Story Sharing

King Wen of Wei asked the famous physician Bian Que, "Your three brothers are all skilled in medicine. Which one is the best?" Bian Que replied, "My eldest brother is the best, my second brother is second best, and I am the worst." King Wen asked again, "Then why are you the most famous?" Bian Que answered, "My eldest brother treats illness before it occurs. Since ordinary people don't know he can eliminate the cause of the disease beforehand, his fame doesn't spread, and only our family knows. My second brother treats illness when it first begins. Ordinary people think he can only cure minor ailments, so his fame only reaches his village. As for me, Bian Que, I treat illness when it is severe. Ordinary people see me performing major surgeries like puncturing meridians to let blood or applying poultices to the skin, so they think my medical skills are brilliant, and my fame spreads throughout the country." King Wen said, "You speak very well." Controlling after the fact is not as good as controlling during the fact, and controlling during the fact is not as good as controlling before the fact. Unfortunately, most business operators fail to realize this point, and only seek remedies after wrong decisions have caused significant losses, which is sometimes like trying to mend a fence after the sheep have escaped – it's too late.