MANAGE YOUR BOSS WITH BAZI #9 – DIRECT RESOURCE: BANKING ON THE KNOWLEDGE OF AN ANALYST

Gentle, quiet, soft-spoken, the cultured demeanour of a Direct Resource often hides a razor-sharp mind. Frequently reserved, it can be hard to know what is on a Direct Resource profile’s mind. Most important of all, the Direct Resource firmly believes in the power of knowledge.

Jack Ma’s attitude towards lifelong learning has been the key to his success. As a young boy, he taught himself English by learning by conversing with English-speaking staff at the Hangzhou International Hotel. He practiced his skill by conducting tours for English-speaking tourists. He graduated with a degree in teaching and was a lecturer when he first learned about the internet. He taught himself how to build an ‘ugly’ website (his words, not mine!). Every step of the way, he learned and then he pioneered.

Recognizing Your Direct Resource Boss

Your Direct Resource boss would tend to be highly analytical. He (or she) would always want to know the why and how of things. He would be a veritable font of knowledge with a sensitive barometer for other people’s emotional changes.

He can study intricate processes with absolute attention to details. He will always strive to be thorough in order to achieve as high a level of perfection as possible. He would be the first to invest in knowledge because he firmly believes that knowledge is the only avenue for advancement.

As a leader, your Direct Resource boss would tend to be bureaucratic. He goes firmly by the book, giving little leeway for creative exploration.

Your Direct Resource Boss Under Pressure

Under pressure, your Direct Resource boss would display a tendency to isolate himself. He may become so wrapped up in his own problems that he ends up alienating the rest of the team. He may spend too much time analyzing the problem, to the point that important decisions may be delayed.

How To Deal With Your Direct Resource Boss

A Direct Resource boss can be a great supporter to have on your side as you work on simultaneously keeping your job while creating a second career.

Bank on his knowledge. Many Direct Resource profiles tend to know a lot of things, but they may not do anything about that knowledge. Sitting high up in their ivory tower, many Direct Resource profiles simply lack the will to turn theory into practice. If you can position yourself as a recipient of said know-how, and turn those academic ideals into pragmatic solutions, you will be indispensable to your Direct Resource boss.

Help him share his knowledge. As the Direct Resource profile is all about knowledge – gaining and sharing knowledge – another way to become indispensable to your Direct Resource boss could be to help him create a platform or a system where he can share his knowledge with others.

Note: If you’ve missed my first post for this series, plot your Boss’s Bazi Chart with this free resource (registration required) https://bazibz.masteryacademy.com/. Key in the name, gender and date of birth. You don’t need to key in the time of birth. That information is not relevant for this purpose. Scroll right down to the bottom to find the profile.

In all this, I must stress that you cannot ‘fix’ another person’s chart. Only the owner can do so, if he or she wishes to. The strategies offered here are designed to put you in a position that either complements the strengths or fills in the blind spots of that particular profile.

Disclaimer: The Bazi Technical terms (Direct Wealth, Indirect Wealth, Eating God, Hurting Officer, Direct Officer, 7Killings, Friend, Rob Wealth, Direct Resource and Indirect Resource) are copyright property of the Joey Yap Mastery Academy. If you wish to learn the art of Chinese Metaphysics for yourself, please visit www.joeyyaponline.com for more information.

MANAGE YOUR BOSS WITH BAZI #8 – ROB WEALTH: JOIN THE TRIBE AND BEAT THE DRUMS

In the classical application of Bazi, Rob Wealth is considered a negative star. Imagine, your wealth being robbed! That’s a bad thing, right? But today, this disruptor star is viewed as something highly desirable. It debunks the old way of doing things and changes the status quo. In short, it is the empire-builder star.

Recognizing Your Rob Wealth Boss

Your charismatic Rob Wealth boss leads by sheer force of personality. He (or she) loves playing to an audience. He is very persuasive, born with a silver tongue, a smooth operator who knows just what to say, how to say and when to say things that speak directly to people’s hearts. They connect with people’s emotions on a mass scale. With that skill, they have the ability to inspire, motivate and galvanize people into action.

