Monday, January 6, 2014

Tao Te KaChing


 “The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao” – Lao Tsu, 600 B.C.
The Tao that can be revealed at a general shareholder meeting certainly is not the Insider Tao
The unimaginably-large and non-retractable bonus remains the source of ten thousand schemes
Never seeing the luxurious baubles of their CEO prevents confusion in the hearts of his loyal workers
The good executive is like water, assuming the shape of any corporate fishbowl in which he is placed

The CEO knows to stay behind (closed and guarded teak doors) and thus is he able to remain ahead
The sage says ‘better to stop short than fill to the brim’ and so it is with labor wages and benefits
Loudly proclaim wealth and disaster will follow, therefore float silently off neath golden parachutes
He claims absolute control over all things corporate, yet will always insist he knew of nothing illegal

Precious baubles lead the greedy CEO astray, thus must his compensation package annually increase
Subtly counseling workers to accept conditions as simple fate allows true leaders to slash benefits
Though their value cannot be seen, heard or held, wise boards bid up a CEO’s immeasurable services
They are the form of the formless and the face of the faceless – that 1% driven off behind tinted glass

The kernel of their knowledge is amorphous as the hollow of caves or the opaqueness of muddy pools
Policy prohibits them commenting on investigations but at bonus time the CEO will proclaim ‘I did it’
When media wisdom and pundit intelligence were born, then did their great pretense truly began
When the country became confused and in chaos then did these faux-loyal ministers first slither forth

Having abandoned kindness and renounced morality, they urge subordinates to filial piety and love
Following the Tao Te KaChing they know: There is no difference between Yes and No, Good and Evil
The ancients said ‘Yield and Overcome’, thus do they asskiss, backbite and shoulder-climb to the top
If heaven and earth cannot make things eternal the CEO employs outsourcing, temping and layoffs

Boasting achieves nothing, bragging does not endure so true CEOs strive to amass a superstars wealth
Shareholders know: The four great powers of the universe are the Tao, Heaven, Earth and the Bonus
The CEO, traveling all day, does not lose sight of personal gain, despite the 10000 beautiful things
The wise CorproClone retains his early humility: In his fictionalized and ghost-written autobiography

Many mergers are hard, some may fail: Thus, the sage CEO only works under an ironclad contract
When many are terminated, he mourns as if in sorrow, eyeing his huge bonus as if at a funeral
He reports footnoted results, never boasts in public and quietly deposits what is, his life’s meaning
His perseverance is a sign of the willpower of those unable to feel rich by seeing they have enough

Descriptions of the CEO seem without substance, invisible and silent, yet his great need is palpable
Like fish which cannot leave deep waters they must remain locked behind those rich mahogany doors
Good leaders model values but managers enforce rules, so a VP only smiles as minions do his bidding
Having lost goodness, kindness and justice, they rely on ritual - that empty husk of faith and loyalty

The CEO hears of the Tao and laughs, praise be, for without laughter the Tao would not be what it is
For pursuing wealth he acquires something daily, but pursuing the Tao he would lose a thing each day
The visionary CEO knows if his workers exist on the edge they will not falsely overvalue human life
Anonymous and irresponsible they feign a sorrowful humility when exposed at last to stockholders

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