In China's retail industry, Fat Donglai is a legend, and its adherence to retail service ingenuity, practice of extreme humanism, and pursuit of free and loving spirit have become a model of beautiful business in China.
At the 2023 Lianshang Conference, Chairman Yu Donglai, appeared for the first time through stage dialogue, and launched a dialogue with Pang Xiaowei, chairman of Lianshang.com, about the "heart road", unveiling the untold story behind Fat Donglai, and experiencing the sincere and vivid side of the founder of Fat Donglai up close.
The following is the transcript of the conversation (edited by Lianshang.com):
Freedom and love
Pang Xiaowei: It is very rare for Lianshang to communicate with guests in such a format for the first time in so many years. In my mind, Brother Middle East is a very special person, among entrepreneurs, those who can be liberated, free people, and enlightened people are one of a hundred; Among these people who have realized and liberated, they can still do the enterprise so well; These people can continue to preach, teach peers, and teach different professions in addition to realizing and doing a good job in the enterprise, and selflessly spread their experience, practice, and understanding to everyone. These three "one out of a hundred" is "unique", I am very happy to invite Donglai Brother to do this dialogue, thank you Donglai Brother.
I made a PPT, the above is the corporate culture of Fat Donglai in 1995, 2002 and 2006, you can see that it has been evolving, why is there a change in the middle? What is a node?
Yu Donglai: In the process of growing up, corporate culture is also with time and experience, just like children grow up, and after a few years, with the changes of the environment and experience, the thinking will also improve, which is such a concept. From the initial satisfaction of oneself, to the generation of feelings, to the desire to benefit more people, and finally to a higher level of pursuit, all the way to the level of faith, step by step growth.
Pang Xiaowei: In 2019, we established the corporate culture and concept of "freedom and love", can you explain what freedom is? What is love?
Yu Donglai: The culture pursued by Fat Donglai and the culture advocated by the Chinese state have been condensed together, and it is also to precipitate the beautiful concepts in human nature, so that people can live with more dignity and let this society reflect more fairness, justice, harmony, beauty, freedom and fraternity. In the end, I hope that through such a concept, more people will know how to achieve themselves, have a sound personality, at least know what is good and evil, what is right and what is wrong, and have the ability to distinguish right from wrong; Know our lives, how life is planned and unfolded; How to make your life more meaningful, live your life with enthusiasm, and live your life more freely, enthusiastically, easily and beautifully.
It is a system, which may be from the traditional culture of China, from Laozi and Taoism, all the way to Confucianism, Buddhism, and then combined with Greek culture; From the time of Socrates, to the later Roman culture, to the modern industrial revolution, with the progress of world culture in recent thousands of years, we have seen the entire state of existence of the world, the state of survival of Americans, the state of survival of Europeans, and the state of survival of Asians. Who lives happily, we let these happy regions and countries as our example, to spur ourselves, just like Fat Donglai, integrate these concepts into it, write them into the enterprise system, and slowly implement them in the operation of the enterprise, so that more Fat Donglai people can develop and progress in this beautiful life direction.
But this culture can not be shared at once, may be different from our habits, but after so many years of pursuit and implementation by fat Donglai people, we deeply know that this method is too advanced and beautiful, and hope to share a better and more scientific lifestyle with more people, so that more people can take care of their lives more beautifully, sunny, and let more people live a more beautiful state of life.
Pang Xiaowei: This understanding of "freedom" and "love" is very different from what we usually come into contact with. I saw a video from your early video, so show it here. This video talks about the love of the product, the salesperson can talk to the product when he is sad, let it comfort and comfort you, you can experience it, what kind of love is this?
Everyone looks at these two pictures again, it is my message taken from his Douyin, saying that I went to study at Xuchang College in that poor era, and there was a free phone number in the supermarket opposite, and I still expressed my gratitude for the year of not being confused. For at least 20 years, Fat Donglai has always had a free phone, in the past when the telephone was not popular, for many people to emergency, especially to call the children after school to contact their families, Fat Donglai is not a few words can be finished.
