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HEXAGRAM 12 – P’i – Standstill (Stagnation)
Above CH’IEN THE CREATIVE, HEAVEN
Below K’UN THE RECEPTIVE, EARTH
This hexagram is the opposite of the preceding one.
- Heaven is above, drawing farther and farther away, while
- the earth below sinks farther into the depths.
The creative powers are not in relation.
It is a time of standstill and decline.
This hexagram is linked with the seventh month (August-September),
when
- the year has passed its zenith and
- autumnal decay is setting in.
THE JUDGMENT
STANDSTILL.
Evil people do not further
The perseverance of the superior man.
- The great departs
- the small approaches.
- Heaven and earth are out of communion and
- all things are benumbed.
- What is above has no relation to what is below, and
- on earth confusion and disorder prevail.
- The dark power within,
- the light power is without.
- Weakness is within,
- harshness without.
- Within are the inferior, and
- without are the superior.
- The way of inferior people is in ascent;
- the way of superior people is on the decline.
But the superior people do not allow themselves to be turned from their principles.
If the possibility of exerting influence is closed to them,
they nevertheless
- remain faithful to their principles and
- withdraw into seclusion.
THE IMAGE
Heaven and earth do not unite: The image Of STANDSTILL.
Thus
- the superior man falls back upon his inner worth In order to escape the difficulties.
- He does not permit himself to be honored with revenue.
When, owing to the influence of inferior men, mutual mistrust prevails in public life,
fruitful activity is rendered impossible,
because the fundaments are wrong.
Therefore
- the superior man knows what he must do under such circumstances;
- he does not allow himself to be tempted by dazzling offers to take part in public activities.
This would only expose him to danger, since he cannot assent to the meanness of the others.
He therefore
- hides his worth and
- withdraws into seclusion.
12 – STANDSTILL (STAGNATION)
MANAGERIAL ISSUE:
The CEO – managing his corporation during periods of stagnation.
Hexagram 12 describes a period of stagnation or weakening of the corporation brought about by the return of the inferior managers and their evil managerial practices. This creates a situation where there is a wall between the Superior CEO that is still followed by a few remaining good executives and the newly arriving evil forces. The corporation suffers because there is a lack of:
-
Communication.
-
Relations.
-
Sharing of ideas.
-
Trust.
-
Rewards based on merit.
-
Growth.
This is autumn time for the corporation. The previous CEO has brought his corporation to its highest point in productivity and the price of the stock already reflects it. Nevertheless, it is at this very moment that a fight will begin for the leadership position within the corporation. This time around, however, a new inferior CEO and his incompetent followers will win. This is unfortunate because they, in turn, will implement their own corrupt practices and drive away the competent ones from their managerial positions. This creates a situation of internal conflict in which the few superior managers left in the corporation are forced to obey the newly implemented bad managerial practices.
This is a matter of nature’s seasonality and the Superior CEO must accept it as such. This Hexagram is the opposite of Hexagram 11.
MANAGERIAL LESSON:
The I CHING advises those few good managers left to:
-
Hang in there, to hold on to their principles rather than to allow themselves to be bought by salary increases or bonuses,
-
Avoid participating openly in the managerial directives of the inferior managers who presently control the corporation.
-
Obey the present evil management as much as possible without betraying their convictions.
-
Wait with aloofness until the times change and the superior managers return together with the prosperity.
INVESTMENT ADVICE:
This is the Hexagram of Steven Jobs from the time he was driven out of Apple until his inevitable return. He was always Apple’s true CEO.
-
In the first line – Jobs is driven out of Apple. He takes a few talented managers with him. Heaven tells him he has nothing to fear, thus the Oracle says:
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“Perseverance brings good fortune and success.
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In the second line – those Apple employees who stay behind are forced to “bear and endure” the arrogance of the false CEOs. Jobs position is that of the great man:
-
the great man calmly bears the consequences of the standstill.
-
He does not mingle with the crowd of the inferior; that is not his place.
-
he insures the success of his fundamental principles. by his willingness to suffer personally
-
In the third line: the false CEOs and the managers who ran Apple during Jobs absence “bear shame”:
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Inferior people who have risen to power illegitimately do not feel equal to the responsibility they have taken upon themselves.
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In their hearts they begin to be ashamed, although at first they do not show it outwardly.
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In the fourth line: the tide turns. Heaven forces Jobs’ return.
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the man who is truly called to the task is favored by the conditions of the time, and
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all those of like mind will share in his blessing.
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In the fifth line: Jobs is asked to run Apple. He is successful because he follows Confucius advice:
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Danger arises when a man feels secure in his position.
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Destruction threatens when a man seeks to preserve his worldly estate.
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Confusion develops when a man has put everything in order.
Therefore the superior man does not forget
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danger in his security, nor
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ruin when he is well established, nor
-
confusion when his affairs are in order.
In this way he
-
gains personal safety and
-
is able to protect the empire.
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In the sixth line: Jobs turns Apple around ending the period of the Standstill thanks to his obsessive and relentless creative drive.
-
The time of disintegration, however, does not change back automatically to a condition of peace and prosperity;
-
effort must be put forth in order to end it.
-
This shows the creative attitude that man must take if the world is to be put in order.
Merrill Lynch
In another more present-time example, this Hexagram represents Merrill Lynch’s employees when Merrill’s Board of Directors mistakenly elected Stan O’Neal as CEO. He did two things: fired the most competent executives whom he knew were better than him, and surrounded himself with yes men. He needed yes men to carry out the most wildly ambitious projects such as leveraging the corporation in a ratio of 30:1 by buying so called (by Standard & Poor’s) AAA CDOs. He fired all the honest executives who questioned his judgment. The only ones left behind were the professional flatterers, those who brown nosed him to death. The good executives who managed to survive did so because of their proper attitude – waiting for the better CEO to return (perhaps Win Smith, who according to the Oracle would have made a great CEO) and doing so with certain aloofness. They maintained their principles until better times.
For the investor, the Standstill is in general an unfavorable Time-Space to invest.
By itself (no lines), the Hexagram points to the need for perseverance while the Superior CEO returns to his proper place:
STANDSTILL.
Evil people do not further
The perseverance of the superior man.
The great departs the small approaches.
Heaven and earth are out of communion and all things are benumbed. What is above has no relation to what is below, and on earth confusion and disorder prevail. The dark power within, the light power is without. Weakness is within, harshness without. Within are the inferior, and without are the superior. The way of inferior people is in ascent; the way of superior people is on the decline. But the superior people do not allow themselves to be turned from their principles. If the possibility of exerting influence is closed to them, they nevertheless remain faithful to their principles and withdraw into seclusion.
