Taoism

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Bill Fischer and Simone Cicero on Haier and the entrepreneurial organisation

... Apollo’s oracle at Delphi... And on the other hand, it’s really, I think, one of the few companies in China that is really attached to a very strong Taoist approach to thinking about work and life and engaging with the world basically. And I think that this is specific, you know, because normally Chines...more
...much more focused on a more traditional — from what we understood — much more traditional Confucian thinking, and I’m very fascinated by, in general, Taoist thinking because it’s really postmodern to some extent. So there is a lot of parallels between postmodern thinking in Europe and in the West, and the...more
...thinking because it’s really postmodern to some extent. So there is a lot of parallels between postmodern thinking in Europe and in the West, and the Taoist perspective. The difference is maybe that postmodernity, as some people would recognise it in Europe or in the West, for example, relates to the worl...more
... example, for those that know a little bit about Deleuze’s work. So this idea is that it’s a society based on how we interact basically. Instead, the Taoist perspective is really individual — it’s focused on the individual. And it’s really about how we engage with such a complex world that goes beyond our...more
... work of Peter Drucker and what he has been doing in focusing on the individual and his capability, with this kind of postmodern perspective that the Taoist thinking brings, you end up with this kind of crazy entrepreneurial culture. And this is really unique, I think — from my understanding this is not p...more
...that might be challenging for people in Europe, for example, to really ‘get’? You know, I’m thinking about what you were saying earlier as well about Taoism and how that’s influenced this kind of mindset, if you like. B Fischer: What I think Haier has done, as it’s moved towards hiring more entrepreneuri...more
...important ways we are different is, well, actually two ways. One is our work ethic. That is completely different. Of course, you know, we spoke about Taoism. If we think about, you know, the difference between the Taoist approach, which is mostly focused on this idea of doing by not doing and managing by ...more
... is our work ethic. That is completely different. Of course, you know, we spoke about Taoism. If we think about, you know, the difference between the Taoist approach, which is mostly focused on this idea of doing by not doing and managing by not managing. And instead you look into the traditional work eth...more
...t, you know, to see some sparks of how we really just transcend the industrial organisation and modernity into something that goes beyond. You know, Taoism, it’s a really specific philosophy. And it’s all about being confused. It’s all about being confused about the future and being confused about what t...more
...n entrepreneur. It’s a way to be much less violent towards the employee. So when you speak about the masculine organisation and Haier, here is where Taoism can help. Because this is a different type of thinking — it’s didactic. Whereas you always put all the nuances together, there cannot be a masculine ...more