Chapter 43 Innovation - the transition from "following" to "leading"

From following to leading is not only a kind of transcendence, but also a kind of competitive advantage. In the market, the only advantage that can enable an enterprise to compete sustainably is that its innovation ability surpasses that of its competitors. "Glasses King" Ye Zijian, the founder of Wenzhou Ocean Company, has followed a path from "following" to "leading". In 1982, he was still a worker in a candied fruit factory. One day he saw a pair of gold-rimmed glasses on the market, and he immediately became interested in them. At that time, wearing glasses was a newly emerging trend in Wenzhou, and there were many Young people will buy a pair in order to catch up with the trend.Ye Zijian spent a month's salary to buy this pair of gold-rimmed glasses, but he didn't wear them for fun, but saw a business opportunity from them.

After returning home, he dismantled the glasses. Because he had a certain understanding of metalworking technology, he quickly understood his structure, and used his working advantages to find various parts factories for reassembly. In this way, the first pair of glasses he imitated out of the oven.He made dozens of them in a row and sold them in the market. Although the workmanship was relatively rough, they were still scarce in the market and were quickly snapped up by customers.Although each picture is only 3 yuan, there is still considerable profit, so he simply quit his job and established Wenzhou Yuanyang Glasses Company.

After the establishment of the company, he did not blindly rely on imitation, but on this basis, he put innovation in an important strategic position, because he understood that a company that does not innovate is a dead end.Under his leadership, now, Wenzhou Ocean Glasses Co., Ltd. integrates the research, development and operation of sunglasses technology. It is in a leading position in my country's glasses industry, and is currently marching into fields with higher technological content. Some people say that the development of enterprises in Wenzhou follows others, and they immediately imitate the products produced by others.However, any enterprise cannot develop for a long time by simple imitation.While imitating, Wenzhou people also gave full play to their ingenuity and wisdom, and devoted a lot of effort.Looking back at the development of Wenshang, we can find that this is a process from "following" to "leading".

In the early 1980s, Wenzhou was just an ordinary small town in a remote corner. Walking in a small alley, you can always see various handicraft workshops.Thirty years later, the handicraft workshops have already left them, replaced by excellent national brands such as "Chint", "Delixi", "Kangnai" and "Red Dragonfly".In this prefecture-level city with a total population of only 7 million, 25 Chinese famous brands, 12 Chinese well-known trademarks, 65 national inspection-free products, 272 Zhejiang famous brands and famous trademarks, and 27 "national brand gold business cards" have emerged... These famous brands have created the "Wenzhou Model" and "New Wenzhou Model" that are well-known at home and abroad, and their development has made China and the world admirable.

It is such a group that is good at following in the footsteps of others, and has achieved such great achievements in just 20 years in the difficult situation of no resources, no market, no technology and no capital. From "following" to "leading", what is the magic power that won the wealth and made them achieve transcendence?According to a Wen businessman: "It is to seek innovation through imitation. It is not terrible to imitate others at the beginning. The most important thing is to dare to break through and seek innovation on the basis of imitation."In the initial stage of Wenzhou's economy, Wenzhou people had almost nothing of their own, and almost all of the major industries were "learned" from other places, such as Italian leather shoes, French clothing, Japanese lighters and so on.Wenzhou people have not only cultivated experience through these imitations, but also accumulated the initial capital for their own brand creation.

Wenzhou people's "imitation" strategy is unique. He does not simply use it to imitate, but is also good at using his brains, using his own wisdom to transform it, and truly transform it into his own products. In 1994, a Wenzhou businessman imported a batch of shoe machine parts from Taiwan. After seeing these parts, he thought that if he could assemble these parts, he could create a brand new shoe-making machine.So he spent 3 months studying the structure of these parts. After 3 months, he imitated his own front and rear support machine, and the technical indicators even surpassed similar products in Taiwan.This move has aroused the great attention of Taiwanese manufacturers, and they actively asked to cooperate with him.During the two-year cooperation period, he not only gained huge profits, but also learned the production technology, production process and market demand rules of shoe machines.

It is precisely because of this innovative "following" that Wenzhou people have created their own brands one after another. These brands are far ahead in many industries across the country, and some have entered the international market. In 2002, four enterprises in Wenzhou, Aokang, Kangnai, Red Dragonfly and Kangquan, won the title of "China Famous Brand Product" for the first time.Since then, Wenzhou brand has embarked on an international journey. In the following years, Wenzhou has continuously emerged "Chinese famous brand" and "world famous brand". In 2003, 7 companies in Wenzhou won 11 "China Famous Brands"; in 2004, Gaobang shirts were shortlisted for "China Famous Brands", and Fapai won the "China Famous Brand".This year, Wenzhou ushered in the brand "harvest year", and the municipal government's support for brands has been strengthened again - striving to make more than 40 "China Famous Brands" and "China Famous Trademarks" through three years of hard work.

Wenzhou people's ability to "imitate" is amazing. They can disassemble and reassemble small commodities such as lighters, glasses, and low-voltage electrical appliances, and then manufacture exactly the same products. Of course, before following others, you must combine your own actual market conditions and customer needs, otherwise, no matter how good the imitated product is, it will lose its meaning.In the process of imitation, you must have your own opinions on any issue, and you must not passively obey and let others lead you by the nose.The reason why Wenshang has created so many of its own brands is to imitate them according to their own capabilities. When the market needs them, they must innovate in a timely manner to make their products more in line with the needs of the market.

"Following" development is more effective in the initial stage of enterprise development. At present, most enterprises in Wenzhou have completed this stage and are embarking on the road of "innovating and leading".As a Wenzhou businessman said, "Wenzhou has taken this road. It is a historical process and there are many opportunities. These opportunities will not reappear." On the basis of imitation, Wenzhou businessmen continue to learn, seek innovation, and seek change, thereby consolidating its differentiated competitive advantage.Therefore, we must treat imitation with an open mind and vision, and re-establish new rules suitable for the localization of enterprises in imitation.

◎From following to leading is just a process—following is imitation, leading is surpassing. If you don’t spend your mind in this process, it is difficult to achieve surpassing.