There was such a love more than 20 years ago, a love for goods, a love for things that have no life. I'm curious, and my friend is curious, why is this person like this? Was it innate at first, or did it slowly become like this? Did anything special happen in between?
Yu Donglai: Fat Donglai has come to today, or my life has come to this day, the biggest reason is the reason for personality, and I was naturally soft-hearted, which may be given by my parents. For reasons of character and experience, my story is endless, there are too many, I myself think it is legendary.
Early experience and blindness caused too many ups and downs, took a lot of detours, and also made me relatively stable when doing anything. Many entrepreneurs in China, entrepreneurs from all walks of life, because the experience of youth is too simple, have not taken any detours, have not gone through the unforgettable experience of life and death, so do not know pain, are with the environment to unfold their lives, no planning, which also leads to people from all walks of life in the society, whether bosses or practitioners, in the process of life growth is more blind, because there is too little experience along the way. My early experience allowed me to develop in the direction of maturity. Therefore, I hope to share it with more people, so that more people can take fewer detours. It's like a swimmer who sees someone else fall into the water and feels guilty if he doesn't save it.
In 1999, I said to be a great person, and great people can at least be open-minded and less entangled. In the past 20 years, I have experienced many life stories, and I feel that the ideas or methods of life I pursue are too valuable, and I hope to share them with more people so that more people can avoid detours. However, because everyone's living habits are different, many people can't understand it when sharing, and I'm also very distressed, but I also want to open it, after all, it is thousands of years of culture. So later, we said that we must first be ourselves, do ourselves well, and then slowly influence the destined people, and slowly let this good concept have a systematic display, do all aspects of planning, so that everyone can see.
In recent years, what Fat Donglai has shown everyone, everyone has slowly felt and seen. I hope that everyone will have a happy store, a happy team, and an operation that makes customers happy, so that their enterprises are more quality and their enterprises feel more and more healthy and beautiful.
I think that the most important thing to be able to achieve today is the innate character, and then the acquired experience, experience together, and unimaginable fate, that is, heavenly fate. I didn't believe it before, but sometimes you still have to understand the way of heaven, start your life around science, and think from the beginning to satisfy your own survival; To get the care of people, slowly grow by yourself; Finally, I want to benefit more people and move towards universal values.
Pang Xiaowei: Since 1999, more than 20 years ago, the situation of the Fat Donglai store that has been presented to everyone today has been very fond of it, and everyone likes it very much, and thinks that such a beautiful place and such a beautiful store are all going to check in. What has Fat Donglai been injecting into this store for more than 20 years?
Yu Donglai: In 1998, I experienced a fire, and this fire made me feel a lot about human nature, especially that I can't owe favors to others. When the fire was fired, some people cared for me, especially the common people. There was an old lady, after the fire, the old lady said, "Son, you can't lie down, you need to open a shop, we two saved more than 20,000 yuan, take it for you to use." "There is also an elderly person who has saved more than 200,000 yuan, which must be put in our enterprise for us to use, and the farmers who grow a lot of good things at home, that is, invisible care and trust, such stories have a lot in Fat Donglai, very touching." And my staff, who accompanied me for more than a month.
At that time, I felt that Fat Donglai was not my own, but everyone's and society's, and I could only bring this enterprise to a better way, without any right to trample on this enterprise. There is such an original intention, I hope that Fat Donglai has it in every place in Xuchang City, so that the people can buy things conveniently, without thinking about money, just to make the city better, but at that time did not have such ability. A lot of things happened later, and through such feelings and heart-to-heart experiences, my thoughts were constantly improving.
Fat Donglai's corporate culture in 1995 is "exchange authenticity for sincerity", which is an extension of a sentence on the postcard sold at that time "exchange my heart for your heart, friendship is like the depth of the sea", what I say and do is generally consistent, although it cannot be perfect, but this is a principle. By 2003, "creating wealth, spreading civilization and sharing happiness", to later "fairness, freedom, happiness, fraternity", which is at the level of faith, and finally "freedom and love", around the country's excellent traditional culture, plus the world's advanced culture integration together, to spur this enterprise, so that more people can develop their lives, careers, and lives around this culture.
