There is a law in the business world – the values of a company are often presented through its choices – choices in difficult situations, choices in good times, choices in the face of stress, choices when enjoying success... It is this time and again that the choices of large and small, defining the wisdom of the team and shaping the personality of the product, constitute the enterprise itself. Values determine the foundation and pattern of the business a company engages in, and how far it can go.
A series of intensive actions in the last two years have hinted that OPPO is entering a new phase. Chen Mingyong will lead OPPO on a different development path?
On February 24, OPPO released new products such as the dual-core imaging flagship Find X5 series and the first smart tablet equipped with the first self-developed chip Mariana X. Among them, OPPO's first self-developed NPU chip Mariana X is a phased achievement of OPPO's three-year grinding of a sword, and an important breakthrough in OPPO's "3+N+X" technology transition strategy implemented since 2020.
Over the past decade, OPPO has realized that to provide a better mobile phone imaging experience, it must provide chip-level solutions, and Mariana X is considered to be "the result of image exploration in the past decade and the starting point for the development of imaging in the next decade." ”
Since the homogenization competition of Android mobile phones has entered a saturated state, it is difficult for any smartphone manufacturer to maintain the leading position of products for a long time, and products alone are not enough to achieve brand differentiation. OPPO hopes to achieve differentiated brand recognition through underlying innovation, and then obtain a higher brand reputation.
At the OPPO Future Technology Conference at the end of last year, CHEN Mingyong, founder and CEO of OPPO, said, "OPPO people must have the courage to sharpen a sword for ten years and step into the deep water area of research and development. "This is not only a product-level demand, but also a demand for OPPO's development strategy - if a technology company does not have the underlying core technology, its innovation is like a "castle in the air" and has no future.
Walk the long way to see the glimmer
Note: OPPO's first self-developed chip, MariSilicon X
Three months ago, mariana's team celebrated their two-year birthday. At the beginning of the project, the newly formed team made a commitment, "must have its own core technology, and continue to solve the problems faced by users." They reminded themselves of the name of the world's deepest trench, "Mariana", that the self-developed chip is like an abyss, bumpy and tortuous.
Jiang Bo, an engineer who has worked in foreign-funded companies for more than 20 years, has long been accustomed to looking at chip research and development work calmly and rationally, but at the launch site of Mariana X, he once choked up, "Through such a chip to achieve the ultimate computing image, it is a very valuable thing for the entire industry." He admitted that a group of people who want to make the ultimate product are encouraged and under heavy pressure because they can make the most extreme product, "What we are doing is something that the whole industry is exploring, but there is no perfect solution." From day one of the team's formation, the whole process was very challenging. Jiang Bo said.
As a latecomer, OPPO did not lower its standards in the development of Mariana X. This NPU chip dedicated to AI image processing was planned to use an advanced 6nm process at the beginning of the planning, which is not only costly, but also has a high risk of tape-out failure. Fortunately, Mariana X not only succeeded in a tape-out, but also fully met the development team's expectations, and all the investment from pre-development to post-streaming was solidly implemented, and was called "a risk comparable to 'walking a tightrope' and achieved a complete success" by the media.
Not only that, OPPO only took two years to assemble a team of engineers with thousands of people and mature experience. "This thing (referring to self-developed chips) needs as many people as possible to do a good job." Chen Mingyong said.
In the chip, a high-threshold industry with intensive funds, intensive technology and scarce talents, OPPO has shown the determination to continue to invest. He believes that with the continuous evolution of new technologies such as 5G and the Internet of Things, we are entering a new era of "integration of all things", and we are also facing a future with more possibilities and even uncertainties.
In addition to the infrastructure of the "Mariana" chip, OPPO hopes to carry out structural underlying technological innovation through the "Pantanaal Plan" involving software engineering and supporting global developers, and the "Amazon Plan" to build cloud services, and ultimately promote the realization of the "Integration of Everything" ecosystem. "You'll feel the power of it in two years." Chen Mingyong said.
At the same time, OPPO's technical accumulation is also deepening. In the past year, OPPO has established cooperation with more than 40 internationally renowned universities, more than 150 experts and scholars, and more than 40 consultants, and added more than 120 cooperation projects. OPPO has also formally established the Health Lab, building an interdisciplinary research team that integrates biomedicine, algorithms, sensors and data science.
Today, OPPO's R&D team not only has industry leaders from foreign companies, but also industry experts from star companies. According to data released by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva on February 10, OPPO ranked sixth in the world with 2,208 PCT international patent applications.
