Doctrine Political Work

Series on "Preventing and Correcting Deviations in the Outlook on Political Performance" | No Flowery Punches and Embroidered Kicks — Seek Real Results and Real Effectiveness

“防范和纠治政绩观偏差”系列谈丨不耍花拳绣腿务求实绩实效

PLA Daily (解放军报) 27 May 2026

Summary

The eleventh installment in PLA Daily's running series on correcting deviations in the 政绩观 (outlook on political performance) targets three specific pathologies among Party member cadres: 痕迹主义 (tracism — prioritizing paperwork trails over results), 面子工程 (vanity projects with visible short-term payoff over latent-achievement work), and a passive risk-aversion mentality that treats doing nothing as the safest career strategy. The series documents an ongoing institutional campaign to reorient officer incentive structures toward the combat effectiveness standard (战斗力标准), and this installment's explicit linkage of careerist behavior to degraded warfighting readiness extends that framing — the argument is that self-serving performance management is not merely a corruption problem but a direct drag on 战斗力. What remains unknown is whether this series accompanies any specific enforcement mechanism or personnel evaluation reform, or whether it is purely a political education effort with no structural teeth.

Translation

No Flowery Punches and Embroidered Kicks — Seek Real Results and Real Effectiveness

— "Preventing and Correcting Deviations in the Outlook on Political Performance (防范和纠治政绩观偏差)" Series, No. 11

■ Li Yongtao

● Selfish motives and distracting thoughts are the great enemy of a correct outlook on political performance (政绩观), and an even more formidable enemy of combat effectiveness building. Break free from self-serving thinking; persist in proceeding from reality and from actual combat in all things.

Chairman Xi has profoundly pointed out that we must establish a correct outlook on political performance, handle well the relationships between stability and progress, establishment and abolition, the abstract and the concrete, symptoms and root causes, and the near-term and the long-term, adhere to baseline thinking (底线思维), and strengthen risk awareness. The contest on the battlefield is real blow against real blow, hard collision against hard collision — it tolerates no flowery punches and embroidered kicks (花拳绣腿) whatsoever. To forge superior warfighting capabilities and calmly meet the test of war that may come at any moment, Party member cadres in the military must establish and practice a correct outlook on political performance, always put the combat effectiveness standard front and center, put combat effectiveness building front and center, resolutely eliminate the bad tendency of emphasizing slogans over action and emphasizing traces over real results, achieve both pragmatic work (务实) and principled deliberation (务虚), ensure that every plan conforms to reality, that every task produces tangible results on the ground, and that every item of political performance is genuine and reliable.

"The distinction between the abstract and the concrete is the hinge between misfortune and fortune." Principled deliberation (务虚) and pragmatic work (务实) are dialectically unified and inseparable. For the broad ranks of Party member cadres, genuine principled deliberation is by no means empty talk with nothing to say, nor hollow posturing divorced from reality; rather, it is rational thinking grounded in objective laws to assess the situation, aligned with the overall situation to plan for the long term, and focused on core responsibilities to clarify the way forward. Pragmatic work, meanwhile, is the concrete practice of locking onto objectives and driving implementation hard, confronting problems head-on to overcome difficulties, and deeply cultivating one's core responsibilities to achieve real results — it is the ultimate landing point and destination of principled deliberation. Countless facts demonstrate that principled deliberation divorced from pragmatic work is a mirage, while pragmatic work divorced from principled deliberation easily loses direction and degenerates into blind, brute effort. Only by combining the abstract with the concrete and unifying knowledge with action can Party member cadres accurately read the situation, clarify their thinking, identify problems precisely, and produce real results.

