Think More Before the Task — Only When Cadres 'Take It to Heart' Will Soldiers 'See What Needs Doing'
Cadres 'Take It to Heart,' Soldiers 'See What Needs Doing'
■ PLA Daily Special Correspondent Liu Fan; Illustration by Zeng Yuming
Some time ago, Company Commander Hou of a certain company in a certain brigade of the 82nd Group Army assigned a collective-training support task to Sergeant Yao: "You have one week — get all the equipment needed for every phase of the collective training ready."
Sergeant Yao had solid military skills and a dependable work style. After receiving the task, he organized everyone to work overtime, and within just two or three days had all the specialized training equipment prepared, neatly stacked in the storeroom. He was ready to report as soon as the fuel requisition came through.
At that point, Company Commander Hou came to check on progress and spotted the problem at once: "The specialized training equipment is well prepared, but why haven't you prepared the support equipment — life jackets, life rings, first-aid kits, and the like?"
Sergeant Yao was stunned. He had never dealt with support work before and had simply assumed that only specialized training equipment was needed. It had not occurred to him that the company commander's "all equipment" covered two categories: training equipment and support equipment. Fortunately, the problem was caught in time; he immediately led his people to fill the gap, and the overall schedule was not affected.
Afterward, Company Commander Hou took the initiative to reflect: "The task nearly went wrong, and I bear significant responsibility — I was not clear or specific enough when assigning it, and I will definitely correct that going forward." That reflection left Sergeant Yao feeling unsettled as well. He had not thought things through after receiving the task and had nearly caused a failure; he felt he too bore responsibility, and he lay awake for several nights.
Sergeant Tian, a fellow squad leader, noticed Sergeant Yao's troubled state. In casual conversation, Sergeant Tian recounted his own experience not long before. At the time, the company had just completed a field training relocation, and Sergeant Tian had been tasked with leading a team to set up the storeroom and move supplies. Bearing in mind that the weather at the training site was changeable, he did not fix his eyes solely on the immediate task at hand but thought one step further — he planned in advance the order in which supplies would be stored and where they would be placed, based on urgency and frequency of use.
Not long after, heavy rain did indeed fall at the training site. Thanks to thorough advance planning, the company moved all supplies into storage ahead of time, and retrieving them during subsequent billeting was far more convenient.
"As the people who actually carry out the work, we have to think one step further and look one layer deeper into our orders," Sergeant Tian told Sergeant Yao. "Higher-ups cannot possibly anticipate every detail — we have to proactively fill the gaps and get the work done ahead of time."
After Company Political Instructor Wang learned of the situation, he felt the episode was representative enough to warrant discussion, and he organized cadres and key personnel to debate the topic: "When facing a task, whose job is it to think one step further?"
During the discussion, views varied in emphasis. Some felt that task assignments are often brief and to the point, so those who execute them must think one step further — they cannot implement orders mechanically and dogmatically but must look ahead and behind the task and carry it out creatively. Others felt that whoever issues the order should first thoroughly digest the task requirements and, when assigning them, explain things patiently and in detail — leaving subordinates to "figure it out themselves" is irresponsible.
Political Instructor Wang offered timely guidance: "Thinking one step further before a task" is not the exclusive responsibility of any single party, and the discussion is not meant to assign blame to anyone. Training and war-preparedness (练兵备战) requires pooling the wisdom and strength of every officer and soldier — everyone must think one step further when facing a task. Only when cadres "take it to heart" and soldiers "see what needs doing" can tasks be completed to a high standard and with high quality.
In the end, everyone came to understand more clearly that whichever party thinks one step further when carrying out training and war-preparedness tasks deserves affirmation and encouragement. Only when everyone works in concert, twisting into a single rope, can the effect of "1+1>2" be achieved.
Today in that company, when cadres and key personnel assign tasks they make clear "what it is, why it is being done, and how to do it," while the officers and soldiers who receive the tasks think proactively and plan implementation scientifically. Coordination between top and bottom has grown increasingly seamless, and the company's execution capacity and combat effectiveness have improved markedly.