Smile and move forward
Note: OPPO founder Chen Mingyong released a new brand proposition
Long-term goals and sustained investment are very important for business development, but they are still not enough. On the occasion of the company's 18th anniversary, OPPO released the upgraded brand proposition of "smiling forward", hoping to shape the attitude and behavior of the enterprise and its employees - "insist on doing the right thing, not afraid of far, not afraid of difficulties", and believe that "no matter what difficulties are faced, only by moving forward can we solve the problem." ”
Chen Mingyong talks about the principles he follows in management, and often eventually points to OPPO's values. "Smile forward" is derived from OPPO's "duty" value, this value, to ensure that OPPO close the noise, think clearly about the consumers to be faced and want to express themselves.
Values determine the foundation and pattern of the business a company engages in, and how far it can go. But values are not concepts, values are in the details. The real difficulty lies in how to translate ideas into action.
At the end of 2021, OPPO released the first folding screen flagship Find N, in fact, as early as three years ago had the opportunity to appear at MWC (World Mobile Internet Conference), "When every company is talking about innovation and subversion, the team finally resisted the urge to release the folding screen prototype in advance." Chen Mingyong said. It was not until three years later, after OPPO had a considerable strength and accumulation in the field of structural parts such as hinges, that engineers thought that the product was really ready.
At present, investing in the future to win long-term goals is the focus of OPPO's development strategy. But the starting point for management decisions is not that there are any hot spots in the industry.
In response to the rumors of whether to build a car, Chen Mingyong said, "If it (car manufacturing) does not have a clear help for the future improvement and long-term healthy development of the company, we will not easily go in." "So far I haven't found the need to build cars." We are more from the user, from the perspective of common sense to consider what a service or product can solve. Although we have already started some technical reserves, we have no plans to do the whole vehicle. ”
He doesn't want the team to deviate from the real business intentions because of the pursuit of hot spots, and all innovation should return to the origin of the user experience. Innovation is not about getting a false sense of satisfaction, whether it is building a car, or a "meta-universe", OPPO carefully avoids the bubble in the industry and believes that rushing to achieve success is a very dangerous thing. "The metric by which we judge whether to start or terminate a project is what problem we want to help the user solve." Chen Mingyong said. Based on this, consider whether you have the ability to launch market-adapted products and services, and determine which ones are worth investing in and which should be abandoned.
"People who aren't in a hurry to prove themselves know who they are."
Today, OPPO is not the product of compromise with the market. In a sense, OPPO is both a pragmatist and an idealist. He is both a realist and a surrealist. It deliberately maintains a high degree of vigilance against the noisy market, does not "innovate" to meet the market, but follows the original intention of the brand: duty. Know what is wrong, and then don't die with yourself, find what suits you, and then constantly escalate the difficulty, refine in the category of "right", find a suitable field to explore deeper.
Unless it is particularly necessary, Chen Mingyong does not want to stand in the spotlight. He wants to create an environment where everyone can play to their feet and achieve breakthroughs, so that employees can do their best. "As a leader, you have to acknowledge that there are limitations to your abilities, and you have to learn to reuse those who are above you." He said.
For the future, OPPO people have their own definition – creating the future is the best way to predict the future. What will happen in the future? Chen Mingyong did not disclose, but it is certain that in 20 years, OPPO's business map will have software and services in addition to hardware. As for the present, the new business model, like the new headquarters building, is under construction.
Interview:
Shen Jianyuan: What was your reaction when you learned the news of the success of mariana X tapes at once?
Chen Mingyong: It is not easy for us to make some process breakthroughs or innovations in other products, not to mention that the chip is so complex, the cycle is so long, and it can be successful at one time. I know it's hard, I can feel that they are not easy, and I can feel that the team's ability and planning, management, and rhythm control are also good. Of course, this one-time pass does not mean that the next product can also be disposable. But it's a good start.
Shen Jianyuan: What is the underlying logic of the self-developed NPU chip?
Chen Mingyong: Doing chips has been planned for us for a long time. Three years ago, we realized that the integration of everything is the trend of the times, and the complexity of software and hardware also needs to be integrated through the underlying capabilities. It's like buying an open space yourself and building a house that meets the requirements in every way according to your own ideas. Doing a good job of the experience is the logic of our chips.
Because the general-purpose chip cannot provide the ultimate product experience in some aspects, if we can have this ability, we can make the product well and bring a better experience. OPPO people want to enter the deep water area of research and development, and self-developed chips are destined to be a bumpy and tortuous road. We must have the courage to sharpen a sword for ten years. Named after Mariana, the team is well aware of the difficulty of the road.
Shen Jianyuan: Some people in the industry say that you have a "good fate", do you think so?
Chen Mingyong: The so-called good fate is that it is easy to make a decision, or this decision is naturally made as soon as it is made, which is a good fate, but I have never experienced this feeling, and many decisions are not very easy.