Yet it cannot be denied that in reality some Party member cadres have failed to properly handle the relationship between the abstract and the concrete, and deviations have appeared in their outlook on political performance. Some narrowly misunderstand the meaning of principled deliberation and are keen on convening meetings and issuing documents, making declarations and building momentum, with work remaining at the level of deployment — implementing documents with documents and meetings with meetings, passing instructions layer by layer without ever seeing concrete measures take root. Some have fallen into the trap of tracism (痕迹主义), emphasizing leaving traces over real results and packaging over actual effectiveness, treating the filling out of forms, reporting of materials, and completion of ledgers and checklists as the main event. Some approach their work without method or technique, unable to grasp its distinctive features, unable to seize on key priorities, unable to clear bottlenecks. Still others seek quick success and instant benefit, coveting empty fame, caring only about momentarily "showing off," preferring to build highly visible "vanity projects (面子工程)," and unwilling to cultivate the latent-achievement projects (潜绩工程) that lay foundations and benefit the long term — resulting in an abundance of hollow work and a scarcity of real results, which not only contributes nothing to improving combat effectiveness but also corrupts the healthy atmosphere for getting things done.

The root cause of these phenomena is that some Party member cadres are driven by selfish motives and distracting thoughts, placing personal advancement and personal gain ahead of the cause of strengthening the military, rushing for quick results in their work, pursuing a superficially impressive appearance, and departing from the original aspiration and mission that Communists should uphold. At the same time, it also stems from a weakening of the spirit of responsibility — acting with hesitation and timidity, harboring the negative mentality that "the more you do, the more mistakes you make; the less you do, the fewer mistakes; do nothing and make no mistakes" — and when problems arise, taking the easy way out, going through the motions, and muddling through. In addition, there are shortcomings in capability and quality: unable to plan from a high vantage point or coordinate scientifically, and also lacking the superior capabilities to drive implementation hard and break through difficulties, ultimately sinking into the mire of "principled deliberation that goes nowhere and pragmatic work that goes astray." If these various deviations and deficiencies are not corrected, they will inevitably cause departure from the correct direction, corrupt the atmosphere within the ranks, harm the interests of the masses, and ultimately delay the development of the cause.

"All evils arise from the character of selfishness; all good things come from the character of public-mindedness." Once a person harbors selfish motives and distracting thoughts and is always calculating their own "little abacus," subjectivism and departmentalism will inevitably take root imperceptibly. Looking at problems, they will proceed from subjective wishes rather than objective reality; making decisions, they will proceed from individual interests rather than the overall situation of the cause's development; all manner of rule-violating and boundary-crossing behavior will emerge, and it will be very difficult to be impartial and to clearly distinguish public from private. Selfish motives and distracting thoughts are the great enemy of a correct outlook on political performance, and an even more formidable enemy of combat effectiveness building. Party member cadres must always uphold a heart devoted to the public good, resolutely cast aside personal honor, disgrace, gain, and loss, break free from self-serving thinking, persist in proceeding from reality and from actual combat in all things, place the overall situation first and the cause first, balance the present with the long term and the overall with the local, actively and wholeheartedly do whatever benefits combat effectiveness building, and distance themselves from and avoid whatever does not.

"Dedication to an extraordinary cause demands an extraordinary spirit and extraordinary responsibility." Establishing and practicing a correct outlook on political performance requires that the broad ranks of Party member cadres not shrink from major matters, not shirk difficult matters, and not slack off on minor matters — daring to take responsibility, willing to take responsibility, and skilled at taking responsibility. Failing to take responsibility and failing to act, floating in work style, talking empty talk, playing at hollow formalism, and when confronted with contradictions and difficulties either passing them up to superiors or pushing them down to subordinates — this not only accomplishes nothing but will also delay and even damage combat effectiveness building. The broad ranks of Party member cadres must resolutely abandon the "safety standard" of treating the avoidance of incidents as the criterion, and the thinking and work style of coveting ease and comfort; resolutely oppose the formalism of flowery punches and embroidered kicks; consciously shoulder the responsibilities that must be shouldered and take up the burdens that must be taken up; take the lead in charging into the fray; confront hardship, difficulty, risk, and challenge head-on; and in particular devote full effort to those matters that may seem unremarkable but are most urgently needed for war preparedness and most needed at the grassroots level — daring to take on tasks rather than pushing them away, building more achievements rather than competing for credit, and achieving genuine political performance through superior responsibility.