He doesn’t wait around for opportunities to come knocking at his door. He’s never home! He’s out there in the world creating those opportunities for himself. He is very adaptable, using his quick wit and sharp reflexes to change plans in response to external stimuli.

On the flip side, he can also be rather deceitful. There’s always a hidden agenda, and he will say whatever he needs to say to get what he wants. A resilient and robust risk-taker, it is not uncommon for a Rob Wealth person will use any means possible to attain success.

Your Rob Wealth Boss Under Pressure

For the Rob Wealth profile, coming under pressure means he feels like he is losing his audience. Basically, when his self-grandeur is threatened. This is when the ruthless unconventional methods get deployed.

He is likely to withhold information to gain the upper hand. Of the 10 profiles, the Rob Wealth is the most envious and covetous. Because so much of his internal validation is intricately linked with external approbation.

How To Deal With Your Rob Wealth Boss

Similar to the Friend profile boss, the way to be useful to your Rob Wealth boss is not so much a matter of having soft skills. It’s more about tweaking your temperament.

Join his tribe; start beating the drums. Rob Wealth likes to form alliances and cliques. Not only do you need to be a member of his tribe, you will be even more indispensable if you are able to amplify his message. He would be a prolific social media user. Share his posts, comment on them, in other words, start beating the drums. Remember, he plays to an audience.

Be flexible. The Rob Wealth profile is nothing if not changeable. In certain cases, the Rob Wealth personality can swing from one extreme to another in the blink of an eye. Like the Friend profile boss, you must try to discern his real objective or goal. He’s not going to tell you, at least, not the real goal. [Side note: checking in with a Qimen oracle chart can be a tremendous help in this].

Note: If you’ve missed my first post for this series, plot your Boss’s Bazi Chart with this free resource (registration required) https://bazibz.masteryacademy.com/. Key in the name, gender and date of birth. You don’t need to key in the time of birth. That information is not relevant for this purpose. Scroll right down to the bottom to find the profile.

In all this, I must stress that you cannot ‘fix’ another person’s chart. Only the owner can do so, if he or she wishes to. The strategies offered here are designed to put you in a position that either complements the strengths or fills in the blind spots of that particular profile.

Disclaimer: The Bazi Technical terms (Direct Wealth, Indirect Wealth, Eating God, Hurting Officer, Direct Officer, 7Killings, Friend and Rob Wealth) are copyright property of the Joey Yap Mastery Academy. If you wish to learn the art of Chinese Metaphysics for yourself, please visit www.joeyyaponline.com for more information.

MANAGE YOUR BOSS WITH BAZI #7 – FRIEND: WHEN YOUR BOSS IS A SOCIALITE DR. JEKYL AND NARCISSISTIC MR. HYDE

When you first met your boss, boy oh boy, you thought you had lucked out! Warm, friendly, and oh-so-charming and supportive. And then, ever so slowly, things take a slightly darker turn. You begin to realize that in your boss’s world view, it’s all about HIM (or HER). Like the song My Way by Frank Sinatra, the very earth itself exists because the Friend Profile needs something to stand on.

Recognizing Your Friend Profile Boss

They are supremely confident with a warm and engaging manner that allows them to charm everyone within their vicinity. They are superb at names and faces, highly skilled at putting people at ease with witty small talk and chit-chat. All that chutzpah is appealing in today’s business world, and as a consequence, the chances of meeting a Friend profile boss are actually fairly high.

Friend profiles have the in-born ability to quickly identify strengths in other people. This is a highly-honed skill, because the Friend profile is all about benefitting from other people. In a healthy Friend profile, this talent makes them great delegators. They have the knack to assign the right task to the right person in order to get the right results. A Friend profile’s resource doesn’t begin and end with mere money. For them, resource includes time, knowledge and people.

The healthy Friend profile can also bring this talent to the negotiating table. They are skilled negotiators who are very good at making useful connections.

Friend profiles are usually non-authoritarian leaders. They enjoy working with a team and prefer to adopt a more laissez-faire attitude and a pace-setting role.

