HEXAGRAM 48: ORIGINAL, INTERPRETATION AND CASES

HEXAGRAM 48 – Ching - The Well

Above K'AN THE ABYSMAL, WATER

Below SUN THE GENTLE, WIND, WOOD

· Wood is below,

· water above.

The wood goes down into the earth to bring up water.

The image derives from the pole-and-bucket well of ancient China.

1. The wood represents

· not the buckets, which in ancient times were made of clay,

· but rather the wooden poles by which the water is hauled up from the well.

2. The image also refers to the world of plants,

· which lift water out of the earth by means of their fibers.

3. The well from which water is drawn conveys the further idea of

· an inexhaustible dispensing of nourishment.

THE JUDGMENT

THE WELL.

· The town may be changed,

· But the well cannot be changed.

· neither decreases

· nor increases.

They come and go and draw from the well.

· one gets down almost to the water And

· the rope does not go all the way, Or

· the jug breaks,

it brings misfortune.

In ancient China the capital cities were sometimes moved,

· partly for the sake of more favorable location,

· partly because of a change in dynasties.

· The style of architecture changed in the course of centuries,

· but the shape of the well has remained the same from ancient times to this day.

Thus the well is the symbol of that social structure which,

· evolved by mankind in meeting its most primitive needs,

· is independent of all political forms.

· Political structures change, as do nations,

but

· the life of man with its needs remains eternally the same –

this cannot be changed.

· Life is also inexhaustible.

o It grows neither less nor more;

o it exists for one and for all.

· The generations come and go, and

· all enjoy life in its inexhaustible abundance.

However, there are

two prerequisites for a satisfactory political or social organization of mankind.

· We must go down to the very foundations of life.

For any merely superficial ordering of life that leaves its deepest needs unsatisfied

is as ineffectual as if no attempt at order had ever been made.

· Carelessness - by which the jug is broken - is also disastrous.

If for instance

the military defense of a state is carried to such excess that

it provokes wars by which the power of the state is annihilated,

this is a breaking of the jug.

This hexagram applies also to the individual.

However men may differ in disposition and in education,

· the foundations of human nature are the same in everyone. And

· every human being can draw in the course of his education from

the inexhaustible wellspring of the divine in man's nature.

But here likewise two dangers threaten:

a man

· may fail in his education to penetrate to the real roots of humanity and

· remain fixed in conventions partial education of this sort is as bad as none or

· may suddenly collapse and neglect his self-development.

THE IMAGE

Water over wood: the image of THE WELL.

Thus the superior man

· encourages the people at their work, And

· exhorts them to help one another.

· The trigram Sun, wood, is below, and

· the trigram K'an, water, is above it.

Wood sucks water upward.

Just as

· wood as an organism imitates the action of the well,

which benefits all parts of the plant,

· the superior man organizes human society,

so that, as in a plant organism,

its parts cooperate for the benefit of the whole.

THE LINES

Six at the beginning means:

One does not drink the mud of the well.

No animals come to an old well.

If a man wanders around in swampy lowlands,

his life is submerged in mud.

Such a man loses all significance for mankind.

He who throws himself away is no longer sought out by others.

In the end no one troubles about him anymore.

Nine in the second place means:

At the well hole one shoots fishes.

The jug is broken and leaks.

The water itself is clear, but it is not being used.

Thus

the well is a place where only fish will stay, and

whoever comes to it, comes only to catch fish.

But the jug is broken, so that

the fish cannot be kept in it.

This describes the situation of a person who

· possesses good qualities

· but neglects them.

No one bothers about him.

A result he deteriorates in mind.

· associates with inferior men and

· can no longer accomplish anything worthwhile.

Nine in the third place means:

· The well is cleaned,

· but no one drinks from it.

This is my heart's sorrow,

For one might draw from it.

If the king were clear-minded,

Good fortune might be enjoyed in common.

An able man is available.

He is like a purified well whose water is drinkable.

But no use is made of him.

This is the sorrow of those who know him.

One wishes that the prince might learn about it;

this would be good fortune for all concerned.

Six in the fourth place means:

The well is being lined.

No blame.