"Without thick beams, one cannot bear heavy loads." Advancing combat effectiveness building without superior capabilities as support means that no matter how good the plans, how solid the measures, or how high the objectives, they can only be "castles in the air." In reality, some Party member cadres, though enthusiastic about getting things done, often find their ambitions exceed their abilities because their capabilities are insufficient. This requires us both to be skilled at taking command of the overall situation and looking to the long term — conducting rational thinking, scientific planning, design and conception, and optimization and adjustment of combat effectiveness building — and to improve our capacity for pragmatic work, being skilled at refining work plans and program deployments into hard measures for training and war preparedness and practical methods for solving difficult problems, clarifying the division of responsibilities and stipulating deadlines for completion, carrying forward the drilling tenacity and staying power of driving in nails, working hard and with genuine effort, burying our heads and working diligently, holding on without letting go and following through to the end, achieving "if a thing is not to be done, leave it alone; if it is to be done, it must be done to the end" — truly producing real results and achieving real effectiveness.

Flowery punches and embroidered kicks will surely fail to accomplish anything; only seeking truth and being pragmatic can lead to success. On the new journey, facing complex and arduous tasks of reform and development, the broad ranks of Party member cadres must prevent and correct deviations in the outlook on political performance, firmly establish a pragmatic character, neither engaging in grandiose and blind brute effort, nor engaging in showy and impractical opportunism, and still less engaging in the pursuit of quick success and the exhaustion of resources — and genuinely use planning that "deliberates within the command tent" and practice that "decides victory a thousand li away" to drive the comprehensive and superior building of all aspects of the force.

