Breaking the “Dishwashing Effect” to Better Incentivize Responsibility and Action

“The more dishes you wash, the more you break.” This phenomenon, known as the “dishwashing effect,” reflects a situation in undertaking endeavors and starting undertakings — the more you do, the greater the probability of making mistakes. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: “While strengthening the binding force of responsibility, we must encourage innovation and tolerate mistakes. Exploration may lead to mistakes, doing things may lead to errors, and the more dishes you wash, the greater the chance of breaking them.” To break the “dishwashing effect,” we must adhere to the “Three Distinctions,”[1]1 The “Three Distinctions” (三个区分开来) is a policy principle proposed by Xi Jinping to distinguish between different types of errors and mistakes made by cadres in reform and innovation, aiming to protect those who act in good faith while punishing intentional violations. precisely tolerate and correct errors, dispel the worries of Party members and cadres, and better incentivize responsibility and action.

“洗碗越多，摔碗越多”，这种被称为“洗碗效应”的现象，反映了干事创业中的一种情况——干得多，出错的概率也大。习近平总书记强调：“要在强化责任约束的同时鼓励创新、宽容失误。探索就有可能失误，做事就有可能出错，洗碗越多摔碗的几率就会越大。”破除“洗碗效应”，必须坚持“三个区分开来”，精准容错纠错，打消党员干部的后顾之忧，更好激励担当作为。

How to treat comrades who make mistakes or errors concerns not only their political lives but also reflects the Party’s work style and image. In May 1930, Comrade Mao Zedong led the Fourth Column of the Red Fourth Army to Xunwu, Jiangxi. In response to problems existing in the cadre ranks at the time, he proposed seven methods for cadre management and education, one of which emphasized “persuasion and education are more important than punishment.” In a certain sense, our Party grew from small to large and from weak to strong precisely through continuously tolerating and correcting errors. It is precisely because our Party has a broad-minded outlook that it was able to unite all forces that could be united and ultimately win the victory of the revolution.

如何对待产生失误与出错的同志，既关系到他们的政治生命，更体现党的作风和形象。1930年5月，毛泽东同志率红四军第二纵队到达江西寻乌，针对当时干部队伍存在的问题，提出了七条干部管理教育方法，其中一条就强调“说服教育重于惩罚”。从一定意义上说，我们党就是在不断容错纠错中由小到大、由弱到强发展壮大起来的。正是因为我们党有着博大的胸怀，才能够团结一切可以团结的力量，最终赢得了革命的胜利。

If this is true for making revolution, it is also true for undertaking construction. As reform enters the deep-water zone, there is no ready-made road ahead; many unknown areas can only be navigated by “crossing the river by feeling the stones.”[2]2 “Crossing the river by feeling the stones” (摸着石头过河) is a well-known Chinese reform-era metaphor for pragmatic, incremental experimentation in policy, attributed to Deng Xiaoping. Facts show that undertaking endeavors and pursuing development always involve risks. Demanding that every task and every exploratory attempt can only succeed and never fail does not conform to the laws governing the development of things. If, regardless of circumstances and nature, we adopt a “one-size-fits-all” approach toward comrades who make mistakes, or even “beat them to death with one blow,”[3]3 “Beat them to death with one blow” (一棍子打死) is a Chinese idiom meaning to utterly destroy or condemn someone for a single mistake, without allowance for correction. this will not only dampen the enthusiasm of Party members and cadres for undertaking endeavors and starting undertakings but will also foster a bad atmosphere of “lazy performance of duties, reluctance to innovate and act, and unwillingness to do things beyond one’s duties.”

干革命如此，搞建设也是这样。随着改革进入深水区，前方没有现成的路可走，许多未知领域只能“摸着石头过河”。事实表明，干事业、谋发展总是有风险的。要求每一项工作、每一次探索尝试只能成功不能失败，不符合事物发展规律。倘若不分情况、不分性质，对产生失误的同志搞“一刀切”，甚至“一棍子打死”，不仅会挫伤党员干部干事创业的积极性，更会助长“履行本职懒作为，开拓创新不敢为，分外之事不愿为”的不良风气。

General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “Adhere to the combination of strict management and care, strengthen comprehensive management and regular supervision of cadres, implement the ‘Three Distinctions,’ and incentivize cadres to dare to take responsibility and actively act.” Gold is not pure, and no man is perfect; mistakes at work are inevitable. The key is not to rush to conclusions, label people, or wield the big stick,[4]4 “Wield the big stick” (打棍子) is a Chinese political idiom referring to harsh, indiscriminate criticism or punishment, often used in the context of past political campaigns. but to adhere to concrete analysis of concrete conditions. The “Three Distinctions” profoundly embody this living soul of Marxism — concrete analysis of concrete conditions: distinguish mistakes and errors made by cadres in advancing reform due to lack of experience and pilot exploration from intentional violations of discipline and law; distinguish mistakes and errors in exploratory experiments where no clear restrictions have been set by higher authorities from violations of discipline and law that persist despite explicit prohibitions from higher authorities; distinguish unintentional faults made to promote development from violations of discipline and law committed for personal gain. Further improve the error-tolerance and correction mechanism; for those cadres who actively act and take the initiative to remedy problems when they arise, leniency should be granted, allowing them to feel the warmth and strength of the organization, and uniting everyone’s wisdom and strength into a single rope.