· True, if a well is being lined with stone,

o it cannot be used while the work is going on.

· But the work is not in vain;

o the result is that the water stays clear.

In life also there are times when

· a man must put himself in order.

o During such a time he can do nothing for others,

· but his work is nonetheless valuable,

o because by enhancing his powers and abilities through inner development,

he can accomplish all the more later on.

Nine in the fifth place means:

In the well there is a clear, cold spring

From which one can drink.

A well that is fed by a spring of living water is a good well.

A man who has virtues like a well of this sort is born to be

· a leader and

· savior of men,

for he has the water of life.

Nevertheless, the character for "good fortune" is left out here.

The all-important thing about a well is that its water be drawn.

The best water is only a potentiality for refreshment as long as it is not brought up.

So too with leaders of mankind:

it is all-important that one should

· drink from the spring of their words and

· translate them into life.

Six at the top means:

One draws from the well

Without hindrance.

It is dependable.

Supreme good fortune.

The well is there for all.

No one is forbidden to take water from it.

No matter how many come, all find what they need, for the well is dependable.

It has a spring and never runs dry.

Therefore it is a great blessing to the whole land.

The same is true of the really great man, whose inner wealth is inexhaustible;

· the more that people draw from him,

· the greater his wealth becomes.

48 THE WELL

MANAGERIAL ISSUE:

The CEO – managing to draw (ideas / assets) from the corporate Well.

Man has a profound need to create and to see his ideas become reality. This is the real gift of GOD to man. HE is the Creator and HE gave man HIS capacity to create. This will always be. This is eternal. It is this eternal need to create which the CEO must access.

Hexagram 48 refers to the corporation as a source of ideas and the CEO as the one responsible for drawing those ideas from the employees.

The Superior CEO is:

· An organizer.

· A constant provider and a drawer of ideas and concepts.

· A leader who provides encouragement to carry out these ideas through incentives within the organization.

The Superior CEO reaches deeply within his own soul as well as within the other executives and employees’ souls for new ideas.

The I Ching says:

“The town may be changed, But the well cannot be changed. It neither decreases nor increases. They come and go and draw from the well.” Life is also inexhaustible. It grows neither less nor more; it exists for one and for all. The generations come and go, and all enjoy life in its inexhaustible abundance.”

”The Well is there for all. No one is forbidden to take water from it. No matter how many come, all find what they need, for the Well is dependable. It has a spring and never runs dry. Therefore it is a great blessing to the whole land.”

For instance, the Toyota employees generate thousands of ideas, which are gathered, filtered, carefully chosen and properly executed. Bill Gates, Andy Grove and Michael Dell are famous for constantly generating brilliant ideas and for asking everyone in the corporation to come up with new ideas. They look for new ideas all the time and richly reward those who provide them with the most promising ideas. How can a corporation go wrong if they listen to all the employees as well as to outside consultants?

Any corporation might change its mission, or its products or its markets or its name, but its true source of all wealth will continue to be the never ending supply of ideas within a proper corporate structure. Think of how Toys R Us changed its mission to a toy store and became successful, or how Xerox changed its mission from a photocopier company to a paper company. The employees, represented by the Well, brought about these changes, and it is the employees together with the CEO who in the final analysis are responsible for the survival of the corporation and whose ideas will determine its fate.

The Superior CEO knows his main responsibility is to make sure that everyone’s imagination is tapped, that everyone cooperates in this task, that everyone, much as a plant or a honeybee colony, works for the well-being of the whole; and that these ideas are properly channeled within the right structure. Should the CEO fail in fulfilling that responsibility, then surely the corporation will not survive.

MANAGERIAL LESSON:

The Superior CEO keeps in mind three objectives while tapping this source of ideas, and understands these objectives require he maintain a proper sense of balance:

1) First, he knows this exercise must be serious. The CEO and his assistants should go to the root of the ideas, to understand them fully in their concepts as well as in their probability of execution. After all, to execute an idea without the proper research just because it sounds good, or to do it outside of the right structure, is just as bad as doing nothing.

