Chapter 2 〇1. Wang Yongqing: Thin Goose Grows in Crisis

During the Great Depression in the United States, a group of giants were born in Silicon Valley. When SARS was raging, Jack Ma founded Taobao... Every time a crisis breaks out, there are always giants who fall, but new entrepreneurs always see the dawn of hope in desperation. Wang Yongqing is known as the God of Taiwan's management. In his legendary life, he has experienced at least four huge economic crises, namely the World War II in the 1940s, the two oil crises in the 1970s, and the Asian crisis. 1997 Asian financial crisis.Under such a storm, Wang Yongqing and his Formosa Plastics Group not only did not fall, but gradually rose to become the richest man in Taiwan. This is a secret that everyone is curious about.

Wang Yongqing was born in Taipei City, Taiwan Province in January 1916. He was originally from Anxi County, Fujian Province. When Taiwan was under Japanese occupation, the economy was in depression.His father, Wang Changgeng, made a living by growing tea. When Wang Yongqing graduated from elementary school at the age of 15, he dropped out of school to work as a handyman in the tea garden.Afterwards, Wang Yongqing went to Xiaomi store as an apprentice and started his life in business. Through differentiated competition and customer-oriented business strategies, he continued to accumulate business experience. In the second year after his apprenticeship, Wang Yongqing borrowed 200 yuan. I started my own business, and then continued to run brick and tile factories and timber factories, and moved forward under the Japanese economic control.Therefore, when later generations describe Wang Yongqing, they often describe him as a rich man in Taiwan who "made his fortune with a single grain of rice".

In 1954, Wang Yongqing raised funds and founded Formosa Plastics Corporation, which was completed and put into operation in 1957.At that time, Taiwan's economic foundation was weak, materials were scarce, and production materials were basically imported. However, Wang Yongqing relied on his unique management philosophy, as well as the courage and perseverance to constantly overcome crises and challenges, so that "Formosa Plastics Group" developed into the king of Taiwan enterprises. king.In 1984 alone, Formosa Plastics' annual turnover reached US$3 billion, accounting for 5.5% of Taiwan's national product value, and there were more than 1,500 downstream processing plants that had a life-or-death relationship with the Formosa Plastics Group.For a long period of time, Wang Yongqing has always been the chief among Taiwan's richest people. He ranks among the "Top 50" in the world's chemical industry and is the only company in Taiwan that has entered the "Top 50 Enterprises in the World".

On October 15, 2008, Wang Yongqing died at the age of 92 in New Jersey, USA, and he went to the United States to check the production line of Formosa Plastics USA under the new economic crisis. Viewpoint: Thin geese have a great appetite and strong digestion ability. Although they are thin, they have strong vitality and great potential for development.As long as there is something to eat, it will become stronger immediately. At certain times, people will encounter unimaginable crises and difficulties, such as wars.When Wang Yongqing was preparing to do a big job, Taiwan was forced to intensively manage under the Japanese rule. Not to mention that the enterprise could not continue, and even the survival of people became difficult.Most ordinary people complain about others, but Wang Yongqing can find gold mines under extraordinary circumstances—he discovered the thin goose...True entrepreneurs can always find opportunities under extraordinary circumstances.

background of the crisis In 1941, Japan’s war of aggression was spreading across Asia’s darkest moments. Taiwan, which had been ruled by Japan for 47 years, was hailed as an “ideal colony.” The economic crisis of private enterprises in Taiwan.Wang Yongqing later recalled: "In order to ensure the needs of the war, Japan implemented a rationing system, and the supply of food adopted the method of 'co-finishing and co-selling', that is, the rice was concentrated in one or two rice mills for processing. There were originally 12 rice mills in Chiayi. Different rice mills, under the new system, only two will remain, and the rest will all be closed.” The rice mill that Wang Yongqing was running at that time was much more efficient than the factories run by the Japanese, but it stood on the verge of being closed. camp.

At such a dangerous moment, Wang Yongqing's fate is naturally unable to resist the decree, but in a very small case, he understands the truth that affects his life. At that time, people's life was very difficult, and every household in the countryside raised chickens, ducks and geese to supplement their household expenses. However, the food supply under the rationing system was seriously insufficient, and the chickens and ducks naturally couldn't get enough to eat, so they had to go to the wild to graze.Generally speaking, raising a goose for four months will weigh 5-6 catties, but after four months at that time, each goose weighed only two catties, so thin that it was only skinny.At that time, Wang Yongqing evacuated to the countryside and saw these skinny and low-value geese, thinking in his heart: If he can find feed, the problem of raising geese will be solved.At the same time, he observed that after the cabbage was harvested in the countryside, the roots and rough leaves were thrown in the vegetable garden, so he hired people to pick up those roots and leaves, and then polished the rice Agencies buy broken and rice grains and mix them to make feed for geese.

