【观点】华为董事长任正非：管理上的灰色，是我们的生命之树

原本的世界被分为“黑”和“白”，后来又逐渐多了一块特殊的区域——“灰色地带”，很多人都给这个区域赋予独特的含义，任正非也给出了自己的理解。

任正非是“灰色管理理论”的开创者和实践者。灰度是任正非的世界观和思维方式，因此，任正非发展出一套系统的管理哲学、管理体系和管理方法论，这就是任正非的“灰度管理理论”。

任正非以华为为平台，将其付诸华为的经营管理实践。而华为30多年的经营发展实践，也验证了任正非的灰度管理理论。任正非正是用灰度管理理论浇灌出了华为这颗常青之树。

任正非崇尚灰度，但其人格并不是灰度的，例如率真、直爽、简单、诚实等鲜明的非灰度性格。另外，以我22年对任正非的追踪采访和近距离观察，发现在他身上有各种复杂甚至矛盾的要素：既脾气暴躁，又静水潜流；既铁骨铮铮，又柔情似水；既疾恶如仇，又宽容妥协；既用兵狠，又爱兵切；既霹雳手段，又菩萨心肠；既胆识过人，又心存敬畏；既固守原则，又豁达变通；既实用主义，又理想主义；既浪漫主义，又求真务实；既有理工男的做派，又有文艺青年的气质⋯⋯总之，任正非是一个棱角分明的人，一个非常真实的人。

有哲人曾说，在淡化了黑与白意义的日子里，自由的颜色是灰的。任正非就是生活在真实的灰度的自由世界里。俗话说，人如其名。“任正非”也正如其名：既正，又非。非就是正，正就是非；非中有正，正中有非。

所谓的灰度管理，就是突破了将一切事物都一分为二看待的简单思维。在管理的过程中，管理者在看待一个方案、看待一个员工时，不能简单地说这个方案可行还是不可行，这个员工优秀还是不优秀。一些人或一些事在没有绝对正确或错误的情况下，管理者要找出介于两种结论之间的办法，也就是将管理延伸到一个能够伸缩的缓冲地带，也就是灰色地带。 CXO UNION-CXO联盟（cxounion.cn）

在任正非看来，妥协是管理上的一个重要方式，管理是一门高深的艺术，并不是非错即对、非黑即白那么简单的。管理中最重要的是中间的灰色，灰色管理是在黑与白的管理之间寻求平衡。很多管理者都缺乏灰色管理思想，任正非早就在《华为十大管理要点》中提出：干部要学会灰色管理才行。

华为管理顾问吴春波老师对任正非的灰度理论有很深的研究。他认为，有灰度的人一定是很痛苦的，或者说一定经过了痛苦的思考与修炼的过程。任正非的独到之处在于，他没有基于自己的性格特点来管理华为，而是基于灰度理论，把个人性格与作为企业领袖的任职资格完美地结合到一起，相得益彰、天衣无缝地形成一套系统的经营管理哲学，灰度管理理论就是其重要组成部分。

任正非在管理华为的实践中，其基本色调就是灰度。灰度既是其世界观，是其思维方式，也是其经营管理的基本假设、理念与哲学。企业家自身的特质必然会影响乃至决定企业的底蕴与特质，任正非是灰色的，决定了华为也是灰色的。也是因为这一点，华为不怕被外界黑，无论是浓彩泼墨，还是写意描白，均改变不了华为的灰，只是改变了华为灰的程度而已。

纵观华为30多年的成长与发展历程，观察华为的经营管理实践，不难发现，灰度理论是贯穿始终的价值观与方法论。

任正非早在1995年起草《华为基本法》时，就与“人大六君子”提出了灰度管理思想。后来，任正非在2009年1月15日召开的全球市场工会议上发表了题为《开放、妥协与灰度》的讲话，完整地诠释了其灰度管理思想体系：“一个清晰方向，是在混沌中产生的，是从灰色中脱颖而出的，而方向是随时间与空间而变化的，它常常又会变得不清晰，并不是非白即黑、非此即彼。合理地掌握合适的灰度，是使各种影响发展的要素，在一段时间里和谐共存，这种和谐的过程叫妥协，这种和谐的结果叫灰度。没有妥协就没有灰度。妥协其实是非常务实、通权达变的丛林智慧，凡是人性丛林里的智者，都懂得在恰当时机接受别人妥协，或向别人提出妥协，毕竟人要生存，靠的是理性，而不是意气。”