Learn to Execute Tasks Creatively
■ Staff Sergeant First Class Cui Zhaorong, a certain company of a certain Army brigade
Given the same task assignment, why can some people do the work brilliantly while others can barely complete it — or even make mistakes? The answer usually lies in whether the person executing the task possesses the ability to execute creatively.
The experiences of the two squad leaders in the article are thought-provoking: one executed the task rather mechanically, failed to think things through, and nearly caused a failure; the other kept the overall task in view, thought one step further, and proactively filled the gap — not only avoiding risk but also improving efficiency. This teaches us: revolutionary soldiers of the new era cannot be content to serve merely as "mouthpieces" or "tools" — they must execute tasks with their minds engaged and carry out all aspects of training and war-preparedness work creatively.
Executing tasks creatively does not mean acting on one's own initiative or doing things a completely different way. It means, on the basis of a deep understanding of higher-level intent, proactively filling gaps and handling situations flexibly in light of actual conditions. Higher-level orders and instructions generally take a macro perspective and cannot exhaust every detail; this requires the officers and soldiers who receive the tasks to exercise their subjective initiative (主观能动性) — deepening their understanding continuously in light of the actual task, rather than moving only when pushed.
Cultivating the ability to execute creatively requires, first, strengthening the sense of accountability to combat effectiveness (战斗力). One cannot be satisfied merely with "having done it" — one must pursue "having done it well," constantly asking oneself: Did the work achieve the expected result? Is there still room for improvement? Second, one must strengthen learning and build a solid foundation of competence. Only with strong skills and rich experience can one accurately grasp intent and respond flexibly when situations arise. Finally, an atmosphere that encourages thinking and tolerates and corrects mistakes (容错纠错) must be cultivated. For non-principled lapses in the course of creative execution, show more understanding and tolerance, so that officers and soldiers dare to think and dare to try.
Executing tasks creatively is both a capability and a responsibility. Every officer and soldier should discard the inertia of waiting, relying on others, and demanding things be handed to them; think proactively and act positively; and, in the process of executing tasks creatively, temper their abilities and contribute wisdom and strength to the building of the unit's combat effectiveness.
Issuing Orders Must Be Clear and Precise
■ Liu Zhichao, Cadre of the Political Work Department, a certain Army brigade
A cadre's vague task assignment caused officers and soldiers to misunderstand, nearly affecting collective-training preparations — and afterward the cadre proactively reflected on his own shortcomings. That sense of accountability (担当精神) deserves affirmation. But the incident is also a reminder to all those who lead soldiers: when planning and assigning tasks, one must stand in the executor's shoes, state the key points clearly, and spell out the requirements, minimizing to the greatest extent possible the cognitive burden on subordinates.
Work failures and oversights are sometimes not the result of insufficient ability or weak sense of responsibility on the part of officers and soldiers, but of orders that are vague and ambiguous, causing officers and soldiers to misread the intent. Clearly and accurately conveying the key points of a task allows officers and soldiers to quickly understand "what to do, why to do it, and to what standard." Conversely, sketchy and ambiguous orders not only undermine execution effectiveness but may also leave subordinates at a loss — even generating confusion and a sense of difficulty — and damage trust and mutual understanding.
The prerequisite for issuing orders clearly and precisely is that the person assigning the task has first thought things through clearly. Before assigning a task, one must have a clear and organized grasp of the key elements: objectives, content, requirements, and time limits. On that basis, express them concisely, avoiding vagueness and abstraction that could give rise to different interpretations; where necessary, give specific reminders about critical nodes. When conditions permit, one can also have the person who received the task repeat back the key points, so that corrections can be made promptly.
Of course, reducing the cognitive burden on officers and soldiers does not mean repeatedly reminding them of every last detail. On the premise of making the task objectives and basic requirements clear, one should leave officers and soldiers a certain degree of execution space, allowing them to handle situations flexibly according to actual conditions. This both ensures that execution stays on course and mobilizes their initiative and creativity.
Those who lead soldiers are both the issuers of orders and the organizers and leaders of the work. Improving one's ability to coordinate overall (统筹能力), developing strong command skills, and habitually thinking about problems from the soldier's perspective — only then can one better lead officers and soldiers to complete all tasks to a high standard.