The Birth of Shanghai's First Conglomerate

The prosperity of Shanghai is not just reflected on the surface.

This is further reflected in its inherent culture and sense of elitism.

The elderly people here don't go out in flip-flops and white vests.

Instead, it was an Armani suit paired with a Hermès belt and jeans from a certain high-end brand.

In Shanghai, a bustling metropolis, if you don't have money, you'll need a lifetime to adapt.

If you have money, it's a completely different story, because it will take the initiative to accept you at the fastest speed.

It will make you a part of this city.

After Chen's relatives came over, they would have meals together every few days, probably to enjoy the lively atmosphere of the countryside.

Chen Pingsheng didn't take them shopping; instead, he moved several clothing stores inside and let them choose for themselves.

Go and choose the ones you like.

Whether it's a suit or a belt, you can choose from Armani, LV, GUCCI, or any other brand.

The watch was also chosen from Longines, Omega, and Rolex.

The price will not be less than 20,000; for amounts under 200,000, each person can choose two items.

This is different from the lifestyle in Guangdong, which is low-key, Shanghai is sophisticated, officials in Beijing are low-ranking, and Shenzhen is rich.

Living here, those who have even a little bit of means will dress themselves up in a very distinctive way.

This culture not only affects local residents, but also young people from other places who come here to work.

There's a saying that goes something like this: if she's been in Shanghai for more than three years...

You'll find that you can't save any money at home.

Even if she's just a waitress earning three thousand a month, she wouldn't blink an eye when buying a bag worth ten or twenty thousand.

This is Shanghai, a city full of dreams.

As for the so-called dream, you'll find when you come here that no matter how high your education level is, if you don't have a house in Shanghai or a Shanghai hukou (household registration), it won't matter.

If you still want to settle down here, then you don't deserve to talk about dreams.

Getting married, having children, and buying a house are three things that can easily make you afraid to quit your job.

It can even cause midlife anxiety.

The Chen family naturally didn't have this problem, but the personnel research department of Tengying Group discovered this serious issue during a new round of personnel research.

As early as 15, Chen Pingsheng invested heavily in establishing an independent economic research institute for Tengying Group.

Besides studying the global economy and markets, the most important task of this research institute is self-reflection and self-examination.

The so-called self-examination and self-inspection are, of course, aimed at the entire Tencent Group.

The research institute doesn't care who your chairman is; it will just compile the problems it finds into a table and present it to your boss.

Of course, the target of this problem is not the management of the hundreds of thousands of stores under its umbrella.

Because back when Gao Hu was in trouble, the senior and middle management of the directly operated stores had already undergone two rounds of replacements.

Replacing at least half of the staff revitalized all the stores.

This time, the target of the problem is the headquarters of major companies.

This is an unavoidable aspect for many companies. Just like people, when they first start working, they are naturally full of passion.

What I think about most every day is getting a promotion and a raise.

As the years go by and you achieve a certain level of success, securing a higher position becomes increasingly difficult as the group stabilizes.

It's not even possible.

At this point, most people tend to lose their passion.

This will also become an obstacle to the group's development.

Most companies choose to lay off these employees as a solution.

A small number of companies will turn a blind eye, but only state-owned enterprises can ignore this issue.

This is also the origin of the mid-life crisis in large enterprises.

Whether to optimize through layoffs or rehire is the question.

In the end, Chen Pingsheng still signed the agreement to optimize and lay off employees.

This wave of layoffs will not affect the company's stores; it is merely a self-reform effort by the headquarters.

It is also a way to keep companies dynamic, and it is only applicable to the headquarters of major companies.

The optimized ratio is 1 out of 5 frontline employees at headquarters.

One middle-level manager was removed and three remained; one senior manager was removed and two remained.

One-third of the executives need to be laid off.

This is also the largest proportion of the current wave of layoffs.

The reason is simple: many of these people have achieved financial freedom.

After achieving financial freedom, their thoughts often revolve around making even more money.

When a company's internal revenue is no longer sufficient to meet its own needs, problems such as cutting corners and using substandard materials will arise.

They might even invest in related companies through intermediary transactions.

