Series Discussion on Studying and Implementing Chairman Xi's Important Statements on Grassroots Work Methods ③ | Grassroots Governance Must Put In the "Embroidery" Effort
All great undertakings under heaven must begin with the details. A certain Rocket Force brigade bears heavy national defense construction tasks. Due to frequent shift rotations and other reasons, roster information required constant updating; replacing paper rosters was not only time-consuming and labor-intensive but also wasteful of paper, and for a time became a "headache" plaguing the grassroots. Recently, they had the names of officers and soldiers made into magnetic cards and upgraded the roster to a metal board—one snap and one swap completes the update, "done in one minute." A small innovation solved a real grassroots frustration, embodying the "embroidery" effort of grassroots governance.
"Urban management should be as meticulous as embroidery"; poverty alleviation requires that "the entire process be precise, and some aspects require putting in 'embroidery' effort"; "we must strengthen precise thinking, achieving an overall grasp during planning and meticulous precision during execution, using embroidery-level effort to do work thoroughly and to the mark"… Chairman Xi has repeatedly emphasized in multiple domains the need to put in sufficient "embroidery" effort. These important statements are both an epistemology and a methodology; both a guide for work and a method of work. For Party organizations and Party member cadres at all levels of the military, doing grassroots work well and improving grassroots governance effectiveness likewise cannot do without "embroidery" effort.
Embroidery uses silk thread as ink and silk fabric as paper; the needle moves and the thread traces across fingertips, rendering brilliant patterns. It is a visually pleasing art form and also embodies the unique wisdom of Chinese culture. Putting in "embroidery" effort is a vivid expression of "reaching the vast while exhausting the minute" (致广大而尽精微), and is an important method for continuously raising the level of grassroots governance. In doing work, precision is the most valuable and most important quality; in driving implementation, precision is the hardest part and the key to success. Grassroots work involves a thousand threads and ten thousand strands; any link that is neglected, any task that is not implemented, may lead to the passive situation of "a thousand-li embankment collapsing from an anthill." Whether grassroots governance is effective depends in large measure on whether one can connect to reality, refine and concretize the means of action, persist in sustained effort, and do the work deeply and meticulously. Practice has proven that only by "exerting one's full effort" can fine work be done, and only by "exhausting the minute" can real results be seen.
Take meeting the needs of officers and soldiers as an example. Today's officers and soldiers are broadly concerned with personal development and the pursuit of their interests—such as Party membership applications, examination for further study, promotion, and external training, among others. Most of these demands are governed by various regulations and institutional provisions. How should these demands be handled? Without deep investigation, without doing the work person by person and matter by matter, without putting in "embroidery" effort, it is very difficult to do the work to the mark. Only by putting in sufficient "embroidery" effort—achieving precise guidance and reasonable resolution—can one do the work of winning hearts, warming hearts, and steadying hearts.
"Tackle the difficult through the easy; accomplish the great through the minute." Since the 18th National Congress of the Party, the entire military has continuously strengthened grassroots governance, adopting a series of forceful measures that have enhanced the systematic, scientific, and standardized nature of grassroots development. But one must also clearly see that at present, our military's grassroots development faces many new situations and new changes in terms of mission requirements, development content, daily operational status, organizational structure of units, composition of officers and soldiers, and the external social environment—placing higher demands on the targeted and effective nature of grassroots governance. "A thousand threads from above, a single needle below": the more threads there are and the denser the needlework, the less one can afford coarse stitching. Only when Party organizations and Party member cadres at all levels put in sufficient "embroidery" effort—"fine stitching" in every matter, "identifying the pressure points" at every turn, less "rough aiming" and more accumulation of "inch-by-inch effort"—can they break through the "last mile" of grassroots governance and genuinely convert the Party's political advantages and organizational advantages into governance effectiveness.
Putting in sufficient "embroidery" effort requires, above all, that "every stitch lands true." Targeted effort yields twice the result with half the work; untargeted effort yields half the result with twice the work. In recent years, a certain People's Armed Police unit has made it routine for standing committee members of the Party committee to lead agency cadres in going deep into each company, providing one-on-one precise guidance and assistance, using a "one unit, one policy" approach to turn the "problem list" of grassroots development item by item into "assistance results." Party organizations and Party member cadres at all levels should firmly establish a sense of precision and strengthen precise thinking—thoroughly understanding the situation above, clearly grasping the situation below, and mastering the actual situation on the ground—identifying the crux of problems, seizing the key points of work, and persisting in targeted policy application. They must not apply a one-size-fits-all or lump-everything-together approach, but instead use the precision of "one key for one lock" to genuinely unify the guidance and service of Party committees and agencies, the independent development of the grassroots, and the wisdom and strength of officers and soldiers.
Putting in sufficient "embroidery" effort requires, most importantly, that "not a single stitch be missed." Grassroots development is a systematic project and also a long-term project; it cannot be accomplished in one step or resolved once and for all. For the combat readiness work, military training, ideological and political work, and daily management of grassroots units, not a single item can be taken lightly—all require dense and secure stitching, sustained over time. Otherwise, the foundations of grassroots development may be shaken and the long-term development of the force affected. This requires Party organizations and Party member cadres at all levels to establish and practice a correct view of political achievement (政绩观), and with an attitude of responsibility toward force development, responsibility toward combat effectiveness improvement, and responsibility toward the vital interests of officers and soldiers, to maintain the tenacity of water wearing through stone and the perseverance to do things well and see them through—not coveting short-term achievements, not seeking short-term fame—and to exert effort in doing work that addresses fundamentals, benefits the long term, and builds lasting strength, so as to lay an ever more solid foundation for force development and combat effectiveness.
Putting in sufficient "embroidery" effort cannot be separated from technology empowerment. Online education platforms allow officers and soldiers separated by thousands of li to simultaneously enter "premium classrooms"; independently developed "AI large models" have been deployed to front-line combat positions; cumbersome and inefficient support processes have been reshaped by precise, unmanned digital-intelligent (数智) models… With the rapid development of new technologies such as artificial intelligence and big data, many units are using technological means to strengthen grassroots development. Technology is the primary combat power; innovation is the primary driving force. Only when Party organizations and Party member cadres at all levels focus on effectiveness improvement and strengthen technology empowerment—leading planning with technological thinking, optimizing decision-making driven by data, reshaping processes with intelligent means, and integrating technological elements into the capillaries of grassroots governance—can they drive grassroots governance to transition from a traditional model reliant on experience toward a scientific and precise modern model, achieving a comprehensive upgrade of military grassroots governance in concepts, mechanisms, and methods.