Chapter 2 The hidden injury of China's wolfish enterprises

In the eyes of many Chinese entrepreneurs, the wolf is an animal worth learning.From the wolf nature of Huawei, to Zhang Ruimin, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Haier Group, who admires wolves, and Lenovo President Yang Yuanqing's emphasis on "like a wolf like a tiger", similar stories are always being staged. This kind of wolf-like competitive strategy once made multinational giants They were terrified, and the Chinese audience cheered. But wolves also have their fatal points, for example, the wolf's nose and legs are also the focus of hunters' attacks.On the commercial battlefield, Chinese wolves are also encountering difficulties. The PC, DVD, software, and mobile phone industries, which used to be quite wolfish, have encountered crises one after another.

What kind of secret wounds and vital gates do Chinese wolf enterprises have? "Creative imitation" is an important competitive strategy of wolf-like enterprises. By understanding the relationship between new technology and market demand more thoroughly than innovators, creative imitation can seek a more accurate market position for the application of new technology, and rely on the knowledge of new technology Creative imitation to build a competitive advantage.For example, the design idea of ​​personal computers originated from Apple Computer, but when IBM realized the broad market prospects of personal computers, it immediately launched standard PC models through creative imitation, quickly occupying the market.

In fact, while the "creative imitation" strategy attacks the enemy's weakness, its own weakness also becomes the opponent's attack point.This is where "creative imitation" hurts: First of all, "creative imitation" will also attract many imitators.A valuable positioning will definitely cause others to follow suit, thus losing the original unique positioning.For example, the recent overall decline of domestic mobile phones, TCL Mobile attributed the reason: due to the blind launch and overheated production of domestic mobile phones, products with high similarity have made the market weak.

Second, imitation, but lack of innovation.On the one hand, one-sided imitation and lack of core technology make domestic manufacturers controlled by others. Third, a long-lasting strategy requires firm abandonment, otherwise it is easy to fall into a growth trap.In many cases, domestic companies prefer to rush and imitate each other. Today they compete with megapixels, tomorrow they compete with channel capabilities, or they compete with big-name endorsement stars. Moreover, these "creative imitation" masters are even more unwilling to give up some stuff, and it turns out that none of them achieve real differentiation.

At the same time, implementation deficiencies are also becoming a major bottleneck. Managers' focus on wolves is, in fact, a reflection of the fact that top management, shareholders, and boards of directors have questioned heroic leadership. However, no matter how you question it, most Chinese companies are still an organization that values ​​​​heroes over teams.Jiang Ruxiang, general manager of Xien Company, also believed that most companies in China do not have a strategic model based on management processes. The strategy of Chinese companies is "president strategy" - the words of the president are strategies, and the management of Chinese companies is "president management" ——The order of the president is management.

McKinsey once attributed the weaknesses of "wolf" team execution and poor cooperation to three levels: The first is the lack of direction.This lack of direction has several practical factors, such as lack of coordination, lack of in-depth understanding, and lack of strategic focus. Managers may nod when CEOs pitch an idea, but often the team lacks a shared view of how to implement it. Second is ineffective communication.Too many management teams talk too much about the importance of communication, creating a way of working that prevents genuine communication and collaboration.For example, as with any human interaction, disruptive behavior such as public shaming of team members often occurs on top teams.This type of behavior obviously leads to fear and defensiveness, which can seriously affect team dynamics.

Third, the inability to renew itself.Due to inertial thinking, isolation, and lack of personal skills, top teams rarely pay enough attention to information outside the company or industry. strategic focus.