Moreover, Chen Pingsheng also introduced a brand-new policy at headquarters.

That means rotating CEOs. CEOs of major companies, including Chu Qiuyan, Chang Fu, and Yang Qian, will no longer be sitting on their own seats indefinitely.

Instead, a rotating system is adopted, with a maximum term of two years for a CEO.

This applies to all publicly listed companies.

This headquarters self-reform has affected more than just middle and senior management.

It also includes the top layer.

Once the layoffs and restructuring are completely finished, it will be time for the CEOs of major companies to take over again.

Surprisingly, before the layoffs and downsizing were even fully completed, Chu Qiuyan came to see him alone.

Qiu Yan is also the youngest CEO of Bobo Milk Tea in the entire group, and she originally had a passion for milk tea.

Over time, Bobo Milk Tea has become fully automated, and she, as the CEO, no longer needs to be responsible for launching any new products.

That so-called passion has been slowly fading away.

This has led to Bobo Milk Tea falling from its leading position to first place amid increasing market competition.

Now, several brands can compete with it.

This is also the main reason why the headquarters must adopt a rotating shift system.

It's not enough to just keep shouting for the people below to maintain their passion; the passion of these leaders is slowly being worn away.

"Uncle Chen, I want to go to the Dream Realization Foundation."

"The Dream Realization Fund doesn't have the same reputation as Bobo Milk Tea."

“I know, I just want to go there and help some people who truly have dreams, just like Uncle Chen helped me back then.”

Chu Qiuyan had had this idea for quite some time.

She may no longer be suitable to be the CEO of Bobo Milk Tea.

After all, the current milk tea market is extremely competitive.

Every day, a number of trendy brands emerge.

In this industry, if you don't have a bit of a wolf-like mentality, you'll be taken down in no time.

It's obvious that Chu Qiuyan doesn't possess that wolfish nature.

Chen Pingsheng agreed to let her go, but she would have to start as the vice president first.

There's a significant barrier between selling milk tea and making investments.

She needs to go there to study for a year or two first.

Of course, if it's something she likes, she'll adapt to it very quickly.

Chu Qiuyan applying herself was a good way to avoid some awkward situations.

Even if she didn't come, Chen Pingsheng would still make her step down from her position as CEO of Bobo Milk Tea.

Replace her with someone who truly has the drive and passion of a wolf.

To be honest, the Dream Realization Fund is quite suitable for her.

Whether she can become the CEO of the Dream Realization Fund in the future depends mainly on her own level of passion.

Chu Qiuyan was the first to come to him, and Chang Fu was the second.

This guy actually applied to be the CEO of Tencent Entertainment.

Chen Pingsheng almost kicked him home with one kick.

What the hell is he thinking?
Does that mean you want to settle down and be a CEO?
Who doesn't know that Tencent Entertainment is full of beautiful women?

However, after calming down and thinking about it, Chen Pingsheng felt that the suggestion was not bad.

The main reason is that since he stopped managing Tencent Entertainment, the stock price hasn't changed much in the past two years.

But the financial situation is indeed deteriorating.

If Tencent Entertainment wants to improve its financial performance, having Chang Fu transform his business is probably the best option.

This means enabling Tencent Entertainment to fully integrate into the short video economy.

Those minor celebrities who aren't making money should all go and do live-streaming e-commerce; only if they do it well will they get acting roles.

If you can't manage it well, I won't give you the resources.

Although it's a bit shameless, it is indeed a way to quickly improve Tencent Entertainment's financial statements.

Who told celebrities to have such abnormally high salaries these days?

A well-known celebrity can easily earn 80 to 90 million yuan a year just by filming a few variety shows.

Nobody wants to take low pay anymore.

Sending Changfu over to improve things seems to have worked quite well.

As for his wife Yang Qian, she's doing quite well at Deer Antler Coffee, and she'll definitely be his next wife.

The remaining snacks, Tenghui Department Store, Feiyangyang Catering, Yateng Short Drama, etc., all need to be replaced.

According to Chen Pingsheng's expectations, this major reshuffle will most likely allow the group to take another step forward.

It's better than it is now, at least.

(End of this chapter)