Chapter 7 2. "I'm always right!"

Opponents described her as powerful: "No grass can grow on the road that Sister Dong has traveled." Dong Mingzhu, a resounding name in the air-conditioning industry.Someone once flew to Gree at their own expense, just to "see what kind of woman Dong Mingzhu is". "I have never made a mistake, I never admit my mistake, and I am always right." Dong Mingzhu's words seemed full of arrogance and stubbornness.In our country where modesty is a traditional virtue, although many people are excellent, they tend to be too modest about their own advantages, so there is a saying that "excessive modesty is pride".For a business leader to judge himself in such a high-profile way in front of the public, he is simply risking the world's disgrace.However, because this person is Dong Mingzhu, no one dared to doubt this sentence.

At least, so far, Dong Mingzhu has not made any mistakes in all the decisions he has made from the salesman to the president. It is precisely because of this that Dong Mingzhu's words have not been ridiculed by people, but got people's respect.For the evaluation of outsiders, Dong Mingzhu always laughs it off. She has her own principles and decisions, and she thinks she must be right.Every judgment she makes determines the direction of competition in the air-conditioning market; every decision she makes affects the development of the industry.Dong Mingzhu's voice is loud and fast, and her tone of voice reveals a kind of superhuman self-confidence. This kind of self-confidence makes others unable to question it. This is her signature speech style.She described herself as either not speaking, or insisting on winning if she wanted to speak, forcing others to admit their mistakes and admit defeat. I don’t know if this kind of strong character was brought in from the mother’s womb or acquired the day after tomorrow, which gave her a "normal" personality since middle school. nickname.Dong Mingzhu said frankly that she is serious at work, but she is very easy-going when she is not working, and she is happy and happy when she suffers from a disadvantage.As a woman from Jiangnan, Dong Mingzhu has a gentle temperament and is tender when she opens her heart, but she is stern and selfless in management.In an air-conditioning price war, Gree stated that she would never lower the price, which showed her extremely resolute and strong side.At that time, the largest distributor of Gree Electric Appliances, Gome, had annual sales of several hundred million yuan, accounting for more than 10% of Gree Electric Appliances' sales.Dong Mingzhu stopped supplying Gome immediately after realizing this dishonest behavior. "The reason why I dare to do this and dare to compete is because I am selfless and fearless, and I look at problems from a market-oriented and correct perspective," Dong Mingzhu said, and of course the right thing will win.Dong Mingzhu is not only tough, but also has amazing self-confidence. "I never admit my mistakes, I am always right", this is a sentence Dong Mingzhu often mentions. "Review and reflect on some of the past decisions, and no wrong decisions have been made," Dong Mingzhu told reporters.As long as you consider the problem from the perspective of others and the laws of the market, you will not go wrong. "If we want to pursue perfection, we have to constantly deny ourselves, constantly find out shortcomings and defects, and constantly update, improve, and improve." Dong Mingzhu said to himself, sometimes to the point of being harsh, "Strict and strict at work. Be kind, and whoever made a mistake will definitely point it out. I separate life and work very clearly, work is work, and life is life. There is no tenderness in work, just like in war, you can use tenderness to solve problems on the battlefield Is it? It must be completed and managed with strict systems and disciplines, and rigid things are required.”

On September 28, 2008, the Guangzhou Municipal Government Procurement Center publicly released the bidding information for the "Guangzhou Panyu Central Hospital Air Conditioner Procurement Project", and Gree participated in the bidding for one of the air conditioner procurement projects.According to the project budget, the maximum price of the project is 22.2 million yuan. On November 4, the project was opened and sang bids. Gree ranked the first pre-bid supplier with a bidding price of 17.07 million yuan and other comprehensive strengths. On November 5, Gree received a notification letter from the Guangzhou Municipal Government Procurement Center as a "candidate supplier for the bid".

But after that, things took a turn for the worse. Half a month after Gree submitted the original bidding materials to the purchaser for verification in accordance with the bid-winning procedure, that is, on November 21, the Guangzhou Municipal Government Procurement Center announced on its official website that the bid-winning supplier was the quotation amount. 21.51 million yuan for Guangdong Petrochemical Construction Group Corporation.Panyu Central Hospital claimed: "The equipment bid by Gree Air Conditioning cannot meet the terms marked with '★' in the bidding documents in essence."

