without. The role of the BOD is to find such a CEO. HP’s BOD failed because Apotheker had no harmony within and could not create harmony without (Read Hexagram 25). On the other hand, for instance, Michael Dell not only has the inner harmony, but he has the Mandate of Heaven to carry out a Revolution (Hexagram 49); that is, to transform Dell from a computer company to perhaps a service provider (Read Dell’s Hexagram). The I Ching will show us in 130 corporations (Dow and QQQ) and their respective Time-Spaces which CEO has the Mandate of Heaven and which does not. We will see for instance, why the Wintel (Microsoft/Intel) combo no longer is the best option for purposes of investing and why the ARM Holdings/Google combo is a better investment.
The I Ching says: “When the quiet power of a man’s own character is at work, the effects produced are right. All those who are receptive to the vibrations of such a spirit -, will then be influenced. Influence over others should not express itself as a conscious and willed effort to manipulate them. Through practicing such conscious incitement, one becomes wrought up and is exhausted by the eternal stress and strain. Moreover, the effects produced are then limited to those on whom one’s thoughts are consciously fixed.”
The Superior CEO unites the same long lasting qualities within with the ones he wants to project without. That is, he has unity of body and spirit. He recognizes he must be one within (himself) if he wants to be one without (the corporation). He recognizes the Bible is right: A house divided cannot stand. A CEO who is not in harmony with his own self because he lacks emotional intelligence is bound to hesitate and make mistakes. The Superior CEO conquers himself in order to be firm in his purpose. If he cannot conquer his own self (his fears, doubts, weaknesses), how can he conquer or lead others? What kind of direction will he give his corporation if he changes his mind all the time?
Few CEOs could possible believe that cyclical forces beyond their control or comprehension either assist or oppose them. They all believe they can out manage any problem by their sheer will and intellect. Such pride makes the angels weep. They should realize it is the other way around. The Mandate of Heaven is of the utmost importance. The only reason Heaven places an executive in the position of CEO is so that he may execute the Mandate of Heaven. Only the humble CEO understands this and acknowledges it.
In 1999, Fortune magazine named Jack Welch Manager of the Century, yet the two policies that made Jack Welch famous and GE grow many times in value were not his own. The first was Peter Drucker’s idea – stay only in those industries where you hold the number 1 or 2 positions. And the second was Motorola’s (Six Sigma) which he successfully and with a vengeance implemented in GE to improve quality, to lower costs and to increase profitability. If the two ideas were not his own, then why did Fortune magazine named Welch Manager of the Century? I would imagine it was because he successfully “Returned” GE to its former glory. And that is exactly what the I Ching said he would do (Hexagram 24, the Return of the Light) when he was elected CEO. The Mandate of Heaven was primary. Implementing someone else’s ideas was secondary. Was he smart (Earth) or was he blessed (Heaven)? No doubt he was smart, but so what? There are thousands of smart CEOs who fail. Immelt, the executive Welch picked to succeed him as CEO of GE is very smart. But he does not have the Mandate of Heaven and that is the reason why he has failed as evidenced by a 50% drop in the value of the GE stock since his appointment. Not matter what he does; he simply lacks the Mandate of Heaven. Period. (Read chapter On Management). And that is the beauty of it all – no CEO can buy, bribe, intimidate, influence or plead his way to success. Like the inner prayer of the HEART (Philokalia), the Mandate of Heaven is Heaven sent.
CEOs should take very seriously the expression “you should thank your lucky stars”. They should be paid millions for having the Mandate of Heaven and not for their smarts. Perhaps someday, Jack Welch will thank his “lucky stars” in public and admit he had Heaven on his side.
Because the Mandate of Heaven is of the utmost importance, the first thing a BOD should ask is if the candidate for CEO has it.
The I Ching says: “The fate of fire depends on wood; as long as there is wood below, the fire burns above. It is the same in human life; there is in man likewise a fate that lends power to his life. And if he succeeds in assigning the right place to life and to fate, thus bringing the two into harmony, he puts his fate on a firm footing”.
Every Board of Directors chooses a Time-Space for the corporation when they elect a CEO. They choose the Time–Space rather than create it because all the Time–Spaces imaginable already exist in the Universe as Quantum physics holds. The I Ching is a tool that allows the BOD, or anyone else for that matter, to know if a Time-Space will be positive or negative. In the hands of the BOD, the I Ching is an extremely powerful tool that will help them make the right choice. For instance, had the BOD of General Electric used it, they would have elected McNerney instead of Immelt, or had the BOD of Merrill Lynch used it, they would have elected Win Smith instead of Stan O’Neal. In the first case, there is nothing wrong with Immelt. It just was not his Time-Space. In the second case, however, the Oracle spoke very eloquently about O’Neal’s meanness and darkness of spirit (see On Management).
For the small investor, the I Ching is a tool that protects him from the mistakes of the BOD. It also levels the playing field and puts him on the same level with the other Oracle (of Omaha) – Warren Buffett. Had the small investor sold the GE stock when Immelt was elected, as the I Ching advised, he would have avoided a 50% loss of his investment and kept the gains that Jack Welch and his favorable Time-Space had given him.
Indeed, the Universe is more than friendly. It is kind. The Universe has given the small investor a powerful tool to protect him from the stupidity of the BODs and the frauds of the Goldman Sachs of the world.