2) Second, he exercises a sense of balance so that the exercise will not be so dead serious that it becomes an obsession. The I Ching uses the image of applying excessive force when taking water out of the Well until the rope breaks. And,

3) Third, he makes sure all employees are properly trained to participate in these changes. This training, however, should neither be an empty intellectual exercise, nor a strait jacket. Again, the CEO’s responsibility lies in achieving the proper balance.

Jack Welch of General Electric (with the backing of Heaven) went to the root of the problem using a proper balance and made sure everyone was properly trained in the Six Sigma Program.

The I Ching would recommend the CEO apply a concept of the Feng Shui. Because the I Ching represents the drawing out of ideas as a plant that draws the nutrients from the ground, it will be a good idea to keep plenty of plants around the office to keep that symbol in mind at all times.

Oracle (Larry Ellison) is a classic example (see below) of using the corporation as a Well to draw ideas as well as assets from the corporation for additional purchases of other corporations and thereby grow the operating margins .

"In order to grow at this pace, there'll have to be a couple of acquisitions along the way. The tricky thing is to grow at this rate and maintain a 40 percent operating margin." – Larry Ellison

Since 2004, Ellison has spent over $25 billion in acquisitions: Peoplesoft for $10.3 billion in 2004, Retek in 2005, Siebel in 2006, Hyperion Solutions in 2007, BEA Systems for $6.5 billion, Sun Microsystems for $7.4 billion in 2010, and Net Suite (50%) for $480 million. So far there have been a total of 57 corporate acquisitions between 2004 and 2010. There are rumors Ellison is thinking of buying HP – perhaps it would be best for him to find out what the Oracle has to say about it.

INVESTMENT ADVICE:

For the investor, the Well Time-Space represents in general terms a positive environment for investing, provided there are no lines, such as the case of Oracle (see below); however, when the lines are present, it tends to turn negative. Out of the six lines, only two are positive - one is a conditional Good Fortune and the other is a Supreme Good Fortune and that is at the end of the Hexagram. In most cases, it would appear the CEO fails to “draw” ideas or assets from the talent of the corporate Well.

THE WELL.

The town may be changed,

But the well cannot be changed.

It neither decreases nor increases.

They come and go and draw from the well.

If one gets down almost to the water

And the rope does not go all the way,

Or the jug breaks, it brings misfortune.

In ancient China the capital cities were sometimes moved, partly for the sake of more favorable location, partly because of a change in dynasties. The style of architecture changed in the course of centuries, but the shape of the well has remained the same from ancient times to this day. Thus the well is the symbol of that social structure which, evolved by mankind in meeting its most primitive needs, is independent of all political forms. Political structures change, as do nations, but the life of man with its needs remains eternally the same - this cannot be changed. Life is also inexhaustible. It grows neither less nor more; it exists for one and for all. The generations come and go, and all enjoy life in its inexhaustible abundance.

However, there are two prerequisites for a satisfactory political or social organization of mankind. We must go down to the very foundations of life. For any merely superficial ordering of life that leaves its deepest needs unsatisfied is as ineffectual as if no attempt at order had ever been made. Carelessness - by which the jug is broken - is also disastrous. If for instance the military defense of a state is carried to such excess that it provokes wars by which the power of the state is annihilated, this is a breaking of the jug.

This hexagram applies also to the individual. However men may differ in disposition and in education, the foundations of human nature are the same in everyone. And every human being can draw in the course of his education from the inexhaustible wellspring of the divine in man's nature. But here likewise two dangers threaten: a man may fail in his education to penetrate to the real roots of humanity and remain fixed in conventions partial education of this sort is as bad as none or he may suddenly collapse and neglect his self-development.

The following cases are those of corporations under the Well Time-Space:

· Oracle Corp. ORCL under CEO Lawrence J. Ellison

· Verizon Communications Inc. VZ under CEO Ivan G. Seidenberg

· Intuit Inc. INTU under CEO Brad D. Smith

(Read at the end of the Hexagram)

THE LINES

SIX IN THE FIRST PLACE

Managerial Issue: The CEO – managing to draw (ideas / assets) from the corporate Well – failing by looking for ideas in the wrong place.

Managerial Lesson: Be creative.

Managerial Warning: At the first stage of the Well Time-Space, the CEO fails to create the right corporate structure for ideas to surface.

