The Birth of Shanghai's First Conglomerate

Chapter 708 The Succession Problem of the Second Generation

In middle age, one either indulges oneself or becomes strict with oneself.

Aside from that, I don't seem to have any other major interests or hobbies.

Chang Fu undoubtedly went down the first extreme.

However, unlike Gao Hu, Chang Fu has now become a capital tycoon. He is financially independent and does not need to restrain himself too much in the operation of the group or in his personal life, so he can indulge his desires.

Therefore, there is no risk involved.

It's just that his wife, Yang Qian, is also doing her own thing. The only thing they're not getting a divorce from is that their son, Chang Dalin, and the assets are difficult to separate.

The rest of us just went about our own business.

Despite his current large belly and weight gain of 200 pounds in middle age, Chang Fu remains incredibly charming thanks to his wealth.

The goddess that young men can't win over is nothing more than a woman who puts on a brave face and sticks out her buttocks.

When they're happy, they buy them cars and houses.

If you're not happy, just give it to someone else and go find the next one.

This is probably the benefit of financial freedom; of course, there are also women who don't bow down to money.

It's rare, and Chang Fu wouldn't waste his time on a woman like that.

Chen Pingsheng ignored him because there were too many people like him in their circle.

Power is more alluring to men than beautiful women.

Beautiful women, especially top-tier beauties, can also be a stepping stone to the pinnacle of wealth.

As far as Chen Pingsheng knew.

A certain group set aside two floors to search for a top-tier group of beautiful women all over the country.

These women not only need to be beautiful, but also have high emotional intelligence and be talented.

Good looks alone are not enough in their industry.

Most importantly, you have to know how to win the favor of important people.

Chen Pingsheng himself didn't particularly like these things, but he had come into contact with them quite often, so he wasn't surprised by them.

After An'an reminded him again, he probably realized his mistake.

For her, the things she could learn at university were actually very limited.

It's far better for her to train within her own group. The Anle Group has not only investment funds but also charitable foundations.

And Tengchao Commercial Management, valued at over 100 billion yuan.

Now that Snack Run has been transferred to her name, Song Jun and An An have also begun to seriously study the traditional businesses that her father founded.

One discovery made her feel very strange.

Those traditional businesses that developed in the early days have not even been able to see her parents in the last three years.

Although these companies still maintain a series of benefits and policies established by her father in his early days.

However, it is quite obvious that the group's status is not as good as before.

Many senior executives were actually somewhat disappointed, and some even began to feel discouraged.

Back when I worked for the big boss, I was full of fighting spirit.

Not only have they opened retail stores all over the country, but they have also invested billions of yuan in snack factories everywhere.

He has the ambition to dominate half of this industry.

Later, the big boss shifted his investment focus to the technology sector and the AI ​​industry.

Their position as traditional industries that developed early on is in a very awkward position.

This isn't just the case at Snack Run.

Even a company as powerful as Tencent Entertainment, which once dominated half of the entertainment industry, is no exception.

Even Bai Xin can't see her father often anymore, which shows that her father has indeed devoted all his energy to the field of science and technology.

For these traditional enterprises that are experiencing a downturn, the most direct solution adopted by the bosses is resource integration.

Industry mergers.

For example, Tencent Entertainment sold its controlling stake to Tencent Media, and Bobo Milk Tea was sold to Deer Antler Coffee.

Feiyangyang Catering was also sold to Tencent Media.

These old folks who followed the big boss in building the empire in the early days have now become completely like stepchildren.

It's like a child who's neither loved by his father nor his mother, left there to be abandoned.

Keep in mind that they are all listed companies with market capitalizations of tens of billions.

Some elderly people who dared to speak the truth even directly pointed out that the main reason for the overall decline or even lag of traditional sectors was not anything else.

The main problem is that the big boss's focus has shifted.

Market-related reasons can all be attributed to the second factor.

The big boss himself doesn't really manage these traditional businesses anymore, so the group's veterans, who have also achieved financial freedom, naturally won't work as hard as before.

Companies that lack the drive to strive are like elderly people in their twilight years; not only are they slow to act, but they also develop a series of large-corporation ailments.

