"Focus on the future, upgrade capabilities, and reduce dimensionality. ”
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来源:乔诺之声(ID:Geonol)
Author: Qi Jian, Chief Strategy Expert of Jono, Huawei's "Top Ten Blue Bloods"
Finishing: Zhou Zhenggan, Criss
A lot of people ask me: What is strategy for? I would say that strategy is first and foremost so that you don't regret it.
In the next 20 years, it will be a tragic reshuffle from the "Spring and Autumn Period to the Warring States", and professional players are eliminating amateur players at an accelerated pace. Since the reform and opening up, the opportunity is almost exhausted, we can no longer count on the opportunity driven, the only way is through the advanced scientific management system, with organizational ability driven.
A master of strategy who never fights past wars. When all industries are in full surplus, involution is inevitable. Only through scientific methods and the use of next-generation tactics to reduce the dimensionality of the attack, can we deal with the homogenization of products and the fragmentation of traffic. 01What is strategy?Take a step forward and see how the next 10-20 years will change
To do strategy, we must first re-examine a question: what kind of ecological position will we be in the industry in the next 10-20 years.
This is not a one-time re-examination, but based on the latest changes in technology and client-side, the results of the annual iteration of the review are to find our strategic positioning, that is, what kind of enterprise our enterprise wants to become.
The most important thing about strategic positioning is that when you see the changes in the next 10-20 years, you won't be slapped on the thigh at that time: "Why didn't I do it before!"
For example, we have counseled an agricultural and animal husbandry enterprise, which has more than 6,000 people, and has achieved the world's first pig feed, with a scale of nearly 90 billion, which is already very powerful. But after we went to talk in 2019, their chairman patted his thigh, "Why do I make pig feed all my life? Why don't I raise pigs?" He felt that such a dry business had been doing it for 20 years and had reached the first place in the world, while the gross profit margin of pig feed was only 8%.
It was originally a state-owned pig feed enterprise, and it opened both ends of the industrial chain to take a look: looking up, the raw materials of feed, from corn planting to seeds, and going down, to pig farming, it ended. Is this enough? In fact, it is not enough, after raising pigs, there are slaughtering, fresh food, cooked food and a series of businesses have not been fully seen. It is possible that after 5 years, I will have to slap my thigh again, "Why don't I go to cook cooked food like Shuanghui?"
Therefore, we need to look at an industry as a whole and analyze the entire industrial chain completely.
The strategy is first and foremost to solve this problem. We have a strategy tool called "three-dimensional thinking tree", imagining that strategy is a tree, only 10% of the direction and goals are set, and the most critical 90% should be able to decode and open it, decouple your direction and goal into product strategy, marketing strategy, talent strategy, digital strategy and ecological strategy, and then open it level by level to see which piece I should choose, not necessarily all of them can be done, but at least I don't regret it, because I have seen it, and only after careful evaluation can I decide whether to do each piece of business or not.
Many people ask what strategy is? The textbook standard answer is: trade-offs, especially concise. But I think different people ask about strategy, and the answer will be different, depending on the main contradiction of the company at that time. The only way to do this is to open the tree of strategy down and dissect it layer by layer.
Of course, it doesn't take much time, and after the choice, it comes back to the most important path question: the choice is easy, but what is the path to success?
02 How to build a nuclear weapon that "must be built"? Achieve an absolute lead of 5 30%.
The vast majority of companies will go through such an advanced stage, initially with a product, then differentiate from others, and then go up to the flagship to lead the industry's products. According to Huawei's Basic Law in 1998, there are four ways to win: good quality, good service, low cost, and fast speed.
This is the business design section of strategy. We want to be ahead of our competitors, and the ToB business can basically achieve the lead by achieving these four 30%: 30% higher quality, 30% lower cost, 30% better service, and 30% faster speed (the speed of responding to customers).
The quality and performance of the product are 30% higher, and the cost is 30% lower, as long as these two points are done first, the product will be sold. It may be difficult for some industries, but Huawei has been leading other industries with these two 30% in the past, which is why Huawei can eventually lead in various industries.
The service is 30% good, and the service should be designed as a product. Huawei's ToB business has always regarded services as part of its products, and has not considered such services to be dispensable or add-ons.
The speed is 30% faster, which is a relatively hidden requirement. It is to ensure that when any window of opportunity arises, you have the fastest insight into the opportunity, the whole company responds 30% faster, and the fastest product to seize the opportunity.
There will be a slight difference between ToC and ToB, that is, the experience is 30% better. Consumers of ToC need some culture, feelings, and some stories, which is a feeling and experience.
Therefore, in the end, it will constitute 5 leading 30%: 30% higher quality, 30% lower cost, 30% better service, 30% faster speed, and 30% better experience.
When we open these points one by one, such as the 30% lower cost, it will involve a few more layers down, including-
- What does our entire technology layout look like?
- What are our current costs, and how far ahead are we relative to our competitors?
- How do you do it at a much lower cost than your competitors?
- What is the cost target for the next 5-10 years, and how can it be achieved?