In Dong Mingzhu's view, in this procurement, the traces of bid rigging are extremely obvious.A few days before the bidding, Li Qiang, the bidding representative of Guangzhou Gree Air Conditioning, received a call from another bidding unit representative, asking them to "make a price and give up the bidding" - in some bidding activities, some companies earn some money by being a "foil" , Gree flatly refused. At the end of 2009, Guangzhou Gree brought the Guangzhou Municipal Finance Bureau to court. Although the Tianhe District Court rejected the lawsuit, Dong Mingzhu insisted that Gree would definitely win.After Gree sued the Guangzhou Municipal Finance Bureau, Gree was defined as a "destroyer" of unspoken rules, and Dong Mingzhu was also labeled as "daring to challenge the government".But Dong Mingzhu asked unceremoniously that government civil servants should act in accordance with rules and standards, "Not only do you not represent the government, but you also damage the image of the government!" "There are many unspoken rules in government procurement. Many companies told me that over the years they Gree has done things that they dare not say or do, and it has helped them out.” But for Gree’s statement that “challenging the government”, Dong Mingzhu retorted that Gree is precisely on the side of the government, “ We are not trying to get rid of anyone, we only hope that the government procurement environment will be more fair and orderly, and Gree does not rely on building relationships." Dong Mingzhu is not only strict with herself, but also with her subordinates.She "likes to bring a magnifying glass to find problems every day." She was very dissatisfied with some employees' behaviors of fighting and eating snacks in the office.

Her reason is, "If a customer walks in at this time and sees a group of people laughing and laughing, will he have confidence in this company? He will rest assured that he will pay us millions or tens of millions of dollars. Is it?" "Others like to cover up their ugliness, but I always expose my scars." It is Dong Mingzhu's habit to only talk about shortcomings, not advantages, in company meetings. "I told the staff, I praised you, it is already a thing of the past, the important thing is the future." Dong Mingzhu always insisted on his point of view, as an enterprise, it is necessary to deny yesterday's things every day and overthrow yourself to be able to called innovation.In addition to being strict with his subordinates, Dong Mingzhu also "denies his six relatives". "Some dealers, knowing that I have an older brother, wanted to give me some benefits to get the goods through my brother. According to the situation at the time, if I gave my brother the goods, there would be no loss of profit for Gree, and there would be face in it, but I I resolutely did not give it, and gave the dealer a half-month penalty. My brother didn't understand it, and thought it was not breaking the law. Why didn't he give it? He felt that this sister was too disrespectful, and we have not had any contact for decades. When you When you have power, every move will cause harm to the company.” At that time, within the group company, due to the prevalence of bureaucracy in state-owned enterprises, corruption, and overstaffing, the management was so chaotic that the dealers had to pay tribute to the back office. In order to obtain good resources, some salesmen also try their best to find connections, go through the back door, and bribe their bosses to obtain undue benefits.Dong Mingzhu was aware of the details and fought resolutely against these bad behaviors.She clearly stipulates that no matter who it is, no receivables are allowed, and all payments will be delivered.

1996 was a year of life and death for Gree Electric Appliances. In the first half of the year, including joint venture air-conditioning enterprises, the national air-conditioning production capacity was close to 20 million units, while the market capacity was only 6 million units.And this summer, due to the continuous rainfall, my country experienced the worst floods in a century, and the highest temperature in the country did not exceed 33 degrees Celsius. For ordinary people, it is possible to have a pleasant summer, but for air-conditioning companies, this is tantamount to a natural disaster. , is the most shocking summer.Nevertheless, a bloody air-conditioning battle started as scheduled this summer. Kelon took the lead in reducing the price of a flagship product from 6,400 yuan, 5,800 yuan, 5,600 yuan, 5,000 yuan, all the way down to 4,280 yuan.At the same time, other brands of air conditioners have also followed up, chanting the slogan of giving up profits and not letting the market, and constantly reducing the price of their own air conditioners to the cost price.At this time, Dong Mingzhu was sitting firmly on the Diaoyutai alone at Gree’s headquarters in Zhuhai. Many dealers couldn’t help seeing that Gree had no response. They called Dong Mingzhu one after another: “Unless the price is lowered immediately, Gree is doomed Many senior leaders of Gree also agreed with this point of view, advocating that Gree cut prices as soon as possible, but Dong Mingzhu, who was the Minister of Operations at the time, had her own considerations, and she argued hard.Dong Mingzhu's insistence on not lowering prices is not only to stabilize the price policy, but she also has deeper worries.Because dealers asked for a price cut this year, not all to seize market share, they wanted to sell the goods at a lower price after investing a lot of money through bank loans, and then carry out a second round of bombing after they have made money.They are likely to further disrupt the operation of the market during the peak season, completely disregarding the interests of businesses and consumers.Therefore, considering the overall situation, when Gree air conditioners cut prices, individual dealers can use low prices to attack second- and third-tier dealers, and those competitors who do not have sufficient financial strength to fight against them. Brand confidence is shaken, and there will be endless troubles.In fact, there is another reason why Dong Mingzhu did not lower the price, because if she said it, everyone would think she was too stubborn: Dong Mingzhu is someone who would rather give up part of the market than lower the price.