Your Friend Profile Boss Under Pressure

Trouble starts when the Friend profile turns unhealthy. There are various markers a Bazi consultant uses to determine if a profile is healthy or unhealthy. To keep it simple for you, a key determining factor is when the Friend profile hits 100%.

When this happens, the self-centred nature of the Friend profile becomes magnified to the point where they become virtually incapable of accepting other viewpoints or ideas. They begin to over-estimate their use and value to others, leading to a narcissistic personality with delusions of grandiosity.

How To Deal With Your Friend Profile Boss

Dealing with the healthy Friend boss calls for more of a personality tweak as opposed to actual skills. Give plenty of emotional support, make sure they are included in everything, and give appreciation… publicly!

If you are dealing with an unhealthy level Friend boss, then I’m sorry, I’m about to turn you into a sycophant. Honestly, there is only a short-term solution for this. Subsuming one’s identity and living in the shadow of another cannot possibly be something for the long-term. The best that could happen is to milk as much advantage out of the current situation before moving on to the next thing.

To be useful for a narcissist, you need to quickly identify your Friend boss’s real goal and make sure that you actively help him achieve that goal. While you do that, gain some benefits for yourself by observing how your Friend boss operates in the world. These profiles have some skills that can be adopted, internalized, and tweaked to fit your own personality. How they breeze into a room and instantly connect with everyone, the way they articulate their requests, their outward show of confidence.

Note: If you’ve missed my first post for this series, plot your Boss’s Bazi Chart with this free resource (registration required) https://bazibz.masteryacademy.com/. Key in the name, gender and date of birth. You don’t need to key in the time of birth. That information is not relevant for this purpose. Scroll right down to the bottom to find the profile.

In all this, I must stress that you cannot ‘fix’ another person’s chart. Only the owner can do so, if he or she wishes to. The strategies offered here are designed to put you in a position that either complements the strengths or fills in the blind spots of that particular profile.

Disclaimer: The Bazi Technical terms (Direct Wealth, Indirect Wealth, Eating God, Hurting Officer, Direct Officer, 7Killings, Friend and Rob Wealth) are copyright property of the Joey Yap Mastery Academy. If you wish to learn the art of Chinese Metaphysics for yourself, please visit www.joeyyaponline.com for more information.

MANAGE YOUR BOSS WITH BAZI #6 – 7 KILLINGS: FROM CHAOS, ORDER

The 7 Killings profile is frequently found among athletes and corporate-raider types. Think George Soros, the Man Who Broke The Bank Of England! The most aggressive of the ten profiles, the 7 Killings profile is often referred to as ‘The Warrior Profile’ by Bazi practitioners. And for good reason!

Sometimes, you need to tear down in order to build a better version of something. This is what the 7 Killings profile is all about. Like a warrior, this profile will take any fight to the bitter end. Combative and determined, he (or she) will possess a swashbuckling charisma that is as irresistible as it is overwhelming.

The 7 Killings profile can be very impulsive, acting out the inner need to always be in motion. Because they are always probing for even the tiniest crack of advantage, an unhealthy-level 7 Killings can become unnecessarily suspicious, attributing even the weirdest motivations to every single person.

I’ve personally noticed that people with strong 7 Killings in their charts, but who has not had the benefits of a good education, tend to become gullible in the face of conspiracy theories.

Recognizing Your 7 Killings Boss

At work, the 7 Killings profile will tend to jump straight into action. No need for a second invitation; no need to beat around the bush. And, he expects everyone else to do the same.

He will be known as a ‘problem-solver’ within the organization. He is not only great at identifying the source of potential problems, he is also quick to fix them.

The 7 Killings boss will be a transaction leader – you do this for me, I do this for you.

Your 7 Killings Boss Under Pressure

Under pressure, the 7 Killings profile will have a tendency to become rebellious and disorganized. Because taking action fuels his sense of control, he may even disregard the all-important planning and strategizing in favour of action, action, action.

Everything becomes a competition during times of great stress. The 7 Killings could become extra-pushy and overbearing as he recklessly charges ahead, resolutely fighting against the flow, all in the name of outdoing his competitors.