灰度不仅是一种世界观，更重要的是一种思维方式。正如任正非所言：“灰度是常态，黑与白是哲学上的假设，所以，我们反对在公司管理上走极端，提倡系统性思维。” CXO UNION-CXO联盟（cxounion.cn）

一、以灰度看待人性

以灰度看待人性，就必须摒弃非黑即白、爱憎分明、一分为二的思维方式。人性是复杂的，几千年来，人们对人性的研究一直处于停滞状态。无非是性善、性恶，或者是天使、魔鬼，抑或是X假设、Y假设。

而以灰度来看，人力是一种资源，管理者与管理的使命就在于激发人的正能量，抑制人的负能量，团结一切可以团结的人，调动一切可以调动的积极性，挖掘一切可以挖掘的潜力，实现公司的目标与战略。

任正非说：“我们真正的干部政策要灰色一点，桥归桥，路归路，不要把功过搅在一起，不要疾恶如仇、黑白分明⋯⋯干部有些想法或存在些问题很正常，没有人没有问题。”任正非对人性的洞察，是一个很大尺度上的把握，他对人性的理解就是灰度。他认为任何黑的或白的观点，都是容易鼓动人心的，而我们恰恰不需要黑的或白的，我们需要的是灰色的观点。如果说任正非是“人性大师”，那么他对人性的深刻洞察，无疑是基于灰度理论的。

二、以灰度看待未来

面对黑天鹅，面对灰犀牛，面对蝴蝶效应，既不盲目乐观，也不盲目悲观，未来有阳光灿烂，也有疾风骤雨；既不左倾冒进，也不右倾保守。有灰度，方能视野开阔，把握不确定性，看清未来的方向，认清未来发展的战略目标。

基于灰度理论，任正非为进入“无人区”的华为指明了未来的方向：“坚定不移的正确方向来自灰度、妥协与宽容”，“如果不能依据不同的时间、空间，掌握一定的灰度，就难有审时度势的正确决策”。
下面九条管理理念可以说就是任正非灰度理论的结晶：

三、以灰度看待企业中的关系

在企业经营管理中存在着大量相互矛盾和相互制衡的关系，如激励与约束、扩张与控制、集权与扩权、内部与外部、继承与创新、经营与管理、短期利益与长期利益、团队合作与尊重个性等等，这些关系构成了黑白两端，痛苦地煎熬着企业的决策，也逼迫企业做出选择。

任正非以灰度观来看待和处理这些关系，既不走极端，也不玩平衡，针对内外部关系做出智慧的决策，其核心就是依据灰度理论，抓住主要矛盾和矛盾的主要方面，有效地运用这些矛盾内含的能量，将这些矛盾变为公司的发展动力。

四、以灰度培养与选拔干部

任正非把灰度作为干部的领导力和经营管理能力的重要内容，同时也作为选拔干部的重要标准。他认为，“开放、妥协、灰度是华为文化的精髓，也是一个领导者的风范”，“如何去理解‘开放、妥协、灰度’？不要认为这是一个简单的问题，黑和白永远都是固定的标准，什么时候深灰一点，什么时候浅灰一点？干部就是掌握灰度。”干部放下了黑白是非。 CXO UNION-CXO联盟（cxounion.cn）

任正非提倡的“砍掉高层的手脚”，实际上就是让高层管理者把握灰度观，形成灰度思维，并以此洞察人性，在混沌中把握方向，理性地处理企业中的各种矛盾与关系。在处理犯了错误的干部时，他也一直采用灰度的方式，在明处高高地举起拳头，私下则轻轻地安抚，既不一棍子打死，也不放任纵容，对事旗帜鲜明，对人宽容妥协。

五、以灰度把握企业管理的节奏

任正非一直强调，作为高级管理者在企业经营管理过程中，必须紧紧盯住三个关键点：方向、节奏与人均效率。当企业的方向大致正确之后，经营管理节奏的把握就成为领导力的关键。

