HEXAGRAM 44: ORIGINAL, INTERPRETATION
AND CASES
HEXAGRAM 44 – Kou -
Coming to Meet
Above CH'IEN THE CREATIVE, HEAVEN
Below SUN THE GENTLE, WIND
This hexagram indicates a situation in which the principle of darkness,
after having been eliminated,
furtively and unexpectedly obtrudes again from within and below.
Of its own accord the female principle comes to meet the male.
· It is an unfavorable and dangerous situation, and
· we must understand and promptly prevent the possible consequences.
The hexagram is linked with the fifth month [June-July],
because at the summer solstice
the principle of darkness gradually becomes ascendant again.
THE JUDGMENT
COMING TO MEET.
The maiden is powerful.
One should not marry such a maiden.
The rise of the inferior element is pictured here in the image of
a bold girl who
· lightly surrenders herself and
· thus seizes power.
This would not be possible if the strong and light-giving element had not in turn come halfway.
·
The inferior thing seems so harmless and inviting that
o a man delights in it;
·
it looks so small and weak that
o he imagines he may dally with it
and come to no harm.
The
inferior man rises only because the superior man
·
does not regard him as dangerous and so
·
lends him power.
If
·
he were resisted from the first,
·
he could never gain influence.
The time of COMING TO MEET is important in still another way.
Although as a general rule the weak should not come to meet the strong,
there are times when this has great significance.
· When heaven and earth come to meet each other, all creatures prosper;
· when a prince and his official come to meet each other, the world is put in order.
It is
necessary for elements predestined to be joined and mutually dependent
to come to
meet one another halfway.
But the
coming together must be free of dishonest ulterior motives,
otherwise harm will result.
THE IMAGE
Under heaven, wind: The image Of COMING TO MEET.
Thus does the prince act when
· disseminating his commands And
· proclaiming them to the four quarters of heaven.
The situation here resembles that in hexagram 20, Kuan, CONTEMPLATION (VIEW).
· In the latter the wind blows over the earth,
· here it blows under heaven;
in both cases it goes everywhere.
There the wind
· is on the earth and
· symbolizes the ruler taking note of the conditions in his kingdom;
here the wind
· blows from above and
· symbolizes the influence exercised by the ruler through his commands.
· Heaven is far from the things of earth, but
o it sets them in motion by means of the wind.
· The ruler is far from his people, but
o he sets them in motion by means of his commands and decrees.
THE LINES
Six at the beginning means:
It must be checked with a brake of bronze.
Perseverance brings good fortune.
If
· one lets it take its course,
· one experiences misfortune.
Even a lean pig has it in him to rage around.
If an
inferior element has wormed its way in,
it must be
energetically checked at once.
·
By consistently checking it, bad effects can be avoided.
·
If it is allowed to take its course, misfortune is bound to result;
the insignificance of that which creeps in should not be a temptation to underrate it.
A pig that is still young and lean cannot rage around much,
but after it has eaten its fill and become strong,
its true nature comes out if it has not previously been curbed.
Nine in the second place means:
There is a fish in the tank.
No blame.
Does not further guests.
The inferior element
· is not overcome by violence but
· is kept under gentle control.
Then nothing evil is to be feared.
But care must be taken not to let it come in contact with those further away,
because once free it would unfold its evil aspects unchecked.
Nine in the third place means:
· There is no skin on his thighs, And
· walking comes hard.
If
· one is mindful of the danger,
· No great mistake is made.
There is a temptation to fall in with the evil element offering itself –
a very dangerous situation.
Fortunately circumstances prevent this;
one would like to do it, but cannot.
This leads to painful indecision in behavior.
But if
· we gain clear insight into the danger of the situation,
· we shall at least avoid more serious mistakes.
Nine in the fourth place means:
No fish in the tank.
This leads to misfortune.
Insignificant
people must be tolerated in order to keep them well disposed.
·
Then we can make use of them if we should need them.
If we
·
become alienated from them and
·
do not meet them halfway,
they
·
turn their backs on us and
·
are not at our disposal when we need them.
But this is our own fault.
Nine in the fifth place means:
A melon covered with willow leaves.
Hidden lines.
Then it drops down to one from heaven.
The melon, like the fish, is a symbol of the principle of darkness.
It is sweet but spoils easily and for this reason is protected with a cover of willow leaves.
This is a situation in which
a strong, superior, well-poised man
tolerates and protects the inferiors in his charge.
· He has the firm lines of order and beauty within himself but
· he does not lay stress upon them.
· He
o does not bother his subordinates with outward show or tiresome admonitions but
o leaves them quite free, putting his trust in the transforming power of a strong and upright personality.
And behold!
Fate is favorable.
His inferiors
· respond to his influence and
· fall to his disposition like ripe fruit.
Nine at the top means:
He comes to meet with his horns.
Humiliation.
No blame.
When a man has withdrawn from the world,
its tumult often becomes unbearable to him.