Original Chinese

不耍花拳绣腿务求实绩实效 ——“防范和纠治政绩观偏差”系列谈⑪ ■李永涛 ●私心杂念是正确政绩观的大敌，更是战斗力建设的劲敌。跳出利己思维，坚持一切从实际出发、从实战出发习主席深刻指出，要树立正确政绩观，处理好稳和进、立和破、虚和实、标和本、近和远的关系，坚持底线思维，强化风险意识。战场上的较量是实打实、硬碰硬的，容不得任何花拳绣腿。锤炼过硬打仗本领、从容应对随时可能发生的战争考验，军队党员干部就要树立和践行正确政绩观，始终把战斗力标准挺在前面，把战斗力建设抓在前面，坚决杜绝重口号轻行动、重痕迹轻实绩的不良倾向，做到既重务实又善务虚，让每一次谋划都符合实际，让每一项工作都落地见效，让每一份政绩都真实可靠。 “虚与实之分，祸与福之纽也。”务虚与务实辩证统一、密不可分。对广大党员干部来说，真正的务虚绝非言之无物的空谈、脱离实际的虚浮，而是立足规律研判形势、对标大局谋划长远、聚焦主业理清思路的理性思考；而务实则是锚定目标狠抓落实、直面问题攻坚克难、深耕主业务求实效的具体实践，是务虚的最终落脚点与归宿点。无数事实表明，脱离务实的务虚是镜花水月，而脱离务虚的务实则易迷失方向、盲目蛮干。党员干部唯有虚实结合、知行合一，才能看准形势、理清思路，找准问题、干出实绩。然而不可否认，现实中一些党员干部没有把握好虚和实的关系，政绩观出现偏差。有的片面理解务虚内涵，热衷于开会发文、表态造势，工作停留在部署层面，以文件落实文件、以会议落实会议，层层传达却不见落地举措；有的陷入痕迹主义误区，重留痕不重实绩、重包装不重实效，把填表报材料、完善台账清单当作重头戏；有的抓工作缺章法、少招法，特点把不准，重点抓不住，堵点疏不通；还有的急功近利、贪图虚名，只顾一时的“显山露水”，偏爱打造可视性强的“面子工程”，不愿深耕打基础、利长远的潜绩工程，导致虚功泛滥、实绩寥寥，不仅对战斗力提升毫无益处，还破坏了干事创业的良好氛围。之所以出现这样的现象，从根子上讲，是一些党员干部私心杂念作祟，把个人进退得失摆在了强军事业前面，干事急于求成，追求表面光鲜，背离了共产党人应有的初心和使命。同时，还在于担当精神弱化，做事瞻前顾后、畏首畏尾，存有“多干多错、少干少错、不干不错”的消极心态，遇事避重就轻、敷衍应付、得过且过。此外，能力素质也存在短板，既不会高位谋划、科学统筹，又缺乏狠抓落实、攻坚破难的过硬本领，最终陷入“务虚走空、务实走偏”的泥淖。种种偏差与不足，如果不加以纠治，势必会偏离正确方向、败坏队伍风气、损害群众利益，最终贻误事业发展。 “万恶皆由私字起，千好都从公字来。”一个人一旦存有私心杂念，总是打自己的“小九九”，无形中必然滋生主观主义、本位主义，看问题就会从主观愿望而不是客观实际出发，作决策就会从个体利益而不是事业发展大局出发，各种违规逾矩的行为就会出现，很难做到公正无私、公私分明。私心杂念是正确政绩观的大敌，更是战斗力建设的劲敌。党员干部要始终秉持一颗公心，坚决抛开个人荣辱得失，跳出利己思维，坚持一切从实际出发、从实战出发，以大局为重、以事业为重，统筹当前与长远、兼顾全局和局部，对战斗力建设有利的就主动干、拼命干，反之则远之、避之。 “致力非凡之事业，定有非凡之精神、非凡之担当。”树立和践行正确政绩观，要求广大党员干部必须做到大事不退缩、难事不推诿、小事不懈怠，敢于担当、乐于担当、善于担当。不担当不作为，作风漂浮、耍嘴皮子、玩花架子，遇到矛盾困难不是甩给上级就是推给下级，不仅成不了事，还会迟滞甚至损害战斗力建设。广大党员干部要坚决摒弃以不出事为准则的“安全标准”、贪图安逸享受的思想作风，坚决反对耍花拳绣腿的形式主义，自觉把该担的责任担起来，把该挑的重担挑起来，带头冲锋陷阵，直面艰难困苦和风险挑战，尤其要倾力抓好那些虽看似不起眼，但备战最紧迫、基层很需要的事，敢担事不推事，多建功不争功，以过硬担当取得真政绩。 “不厚其栋，不能任重。”推动战斗力建设没有过硬本领作为支撑，规划再好、措施再实、目标再高，也只能是“空中楼阁”。现实中，一些党员干部虽然有干事创业的热情，却因为本领不强、能力不足，往往心有余而力不足。这就要求我们，既要善于统揽全局、着眼长远，对战斗力建设进行理性思考、科学谋划、设计构思和优化调整；又要提高务实的能力，善于把工作谋划、方案部署，细化为练兵备战的硬举措、破解难题的实办法，明确责任分工、规定完成时限，发扬钉钉子的钻劲和韧劲，真抓实干、埋头苦干，扭住不放、一抓到底，做到“一件事不做则已，做则必做到底”，真正出实绩、见实效。花拳绣腿必难成事，求真务实才能成功。新征程上，面对复杂艰巨的改革发展任务，广大党员干部须防范和纠治政绩观偏差，牢固树立务实品格，既不搞贪大求洋、盲目蛮干，也不搞华而不实、投机取巧，更不搞急功近利、竭泽而渔，切实以“运筹帷幄之中”的谋划和“决胜千里之外”的实践，推动部队各项建设全面过硬。