面对企业中的各种问题，性格急躁与暴躁的任正非肯定是着急的，但在具体实施过程中他又表现出极大的忍耐力和容忍力。他在说的时候，是疾风骤雨、电闪雷鸣，但具体实施的时候，又能和风细雨、润物无声。这种“着急和等不及”与“不着急和等得及”就是任正非灰度管理的最好体现。

六、以灰度的视角洞察商业环境

对于外部商业环境，任正非是以灰度的视角洞察的，他认为确定性是企业发展的敌人，要拥抱外部环境的不确定性；他从来不抱怨外部商业环境的险恶，总是以乐观主义的态度评价宏观层面的问题；他把竞争对手称为“友商”，并把“与友商共同发展，既是竞争对手，也是合作伙伴，共同创造良好的生存空间，共享价值链的利益”作为公司的战略之一；他崇尚以色列前总理伊扎克·拉宾（以下称“拉宾”）的“以土地换和平”观念，自称是“拉宾的学生”。

任正非曾说过：决策的过程是灰色的，所以决策层必须有开放的大脑、妥协的精神，这样才能集思广益。但越朝下，越要强调执行。高层决策忌快忌急，慢一些会少出错。基层却要讲速度、讲效率。

有很多人认为，任正非的灰度理论就是中庸之道，其实这是错误的。

灰度不是中庸之道。所谓“中庸”，是指在对立的两端之间寻找调和与折中。前者是世界观，后者是处事之道。道不是观，观也不能替代道。任正非在《从哲学到实践》一文中讲道：“中国长期受中庸之道的影响，虽然在保持稳定上有很大贡献，但也压抑了许多英雄人物的成长，使他们的个性不能充分发挥，不能形成对社会的牵引和贡献，或者没有共性的个性对社会形成破坏⋯⋯”中国人崇尚中庸之道，追求不偏不倚、折中调和的处世态度，但某种程度上中庸之道会蜕化为自私自利的保命哲学，养育出一批两面派的伪君子。在现实中，也有的人往往是走极端的，依据个人好恶，凡事辩个黑白，问个是非，非黑即白，是大多数人的行为惯性。

从本质上讲，灰度哲学是正确反映客观世界和现实情况的思维模式。从字面意义上讲，灰度既不是黑，也不是白；既不是对，也不是错；既不是好，也不是坏；是一种融合体，不走极端。灰度思维既不是“非白即黑”的反向思维，也不是“白加黑”的并存思维，而是“白黑融合”的和合思维。

管理学家、《华为基本法》起草人之一彭剑锋认为，任正非所说的灰度中的“灰”是一种颜色，是黑与白的融合，意味着企业的生存环境和未来不是简单的、纯粹的，易于辨别的，而是多元的、复杂的，存在不确定性的。“灰”又是与白之间的过渡，它混沌、模糊，同时也蕴含着多重元素；在混沌的表象下实则孕育着活力和生命力。

“妥协、宽容与开放”不是灰度的本质，而是灰度的手段与工具。因为，灰度的度是很难把握的，需要管理者具有非凡的智慧与能力。把握灰度需要的不是手段，也不是科学，而是一门领导艺术。正如任正非所说：“任何黑的或白的观点，都是容易鼓动人心的，而我们恰恰不需要黑的或白的，我们需要的是灰色的观点。介于黑与白之间的灰度，是很难掌握的，这就是领导与导师的水平。管理上的灰色，是我们的生命之树。”所以，任正非的灰度管理理论浇灌出了华为这棵常青之树。 CXO UNION-CXO联盟（cxounion.cn）

翻译：

Ren Zhengfei: The grey of management is the tree of our life

The original world was divided into “black” and “white”, and later gradually added a special area – “gray zone”, many people gave this area a unique meaning, Ren Zhengfei also gave his own understanding.

Ren Zhengfei is the pioneer and practitioner of “grey management theory”. Grayscale is Ren Zhengfei’s world outlook and way of thinking, so he developed a set of systematic management philosophy, management system and management methodology, which is Ren Zhengfei’s “Grayscale management theory”.

Ren Zhengfei took Huawei as a platform and put it into Huawei’s operation and management practice. The operation and development practice of Huawei for more than 30 years has also verified Ren Zhengfei’s gray management theory. Ren Zhengfei is using gray management theory to water out Huawei this evergreen tree.