Formulating enterprise standards, just like the state formulates laws, how to make such laws and systems serve every citizen, so that every citizen can carry out his or her life with dignity, happiness, freedom and enthusiasm.
Pang Xiaowei: In my recollection, I mentioned that many people were willing to support you after the fire, including employees. Many people who open chain stores regard the store as a pumping machine, a money-making machine, but you see this as a terminal to give back to the society, exchange hearts for hearts, and know the news.
During the previous exchange, you mentioned that it was very painful to lose freedom in the past, so I made a wish to God that if I could give me freedom, I would be enough, and I could be a cow or a horse. Just said that you are a person who believes in your word, is it because of this desire, after you are free, you are doing this thing?
Yu Donglai: I am a person with faith by nature, I like freedom and happiness, so I have always insisted on the pursuit of freedom and happiness at any stage of my life, and I think this way when I am confused. Gradually, freedom became an idea that spurred me on in my life. Later, when I learned about the higher freedoms in the world, like the Confessional, and then about French culture, and then about American culture and British culture, I knew that freedom in human life is not only abstracted into freedom of behavior, but probably more spiritual freedom.
With the deep understanding of culture, slowly open their own thoughts and patterns, there are two paths to life development: first, to selfishness; Second, to kindness and love. When you go in the direction of kindness and love, your life will become more and more beautiful, people will live more and more simply, lies do not want to be told, constraints do not accept, the traditional jealousy, hypocrisy, greed on the body these things seem backward, to the direction of goodness is the heart of adult beauty, their life is more and more beautiful, more and more open-minded, more and more calm, really very blooming. If you go in the direction of selfishness, you will become more and more greedy, more and more ignorant, more and more hardworking, and more and more jealous, always thinking about how to kill each other and be happy. If it is a healthy concept, you will feel relieved and happy because of the other person's success, achievement, beauty, "you are so good", is a habit of appreciation and praise.
When we understand this habit, we are really happy, and between our current life state and the relatively better living environment and living state, it is a completely different life state of 180 degrees. Over the years of reform and opening up, our thinking and all aspects have made qualitative progress, but the road ahead is still very long, if we use wisdom to bring beauty to our country, think about how to be more sincere, more friendly, more harmonious, more kind, more beautiful, more sincere, if there is such a heart, I believe our country will be happier and happier. Therefore, we have to look at all this with a sunny heart, and when I understand these things, regardless of the environment, I am spurring Fat East to progress in this direction.
Although the current fat Donglai still has many shortcomings, its true appearance is far beyond everyone's imagination. People who understand the culture of Fat Donglai are executives of Fat Donglai, and the employees of Fat Donglai have not reached this level, which needs to be slowly instilled downward to influence and achieve, so that more Fat Donglai people can live a sound personality, live a sunny life state, and influence more enterprises with such a culture.
Fat Donglai's original intention is a school, not a company. Make a model, let other industries see how we do it, let this good idea and good way of life spread, and make more people's lives easier and better. Just like more than a dozen students and enterprises of the current Union Business School, in just one year, my face has changed from the original confusion to the current childlike state, and I feel the meaning of life. I believe that as this good method is slowly shared, it will benefit more enterprises and more bosses. When the boss is happy, I believe that he will also share this happiness with the team, so that your business is like an enterprise, not like a business concept.
A speck of dust, a school, a city
Pang Xiaowei: There is a Huaguo Mountain, Huaguo Mountain has a water curtain cave, we see the water curtain cave and feel very beautiful, now you tell us that the water curtain cave is more beautiful, and look forward to Donglai brother sharing more treasures in the water curtain cave with you in the future.
I extracted three words: a speck of dust, a school, a city. You once mentioned that the company of Fat Donglai is a speck of dust in the universe compared with advanced culture, are you satisfied with this enterprise of Fat Donglai at present? What does your fat Donglai look like? What do you expect the biggest change in it in the past two years?
