Crossing the cornfield

Crossing the cornfield

To talk about the fable of a cornfield is actually a sudden idea.

Once, I went to the corporate class of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange to give lectures. In class, a general student handed a note saying: “You can tell us in the simplest language, what is the business?”

You can think of my nervousness and sorrow at the time. I would like to ask him if his so-called "simple language" refers to 200,000 words or 500,000 words. At least two books in my study are designed to interpret this topic, and of course there are more bookstores and libraries.

The students in the audience heard this question and also made a small commotion. Everyone wanted to hear my statement. The general student who handed the note was wearing a pair of innocent big eyes like a smile. Look at me from afar.

I think, definitely where he is offended, he wants to go with me like this.

However, after a moment of contemplation, I decided to face the challenge. So, I talked about the fable about corn.

"Please envision it. At this moment, you are standing in front of a cornfield -

"In the fields, the fresh wind is blowing slowly. Spreading in front of your eyes is a corn field with a lot of fruit. At the same time, this is a cornfield with hidden traps of countless big and small traps.

"Today, you are about to cross it."

The students in the classroom listened very seriously. I must have seen a big wilderness in the sky and the fruit swaying in their minds. Those who came from the countryside or watched the movie "Red Sorghum" may also evoke some very distant and sweet memories. Because, I saw some people smile.

I continue to think and talk.

"You and your opponents are going to have an interesting race: see who first crosses the cornfield and reaches the mysterious finish. At the same time, he has the most corn in his hand.

“That is, you travel across the cornfield faster than others, and always keep your own safety – this is the three survival factors of the 'cornfield game': speed, efficiency and safety.

"You can make more than 10,000 choices, and no clever master of mathematics can calculate the optimal ratio between the three. Perhaps there is no such formula in the world. Different states will produce different As a result, each of the best ways changes due to changes in the objective environment and conditions.

"The process of crossing the cornfield is the process of decision-making. The choice of N times will produce N kinds of states and endings.

“The charm of crossing is here. The mystery of the company is here.”

I am finished.

The fable is short, but it is only a beginning. I set the way and rules of the game, and the plot of the fables will be completed by the students present.

Later, I returned to my home in Hangzhou for a few days and I was still immersed in the delusion of the cornfield. I have found that many of the ideas I have tried for companies and markets can be expressed without the fable of “crossing the cornfields”, and this fable also provides a very broad “uncertain time and space” for people to get from it. Unexpected enlightenment and lessons.

Why are you crossing the cornfield?