Ren Zhengfei advocates grayscale, but his personality is not grayscale,

Ren Zhengfei advocates grayscale, but his personality is not grayscale, such as forthright, straightforward, simple, honest and other distinct non-grayscale character. In addition, through my 22 years of tracking interviews and close observation of Ren Zhengfei, I found that he has various complex and even contradictory elements: he is both angry and calm; He is both strong and gentle as water; Both vicious and tolerant of compromise; Both use ruthless, but also love the soldiers cut; Both thunderbolt means and bodhisattva heart; Both daring and awe; Not only adhere to the principle, but also open-minded and flexible; Both pragmatism and idealism; Both romanticism and pragmatic; Both a man of science and technology, and a literary youth temperament… In short, Ren Zhengfei is an angular person, a very real person.

A philosopher once said that in the days when the meaning of black and white is diluted. The color of freedom is gray. Ren Zhengfei is living in the real gray free world. As the saying goes, you are what you are called. “Ren Zhengfei” is just as its name: both right and wrong. Right is right, right is right; There is right in the middle and wrong in the middle.

The so-called gray management is to break through the simple thinking that everything is divided into two.

In the process of management, when managers look at a program and an employee. They cannot simply say whether the program is feasible or not, and whether the employee is excellent or not. When someone or something is not absolutely right or wrong, managers have to find a way in between the two conclusions, that is, to extend management into a scalable buffer zone, that is, the gray zone.

In Ren Zhengfei’s view, compromise is an important way of management, management is a profound art. Not right or wrong, black or white so simple. The most important thing in management is the middle gray, gray management is to seek a balance between black and white management. Many managers lack the idea of grey management, Ren Zhengfei has long put forward in the “Top ten management points of Huawei” : cadres should learn to grey management. CXO UNION-CXO联盟（cxounion.cn）

Huawei management consultant Wu Chunbo has a deep study of Ren Zhengfei’s gray theory.

He believes that people with gray must be very painful, or must have gone through a painful process of thinking and cultivation. Ren Zhengfei’s uniqueness lies in that he does not manage Huawei based on his own personality characteristics. But based on the grayscale theory, which perfectly combines his personal personality with his qualifications as an enterprise leader and seamlessly forms a set of systematic business management philosophy, of which grayscale management theory is an important part.

In Ren Zhengfei’s practice of managing Huawei, the basic tone is gray. Grayscale is not only its world view, its way of thinking. But also the basic assumption, idea and philosophy of its management. The characteristics of entrepreneurs themselves will inevitably affect and even determine the heritage and characteristics of enterprises. Ren Zhengfei is gray, which determines that Huawei is also gray. It is also because of this that Huawei is not afraid of being black by the outside world. Whether it is thick color splashy ink, or freehand painting white. It can not change Huawei’s gray, but it just changes the degree of Huawei’s gray.

Looking at the growth and development process of Huawei for more than 30 years, and observing Huawei’s operation and management practice. It is not difficult to find that gray theory is the values and methodology throughout.

As early as 1995, when Ren Zhengfei drafted the Huawei Basic Law, he put forward the idea of grayscale management with the six gentlemen of the National People’s Congress.

Later, Ren Zhengfei delivered a speech entitled “Openness, Compromise and Grayscale” at the Global Market Workers Conference held on January 15, 2009, which fully interpreted his grayscale management ideology system: “A clear direction is produced in chaos, stands out from the gray, and the direction is changed with time and space, it often becomes unclear, is not white or black, either or.” Reasonable grasp of the appropriate gray level is to make various factors affecting the development of harmonious coexistence in a period of time, this harmonious process is called compromise. This harmonious result is called gray level. There is no grayscale without compromise. Compromise is actually a very pragmatic and adaptable jungle wisdom. All the wise people in the jungle of human nature know how to accept or offer compromise to others at the right time. After all, human survival depends on reason, not emotion.”

Gray is not only a world view, but more importantly a way of thinking. As Ren Zhengfei says: “Grayscale is the norm, black and white are philosophical assumptions. So we oppose going to extremes in corporate management and advocate systemic thinking.” CXO UNION-CXO联盟（cxounion.cn）

First, look at human nature in grayscale

To view human nature in gray scale, we must abandon the way of thinking that is either black or white, love and hate are clear, and two parts are divided. Human nature is complex, and for thousands of years, the study of human nature has been stagnant. Nothing more than good sex, evil sex, or angels, demons, or X hypothesis, Y hypothesis.