Yu Donglai: I am also growing slowly, growing at every stage, it turns out that because I am young, too anxious, and I hope that the good ideas and methods in my heart can be understood by everyone. So sometimes it's very demanding and doesn't take into account everyone's habits. Later, as my experience grew, I gradually realized that it was unrealistic to change immediately. Just start with the survival phase and slowly adjust.
Fat Donglai hopes to change human nature in a rational way, and does not want to just shout like Lu Xun and Bai Yang to solve the bitter state of life; I don't want to change it in a lot of extreme, radical ways. I hope that a rational approach can be taken to truly understand our mother, our country, and be a good child of the country. Slowly precipitating a pattern to help our country and help our people progress in a more sincere and happy direction. Unconsciously, this path has been going on for more than 20 years, this road is not simple, and my mentality is also changing.
From this perspective to understand Fat Donglai's words, Fat Donglai's team is very good, that kind of excellence is not easy for you to express in words. In the past, when I cultivated the corporate team of Fat Donglai, I imagined that the management of Fat Donglai would be like "evangels" in the future, spreading a happy lifestyle, life philosophy and life method like an angel.
Looking at it now, I feel moved, they are indeed too good, the team characteristics of Fat Donglai are sincere, whether it is the current Fat Donglai employees and the employees who have left Fat Donglai, no matter what the ability is, at least sincerity and loyalty are beyond doubt. I am an impatient person, the requirements are relatively high, and the employees who do not meet the company's requirements are immediately opened, no matter how long they work.
But now I have a higher thinking in terms of the pattern, the last time I went out I said I retired, really retired, I try to spend all my energy on the construction of what I can and the spread of life philosophy, 80% of the enterprise let go, the operation does not care, in the financial aspect, in the logistics to do some services, in the big spur to do some things, to help them grow better. The culture, system, and technology inside are slowly opening up like glass. With the standardization and openness of Fat Donglai, I believe that more enterprises can approach Fat Donglai, see the real Fat Donglai, hope that Fat Donglai's good method can make your business progress and develop in a more relaxed direction, in the future, I will also try my best to share with you on the platform of Lianshang Network, benefiting more enterprises, so that more enterprises really know how to do business.
Pang Xiaowei: You said you are retiring?
Yu Donglai: I really retreated, I retreated 80%.
Pang Xiaowei: Why?
Yu Donglai: Because you understand that your team can do it, they grow up, let them do it, and I do what I should do. This is a qualitative change, and when we understand this method, the vitality of the entire enterprise is unimaginable. The entire management team, the senior management team, and even the small grassroots managers in each department must know how much the entire company sells each month, how much it earns, how much employees pay, etc., all of which are transparent, so that there is really a wealth of talent. Even if I bring all the executives out, because of this good system and good method, the management of this enterprise is all gone, and the operation of the enterprise can be operated normally, because there are standards and systems.
There are those who buy, those who pay, those who receive money, those who settle accounts, everything they have, how much money they sell, how to pay their salaries, and they don't worry about anything under good concept management. Everyone may feel difficult, this is too sad, you all feel difficult, what should I do if I want to eat? Feeling difficult is that our method is not right, don't think about how to face the competition, but think about doing what you like, creating life, creating beauty, enjoying beauty, is such a state of life.
Pang Xiaowei: You said before that Fat Donglai is not a company, it is a school. If you could only teach one thing in this school, what do you think you would most like to teach employees?
Yu Donglai: How to be a beautiful and sound person. Just like parents cultivate children, we must cultivate a sound child, after the age of 18 rely on their ability to start their own life, to create beauty, enjoy beauty, to truly live a beautiful life, we parents who do not want their children to live healthy, happy, beautiful, happy.
Pang Xiaowei: Many schools want to teach students the skills to make a living, but you think that Fat Donglai is teaching employees how to be a good person.
Yu Donglai: Become a happy person, become a happy person, a sound person, do what you like. What is a happy person? Do things like and love. But our state of life is basically for face, for responsibility, for glory, and this state of life is a backward state of life. Train our employees, train our children how to know life, how to know their own character characteristics, what is suitable for themselves, choose their favorite profession around their own characteristics, so that children can feel happy at every stage.