Managerial Advice: The Superior CEO always starts first by looking for ideas within the corporation to nourish its growth. He knows that to look for ideas in the wrong place would eventually lead the corporation on the wrong path. He knows he must face any weakness he might have in tapping the real root of ideas. No one would want a CEO who fails to generate ideas.

Investment Advice: Do not invest.

NINE IN THE SECOND PLACE

Managerial Issue: The CEO – managing to draw (ideas / assets) from the corporate Well – failing because of his neglect.

Managerial Lesson: Be responsible.

Managerial Warning: At the second stage of the Well Time-Space, the CEO finds his corporation has brilliant employees, brilliant ideas and the right structure, yet he fails to make the most of such brilliance because of his neglect to carry them through. There is no excuse for this.

Managerial Advice: The Superior CEO knows that if corporate brilliance is not exercised (implemented/executed), just like a muscle, it will deteriorate. He knows that in the end the corporation will fall prey to the wrong influences and will lose its outstanding features.

Investment Advice: Do not invest

NINE IN THE THIRD PLACE

Managerial Issue: The CEO – managing to draw (ideas / assets) from the corporate Well - failing to draw ideas from one particular member of the corporate Well.

Managerial Lesson: Be thorough.

Managerial Warning: At the third stage of the Well Time-Space, the CEO finds his corporation full of brilliant employees, and in particular one who is outstanding, yet he fails to access this brilliance.

Managerial Advice: The Superior CEO knows that no matter how brilliant an employee might be, if the CEO makes no effort to know about him or purposely ignores him, then the corporation cannot grow.

Investment Advice: Do not invest

SIX IN THE FOURTH PLACE

Managerial Issue: The CEO – managing to draw (ideas / assets) from the corporate Well - re-engineering the corporation to properly draw ideas later on.

Managerial Lesson: Be creative.

Managerial Warning: At the fourth stage of the Well Time-Space, the CEO finds there is a need for reengineering the corporation which might mean a temporary drop in its creativity.

Managerial Advice: The Superior CEO accepts the necessary sacrifices. He knows they are acceptable because in the end, once the reengineering is completed, the corporation will surely come back with force in its ability to generate new ideas and create new products.

Investment Advice: Do not invest.

NINE IN THE FIFTH PLACE

Managerial Issue: The CEO – managing to draw (ideas / assets) from the corporate Well – succeeding but lacking Heaven’s mandate.

Managerial Lesson: Be longsuffering.

Managerial Warning: At the fifth stage of the Well Time-Space, the CEO finds the corporation has the right management, brilliant employees, and the right structure. Yet one element is missing: Heaven’s mandate to enable the CEO to “draw water from the Well” or “drink from the spring of their words and translate them into life”

The I Ching says: ”The best water is only a potentiality for refreshment as long as it is not brought up. So too with leaders of mankind: it is all-important that one should drink from the spring of their words and translate them into life”.

Managerial Advice: The Superior CEO knows that sometimes, even if he has all the elements necessary to draw all the wisdom from the employees, it is not always a guarantee that he will be successful. Sometimes Heaven so ordains the CEO will not be able to listen to his most brilliant managers.

Investment Advice: Do not invest

SIX IN THE SIXTH PLACE

Managerial Issue: The CEO – managing to draw (ideas / assets) from the corporate Well – perfectly drawing ideas from the perfect corporation.

Managerial Lesson: Be a winner.

Managerial Warning: At the sixth stage of the Well Time-Space, the CEO finds he has the near perfect combination of brilliant employees, proper corporate structure, right CEO and good fortune. This corporation, like a Well, is a continuous gush of ideas and creativity. This corporation is almost like the I Ching itself.

Here the I Ching describes itself:

Managerial Advice: The Superior CEO knows that when everything combines for successful creativity, it is wise to drink deeply and continuously from such source, to never let go.

Investment Advice: Invest all you can. The I Ching says: “Supreme Good Fortune”

MANAGERIAL CASES

Oracle Corp. ORCL under CEO Lawrence J. Ellison

Lawrence Ellison’s Performance: ROI= 14,366.60% Annualized Return= 23.50%

SPY’s Performance: ROI= 173.81% Annualized Return= 4.37%

Lawrence J. Ellison (founder) has been CEO of Oracle since its very beginning in June of 1977.

