Lao Tzu on why too much change spoils good work. From Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, about the 4th century BC.
In the 3rd century BC, the state of Han, in central China, was growing weaker. A member of its ruling family, Han Fei, kept sending the king advice. He stammered too badly to argue at court, so he wrote.
The book under his name holds the oldest known explanation of the Tao Te Ching, an older book credited to Lao Tzu.
The Tao Te Ching says governing a great state is like cooking small fish. The book of Han Fei, from the 3rd century BC, explains: keep poking a small fish and you spoil it; keep changing the laws and the people suffer. Wang Mang, who took China’s throne in AD 9, changed its money again and again. Trade stalled, and in AD 23 he fell.
Change what matters once, then give it time to set. Practical advice: before you change a plan again, check whether the last change has settled.
Likely, on the evidence · checked against 11 sourcesBefore changing a plan again, wait until the last change has had time to work.
“I keep reorganizing how my team works, and people seem worn out. How do I know when to stop?”
Turn the Fish Once and the other 11 ideas of Tao Te Ching, a minute at a time.
Download on theApp StoreEvery idea is drawn from the public-domain text, and its names, dates and quotes are checked against the sources listed with it. The paintings are made for Counsel; they show the scene, not a historical record.