......
In the process of achieving cost targets, there is a corresponding organizational match involved. The vast majority of strategic things ultimately come back to the organization, and without the corresponding cost organization and operation mechanism, the goal of "cost continues to be far ahead of competitors" cannot be achieved.
03 Strategy is to realize the four "next generations"
In order to achieve the absolute lead of the five 30 percent, how can we match our entire organization and operation? We need to have a very important concept: the strategy, that is, to achieve the next generation, is to start building "nuclear weapons." This means that we need to fight high and low, and upgrade our capabilities in an all-round way, including next-generation products, next-generation marketing, next-generation organizations, and next-generation cadres.
1. Next-generation products
If we come up with a solution that is no different from others, it cannot be called a strategy. In this case, our products are no different from others, and there is no other way than to fight price wars and engage in customer relations.
At the heart of our strategy, however, is our ability to deliver next-generation solutions. For example, in the past, Steve Jobs launched smartphones, which led to the transformation of the entire industry. Smartphones are the next generation of feature phones. Maybe in 5 years' time, the mobile phone will be completely different from the present.
In the same way, we need to predict and shape the next generation of products in our own industry in 5-10 years, which involves the construction of the innovation mechanism of the whole company, which will not come out of thin air, but is closely related to our existing organizational operation mechanism, and also has a lot to do with our positioning.
First of all, our leadership needs to make a demand: the products we provide must be the next generation, which is a common requirement from the chairman to the CEO. Only when this requirement is made will our organization and operations match it. If our supervisors at all levels do not have the concept of the next generation, they may face huge challenges in the competition in the future market.
There are too many people in the market, too many people see market opportunities, and it is difficult for us to stand out without new ideas.
Therefore, the strategic thinking we often talk about is not a brainless "chicken blood", nor is it just an incentive, but more importantly, a change in thinking. We need to "scream" to become the next industry leader and see the next generation from a product perspective.
2. Next-Gen Marketing
Actually, there is also a new generation of marketing perspective, that is, our previous marketing was more focused on customer relationship management, which is the understanding of traditional marketing. The next generation of marketing is about understanding the customer's strategies and helping them achieve them.
If our sales leaders have a deep understanding of the customer's strategy and know how to assist the customer in achieving those strategies, then we can be the most critical part of the customer's strategy realization process. Only then will our marketing be successful and our customers will become dependent on us.
Simply talking about how good the product is is is the marketing concept of the past. Therefore, everywhere is my store, and everyone is my sales. That's what the future of marketing will be. In fact, the stock circle is larger than the traffic circle, and the most important strategy is to provide good customer service in a down-to-earth manner.
3. Next-generation organizations
The same is true for organizations, and existing forms of organization can be completely different. I used to call the existing organization a "green fire car organization", and basically the state of the enterprise is determined by the leadership. This kind of green train has only one locomotive, and the speed of the train depends entirely on the drive of the locomotive, and the locomotive does not move, and no one moves. However, this kind of organization will not be able to win in the future, and in reality, the green train is withdrawing from the stage of history.
The next generation of organizations is a moving bullet train, and each carriage has its own power. Therefore, our organization needs to transform from a green train to a high-speed train, which requires our cadres at all levels to have the thinking of a CEO and think like a CEO and a boss.
It's a hard thing to do, but if we can achieve such an organization, and our competitors are still stuck in traditional organizations, we will definitely be ahead in terms of organizational mechanisms. This is the organization of the two eras with completely different driving mechanisms, just as the high-speed rail will definitely replace the green train, the organization also needs to achieve synchronous upgrading in the process.
Strategy is not just a matter of direction, but a complete set of solutions, from R&D to marketing to organizational upgrading.
4. The next generation of cadres
In an organization, cadres are a crucial factor. The success of an enterprise depends to a large extent on the role of cadres. Similarly, there is also the problem of reengineering cadres.
Enterprises often have many excellent cadres, and they have performed well in their positions from the past and to the present, but from my observations, none of us have received education on how to become excellent cadres. Our cadres may have learned a lot of professional knowledge in Oxford, Cambridge, Tsinghua University, or Peking University, but they have not learned how to really become a good cadre Xi. Therefore, we need to re-understand the roles and responsibilities of cadres.
In my past counseling, I found that most people have a shallow understanding of the responsibilities of cadres. Many cadres believe that as long as they achieve the goals assigned to them by their bosses, they are good cadres. For example, if the boss sets a target of 2 billion and finally exceeds the target of 2.5 billion, is it definitely a good cadre?
I don't fully agree with that. Accomplishing the goal is just proof that you are doing a good job at this stage, and excellent cadres should consider what heights the company should reach in the next 5-10 years and contribute to achieving this goal.
In addition, there are two very hidden but important things: the reengineering of the organization and the establishment of the successor echelon.
Organizational reengineering is the transformation that will need to be achieved in the organization of the future, that is, the organization will change from the traditional hierarchical structure to a more flexible and future-proof organizational form. This process requires cadres at all levels to play an important role. They need to think about how to transform the organization into a future-proof shape and ensure that the new organizational structure can support the company's long-term growth.