Since March of 1988, his performance has been that of a truly Superior CEO, outperforming the SPY many times over.

However, because he has been CEO for so long, we have to ask the Oracle once more about his future Time-Space.

Points the investor should consider:

1) THE HEXAGRAM

HEXAGRAM 48 – Ching - The Well

Wood is below, water above. The wood goes down into the earth to bring up water. The image derives from the pole-and-bucket well of ancient China. The wood represents not the buckets, which in ancient times were made of clay, but rather the wooden poles by which the water is hauled up from the well. The image also refers to the world of plants, which lift water out of the earth by means of their fibers.

The well from which water is drawn conveys the further idea of an inexhaustible dispensing of nourishment.

THE JUDGMENT

THE WELL.

The town may be changed,

But the well cannot be changed.

It neither decreases nor increases.

They come and go and draw from the well.

If one gets down almost to the water

And the rope does not go all the way,

Or the jug breaks, it brings misfortune.

2) THE ADVICE

Water over wood: the image of THE WELL.

Thus the superior man encourages the people at their work,

And exhorts them to help one another.

The trigram Sun, wood, is below, and the trigram K'an, water, is above it. Wood sucks water upward. Just as wood as an organism imitates the action of the well, which benefits all parts of the plant, the superior man organizes human society, so that, as in a plant organism, its parts cooperate for the benefit of the whole.

3) THE LINES:

There are no moving lines

4) THE MOVING HEXAGRAM

There is no moving Hexagram because there are no moving lines. The Judgment becomes the focusing point.

THE JUDGMENT

THE WELL.

The town may be changed,

But the well cannot be changed.

It neither decreases nor increases.

They come and go and draw from the well.

If one gets down almost to the water

And the rope does not go all the way,

Or the jug breaks, it brings misfortune.

Verizon Communications Inc. VZ under CEO Ivan G. Seidenberg

Ivan Seidenberg’s Performance: ROI= (27.00%) Annualized Return= (3.19%)

SPY’s Performance: ROI= 4.67% Annualized Return= 0.47%

Ivan G. Seidenberg became CEO of Verizon Communications in January of 2002. Since then, his performance has been poor compared to the SPY’s. In particular, since the crash of 2007 he has not been able to outperform the SPY.

However, because he has been CEO for almost a decade, we have to ask the Oracle once more about his future Time-Space.

Points the investor should consider:

1) THE HEXAGRAM

(Same as Above).

2) THE ADVICE

(Same as Above).

3) THE LINES:

Six at the beginning means:

One does not drink the mud of the well.

No animals come to an old well.

If a man wanders around in swampy lowlands, his life is submerged in mud. Such a man loses all significance for mankind. He who throws himself away is no longer sought out by others. In the end no one troubles about him anymore.

Nine in the second place means:

At the well hole one shoots fishes.

The jug is broken and leaks.

The water itself is clear, but it is not being used. Thus the well is a place where only fish will stay, and whoever comes to it, comes only to catch fish. But the jug is broken, so that the fish cannot be kept in it. This describes the situation of a person who possesses good qualities but neglects them. No one bothers about him. A result he deteriorates in mind. He associates with inferior men and can no longer accomplish anything worthwhile.

Nine in the third place means:

The well is cleaned, but no one drinks from it.

This is my heart's sorrow,

For one might draw from it.

If the king were clear-minded,

Good fortune might be enjoyed in common.

An able man is available. He is like a purified well whose water is drinkable. But no use is made of him. This is the sorrow of those who know him. One wishes that the prince might learn about it; this would be good fortune for all concerned.

4) THE MOVING HEXAGRAM

HEXAGRAM 03 – Chun - Difficulty at the Beginning

The name of the hexagram, Chun, really connotes a blade of grass pushing against an obstacle as it sprouts out of the earth hence the meaning, "difficulty at the beginning." The hexagram indicates the way in which heaven and earth bring forth individual beings. It is their first meeting, which is beset with difficulties. The lower trigram Chen is the Arousing; its motion is upward and its image is thunder.