习近平总书记指出：“坚持严管和厚爱相结合，加强对干部全方位管理和经常性监督，落实‘三个区分开来’，激励干部敢于担当、积极作为。”金无足赤，人无完人，工作中出现过错在所难免。关键在于不能匆忙下结论、扣帽子、打棍子，而是坚持具体问题具体分析。“三个区分开来”就深刻体现了具体问题具体分析这一马克思主义的活的灵魂：把干部在推进改革中因缺乏经验、先行先试出现的失误和错误，同明知故犯的违纪违法行为区分开来；把上级尚无明确限制的探索性试验中的失误和错误，同上级明令禁止后依然我行我素的违纪违法行为区分开来；把为推动发展的无意过失，同为谋取私利的违纪违法行为区分开来。进一步健全容错纠错机制，对于那些积极作为、出了问题又主动补救的干部，应当给予宽容，让他们感受到组织的温暖和力量，把大家的智慧和力量拧成一股绳。

The “Opinions on Further Encouraging the Broad Ranks of Cadres to Take on New Responsibilities and Make New Achievements in the New Era,” issued by the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, states: “Tolerate cadres’ mistakes and errors in reform and innovation.” Reform and innovation often involve taking paths that others have not taken; it is inevitable to occasionally wade through rivers others have not crossed, and taking some detours or making mistakes is unavoidable. Tolerating others’ faults requires, most of all, a sense of responsibility. It requires higher-level Party organizations and leading cadres to dare to step forward and speak fairly, dare to present facts and reason. When faced with people and events involving mistakes, they must earnestly implement the “Three Distinctions,” coordinate accountability and punishment with error-tolerance and correction, and must not “dismiss them with one stroke”[5]5 “Dismiss them with one stroke” (一免了之) refers to the practice of immediately removing a cadre from their post upon the discovery of a mistake, without due process or investigation. before the basic facts are clarified or before due procedures are followed, making accountability and punishment generalized and simplistic. If that happens, the vulgar philosophy of “more work means more mistakes, less work means fewer mistakes, no work means no mistakes” will prevail, and the atmosphere of “slow action, inaction, and reluctance to act” will grow stealthily.

中共中央办公厅印发的《关于进一步激励广大干部新时代新担当新作为的意见》提出：“宽容干部在改革创新中的失误错误”。改革创新，走的经常是别人没有走过的路，免不了要蹚别人没有蹚过的河，偶尔走些弯路、出现失误也是在所难免的。容人之过，最需要的是担当，需要上级党组织和领导干部敢于站出来说句公道话，敢于摆事实、讲道理，面对出现失误的人和事，认真贯彻落实“三个区分开来”，统筹好追责问责和容错纠错工作，不能在基本事实未查清之前、在未经规定程序的情况下就“一免了之”，搞追责问责泛化、简单化。如果那样，就会让“多干多犯错、少干少犯错、不干不犯错”的庸俗哲学大行其道，让“慢作为、不作为、不敢为”的风气潜滋暗长。

General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: “Establish incentive mechanisms and error-tolerance and correction mechanisms, and unequivocally support and embolden those cadres who dare to take responsibility, do practical work, and seek no personal gain.” Only when the organization provides backing will cadres have the confidence to undertake endeavors and start undertakings. Tolerance of errors is a form of cultivation for ordinary people, but for leading cadres it is even more a form of responsibility. This responsibility is not only a responsibility to the cause and loyalty to the Party but also a mobilization order to encourage the broad ranks of cadres to rush to “wash dishes” and not fear “breaking dishes,” incentivizing those cadres with upright work styles who dare to act and forge ahead, allowing them to lay down their burdens, travel light, and better take on responsibility and act.

习近平总书记强调：“建立激励机制和容错纠错机制，旗帜鲜明为那些敢于担当、踏实做事、不谋私利的干部撑腰鼓劲。”组织给撑腰，干部干事创业才有底气。容错，对常人而言是一种修养，对领导干部来说更是一种担当。这种担当，既是对事业的担当、对党的忠诚，也是激励广大干部抢着“洗碗”、不怕“摔碗”的动员令，激励那些作风正派又敢作敢为、锐意进取的干部，让他们放下包袱、轻装上阵，更好担当作为。

Online Editor: Huihui

网络编辑：慧慧