There are many people who in a noble pride
· hold themselves aloof from all that is low and
· rebuff it brusquely wherever it comes to meet them.
Such persons are reproached for being proud and distant,
but since active duties no longer hold them to the world,
this does not greatly matter.
They know how to bear the dislike of the masses with composure.
44 COMING TO MEET
MANAGERIAL
ISSUE:
The CEO – managing to protect the
corporation from the inevitable return of evil.
Hexagram 44 is made up of five YANG
(positive) lines on top and one YIN (negative) line at the bottom. It represents the return of those evil
executives and practices the BOD or the CEO believed
to have eliminated in Hexagram 43. It
also points to the idea that the I Ching represents a continuous and never ending cycle, much like a spiral.
Sometimes the union of the YING and the
YANG can be positive, provided it is complementary, natural and in good
faith. This would be the case, for
instance, of a strategic corporate takeover, which provides vertical or
horizontal integration to the corporation.
In the case of Hexagram 44 the corporation
has:
1)
Elected executives to higher positions who will
implement destructive policies. This is
the case of Stan O’Neal when elected by the BOD of Merrill Lynch as CEO (see On
Management). In this case, it is the
strong (BOD) that gives him power. Otherwise he would never reach so high a position.
2)
Hired new employees at the lower levels. The personnel department assumed these new
hires wanted the best for the corporation; however, these individuals are
conflictive, they will corrupt the corporation in an unsuspecting and subtle
manner. They will slowly creep up until
having reached the higher positions, at which moment the CEO will have to
struggle to throw them out. Their
strength comes from the CEO‘s or the corporation’s
willingness to give them power rather than stopping them in the very
beginning. If the CEO were to realize
the danger at an early moment, he could prevent further damage.
3)
Allowed the entrance of the YING element into the
corporation in the form of an incompetent female executive. She prospers because the CEO gives her power
without her having sufficient merits.
This could be the result of nepotism or of intimate relations. In any event, this can only end up in a
catastrophic situation. There are a number of examples of this case in corporate history. In the long run both, the CEO as well as the
corporation will surely suffer. In the
case of government, this is the Nuclear Hexagram of Bill Clinton which points
to the future events with Monica Lewinsky (Read On
Management).
MANAGERIAL
LESSON:
The Superior CEO understands he is in too
high a managerial position to personally prevent evil from entering
into the corporation; therefore, he creates a corporate structure with
such clear and just rules that by their high moral standing they keep evil away
(most of it).
The problem is when the CEO himself is evil
and therefore, the one who is re-introducing evil into the corporation. Who can protect such a corporation from its
assured destruction, as in the case of Stan O’Neal and Merrill Lynch?.
INVESTMENT ADVICE:
For the investor, the Coming to Meet
Time–Space does not represent a good opportunity to invest. After all, evil is returning to the
corporation. The CEO’s task is to
prevent it. That is quite a difficult task and the CEO will not be successful, except perhaps in
the fifth line and that thanks only to a fortuitous event.
By itself the Coming to Meet Time-Space is
not favorable at all.
COMING TO MEET.
The maiden is powerful.
One should not marry such a maiden.
The rise of the inferior element is
pictured here in the image of a bold girl who lightly surrenders herself and
thus seizes power. This would not be
possible if the strong and light-giving element had not in turn come
halfway. The inferior thing seems so
harmless and inviting that a man delights in it; it looks so small and weak
that he imagines he may dally with it and come to no harm.
The inferior man rises only because the
superior man does not regard him as dangerous and so lends him power. If he were resisted from the first, he could
never gain influence.
The time of COMING TO MEET is important in
still another way. Although as a general rule the weak should not come to meet the
strong, there are times when this has great significance. When heaven and earth come to meet each
other, all creatures prosper; when a prince and his official come to meet each other,
the world is put in order. It is
necessary for elements predestined to be joined and mutually dependent to come
to meet one another halfway. But the
coming together must be free of dishonest ulterior motives, otherwise harm will
result.
The lines 1, 4 and 6 are very poor
investment choices.
The following case is one of a corporations that went under the Coming to Meet Time-Space:
·
MERRILL LYNCH UNDER CEO STAN
O’NEAL (2002)
(Read Chapter On
Management)
THE LINES
SIX IN THE FIRST PLACE
Managerial Issue: The CEO – managing
to protect the corporation from the inevitable return of evil – dealing with
evil as it reenters the corporation.
Managerial Lesson: Be resolute.
Managerial Warning: At the first stage of the Coming to Meet Time-Space, the CEO faces a
condition where evil has reentered the corporation, whether in the form of newly elected
executives, new hires or in the acceptance of a misguided managerial
principle. This is represented by the
entry of the YING line at the bottom of the Hexagram. Once evil is in, it will grow like a cancer
and destroy everything in its path.
