Doing the Right Thing
When you discover an error, correct it ASAP — no matter how great the cost, it’s always the smallest cost
📌 Concept Analysis
Doing the right thing = On matters of principle, there’s only right and wrong, no degrees; upon discovering error, stop immediately regardless of cost already incurred.
You’re driving and took a wrong turn — already went 30 km out of your way. Now you have two choices: keep going because “I’ve come so far”; or turn back immediately even if it means extra distance. Duan Yongping’s answer is always: turn back immediately. Because continuing down the wrong path creates new losses every minute. “Doing the right thing” isn’t a strategy — it’s a bottom line: zero tolerance for wrong actions.
💡 Core Understanding
1. “Doing the right thing” concerns direction; “doing things right” concerns efficiency — these two must not be confused.
This is Duan’s clearest distinction between these two statements. Core of 本分 lies in combining both: first ensure direction is right, then pursue efficiency. When direction is wrong, higher efficiency means going further astray.
2. Upon discovering errors, correcting immediately is itself the most important embodiment of “doing the right thing.”
The essence of Stop Doing List is exactly this — it’s not about telling you what TO do, but about stopping doing wrong things. Discover error → stop immediately, no matter how much already invested; at that moment the cost is always smallest. “What people commonly mean by ‘persist to the end’ refers to persisting in ‘doing right things,’ not persisting in doing wrong things!”
3. “Doing the right thing” is prerequisite for 平常心 (equanimity) and 长期主义 (long-termism), not the result.
Duan repeatedly emphasizes equanimity isn’t a cultivated mindset but a natural result after doing right things correctly. Similarly, long-termism builds upon this foundation — “thinking about essence, doing right things, and thinking 10 years ahead are all saying the same thing.”
4. Good 企业文化 is the system enabling a company to consistently “do the right thing.”
Core function of corporate culture isn’t making companies faster but helping them take fewer wrong turns — fewer fundamental errors, faster correction after discovering errors. This is one of core dimensions in Duan’s evaluation of 好公司的标准 (standards for good companies).
🛠 How to Practice
Build Your Own Stop Doing List:
In practice, the most important tool for “doing the right thing” is Stop Doing List — clearly listing which things are wrong/shouldn’t be done, then resolutely stopping. This matters more than “action checklists” because avoiding wrong-doing often yields greater returns than doing more right things.
Application in investing:
Discovering you bought the wrong company? Sell immediately regardless of losses. “No matter how great the cost, it’s always the smallest cost” — this statement points directly to 卖出逻辑 (selling logic): reasons for selling aren’t stock price movements but whether original buying logic still holds. If discovering you bought wrongly (the company itself has problems), continuing to hold merely creates greater losses.
Application in business operations:
“We always say volume isn’t important, profits aren’t important — most important is doing the right thing.” This means when short-term profits conflict with “doing the right thing,” choose the latter. Many decisions during Duan’s Bubugao era reflected this — abandoning certain opportunities profitable in short term but inconsistent with principles.
📖 Case Study Breakdown
Alibaba David Wei Incident (2011): Discover Error, Correct Immediately
In 2011, Alibaba CEO David Wei resigned taking responsibility for subordinate fraud incidents. Duan commented: “Doing the right thing means — when you discover an error, correct it ASAP regardless of cost being always minimal. I didn’t find anything wrong with Jack Ma doing this.” He added: “Powerful corporate culture often manifests as relatively low probability of doing wrong things, early detection, and fast correction.” This case serves as positive demonstration of “doing the right thing” in corporate management context.
Source: Business Logic Chapter, 2011-03-25
⚠️ Common Pitfalls
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❌ “Persisting to the end = doing the right thing” — “What people commonly mean by ‘persist to the end’ refers to persisting in ‘doing right things,’ not persisting in doing wrong things!” Persistence itself isn’t virtue — persisting in wrong direction only magnifies losses.
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❌ “‘Doing the right thing’ and ‘doing things right’ are same thing” — “‘Doing the right thing’ indicates direction — it’s a matter of principle, only right vs wrong without degree distinction.” These are entirely different dimensions: former concerns direction, latter concerns efficiency. Confusing them leads to using “efficiency” to mask “directional error.”
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❌ “As long as results are good, process doesn’t matter” — “Results-oriented refers to ‘doing things right,’ NOT ‘doing the right thing.‘” Duan clearly distinguishes between the two: results-oriented operates at execution level; cannot be used to excuse principle violations.