The establishment of a successor echelon is also a crucial task. A company's future depends on whether it has a good successor. Executives need to focus on developing the next generation of talent and ensuring they have the potential to lead the company to success in the future.
Huawei has invested a lot of resources and energy in this area. The reengineering of the entire organization and cadres is one of the important issues that they have been concerned about for a long time. Through continuous efforts, Huawei has established an effective mechanism to promote organizational transformation and the development of successors. These efforts have laid a solid foundation for Huawei's continued development and success.
In addition to reshaping the organization of the next generation, the cadres are equally important in terms of combat weapons.
Whether or not our combat weapons are advanced compared with our opponents is a question that every cadre needs to ponder. I often explain in class how to ensure that our weapons are always more advanced than our opponents, and if both sides use swords, then hand-to-hand combat becomes inevitable. If the opponent uses a knife, we use a gun, and if the opponent wants a gun, we use missiles, and we must always have a slight advantage. Every truly outstanding cadre must have a better weapon in his hand than his opponent in order to continuously promote the progress of the team.
While performance is important, it's not just performance that is a key factor in determining an organization's long-term growth.
Ren Zhengfei has a lot of energy to spend on cadre management, and he once said that he does not interfere too much in the strategic direction of the business, and the people below are smarter and more capable than him. What he grasped was the continuous optimization of the entire management mechanism, including what kind of people should be selected as cadres and how such people should be cultivated.
To sum up, in order to create a complete set of success paths, we need to start from many aspects -
First of all, the product performance should be 30% ahead of the competition, and the cost should be reduced by 30%.
Second, the marketing strategy needs to think strategically to help customers succeed.
In addition, the organizational structure needs to be changed from the hierarchical structure of the traditional green-skinned fire vehicles to the organization of high-speed rail vehicles.
Finally, attention should also be paid to the selection and training of cadres.
Only when this complete solution is realized, can we really differentiate ourselves from our competitors. At that time, we may have crossed the stage of development by 5-10 years, standing at a height that is beyond their reach.
04The significance of strategy is the reengineering of the thinking of all employees
The significance of strategy for everyone is not processes, templates, and tools, but the reengineering of the thinking of all employees. The height of the enterprise is the height of the entrepreneur's cognition. Where the entrepreneur knows, the enterprise can go.
I have said these three sentences countless times: vision determines the realm, positioning determines status, and thinking determines the way out.
For example, Yu Chengdong should be said to be one of Huawei's more special personalities, and his mantra "far ahead" has recently been successfully out of the circle. Although Ren Zhengfei said that Yu Chengdong was a "madman", he still asked him to rush forward again and again. Why is that?
First of all, there is the spirit of a king. The secret of Yu Chengdong's greatest success lies in the saying, "There is no second in my dictionary." "That's the essence of strategy. If you lose the spirit of the king, don't talk about strategy, all the templates and tools are useless. As long as the brothers who have fought with Yu Chengdong know that there is no second choice, you must be the first, and you must be the first in the world. Because you didn't become the number one in the world, once your positioning was low, you lost before you fought.
Secondly, do dimensionality reduction strikes on the path. Yu Chengdong's trait is that after setting the highest goal, he asks you not to fight hand-to-hand, and don't work hard alone, which is useless. It is necessary to conceive a complete set of playing styles first, and it is a routine that the opponent has not considered at all, and it must be a dimensionality reduction strike.
For example, many people may have forgotten that before Huawei made mobile phones, all mobile phones had only one camera. Later, Huawei rethought the matter of mobile phone photography, and found that professional cameras will constantly switch lenses, and Huawei must be on par with professional cameras if it wants to lead the function of mobile phone photography. If you can't change the lens on your phone, you can use two cameras, and if two is not enough, you can use three...... We are all Xi to it now, but in fact, this is what Huawei defines and leads.
What is strategy? Strategy is the next generation of play, using the idea of dimensionality reduction and striking to do things. If it is still the original thinking, and the whole organization has not realized the reengineering of thinking, then it is not a strategy, it is an extension line. Many companies' strategies are often drawn as only extensions.
We have been doing strategy at Huawei for so many years, and every time we are trembling, because as long as you don't have a revolutionary breakthrough and don't make people shine, you will think that you are an extension line, and it is not called strategy at all. If there is no breakthrough strategy, it will be directly beaten back in Huawei. Although the strategy is 5-10 years old, every year when it is refreshed and iterative, it will be re-examined, where is the breakthrough in this year, whether it is in the market, or in the product, or in your organization.
To sum up, strategy is a process of thinking reengineering for all cadres and groups, and it needs to be supported by a complete path.
While looking up at the starry sky, the most important thing is to be down-to-earth, find the problem and direction, and in the end, the strategy will become a set of solutions that can support the sustainable and effective growth of the enterprise. Only in this way will the "chicken blood" we fight when looking forward to the vision and the future will be effective.
This is my personal view of strategy, and I hope it will be enlightening and helpful to you.
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