How To Deal With Your 7 Killings Boss

Imagine yourself back in a time, thousands of years ago, when wars over land and territory was a common occurrence. During a war, they send their warriors out to fight. But once the land or territory has been won, the empires then send their administrators and ministers to re-build that which has been torn apart.

Systematize. Trailing in the wake of a 7 Killings can feel like following in the path of a tornado. You will be extremely valuable to your 7 Killings boss if you have the ability to enhance his outcome by creating systems and best practices to re-build something stronger, more efficient, effective, productive and resilient.

Summarize for Key Decisions. The 7 Killings profile by itself has no taste for details, more so if the Direct Resource or Direct Wealth is not among the top three profiles in his Bazi Chart. He will be elusive if you descend upon his office bearing reams after reams of fine print and data. When in need for his decision making, it will be more effective if you could summarize all that data into key points.

Like his Direct Officer counterpart, the 7 Killings boss values certain personal characteristics. The one thing that the 7 Killings boss will value the most is loyalty. When you meet a 7 Killings boss, expect to find him testing your loyalty. It is something that his suspicious nature will inevitably do.

Note: If you’ve missed my first post for this series, plot your Boss’s Bazi Chart with this free resource (registration required) https://bazibz.masteryacademy.com/. Key in the name, gender and date of birth. You don’t need to key in the time of birth. That information is not relevant for this purpose. Scroll right down to the bottom to find the profile.

In all this, I must stress that you cannot ‘fix’ another person’s chart. Only the owner can do so, if he or she wishes to. The strategies offered here are designed to put you in a position that either complements the strengths or fills in the blind spots of that particular profile.

Disclaimer: The Bazi Technical terms (Direct Wealth, Indirect Wealth, Eating God, Hurting Officer, Direct Officer and 7Killings) are copyright property of the Joey Yap Mastery Academy. If you wish to learn the art of Chinese Metaphysics for yourself, please visit www.joeyyaponline.com for more information.

MANAGE YOUR BOSS WITH BAZI #5 – DIRECT OFFICER: THE SOP FOR THE DIRECT OFFICER BOSS

It had been really difficult to find a public figure with a Direct Officer profile. The most high profile entrepreneurs, business and thought leaders of the day tend to belong to the more extroverted categories. This is so typical of a Direct Officer profile. They take the art of being unassuming to the next level.

This, however, does not mean that Direct Officer profiles cannot be successful. On the contrary, many of the top CEO and COOs of public-listed companies are Direct Officer profiles. The difference here is, their success is only known to those who need to know.

Short of using an actual consult chart (which I would never do), I have had no choice but to illustrate the characteristics of the Direct Officer profile with a historical figure – Bao Zheng.

For the benefit of those who may not be conversant with Chinese legends, Bao Zheng was a renowned judge from the Song Dynasty (circa year 1000 AD). He is a smart, intelligent guy who consistently demonstrated extreme honesty and uprightness. What is Bao Zheng most famous for? He upholds the law without fear or favour.

Recognizing Your Direct Officer Boss

If I were to sum up the Direct Officer profile with just one word, it would be, of course, ‘law-abiding’. Your Direct Officer boss will be someone who is very conservative. A conformist to the core, he would be rather inflexible, especially where Standard Operating Procedures are concerned.

He (or she) would be a born diplomat. In meetings, he would often be the first to find the middle ground and smooth things over. Precise and proficient, he would be open to improving on systems, but would put up some resistance when it is time to reinvent the wheel.

His is a democratic style of leadership. He prefers to act as a guide, accepting input and ideas from his team members. In fact, he often goes out of his way to help his team members feel included and valued.

As a side note, Direct Officer profiles make the best coaches, primarily due to their innate desire to support others and their keen listening skills.

Your Direct Officer Boss Under Pressure

A Direct Officer boss is the one most likely to cling to an SOP, if nothing else but for the sake of consistency. This is the polar opposite of the Indirect Wealth boss who will lean towards starting again from scratch. At unhealthy levels, a Direct Officer boss could very well ignore the elephant in the room. This denial stems from an inner push against facing unpleasant realities.

