What Mr.Kley said differs what Mr.Kley does

Mr. Karl-Ludwig Kley, the recently new CEO of Merck, stated in the Financial Times (Sept.19, 2007) that his message for staff will be "evolution not revolution". He declared his commitment to the group in its current form and the need to capitalise primarily on its existing strengths.


Nine days later, the decision to close down a preclinical oncology research laboratory in Barcelona (Spain), 34 scientists, was communicated.


What Mr.Kley said differs what Mr.Kley does.

Do not beat the grass to startle the snake

There is a set of thirty-six strategies/proverbs of ancient China that have been presently compiled and interpreted by several authors in a context of either the art of war or the art of business. One of them is : Beat The Grass To Startle The Snake
which original meaning is that punishment for someone can serve as a warning to others although today people use the idiom in different contexts :

Before military action, be sure to ascertain the enemy’s situation, or
Sometimes it is best not to directly attack the snake –uh, your opponent, or
In your business make a trial-and-error approach to launch new products, among many others

But we like it best as a negative sentence rather than a positive one :

Do not put threats to the opponent since his/her answer may be unexpected