Student Question: Hello, Master. I’m the department director who wrote in previously — I’ve asked you two questions before, and I appreciate your patient guidance.
In your earlier responses, you emphasized the importance of KPI, pointing out that resources should be concentrated on key tasks, that completing tasks consistently is how you build resources, and that tasks should be assessed by priority — handled actively or intentionally delayed. You specifically noted that resources should not be spread across all projects.
Before my third question, let me briefly explain the context around my resource situation: my team currently has thirty-five people.
KPI requirements from the business line: The business line sets no quantitative KPI targets for the testing department — just ensure software quality on mass-production projects and serve customer needs.
Beyond our standard tasks, my department also handles things like these: offline product launch events that lack technical support, requiring our engineers to step in; after-sales problems that the company’s service department can’t handle, requiring our people to travel to the customer site to assist; and customers who purchase testing equipment but can’t configure it, where the PM expects our engineers to travel and provide support.
That’s the basic situation. I’ve long hoped the company would define responsibility boundaries through formal processes, but there’s been no progress over the years.
The current situation is still manageable through developing staff capabilities and leveraging tools — but as I mentioned before, there are ten more projects ahead that will require all-out effort, the projects currently in hand can’t all be released, and we’ve hit a ceiling on both headcount and resources.
I plan to relay your suggestions to my manager, report the existing risks clearly, and hope that she will escalate upward to get the KPI defined properly.
Is this approach reasonable? And from my own position, what can I do to change the situation?
Master Chi’s Response:
1. In your situation, do not go to your manager with this yet. Doing so will make her feel like you’re struggling and passing the buck — because you’re only presenting a problem, not a solution.
2. First, quantify things internally on your own. Figure out how to demonstrate your department’s output.
For example: if you’re in a company meeting trying to express that your testing department is under enormous pressure, that your team is contributing a great deal — do you have data to back that up? Do you have a standard?
3. Think it through yourself first. Based on what you’ve described, your manager is unlikely to proactively solve this problem for you — so you have to start by relying on yourself.
4. I’m not familiar with your specific industry, so the following are simply some ways to think about it:
4.1 Offline product launch events that lack technical support and need your engineers to fill in — this is something you can push back on. After-sales problems that the service department can’t handle, requiring your people to travel on-site — this too can be pushed back.
When other departments come to you with requests, tell them: resources are limited, priorities need to be set.
Your own people should be assigned first to the most important work. Once they’re all allocated, whenever someone comes asking for backup, you play Tai Chi (the art of deflecting gracefully).
This lets you sidestep a lot of things.
But to successfully play Tai Chi, you need a defensible reason. For instance: your people are all occupied with higher-priority work, so there are no resources available.
To pull that off, you need to have thought clearly about which things are more important — and that’s essentially the same as getting clear on your KPI.
Remember: being pushed around by others, cleaning up everyone else’s mess — you’ll never produce results that way. No results means no resources. No resources means more of the same. It becomes a vicious cycle.
Your people go and support the customer service department. If they do a great job, does the customer service department give your team a bonus?
Maybe someone sends an email with a line of thanks — and that’s about it, isn’t it?
When the year-end review comes around and you bring up how you helped the customer service department — who’s going to care?
Bitter toil (苦láo) counts for nothing.
Never pursue bitter toil.
Focus on what matters. Let go of what doesn’t. Be deliberate.
Don’t let tactical diligence cover for strategic laziness.
Specific Recommendations:
1. Start by getting your own thinking straight. Distinguish what’s primary from what’s secondary.
2. Prioritize allocating your people to the important work first — and guard against other departments poaching them.
3. Gradually build an “external support priority review” mechanism. Departments A, B, and C all need support? Fine — let’s rank the priorities. Can’t wait that long? Don’t come to me with that — go negotiate with the other requestors. We only provide support through the queue.
4. On the important work, deliver real results — the kind you can speak about at length and with pride when reporting upward.
5. Once you’ve got it clear in your own mind, let it simmer slowly. Once you have a rough shape, gradually sync with your manager. When your manager sees that you can solve problems, they’ll be happy to do you the favor of going along. Afterward, remember to give the credit externally to your manager’s wisdom and leadership. Don’t compete with your manager for the glory.