How To Deal With Your Direct Officer Boss

The trick to being indispensable to your Direct Officer boss is to enhance the enshrined SOP.

Take an active role by helping your team set priorities. There will always come a time when the team will need to differentiate between what is urgent and what is important, and act accordingly. This small step of tweaking the SOP (without tearing it apart), must be aimed at the objective of having things back in working order as soon as possible without taking the sense of control away from your boss.

Where possible, allow a time frame for the decision-making process. The Direct Officer profile is detail-oriented, systematic and by-the-book. They prefer making decisions only after having worn down at least several fine-tooth combs. Of course, there will always be times when decisions have to be made instantaneously, but whenever possible, build in a time frame for the decision-making process. The Direct Officer boss firmly believes that in order for something to be done well, it must be completed early.

Unlike the previous types of bosses in this series (Direct Wealth, Indirect Wealth, Eating God and Hurting Officer), the Direct Officer boss will value a few key personality traits. These are:

Self-discipline.  The Direct Officer boss puts a high premium on this trait. The ability to demonstrate self-discipline in your daily performance will put you in high standings with your Direct Officer boss.

Take your aggression elsewhere. The Direct Officer boss is above all else, a harmonious team leader. He will look out for every person, he wants to settle all conflicts, and is always striving for peaceful objectives. This type of leadership style will crack if there are too many aggressive personalities competing within the team. There will be too much time spent in mediation instead of moving things forward.

You could, on the other hand, offer to fight his battles for him. Conflicts and arguments are an inevitable part of working life. This offer should be framed as a willingness to stand up and take one for the team – to say certain things during meetings that needs to be said, or to take a stance with certain other aggressive individuals. In other words, you are using your Hurting Officer to you’re your Direct Officer. A word of caution, this tactic must be used carefully and very, very strategically.

Note: If you’ve missed my first post for this series, plot your Boss’s Bazi Chart with this free resource (registration required) https://bazibz.masteryacademy.com/. Key in the name, gender and date of birth. You don’t need to key in the time of birth. That information is not relevant for this purpose. Scroll right down to the bottom to find the profile.

In all this, I must stress that you cannot ‘fix’ another person’s chart. Only the owner can do so, if he or she wishes to. The strategies offered here are designed to put you in a position that either complements the strengths or fills in the blind spots of that particular profile.

Disclaimer: The Bazi Technical terms (Direct Wealth, Indirect Wealth, Eating God, Hurting Officer, Direct Officer and 7Killings) are copyright property of the Joey Yap Mastery Academy. If you wish to learn the art of Chinese Metaphysics for yourself, please visit www.joeyyaponline.com for more information.

MANAGE YOUR BOSS WITH BAZI #4 – HURTING OFFICER: WHEN YOU WORK WITH A SHARP SHOOTER, YOU NEED TO SUPPLY THE BULLETS

If you work in sales or marketing, or even in the creative industry, chances are pretty high that you will be working for a Hurting Officer boss. Does he consider himself a maverick? A contrarian in speech, dress and style? He commands attention everywhere he goes and takes more than his fair share of the limelight.

Recognizing Your Hurting Officer Boss

Your Hurting Officer boss will be someone who publicly displays a unique outlook and mind. He is very invested in his own personality and how it is presented to the world. He would be someone who is very flexible, has a non-conformist mindset, and a palpable need to impress others.

The Hurting Officer profile is very charismatic and has a competitive, goal-oriented approach. He wants to be the best, and he will stop at nothing to achieve those objectives. Witty and articulate, his biggest strength is his ability to make any idea seem sexy and appealing.

He would be a people-oriented leader who is extremely adept at creating a group identity or brand. He uses that identity to inspire and develop the people in his team or department, but the team must always revolve around him as the star of the show.

Your Hurting Officer Boss Under Pressure

A Hurting Officer boss is likely to become resistant to help when under extreme pressure. He could get so caught up with the need to maintain his status that he pushes everyone away.

How To Deal With Your Hurting Officer Boss

Being indispensable to your Hurting Officer boss is all about helping him maintain his status.