Whether it is personal growth or organizational growth, you have to break free from many shackles and overcome a lot of pressure. The struggle or decision-making in this process is not a "good fate" life state for entrepreneurs and business executives. But I think in a sense it's also "good", like I said we should be "hill climbers" who "smile forward", and when you feel that this thing is really right, everyone has the faith to go forward, not to look forward. You will find that although it is difficult and the task is arduous, it does not seem to be as difficult as you think.
I've had a state of continuous failure, but sometimes there are serendipity, but it's not necessarily the norm. I don't think it's a bonus to me because I think we should succeed, and I think we'll succeed in the future, because we're moving forward and we're going to get there.
Shen Jianyuan: In 2019, you proposed that OPPO should become a global technology brand, globalization, technology, especially brand, what stage has it reached now?
Chen Mingyong: We are now a company with a large global business, and we cannot be called a global brand. But behind the brand must be the product and technology, these two cornerstones to do a good job, so we proposed to make heavy efforts in technology. In particular, key technologies are needed to solve key problems.
We've continued to invest in a number of key areas, and the next step is to build a global brand. Culturally, we barely encountered much of a barrier. Wherever we are, our partners, including various institutions, still welcome and trust us, and the "duty" still plays a big role. But to really do a good job in brand, technology, and products, it is impossible to do without a global operating system, it is impossible to have no key technologies and underlying technologies, and it is impossible to have global talents. Do all of this well and other problems can be solved.
Shen Jianyuan: How do you view the opportunity and time window of the "meta-universe" concept?
Chen Mingyong: I don't think the time window of the metacosm will be very short, it will take enough time to form. In addition to the maturity of technology, it also requires the integration of technology and content. I think this process may be relatively long, and there are still many problems to be solved, so it will take as little as five years, or as many as ten years, before the "metacosm" can be truly built.
Shen Jianyuan: How to define the future value of OPPO in the industry?
Chen Mingyong: The irreplaceable value is the combination of hard and soft, especially in software systems, the value of integrating hardware capabilities and ecological connections, this ecology is not limited to IoT. If we look at it in terms of the concept of "integration of all things" or "metaverse", the ultimate mode is the connection of countless worlds that open up to each other, but each world may be a closed loop, and this construction requires patience and continuous investment.
Shen Jianyuan: In many directions, do you feel that the team can keep up with the pace of change?
Chen Mingyong: Behind the business challenge is that many other things have to be adjusted, so the change is not single. For example, organizational change, such as business breakthroughs, are interlinked, and business breakthroughs must be followed by organizations, and they have promoted or influenced each other. It has a logic in it. This logic has to do with whether we can withstand or adapt to such changes, with the order of change, and also by the constraints of troop strength and resource input. But no matter what, our change needs to move forward quickly, with a sense of urgency and mission.
Next, we will definitely have a lot of fundamental changes, some changes have already happened, some are happening, and it may be the future, and everyone has to step out of their comfort zone, meet new changes, and start new ways of working. We're not just changing the business, we're not just integrating software or hardware thinking, and we need to re-explore the way to play more professionally. People struggle at first, but you will find that as long as you stop what is wrong, the right thing will slowly come to life, and the business will gradually go down the right path.
Now OPPO is on the right path.
Shen Jianyuan: What kind of mistakes can you tolerate making the most?
Chen Mingyong: That is to take the team astray. The second is to bring the team without passion.
The development of enterprises to a certain stage, certainly not one person can succeed with hard work, it needs a group of people. As a CEO or the first person in charge of the company, you must be able to let more people play a role, perform their duties, and let everyone do what they are good at or like. To exert the power of all people, it is important to motivate or traction for everyone. OPPO has been doing mobile phones for more than 10 years, and there are still many talent gaps, but there are also many talents that have grown. There are a lot of colleagues who do better than me in certain positions, and in this case, if I'm still doing something they can do better than me, I don't think it's a good investment.
I also consciously push for someone to do my job and do it better than I do. For me, what I used to do was what was in front of me, and now I have to look farther, from real to virtual. Which ones are virtual? In what direction will our business develop in the future, what will we rely on to continue to create value in the future, how to build the competitiveness of the team in the future, and where will the core point be... OPPO used to be more of a pure hardware product, but now you will find that the software, ecology, and especially the changes in the overall architecture of the system require us to build capabilities and think more long-term.
Shen Jianyuan: What does "smiling forward" mean for OPPO at this stage?
Chen Mingyong: Moving forward with a smile stems from OPPO's duty value: insist on doing the right thing, the right road, not afraid of the distance, not afraid of difficulties. This year marks oppo's 18th anniversary. We hope to communicate with users around the world with a new look. We hope to promote the development of the industry and society through scientific and technological innovation, and "smile forward" with all climbers. No matter what kind of difficulties you face, only by moving forward can you solve the problem.
Shen Jianyuan/Wen