Would you believe it?
/ 01 June 2009
Chinese managers take workplace tips from TV spy
Chinese managers take workplace tips from TV spy
A character in a Chinese TV programme is so impeccably behaved that bosses are telling their staff to tune in if they want to get ahead at work.
China Daily recently reported that managers across all industries are encouraging their employees to watch new spy show Lurk, set during the 1945 civil war between the Communists and Kuomintang.
Online discussion about the show, which stars Sun Honglei as a streetwise Communist agent planted in a Kuomintang secret spy organisation, has centred around the main character’s unfailing aptitude for office politics.
‘Yu Zecheng, the protagonist, survives in a dangerous environment largely thanks to his strong faith, which provokes wisdom and courage,’ government intelligence worker Wu Zongwei told China Daily. Zongwei is among the many employees who have been prompted by bosses to study the spy’s behaviour and emulate it at work.
Saleswoman Yu Hong’s boss has asked all staff to watch and learn from the spy thriller.
‘He told us to observe our rivals, clients and environment, and to note details like a spy. He says the business world is like a battlefield,’ she told the newspaper.
Web savvy workers have been debating the admirable actions of the undercover agent on numerous online forums and messageboards. They identify the top ten behaviours that help the mild mole succeed, including being low key, remaining loyal to his boss and staying neutral whenever colleagues clash. Yu also avoids capture by not showing off his talent or complaining about colleagues behind their back.
TV host and culture critic He Dong has been blogging about the benefits of the show for the everyday worker. ‘Those who hope to come out on top of their jobs should watch the show again and again. It shows in great detail strategies for how to behave and resonates with real life situations. Every role can be related to one’s own boss or colleagues,’ he recently wrote.
As far as we know, British workers aren’t yet being encouraged to take service tips from the staff at the Eastenders caff or pointers in office politics from The IT Crowd. And we can only hope that bosses aren’t harvesting hints on how to manage from Britain’s scariest TV boss, Alan Sugar – or we’ll be very afraid in our next boardroom meeting…