Help him prepare and research. The Hurting Officer boss hates looking like a failure. He doesn’t like to be caught unprepared. The key drivers to his behaviour is an innate fear of being devalued. You could play your part in this process by gathering the information for him.

Have a specific skill he needs. For the Hurting Officer to be most effective, this profile needs to surround itself with skilled professionals. For example, if your Hurting Officer boss is a Marketing Director, having a skill like video editing or copywriting would make you invaluable to him. Why? Because your skill will help make him look good. If you work for a Hurting Officer boss, it would really be a good idea to continue upskilling yourself. Not only will you become indispensable, but at the same time, open a window of opportunity to establish a second career for yourself.

Note: If you’ve missed my first post for this series, plot your Boss’s Bazi Chart with this free resource (registration required) https://bazibz.masteryacademy.com/. Key in the name, gender and date of birth. You don’t need to key in the time of birth. That information is not relevant for this purpose. Scroll right down to the bottom to find the profile.

In all this, I must stress that you cannot ‘fix’ another person’s chart. Only the owner can do so, if he or she wishes to. The strategies offered here are designed to put you in a position that either complements the strengths or fills in the blind spots of that particular profile.

Disclaimer: The Bazi Technical terms (Eating God and Hurting Officer) are copyright property of the Joey Yap Mastery Academy. If you wish to learn the art of Chinese Metaphysics for yourself, please visit www.joeyyaponline.com for more information.

MANAGE YOUR BOSS WITH BAZI #3 – EATING GOD: EVERY STRATEGIST NEEDS A TACTICIAN

If your boss has a habit of referring to himself as an artist, chances are, you are working for an Eating God boss. He tends to be profoundly idealistic, sometimes even a tad bit impractical. Ask him about the ideal outcome, and he will paint you a picture with words.

Recognizing Your Eating God Boss

Your Eating God boss would be someone who is a bit of an intellectual. He considers learning to be an essential part of every human being and he loves to spend hours mulling over new concepts or far-flung possibilities.

The Eating God profile may be hard to pin down, because it can manifest in so many different ways. Essentially, this profile has to do with creativity – the art of creation. Many people instinctively jump on the obvious such as drawing, painting or writing. The Eating God cannot be strictly boxed in that way. This profile actually refers to an ability to visualize and create a product, a service, or a system.

In the world of the Eating God boss, there is no system perfect enough that cannot be rebuilt. He will be constantly thinking of reinventing the wheel, tweaking and changing.

He would be a service-oriented leader who puts a premium on collaboration, trust and empathy. His objective will be focused on supporting the individuals within the team.

Your Eating God Boss Under Pressure

When pressured, your Eating God boss is likely to display a tendency to analyse a problem to death. He will spend a lot of time thinking and discussing, but without an action plan at the end of the brainstorming.

How To Deal With Your Eating God Boss

To be indispensable to your Eating God boss, you need to play tactician to his strategist.

Keep learning. Eating God profiles get frustrated by people who refuse to grow. You need to display intellectual curiosity to match his.

Be his sounding board. Eating God profiles love to examine problems from multiple angles, especially when he has someone to bounce his ideas on. However, he must consider you to be his intellectual equal before you can take on this role.

Help him achieve perfection. The idealistic nature of the Eating God profiles very often leads to a broad streak of perfectionism. If you are the person who can bring a shine to his ideas, that is when you truly become indispensable to your Eating God boss.

Note: If you’ve missed my first post for this series, plot your Boss’s Bazi Chart with this free resource (registration required) https://bazibz.masteryacademy.com/. Key in the name, gender and date of birth. You don’t need to key in the time of birth. That information is not relevant for this purpose. Scroll right down to the bottom to find the profile.

In all this, I must stress that you cannot ‘fix’ another person’s chart. Only the owner can do so, if he or she wishes to. The strategies offered here are designed to put you in a position that either complements the strengths or fills in the blind spots of that particular profile.

Disclaimer: The Bazi Technical terms (Eating God and Hurting Officer) are copyright property of the Joey Yap Mastery Academy. If you wish to learn the art of Chinese Metaphysics for yourself, please visit www.joeyyaponline.com for more information.