Mencius: a guide to judgment and responsibility
Explore both parts of all seven books through gain and responsibility, standards for judgment and conditions for development.
Coverage: Both parts of seven books: all 14 parts, with main points and business applications.
Complete chapter index ↓Complete chapter index (14)
Each chapter page includes a summary, source, business example and steps to try.
Liang Hui Wang I: gain and humane rule
Conversations with kings examine rivalry for gain, foundations of livelihood and humane governance.
Business example: Evaluate a venture using customer needs, commitments and maintenance costs alongside gains.
Liang Hui Wang II: shared well-being
Discusses rulers’ pleasures, people’s lives, political responsibility, conflict and public support.
Business example: When a policy benefits only management, examine team time and customer burden and revise it to account for both.
Gong Sun Chou I: the disposition behind judgment
Examines political achievement, steadiness, moral cultivation and the beginnings of humane judgment.
Business example: Record the values to preserve and verified facts separately and use the same criteria under pressure.
Gong Sun Chou II: cohesion and roles
Discusses timing, position and cohesion, political roles and decisions to serve or depart.
Business example: Before adding facilities or capabilities, check shared understanding of purpose and unresolved conditions.
Teng Wen Gong I: livelihood and division of work
Examines a small state’s governance, livelihood, land, education and the division of work.
Business example: In a small business, compare everyone doing everything with divided roles, including handoff costs.
Teng Wen Gong II: preserving principles
Discusses bending principles for advantage, the conditions of serving and reasons for engaging in argument.
Business example: Separate negotiable terms from quality and disclosure conditions that must be preserved in pursuing a short-term sale.
Li Lou I: standards and execution
Examines standards, humane rule, reflection and responsibility, noting that good intentions or rules alone are insufficient.
Business example: After creating a standard, check the materials, training and authority required to use it in actual work.
Li Lou II: systems that support people
Collects examples and conversations on conduct, governing systems, relationships, learning and reflection.
Business example: For repeated individual rescues, investigate the cause and create a procedure others can use.
Wan Zhang I: succession and accounts of people
Uses conversations about Shun and historical figures to examine succession, family and political judgment.
Business example: For succession or leadership selection, distinguish reputation from conduct and state role requirements and evidence.
Wan Zhang II: service and relationships
Compares decisions to serve or withdraw and discusses roles, relationships and respect.
Business example: When engaging an external collaborator, agree on roles, decision owners and conditions for declining or ending the work.
Gao Zi I: development and choices
Examines debates over human nature, cultivation, difficult value choices and continued learning.
Business example: Before treating ability as fixed, examine experience and conditions and design a practical assignment with support.
Gao Zi II: circumstances and development
Discusses ritual and livelihood, education, difficulty, contextual judgment and development.
Business example: Distinguish a learning challenge from excessive burden and define support and stopping conditions instead of imposing hardship as growth.
Jin Xin I: fully examining oneself
Collects sayings and conversations on mind, character, cultivation, teaching, right action and roles.
Business example: Practice the conduct you request and examine your own decisions and procedures before demanding it from others.
Jin Xin II: statements and evidence
Discusses governance, right action, judgments of people, unquestioning reliance on texts and teaching.
Business example: For an authoritative case, inspect its subject, conditions and evidence before testing it in your own setting.