From a grayscale perspective, human resources are a kind of resource, and the mission of managers and management is to stimulate people’s positive energy, restrain people’s negative energy, unite all the people who can be united, mobilize all the enthusiasm that can be mobilized, tap all the potential that can be tapped, and realize the company’s goals and strategies.

Ren Zhengfei said: “Our real cadres policy should be a little gray, bridge to bridge, road to road, do not mix the merits and wrongs together, do not be vicious, black and white clear… It is normal for cadres to have some ideas or problems, no one has no problems.” Ren Zhengfei’s insight into human nature is a large scale grasp, his understanding of human nature is gray. He thinks that any black or white point of view is easy to inspire. And we don’t need black or white, we need gray points of view. If Ren Zhengfei is a “master of human nature”. Then his profound insight into human nature is undoubtedly based on gray theory.

Second, look at the future in grayscale

In the face of the black swan, the gray rhinoceros and the butterfly effect. We are neither blindly optimistic nor blindly pessimistic. The future will be sunny and stormy. It’s neither progressive to the left nor conservative to the right. With gray scale, you can have a broad vision, grasp the uncertainty, see the future direction. And recognize the strategic goals of future development.

Based on the grayscale theory, Ren Zhengfei pointed out the future direction for Huawei, which has entered the “no man’s land” : “The correct direction of unswervingly comes from grayscale, compromise and tolerance”, “if you cannot grasp a certain grayscale according to different time and space, it is difficult to make the right decision to evaluate the situation.”
The following nine management concepts can be said to be the crystallization of Ren Zhengfei’s gray theory: CXO UNION-CXO联盟（cxounion.cn）

Third, look at the relationship in the enterprise in gray scale

In the enterprise management, there are a large number of contradictory and mutual checks and balances, such as incentive and constraint, expansion and control, centralization and expansion, internal and external, inheritance and innovation, operation and management, short-term interests and long-term interests, teamwork and respect for individuality, etc. These relations constitute the black and white ends, agonizing the decision of the enterprise, but also force the enterprise to make choices.

Ren Zhengfei looks at and deals with these relationships with a grayscale view, neither going to extremes nor playing balance, making intelligent decisions for internal and external relations, the core of which is to grasp the main contradictions and the main aspects of contradictions according to the grayscale theory, effectively use the energy contained in these contradictions, and turn these contradictions into the driving force for the development of the company.

Fourth, cultivate and select cadres in gray scale

Ren Zhengfei regards gray scale as an important content of leadership and management ability of cadres, and also as an important criterion for selecting cadres. He believes that “openness, compromise and grayscale are the essence of Huawei’s culture and the style of a leader”, “How to understand ‘openness, compromise and grayscale’?” Don’t think it’s a simple question, black and white will always be a fixed standard, when will it be darker and when will it be lighter? Cadres are masters of the gray scale. Cadres put aside right and wrong. CXO UNION-CXO联盟（cxounion.cn）

The “cutting off the hands and feet of the top” advocated by Ren Zhengfei is actually to let the top managers grasp the gray concept, form gray thinking, and use this to gain insight into human nature, grasp the direction in the chaos. And rationally deal with various contradictions and relations in the enterprise. When dealing with cadres who have made mistakes, he has also been using a grayscale approach, raising his fist high in the open, gently soothing in private, neither killing with a stick, nor indulging, being clear about things and tolerant and compromising on people.

Fifth, grasp the rhythm of enterprise management with gray scale

Ren Zhengfei has always stressed that as a senior manager in the process of enterprise management. We must closely focus on three key points: direction, rhythm and per capita efficiency. When the direction of the enterprise is roughly correct. The grasp of the rhythm of management has become the key to leadership.

In the face of various problems in the enterprise, Ren Zhengfei, who is impatient and irritable, is definitely anxious. But in the concrete implementation process, he has shown great endurance and tolerance. When he said it, it was a strong wind and rain, lightning and thunder, but when it was implemented. It could be gentle wind and rain and moisten things silently. This kind of “hurry and wait” and “not hurry and wait” is the best embodiment of Ren Zhengfei gray management.

