As a department head, having to compromise my decisions to please others and the collective is destined to yield no miracles.

When I first joined a certain company, I held the position of division director. I resolutely implemented various measures, and although I achieved good results initially, I was labeled as a dictator. The boss even said, "You are good in every way, if only you weren't so dictatorial."

To rescue me from dictatorship, the boss required us employees to hold meetings to discuss measures from scratch before implementation.

In the boss's view, this was a way to integrate collective wisdom; however, in my view, it was like a general handing decision-making power to a group of soldiers for democratic discussion, which has never been how battles are fought. I had already studied the decision-making measures day and night for a long time, and with my rich practical experience, I was already mature in my approach. To let a group of inexperienced people discuss it again could lead to many troubles.

Once, we were to hold a small business investment conference in Dongguan. An hour and a half before departure, I don't know whose suggestion the boss listened to, but he suddenly announced that I should go to the conference room with everyone to discuss the plan again. The result was predictable: the manufacturer's representative thought we should adopt A, our employees thought we should adopt B, and I thought we should adopt C. In the end, no one could convince anyone, and half an hour was wasted. Seeing that we were about to be late, I immediately halted the so-called discussion and reiterated the reasons for adopting C.

At that time, the manufacturer's representative A and our employee B could not articulate the reasons for their choices; they were just going by their feelings. As the person in charge of the investment conference plan, I could not choose options based on others' feelings.

However, this impromptu meeting laid hidden dangers. The manufacturer's representative told their manager that the proportion of their manufacturer in the plan did not meet their satisfaction, while our employee representative questioned my decision based on the fact that I used to be from a certain manufacturer, and they behaved very negatively at the meeting.

What was even more critical was that after the investment conference, once the payments and deposits were collected, the boss, while driving back, suddenly asked, "How do you all think this investment conference went?"

The manager of the business said that their product's proportion was a bit low and that they should bring all of it over so they could sell more. One of our new employees chimed in, saying that General Zhao might not understand their manufacturer and should quickly adapt from the original manufacturer's mindset.

I did not give them a good face for their proactive attacks; I had long anticipated they would act this way, and I refuted them with reason and evidence, which led to an awkward atmosphere in the car because they had no grounds to counter me.

The boss smiled awkwardly, his face showing no expression, and then changed the subject to discuss other matters.

Perhaps they hoped to reflect more of their ideas in the plan so that they would be willing to work actively and then proudly claim that their contributions were significant after the results came in.

However, how can business decisions be so trivial? Once bad results occur, wouldn't all the blame fall on me? If good results arise, they would share all the credit. Where in the world does such a good thing exist?

Of course, it is also possible that my experience and decision-making wisdom have surpassed theirs, making it difficult for them to understand. Due to their lack of relevant experience or knowledge, they think this is a very risky matter.

Once, the boss drove us to a banana plantation. I repeatedly reminded them on the way not to promote any products once we arrived; we were there to lay the groundwork for the investment conference. They all agreed, and I thought everyone would pay attention.

Since I had a good relationship with this banana farmer and often chatted with him, this visit was just a follow-up. The entire process was quite pleasant, but just as I stepped out to take a phone call, the boss happily came to my side and said, "Xiao Liu is really impressive; he sold a bottle to the banana farmer, and he even paid for it."

I was immediately a bit angry. "Boss, didn't we say on the way that we shouldn't promote anything to this banana farmer? Now you just let him try the product and he buys a bottle; he will definitely question the effectiveness, and then the investment conference will surely not go well."

The boss was momentarily at a loss, but he thought the situation wouldn't be that serious. Afterward, he might have relayed my words to Xiao Liu, and Xiao Liu's reaction was also significant; he probably thought I was jealous of him.

When the investment conference was officially held, I repeatedly emphasized that the products must be fully loaded onto the truck the next day because the currently promoted products were obviously insufficient. Therefore, other related products must be introduced to achieve subsequent follow-up sales. My main presentation materials also reflected the sale of diverse products, which would complement everyone's sales.

However, the next day, when I saw the truck arrive, I was stunned when I opened the truck's compartment. It was empty, with only seven main promoted products. I immediately got very angry and found the boss, questioning him, "Didn’t we agree yesterday to bring a full load of products as I said? And I already sent you the product list; why wasn’t it brought?"

The boss seemed indifferent as he explained to me, "Before we left, we held a meeting at the company, and everyone voted to not bring so many products. If someone wants to buy on-site, we can deliver them later."

At that moment, I was so angry that I felt a bit of stomach pain, but at this point, I had no other choice but to proceed as usual.

Several lecturers from the manufacturer also came. As soon as the meeting started, they wanted to rush to the stage to speak. Fortunately, the boss stopped them in time; he still recognized my speaking ability very well. In fact, I felt I was better than them.

When I took the stage, I quickly controlled the rhythm of the entire venue. All the farmers listened attentively to my explanation, and even the retail store owners assisting us couldn't help but give me a thumbs up. During this process, farmers kept asking if the products were available. In the end, they could only reply that they were not available now, but there were some in the warehouse, and they could pay now and have them delivered later.

Later, the host took the stage, and the scene suddenly became chaotic. The boss pushed me back to the stage to control the situation, while some colleagues couldn't even clearly explain the products and pulled me to explain again to those farmers. I looked around and found many people wandering in the aisles like stunned chickens, lacking the courage to approach unfamiliar people.

Suddenly, I was so angry that I had to go to a nearby hospital for an IV drip. By the time I finished the drip, they had also finished their meal, and the venue had dispersed, with everyone looking rosy-cheeked. Only the assisting store owner praised me endlessly, saying that he had been in business for over twenty years and had encountered many lecturers, and I was the best one!

I then inquired how the boss felt about the execution of the event. The boss described it in one word: chaotic. I then asked about the lottery segment. The boss said they brought a lottery box and let a banana farmer representative draw three times to determine the first, second, and third prizes. As for the lottery tickets, they were all random numbers printed in many copies, and in the end, everyone was given one.

Upon hearing this, I immediately felt that something was wrong. I said, "Didn’t I confirm with you that every banana farmer boss should participate in the lottery? Why did the rules change?"

The boss explained, "We have always done it this way."

I said, "Didn’t I also confirm with you beforehand that the printed lottery tickets cannot just be one number?"

The boss indifferently replied, "Isn’t it all the same?"