💬 Original Quotes
“Doing the right thing means — when you discover an error, correct it ASAP regardless of cost being always minimal.” (Source: Business Logic Chapter, 2011-02-21)
“‘Doing the right thing’ indicates direction — belongs to principle matters, only right vs wrong without degree distinction, and baseline for ‘wrong things’ is zero tolerance.” (Source: Business Logic Chapter)
“平常心 (Equanimity) isn’t begged for but a natural state arising after ‘doing right things, doing things right.‘” (Source: Business Logic Chapter, 2019-05-29)
“What people commonly call ‘persist to the end’ refers to persisting in ‘doing right things,’ not persisting in doing wrong things!” (Source: Business Logic Chapter)
“Thinking about essence, doing right things, and thinking 10 years ahead all mean the same thing.” (Source: Investment Logic Chapter, 2019-07-14)
🔗 Related Nodes
Upstream Concepts (prerequisites for understanding this concept): 本分 · 企业文化
Downstream Concepts (conclusions derived from this): Stop Doing List · 错误与纠错 · 平常心 · 长期主义 · 卖出逻辑
做对的事
发现错了就尽快改，不管多大的代价都是最小的代价
📌 概念解析
做对的事 = 在原则问题上只有对与错，没有程度之分；发现错了就立刻停止，不管已经付出多少代价。
你开车走错了路，已经多走了 30 公里。这时候有两个选择：继续走，因为”都走了这么远了”；或者立刻掉头，哪怕要多绕路。段永平的答案永远是：立刻掉头。因为继续走错路，每一分钟都在制造新的损失。“做对的事”不是一种策略，而是一条底线——错的事，零容忍。
💡 核心理解
1. “做对的事”是方向问题，“把事情做对”是效率问题——两者不能混淆。
这是段永平对这两句话最清晰的区分。本分的核心就是这两句话的组合：先确保方向对，再追求效率。方向错了，效率越高，跑偏越远。
2. 发现错了就立刻改，这本身就是”做对的事”的最重要体现。
Stop Doing List的本质就是这个——不是要你做什么，而是要你停止做错的事。发现错了就立刻停，不管已经付出多少代价，此时的代价永远是最小的。“人们常说的’坚持到底’，指的是坚持’做对的事情’而不是坚持做错的事情！”
段永平多次强调，平常心不是一种修炼出来的心态，而是做对了事情之后的自然结果。同样，长期主义也建立在这个基础上——“思考本质，做对的事情和想10年都是一个意思。”
4. 好的企业文化就是让公司持续”做对的事”的系统。
企业文化的核心功能不是让公司做得更快，而是让公司少走弯路——少犯原则性错误，发现错误后改得快。这是段永平评价一家好公司的标准的核心维度之一。
🛠 如何实践
建立自己的 Stop Doing List：
“做对的事”在实践层面，最重要的工具是Stop Doing List——明确列出哪些事情是错的、不该做的，然后坚决停止。这比”行动清单”更重要，因为不做错事的收益往往大于多做对事的收益。
在投资中的应用：
发现买错了公司，立刻卖出，不管亏了多少。“不管多大的代价都是最小的代价”——这句话直接指向卖出逻辑：卖出的理由不是股价涨跌，而是当初的买入逻辑是否还成立。如果发现买错了（公司本身有问题），继续持有只是在制造更大的损失。
在企业经营中的应用：
“我们总是说，量不重要，利润不重要，最重要的是要做对的事情。“这意味着，当短期利润和”做对的事”发生冲突时，选择后者。段永平在步步高时期的很多决策都体现了这一点——放弃某些短期有利可图但不符合原则的机会。
📖 案例拆解
阿里巴巴卫哲事件（2011年）：发现错了立刻改
2011年，阿里巴巴 CEO 卫哲因下属欺诈事件引咎辞职。段永平点评：“做对的事情就是——当发现错了就尽快改，不管多大的代价都是最小的代价。没觉得马云这样做有什么不对。“他进一步说：“强大的企业文化往往体现在做错的事情的概率相对低、发现得早、改得快。“这个案例是”做对的事”在企业管理层面的正面示范。
来源：商业逻辑篇，2011-03-25
⚠️ 常见误区
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❌ “坚持到底就是做对的事” — “人们常说的’坚持到底’，指的是坚持’做对的事情’而不是坚持做错的事情！“坚持本身不是美德，坚持错误的方向只会让损失更大。
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❌ “做对的事和把事情做对是一回事” — “‘做对的事’是指明方向的，属于原则问题，只有对与错而无程度区别。“两者是完全不同的维度：前者是方向，后者是效率。混淆两者，会导致用”效率”来掩盖”方向错误”。
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❌ “只要结果好，过程不重要” — “结果导向指的是’把事情做对’，而不是’做对的事情’。“段永平明确区分了两者：结果导向是执行层面的，不能用来为原则问题开脱。
💬 原文金句
“做对的事情就是——当发现错了就尽快改，不管多大的代价都是最小的代价。“（来源：商业逻辑篇，2011-02-21）
“‘做对的事’是指明方向的，属于原则问题，只有对与错而无程度区别，而’错的事’底线是零容忍的。“（来源：商业逻辑篇）
“平常心不是求来的，而是’做对的事，把事情做对’后自然而然就有的一种状态。“（来源：商业逻辑篇，2019-05-29）
“人们常说的’坚持到底’，指的是坚持’做对的事情’而不是坚持做错的事情！“（来源：商业逻辑章）
“思考本质，做对的事情和想10年都是一个意思。“（来源：投资逻辑篇，2019-07-14）
🔗 关联节点
下游概念（由此推导出的结论）： Stop Doing List · 错误与纠错 · 平常心 · 长期主义 · 卖出逻辑