This is incredible for a businessman who seeks advantages and avoids disadvantages.In an economic society with imperfect laws and immature markets, if a person stubbornly insists on his own principles, he will lose many opportunities.In the end, the senior management of Gree Company adopted Dong Mingzhu's opinion and called the dealers, and Gree air conditioners did not drop a penny!Blindly cutting prices is tantamount to digging one's own grave, and the facts have proved Dong Mingzhu's judgment.Huabao, which has always been the "second child" in China, hit a new high in sales after the price cut, but caused huge losses. Since then, Huabao withdrew from the competition and was taken over by the former "fourth" Kelon.At the same time, this price cut war also ruined the bright future of a large number of brands, including Hangzhou Dongbao at that time.The reasons for the failure of these air-conditioning brands are exactly the same. In order to compete for territory and expand market share, big distributors demand higher returns from manufacturers. Three times a day, the profit margin is getting smaller and smaller, and small and medium-sized dealers are miserable and alienated.It can be achieved without reducing the price for a while, but can it be achieved without reducing the price for a lifetime?Regarding the question of whether it will intervene in the price war of air conditioners raised by the outside world, Dong Mingzhu believes that: Gree air conditioners have maintained the number one sales in the country for 10 consecutive years, relying on the quality of the products and the reputation of consumers.The development of an enterprise depends on the profit of the product, because you need to use the continuous new force to ensure the research and development of new products.In the air-conditioning market, we should not only fight the country but also protect the beauty. Therefore, the price war will not be the main sales strategy of Gree.However, on the premise of ensuring product quality and service, it is not impossible to return an appropriate price space to consumers.As for whether it will intervene in price wars in the future, Gree will choose the right time to make a move when it is time to do so.Dong Mingzhu, who dislikes price wars the most, will also take price reduction measures at the right time, but she is not using this method to compete for market share, she is trying to benefit the people.Dong Mingzhu called all this "struggle philosophy", "The key to leadership is the courage to do things, the ability to analyze problems and make decisions. I have worked in Gree for more than 10 years, fighting the market, people, and myself. Requirements Being too harsh and strict will always make some people feel ashamed, and I don’t think it’s okay to be called ‘overbearing’.”Dong Mingzhu has been with Gree Electric for 17 years.In this time and space, she is not competing, fighting, or playing games every moment.With dealers, with home appliance chain stores, with major shareholders, and even with relatives.In Dong Mingzhu's view, "I keep fighting with people, of course I am fighting with what I think is wrong, and every victory makes me feel excited." In the turbulent business career, her "iron fist" Shocking: debt collection, bloody battle in Liangxia, contest with senior management of major shareholder Gree Group...

She has been involved in too many wars without gunpowder smoke, but she can always deal with it calmly, and now she recalls it with a smile. A series of uncompromising struggles in 17 years has won Dong Mingzhu the "notoriety" that "the road he has traveled does not grow grass".But she doesn't care. Facing the future, Dong Mingzhu's thinking is very clear.Gree Electric Appliances will still stick to the path of specialization. We are positioned as an air-conditioning company and regard industrial spirit as Gree's development creed. We will surely reach the other shore.Dong Mingzhu's Gree is determined to be a century-old store and strive to build a world-class brand in China, but some domestic manufacturing companies have given up their evergreen foundations for the sake of fame and fortune.This persistent woman is grateful, "I think I am lonely, at least in China's refrigeration industry."