Sixth, insight into the business environment from a grayscale perspective

For the external business environment, Ren Zhengfei is a gray perspective insight. He believes that certainty is the enemy of enterprise development. We should embrace the uncertainty of the external environment; He never complained about the sinister external business environment. And always evaluated macro-level issues with optimism. He called the competitor “friend business”, and “develop together with friends business, both competitors and partners, jointly create a good living space, share the benefits of the value chain” as one of the company’s strategies; He admired the “land for peace” concept of former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin (hereinafter referred to as “Rabin”) and called himself a “student of Rabin”. CXO UNION-CXO联盟（cxounion.cn）

Ren Zhengfei once said: the decision-making process is gray. So the decision-makers must have an open brain, the spirit of compromise, so that they can brainstorm. But the more downward you go, the more emphasis you have on execution. High-level decision-making avoid fast avoid urgent, slow will make fewer mistakes. At the grassroots level, we need to talk about speed and efficiency.

There are many people who think that Ren Zhengfei’s gray theory is the golden mean, in fact, this is wrong.

Grayscale is not the mean. The so-called “mean” refers to the search for reconciliation and compromise between the opposite ends. The former is the world view, the latter is the way of doing things. Tao is not view, and view cannot replace Tao. Ren Zhengfei said in his article From Philosophy to Practice:. “China has been affected by the golden mean for a long time. Although it has made great contributions to maintaining stability, it has also suppressed the growth of many heroes. So that their personalities can not give full play to, can not form a traction and contribution to society. Or there is no common personality to destroy society…”

Chinese people advocate the golden mean, the pursuit of impartial, compromise and reconciliation attitude. But at some point, moderation degenerates into a self-serving philosophy of survival that breeds duplicity and hypocrisy. In reality, some people are often extreme, according to personal likes and dislikes, everything debate black and white, ask right and wrong, black and white, is the behavior of most people inertia.

In essence, grayscale philosophy is a mode of thinking that correctly reflects the objective world and reality. In a literal sense, grayscale is neither black nor white. It is neither right nor wrong. It’s neither good nor bad; It’s a fusion. It doesn’t go overboard. Gray thinking is neither the reverse thinking of “either white or black”. Nor the coexistence of “white and black”, but the harmony thinking of “white and black fusion”. CXO UNION-CXO联盟（cxounion.cn）

Peng Jianfeng, a management scientist and one of the drafters of the Basic Law of Huawei

Peng Jianfeng, a management scientist and one of the drafters of the Basic Law of Huawei. Believes that the “gray” in the gray level mentioned by Ren Zhengfei is a color, which is the integration of black and white, meaning that the living environment and future of enterprises are not simple, pure, and easy to identify, but diversified, complex, and uncertain. “Gray” is the transition between white and chaos, it is fuzzy, but also contains multiple elements;. Under the appearance of chaos, vitality and vitality are actually bred.

“Compromise, tolerance and openness” is not the essence of gray, but the means and tools of gray. Because the degree of gray is difficult to grasp, the manager needs to have extraordinary wisdom and ability. Mastering gray requires not a means, nor a science, but an art of leadership. As Ren Zhengfei said: “Any black or white views are easy to inspire people. And we do not need black or white, we need gray views.” The gray between black and white is difficult to master, and that is the level of leadership and mentor. The gray of management is the tree of our life.” Therefore, Ren Zhengfei’s gray management theory has watered Huawei’s evergreen tree.

本文由CXO UNION-CXO联盟（cxounion.cn）转载而成，来源于小周看人力；编辑/翻译：CXO UNIONCXO联盟小O。

如需加入CXO UNION（CXO联盟）高管社群，请联系社群小伙伴哦~

免责声明: 本网站(http://www.cxounion.cn/)内容主要来自原创、合作媒体供稿和第三方投稿，凡在本网站出现的信息，均仅供参考。本网站将尽力确保所提供信息的准确性及可靠性，但不保证有关资料的准确性及可靠性，读者在使用前请进一步核实，并对任何自主决定的行为负责。本网站对有关资料所引致的错误、不确或遗漏，概不负任何法律责任。

本网站刊载的所有内容(包括但不仅限文字、图片、LOGO、音频、视频、软件、程序等) 版权归原作者所有。任何单位或个人认为本网站中的内容可能涉嫌侵犯其知识产权或存在不实内容时，请及时通知本站，予以删除。