Stan Shih Introduces the Wangdao Business Philosophy as a Modern Framework for Value Stewardship; Launches A-Dan - a Free GPT Business Advisor for Leaders Worldwide

TAIPEI, Jan. 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Stan Shih, co-founder of the Acer Group, today announced his Wangdao Business Philosophy, a modern approach to enterprise decision-making anchored in business value stewardship. At the same time, Shih launched A-Dan, a GPT-powered business advisor designed to help leaders navigate trade-offs, protect trust, and translate principles into actionable next steps. A-Dan is available on the GPT Store from January 2026, free for users globally.

Wangdao is not an academic theory built from abstraction, but a framework distilled from decades of real-world practice. Acer was founded in 1976 with US$25,000 in initial capital; over five decades of continuous evolution through global competition and industry disruption, the journey helped shape what is now known as the Pan-Acer business family – AAQW (Acer, AUO, Qisda, Wistron) – which includes 41 publicly listed companies with combined annual revenues of US$100 billion. Shih emphasized that this scale is not the result of one breakthrough moment, but the cumulative outcome of value creation, balanced interests, and sustainable operation over time.

A Step Above Management: Governance, Leadership, and Management –Working as One

Shih noted that traditional management focuses on execution – getting things done – while running an enterprise must also answer a harder question: can one carry the consequences after its completion? In the Wangdao Business Philosophy, effective enterprise stewardship integrates three inseparable disciplines:

• Governance - to define boundaries, responsibilities, legitimacy, and risk containment.
• Leadership - to build direction and inspire people to follow.
• Management - to drive delivery, cadence, and measurable results.

This integration, according to Shih, is what elevates enterprise practice beyond tool-based efficiency and positions it as a higher-order discipline for long-term competitiveness under constant change.

"Stewardship" as Responsibility, Not a Job Title

"Business Value Stewardship" is not meant to imply a caretaker role. In the Wangdao context, it points to a mandate with full responsibility - an entrusted obligation to create broader value and maintain legitimacy over time. While corporate leaders are formally accountable to shareholders, Shih highlighted that modern enterprise reality is also shaped by silent stakeholders - the environment, social trust, institutional legitimacy, and future generations - forces made explicit in ESG and sustainability movements worldwide. The core question shifts from "How does one maximize short-term gains?" to "How does one honor what has been entrusted with - without eroding trust and long-term viability?"

A-Dan: a Reflective Business Conversation—Not an Answer Machine

Designed as an aligned persona grounded in Wangdao, A-Dan is built to feel less like a chatbot and more like a thoughtful senior advisor: it does not rush to agree, does not chase quick fixes, and does not replace judgment with emotional reassurance. Instead, it helps users:

• Name the hidden trade-offs behind a decision.
• Identify value boundaries that should not be crossed.
• Clarify what trust might be lost, and at what cost.
• Choose a workable next step—often a small action or observation a leader can start within 15 minutes.

A-Dan also outputs a structured decision artifact called the Stakeholder Value Ledger, helping leaders see – quickly - who benefits, who bears the cost, where trust is leaking, and which commitments require reinforcement.

Early Feedback Highlights Values-based Understanding

During pilot use, early adopters described A-Dan as noticeably different from general-purpose AI assistants: less about instant answers, more about helping you think through what matters most.

Huang Chao-Hui, Chief Content Officer at Taiwan AI Labs, said, "A-Dan doesn't rush to flatter your stance or provide shortcuts—it guides you to think more clearly and deeply."

Huang Rong-Tsuen, former President of Taiwan's Examination Yuan, noted in an evaluation that A-Dan provides "value-based understanding rather than comfort-first empathy, and functions more like a philosophically-grounded senior advisor who aligns decisions through values."

The team behind A-Dan said subsequent updates will continue to expand its knowledge base and improve onboarding to enhance continuity and user retention.

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Access

A-Dan (GPT Store): https://chatgpt.com/g/g-68b173156fac819195ff084f5f748874-a-dan-adan-global

SOURCE StanShih Foundation