Wang Yongqing bought a lot of thin geese and fed them with his special feed. The two-pound lean geese would eat food as soon as they encountered food, until they stretched up to their necks, and then began to eat after a little digestion.In this way, after two months of feeding by Wang Yongqing, the thin goose can grow to 7-8 catties, which is very fat. This revelation made Wang Yongqing full of confidence. He said on many occasions later: "If the thin goose is not starved to death, we will definitely have development. We Chinese are born with the potential for strength and toughness. Thin geese are not a problem of geese, but People who raise geese don’t know how to raise them, and once they have something to eat, the thin geese can grow rapidly.”

Under the economic crisis, many enterprises are like thin geese, malnourished and undervalued, but these are only temporary superficial phenomena. Once the economy picks up, the enterprises will quickly become stronger again.And when everyone is generally in a downturn, if you can take the opportunity to buy back some "thin geese" and "feed" them reasonably, this is an opportunity that you can't find with a flashlight. Danger and opportunity are only separated by such a layer of window paper. Opinion: Every company has a surplus in a good economy, but it's scary and dangerous to be self-satisfied.The ancients said that people who have no foresight must have near-term worries. They are only afraid of not being vigilant, not afraid of difficulties, only afraid of not having a plan, and not afraid of slow start.

Entrepreneurs are greedy animals by nature, and they must pursue lower costs and higher benefits at any time.But people tend to relax their vigilance when they are developing well, and when the crisis comes, they will walk on the verge of collapse.The reason why Wang Yongqing can become the "God of Management" and still stand tall is that he can see farther than ordinary people and ordinary entrepreneurs. background of the crisis In 1970, relying on the aid of the United States, Taiwan's industry rose rapidly, and the "Four Asian Tigers" became a subject of world research.As a representative of industrial enterprises, Formosa Plastics has developed rapidly: the turnover and benefits have been rising steadily, and the scale of personnel has continued to expand.Even so, Wang Yongqing saw more problems.

At an internal cadre training meeting, Wang Yongqing first asked the employees present a question: "Everyone knows that our company is performing well now, and all business departments have surpluses. So what do you think is the crisis?" It was actually a commendation meeting. All the cadres handed in good-looking financial reports, but Wang Yongqing poured cold water on everyone.Following his own question, Wang Yongqing replied: that is, we do not know whether our profit figures are reasonable.Immediately afterwards, he expressed his core point of view: "When the economy is booming, all business departments have surpluses. If we think that we can be self-satisfied in this way, it is terrible and dangerous. Why? The ancients said that people have no foresight. If you have immediate worries, you are not afraid of being vigilant, you are not afraid of difficulties, you are not afraid of not having a plan, and you are not afraid of slow start.”