The upper trigram K'an stands for the Abysmal, the dangerous. Its motion is downward and its image is rain. The situation points to teeming, chaotic profusion; thunder and rain fill the air. But the chaos clears up. While the Abysmal sinks, the upward movement eventually passes beyond the danger. A thunderstorm brings release from tension, and all things breathe freely again.

THE JUDGMENT

DIFFICULTY AT THE BEGINNING works supreme success,

Furthering through perseverance.

Nothing should be undertaken.

It furthers one to appoint helpers.

Times of growth are beset with difficulties. They resemble a first birth. But these difficulties arise from the very profusion of all that is struggling to attain form. Everything is in motion: therefore if one perseveres there is a prospect of great success, in spite of the existing danger. When it is a man's fate to undertake such new beginnings, everything is still unformed, dark.

Hence he must hold back, because any premature move might bring disaster. Likewise, it is very important not to remain alone; in order to overcome the chaos he needs helpers. This is not to say, however, that he himself should look on passively at what is happening. He must lend his hand and participate with inspiration and guidance.

THE IMAGE

Clouds and thunder: The image Of DIFFICULTY AT THE BEGINNING.

Thus the superior man

Brings order out of confusion.

Clouds and thunder are represented by definite decorative lines; this means that in the chaos of difficulty at the beginning, order is already implicit. So too the superior man has to arrange and organize the inchoate profusion of such times of beginning, just as one sorts out silk threads from a knotted tangle and binds them into skeins. In order to find one's place in the infinity of being, one must be able both to separate and to unite.

Intuit Inc. INTU under CEO Brad D. Smith

Brad Smith’s Performance: ROI= 62.90% Annualized Return= 14.09%

SPY’s Performance: ROI= (14.16%) Annualized Return= (4.04%)

Brad D. Smith became CEO of Intuit in January of 2008. Since then, his performance has been much better than the SPY’s.

Points the investor should consider:

1) THE HEXAGRAM

(Same as Above).

2) THE ADVICE

(Same as Above).

3) THE LINES:

Six at the beginning means:

One does not drink the mud of the well.

No animals come to an old well.

4) THE MOVING HEXAGRAM

HEXAGRAM 05 – Hsu - Waiting (Nourishment)

All beings have need of nourishment from above. But the gift of food comes in its own time, and for this one must wait. This hexagram shows the clouds in the heavens, giving rain to refresh all that grows and to provide mankind with food and drink. The rain will come in its own time. We cannot make it come; we have to wait for it. The idea of waiting is further suggested by the attributes of the two trigrams - strength within, danger in front. 2 Strength in the face of danger does not plunge ahead but bides its time, whereas weakness in the face of danger grows agitated and has not the patience to wait.

THE JUDGMENT

WAITING. If you are sincere,

You have light and success.

Perseverance brings good fortune.

It furthers one to cross the great water.

Waiting is not mere empty hoping. It has the inner certainty of reaching the goal. Such certainty alone gives that light which leads to success. This leads to the perseverance that brings good fortune and bestows power to cross the great water.

One is faced with a danger that has to be overcome. Weakness and impatience can do nothing. Only a strong man can stand up to his fate, for his inner security enables him to endure to the end. This strength shows itself in uncompromising truthfulness (with himself). It is only when we have the courage to face things exactly as they are, without any sort of self-deception or illusion, that a light will develop out of events, by which the path to success may be recognized. This recognition must be followed by resolute and persevering action. For only the man who goes to meet his fate resolutely is equipped to deal with it adequately. Then he will be able to cross the great water - that is to say, he will be capable of making the necessary decision and of surmounting the danger.

THE IMAGE

Clouds rise up to heaven: The image of WAITING.

Thus the superior man eats and drinks,

Is joyous and of good cheer.

When clouds rise in the sky, it is a sign that it will rain. There is nothing to do but to wait until the rain falls. It is the same in life when destiny is at work. We should not worry and seek to shape the future by interfering in things before the time is ripe. We should quietly fortify the body with food and drink and the mind with gladness and good cheer. Fate comes when it will, and thus we are ready.