It's the same with retail. Why do you work so hard every day? Doing business to make money is about having fun, but it's so hard now, right? If not, what to do? Change the approach and don't be so stubborn, because humans are intelligent.
Pang Xiaowei: In the course of such decades, the fat Donglai people have received such edification, no wonder Xuchang will become a warm city. Everyone said that because a supermarket fell in love with a city, every time you live broadcast, I saw the message of netizens, saying Donglai brother, why don't you come to my city, the only thing I have to complain about Fat Donglai is why not come to our city. Why not open more stores? Why not come to Hangzhou? Don't go to Suzhou?
Yu Donglai: This is a deeper problem. For example, is it better in a country to have only a few companies that are excellent, or is it better to have more companies in the country that are excellent, as in Switzerland? Fat Donglai hopes that more companies are excellent, so that this society can develop healthierly and happier. It is to understand this truth, so I hope that Fat Donglai can really share its experience like a school, hope that more enterprises can embark on a beautiful operation state, and believe that more enterprises will know how to be an excellent enterprise in the future.
The culture of Fat Donglai is learned from the world's best countries, such as Switzerland, Britain, Northern Europe, etc. The craftsmanship of Japan is indeed worth learning, but it is too hard, when I went to Japan to exchange, on the one hand, I hope to learn their good things, on the other hand, I hope to share the good ideas we have learned, and contribute to the good development of the world.
Pang Xiaowei: Why don't you go to Japan to open a store?
Yu Donglai: I believe that companies with excellent technology in the world, such as Costco, Sam's Club, Ito, etc., will find their own positioning in the future, and they will be able to create beauty with the right methods, spread beauty, contribute to the society, and enjoy beauty. The technology of these enterprises is more on the basis of a science, now the domestic retail industry can not take a very good enterprise, only a group of relatively excellent enterprises, but only very rudimentary, to the system no system, to the standard without standards, to culture without culture, only know to make money, only know responsibility, if this is the case the enterprise will be very hard. If life is the pursuit of happiness, but the method is hard, then think about it, change some, hope that China's retail industry will slowly move into a relaxed business state, entrepreneurs at least live like people, not slaves to earn money and fame.
Therefore, slowly let there be more beautiful elements in life, make yourself beautiful, let others be beautiful, and make society beautiful. In doing so, the state of the enterprise is different. I basically play 300 out of 365 days a year, but what about you? You also have to visit, to communicate, to learn, and to praise each other. However, I also have too many immature aspects, and there is also a hard side, so I hope to have a scientific lifestyle, able to deal with emotional problems, child problems, education problems, parent problems, career problems, etc., will not accept these constraints, and remain relaxed and free. I also hope that you can understand this good life concept and way of life one day sooner, and at least make your life more enthusiastic, relaxed, beautiful, rational and brilliant.
Pang Xiaowei: Today, Donglai Ge said these heartfelt words, and it may take 20 or 30 years for everyone to understand them more deeply. Remember that you shed tears in your speech at "2023 China Supermarket Week" before, so many people are learning to be fat, why do you still feel a little lonely?
Yu Donglai: I shed tears because such a good way of life, people don't understand and don't know how to have, I really feel very wasteful. 20 years ago, I thought I could share this idea and walk with everyone on a better path, but many people don't understand it.
Therefore, the good method is really too wasteful, including this time I came out because Mr. Pang was looking for me. When I first came to me, I wasn't very interested. Later, he said that too many enterprises were too confused, and hoped that the concept, methods and experience of Fat Donglai could benefit more enterprises, which moved me. I said okay, I'll do what I can. Thinking that there are three or five companies with them is not tired, which does not affect me to go out and play. When I did this, I still complained in my heart at first, and I felt too tired, but just like preaching, after doing it, I felt that this thing was too meaningful, and now I can't let go of so many enterprises.