Wang Yongqing's point of view is a very common expression in his many speeches, but it has a very far-reaching significance. The reason why Formosa Plastics can resist various crises is the important factor that cannot be avoided in advance.A similar question about Bian Que is as follows: Some people exaggerated that Bian Que was the most powerful doctor at that time because of his excellent medical skills and the ability to bring the dead back to life.But Bian Que replied that he has two older brothers who are not as famous as him, but are more powerful than him, because his second brother can give advice before he gets seriously ill to avoid serious illness, and the eldest brother is better at normal times. , give preventive measures, thus health prolongs life.Wang Yongqing undoubtedly understands this very well. He gave a personal example to illustrate the importance of planning for a rainy day. In 1952, he founded a branch company in Xindong, Taiwan to produce PVC household products. At that time, he was the first PVC company in Taiwan.But by the mid-1970s, there were nearly fifty factories engaged in PVC products.Wang Yongqing said: Taiwan has developed in the past 20 years, and companies have risen and fallen one after another.Some large enterprises, generally recognized as the soundest and most promising enterprises, have failed.Some enterprises have the right time and place and smooth sailing, but because enterprises will inevitably compete and make money, they will open more factories.The result of the competition will be that the right time and place are not enough, and they must rely on proper management and the realization of a comprehensive plan to survive, otherwise the good times will not always be good, and the outcome can be imagined. That is, at that training meeting, Wang Yongqing said two things that he worries about day and night: The first is that the ultimate outlet for enterprise development must be the eternal pursuit of high quality and low price.In the process of enterprise development, competition will definitely continue to be fierce. The only way out is to constantly pursue high-quality and low-cost products, and to achieve this goal in a planned and step-by-step manner.Wang Yongqing said: To manufacture a product, it is necessary to analyze various expenses, whether the cost can be reduced, and how much profit should be obtained is reasonable.At the same time, it is necessary to analyze possible changes in the future market.Looking forward to the future of an enterprise, there must be a so-called medium-range plan and a long-term plan. Those who deal with possible changes in the future must plan in advance and make thorough preparations so that they can seize the opportunity, remain invincible, and then win. The second is that employee salaries must increase with economic development.In the 1960s, Taiwan's industry was just booming, and workers' wages were kept at a low level. This is very similar to the current situation in mainland China. In the 1970s, Taiwan's average wages were only one-third of Japan's and 40% of Hong Kong's. , Low labor costs laid the foundation for the rise of Taiwan's manufacturing industry, and also brought a temporary prosperity.But in his heyday, Wang Yongqing had already seen the changes in the future.He preached to the employees: With the development of industry and the improvement of living standards, the supply of manpower will gradually be in short supply. The increase of wages is the most natural direction. As an entrepreneur, you must have this understanding, and you should prepare as soon as possible, otherwise once After the only favorable conditions are lost, if the enterprise has not yet cultivated its strength and its foundation is not yet solid, the crisis of survival will come. Wang Yongqing often reminds colleagues that although the company is currently profitable, they must always ask themselves: if their wages are raised to the same level as those in Japan and Hong Kong, will they still be profitable.He also always pursues the rationality of profits, and believes that "the terrible thing is that you don't know whether it is reasonable or not, and you don't know how to improve it, and you think you are satisfied. That is doomed to be hopeless." We all know that maintaining the status quo is regressing, but we don’t know that in the era of fierce competition, slow progress is also regressing. Viewpoint: Since there is no power to control the arrival of the crisis, worry is unnecessary.What we should worry about is whether we have the conditions and strength to serve as the basis for our business management. The economic crisis is a test of physical fitness, and those seedlings that have been forcibly pulled up cannot withstand the baptism of the storm.From another perspective, why should a person with a strong physique worry about the coming crisis?Wang Yongqing said: We should only worry about our own strength, and pin our hope and despair on God, which is no different from pinning on the devil.Therefore, when Wang Yongqing was alive, he never set foot in the real estate industry, but only loved industry. background of the crisis In October 1973, the first oil crisis broke out, and oil prices more than tripled in a short period of time, triggering the worst global economic crisis after World War II.The oil crisis lasted for three years, severely impacting the economies of the United States, which had just established its dominant position in the world, and the economies of Europe and Japan, which were undergoing reconstruction.In this crisis, the industrial production of the United States dropped by 14%, that of Japan dropped by more than 20%, and the economic growth of all industrialized countries slowed down significantly. When the storm spread to Taiwan, the island was devastated.Although Wang Yongqing's Formosa Plastics has grown into the largest industrial enterprise, it has been hit harder because of its dependence on oil. On March 8, 1975, Wang Yongqing was invited to participate in the "Entrepreneur Lecture" hosted by the Taiwan Economic Daily. At the meeting, he sent a philosophical thought to all the participants. He said: Changes in oil prices lead to economic changes, which deeply affect the growth of business operations, causing many people to worry about future growth.But my view is that this change will not and will not be allowed to affect the principles by which we run our business.Regarding the economic crisis, my personal opinion is: Since there is no power to influence the rise of oil prices, it is unnecessary to worry about oil prices.What we should worry about is whether we have the conditions and strength to serve as the basis for us to engage in business management... Oil prices fluctuate and the future environment is unpredictable. When you are organized, content, and sound in practice, you can manage well.If an enterprise has such conditions, even if it suffers from various influences brought about by the objective environment, it will definitely be able to overcome them with all its strength. The external environmental conditions will definitely change due to the influence of oil prices, international politics, economics and other factors. For these influences, business operators are often powerless.So no matter what, it is most important to strengthen the management foundation of the enterprise and cultivate its own strength to overcome difficulties. The biggest crisis of an enterprise should be that it does not pursue soundness and rationalization. As long as it is a little lax in this regard, it will be full of crises. Wang Yongqing's point of view is consistent with Formosa Plastics' actions.The core reason why it can last forever is that he has been striving for the rationalization of management.In order to achieve the most reasonable management, he created the "unit cost analysis method", that is, every step is decomposed into the smallest unit to control the cost, and everything requires "getting to the bottom" to ask the source of the river.For a long period of time, Wang Yongqing would eat lunch at noon every day, listen to the work reports of the heads of various business departments, and ask questions to the bottom of the questions.This was well-known in Taiwan for a time, and it was called the "horrible luncheon", because every executive will be trembling when attending the luncheon, and those who are not prepared will make a fool of themselves in public. Many people would rather have their bonuses deducted than attend the luncheon .However, under the management of Wang Yongqing, Formosa Plastics became the most stable company in Taiwan, and thus withstood crisis after crisis. Wang Yongqing said in a later speech: The key to the survival of a business lies in whether it can achieve high quality and low price. The requirement for high quality and low price does not depend on external influencing conditions, but is controlled by our own hands... Any business crisis is caused by internal problems, not external ones.Further investigation, the root of the so-called internal problems comes from the business itself.