Managerial
Advice: The Superior CEO roots out all evil at once. He knows it is impossible for a CEO to know
which of the newly appointed executives or new hires will turn into a rotten
influence or which of the new strategic ideas can eventually bring the
corporation down. However, he knows that
once he has laid down solid guiding principles and once
he has hired solid personnel amongst the lower ranking executives, he should
slow down the re-entry of evil in the corporation. He knows he will not stop it, but he might
slow it down;
However, in this case he won’t. This lesson must be seen as a never- ending
struggle against evil, or as a battle where the CEO is going to win some and
lose some. Regardless of the outcome, he
must maintain the right attitude.
Investment Advice: Do not
invest.
NINE IN THE SECOND PLACE
Managerial Issue: The CEO –
managing to protect the corporation from the inevitable return of evil –
letting the returning evil influence him
Managerial Lesson: Be truthful.
Managerial Warning: At the second stage of the Coming to Meet Time-Space, the CEO faces a
condition where the wrong employees and the wrong managerial practices have
entered the corporation and have been discovered; however, the CEO has
developed a benevolent attitude about evil.
Managerial
Advice: The Superior CEO allows only the Good to influence him. He knows that to get comfortable
with evil is dangerous, that he cannot control evil forever, and that
eventually evil will escape and gain new followers in the corporation or among
its subsidiaries.
What makes this line so unattractive as an
investment is the CEO‘s belief that he can handle
evil. Eventually he will fall sleep.
Investment Advice: Do not
invest.
NINE IN THE THIRD PLACE
Managerial Issue: The CEO –
managing to protect the corporation from the inevitable return of evil –
letting evil deeper into the corporation out of incompetence.
Managerial Lesson: Go back to basics.
Managerial Warning: At the third stage of the Coming to Meet Time-Space, the CEO has
allowed the wrong employees and the wrong managerial practices to enter even
deeper into the higher managerial positions of the corporation. They have gone up the corporate ladder. They have escaped control and have gained new
adepts with their highly persuasive, sweet talking
ideas. Even the CEO is close to becoming
one of their adepts.
Managerial
Advice: The Superior CEO, when tempted
by evil, holds on to his basic principles and rejects any evil presence. Those same principles which have made his
corporation successful.
Luckily, in this case fate intervenes and
saves the CEO. But what makes this line
un-attractive as an investment is the fact that the CEO came so close to
becoming one of evil’s adepts.
Investment Advice: Do not
invest.
NINE IN THE FOURTH PLACE
Managerial Issue: The CEO –
managing to protect the corporation from the inevitable return of evil –
deliberately letting evil even deeper into the corporation but as part of a
strategy.
Managerial Lesson: Be flexible.
Managerial Warning: At the fourth stage of the Coming to Meet Time-Space, the CEO allows
the wrong employees and managerial practices to enter much deeper into the
corporation and get much stronger – playing with danger.
Managerial
Advice: The Superior CEO is flexible. He
recognizes that sometimes he might have to compromise in part with evil
employees or practices as part of an strategy and for
the purpose of eventually turning them into allies, or of eventually making
good use of them. He knows that even
evil can be part of a greater game plan to fight an even greater evil. Such was the case of Winston Churchill asking
Stalin’s help in fighting Hitler. This;
however, is an extreme measure full of dangers and always costly.
Investment Advice: Do not
invest
NINE IN THE FIFTH PLACE
Managerial Issue: The CEO – managing to protect the
corporation from the inevitable return of evil – strategically letting evil
take control of the corporation to turn it into good.
Managerial Lesson: Be a leader.
Managerial Warning: At the fifth stage of the
Coming to Meet Time-Space, the CEO allows the wrong executives to gain
substantial influence in the corporation as an
strategy to turn them around.
Managerial
Advice: The Superior CEO recognizes when Heaven is on his side and turns
himself into an example to follow. He
knows he has excellent qualities both personal and managerial and is able to fully exercise his leadership qualities, his
sense of fairness, and his brilliance.
His strategy is to convert the minds of these corrupted executives into
positive mode like the CEO‘s.
Evil turns to good because of the right
leader. This happens sometimes but it is
not a good reason to invest. As
investors, we do not want to go through the learning cycle of the
executives. We want to invest once they
have become positive executives - onward.
Investment Advice: Invest (if you must). Look for a
better alternative.
NINE IN THE SIXTH PLACE
Managerial Issue: The CEO –
managing to protect the corporation from the inevitable return of evil –
disconnecting from the corporation due to the overwhelming presence of evil.
Managerial Lesson: Be composed.
Managerial Warning: At the sixth stage of the Coming to Meet Time-Space, the CEO has been
so overwhelmed by evil that he turns proud and prefers to stay away from the
fight and remain in a way above good and evil.
Such attitude will be much criticized and therefore to hold on to his
position he must stay composed.
Managerial
Advice: The Superior CEO is humble and will never let evil take over his
corporation without putting up a fight. .
Investment Advice: Do not
invest.