Pang Xiaowei: He likes freedom and said at "China Supermarket Week" that I am the devil.
Yu Donglai: I was still saying last night that Fat Donglai came out three years ahead of schedule. I have been in contact with these 13 companies for a year, and I have not met them much in just one year, especially the 5 companies that have adjusted after the Spring Festival, which is a short contact. But these 13 bosses have changed drastically, and they can also sense that the biggest change is not the enterprise, but the fact that these entrepreneurs have become childlike, pure, and like children, no matter how old they are, this group of people slowly began to find themselves.
I also know that it takes time to change, and it takes three years for general enterprises to adjust, but now it makes sense to look at the whole environment to do this, and I am also very grateful to Mr. Pang, these more than a dozen companies are also very grateful, and we should thank Mr. Pang, because he is also selfless, we are all selfless, and we want to make this society better.
Therefore, I said that Lianshang should be the next 5, 10, or even 20 years, its example is the Nobel Prize, the Lianshang Prize can become the future Nobel Prize, representing sincerity, representing fraternity, representing friendliness, representing hope, representing enthusiasm, adhere to this direction, share and transmit sincere and beautiful information. This time the awards have begun to change, and there are so many prizes.
In the future, there will be more enterprises, including Fat Donglai, including Lianshang.com, the money earned is first of all employee income, the rest of the money is used to make the retail platform, and even the commercial platform can be full of beauty, the future road I believe there are more things that you can't imagine, we are not students, we are participants, but creators. Under such circumstances, we jointly make the platform of Lianshang benefit more enterprises, and also make the same platform in China friendly, not only to earn money, not only to prove themselves, as long as there is a dream in the heart, it will definitely be possible to do it.
In the future, we can think about the predecessors who have paid for China's retail industry, we must remember them, present them with awards, and comfort them. Including the failed and lost, we can all feel the awe, recognition, and relay of the juniors for them. We are their descendants, relaying the whole business in a better direction, to take on this mission, and at the same time to be able to live well.
Just like in the process of contacting Lianshang.com, there are still many companies that want to walk in, I said okay, don't walk in, I don't have this time. But we will use another method, for example, to do an echelon type every year, and those who can't get in can do some president classes, and the cost is less. If you don't have the company that came in before, or I don't have so much time to share it on other occasions, you can participate in the president class, how to do it, how is the operation model, how is the business situation, you can learn closer.
In the future, whether it is real estate, department stores, training, all industries can do this together, how to make yourself happy, how to make your business happy, how to make society happy. Do what you can, play and play, let more entrepreneurs live like people, live the quality of life, live the beautiful side of human nature, at least worthy of their own life.
There are so many things to talk about, including children, second-generation relays, lifestyle issues, etc., let's take our time. Of course, if enterprises want to learn, there are still many opportunities that do not need to pay, and there are also activities like "Supermarket Week", so that everyone has the opportunity to contact more good enterprises, so that our whole society and our country will work hard in a better direction.
Pang Xiaowei: I listened to the surging heart, and I hope that our Lianshang Network will do something like the Nobel Prize for good business to lead, spread and encourage beautiful enterprises. At the same time, I don't want to end up making you particularly tired in the process. You were originally in a very relaxed, free, and joyful state of life, and you couldn't do too many things and bring too many businesses because of preaching, and if I "ruined" you in the end and kept you busy, I really became the "devil".
Yu Donglai: Now that I am retired, I also have time, so arrange it reasonably.
Pang Xiaowei: People like Donglai Ge, saying such words, and doing such things are really very precious, and it is very valuable for everyone here to be able to hear and share face-to-face and up close. I often think about how many years it takes to produce such a person, and to have such a mind, is really very precious.
To sum it up with a poem, which is also the shortest poem in the world, is from Leonard Cohen's "You go your way, I go your way." "I believe that this road taken by Donglai Brother is an avenue, a right path, a beautiful road, today such a road is in front of everyone's eyes, I believe that our joint businessmen are also willing to take such a road, everyone here I also look forward to everyone to take such a beautiful road and live up to a beautiful life."