For example, the problem with the group is that there is no problem.

Personal problems are big problems.

This kind of atmosphere prevails throughout the company, and in order to avoid taking responsibility, every department will pass the buck to each other on important matters.

It even involves dragging a large group of people to share the responsibility.

What was originally a very minor issue escalated into a major problem after layers of buck-passing and blame-sharing.

A month has passed and the matter remains unresolved.

The two franchisee complaints best reflect the group's severely declining operational efficiency.

It was a very small matter, but three snack shops opened within a 500-meter radius.

This resulted in no one making any money.

This is definitely the responsibility of their group; if the big boss were in charge...

We will arrange compensation on the same day we receive a complaint.

Now, different departments report to each other, then study and discuss.

Then, each department analyzed and summarized the findings.

They were so angry that they posted the incident online and even brought in a large number of news reporters to cover it.

Small things escalate into big problems; that's the disease of big corporations.

This kind of thing was unimaginable and even incomprehensible before.

And now, it happens every day.

This was the first time An'an had ever heard an elderly member of the group criticize her father with such righteous indignation.

This is the first time I've ever heard of such a serious problem occurring in a large corporation.

This kind of problem shouldn't happen in private companies under normal circumstances. If it does happen, it's undoubtedly the best proof of regression.

Her father is no longer able to focus his energy on these traditional businesses!
But wouldn't he know these things?

He definitely knew, he just didn't have the energy to deal with it anymore.

Thinking even deeper, these problems were left for her to solve.

Once she can resolve this, the veterans of these traditional businesses will naturally listen to her advice.

She can also take advantage of this to seize control of the entire traditional sector.

To reiterate, the company doesn't belong to her alone. To gain others' trust, she can't simply rely on the fact that she's Chen Pingsheng's daughter.

She still needs to demonstrate her own abilities. An'an held a day-long discussion with the elderly here, and because of her approachable style, most of them were willing to tell her the truth.

It's no exaggeration to say that when An'an was little, it was these people who watched her grow up.

Now that she's grown up, she's starting to take over the family business.

If needed, these elderly people are willing to provide full support.

After all, without the big boss, there would be no them.

But all of this depends on An'an's own ability. She must first be a person with her own ideas so that they can support her.

Otherwise, no one will submit to anyone else.

Traditional listed companies with a market value of tens of billions of dollars have at least 50,000 employees.

How to manage a large enterprise with over 50,000 employees!

This will definitely be a big challenge for An An, perhaps even an enormous one.

After the meeting, she lost all interest in making short dramas. Her father was right; compared to a company with tens of thousands of employees, what did her personal interests amount to?

Back in her dorm, Chen An'an, who was usually optimistic and positive, became unusually silent.

She didn't know how to handle this problem.

Traditional corporations are slow to react, and my father is now ignoring these traditional businesses.

This has led to a large number of elderly people becoming depressed and no longer as positive and motivated as before.

And this was perhaps the most difficult test she faced during her university years.

Because her father had entrusted her with the responsibility of feeding tens of thousands of people, including the future of tens of thousands of families.

But she was at a loss.

I have absolutely no idea how to handle this!
Has she let her father down after all these years of nurturing? And is she truly capable of shouldering such responsibility?

Two questions kept swirling in An'an's mind, making her feel somewhat disheartened and at a loss.

"An'an, what's wrong?"

It was Jiangtang who was the first to come and ask her.

An An said absentmindedly, "It's nothing. I've been in meetings all day, and I'm just a little tired."

"Oh... Uncle Chen has already left Guangzhou?"

"Yes, he's usually very busy, so it's already quite an achievement for him to come and see me."

Did your dad give you any special instructions?

"That's true, and it was actually something that was arranged a long time ago."

Chen An'an said, "Dad handed me the snacks quickly. Today I called a meeting with the old folks over there. They said the real reason why traditional enterprises, including this sector, have fallen behind is actually my dad's neglect all these years, and I can't find any way to change it. Don't you think I'm particularly useless?"

"Snack Run? Is that the snack store we often buy from?"

"If there's no piracy, then it must be that company."

Jiang Tang explained to the other two girls, "An An's family owns many businesses. Many of the places we often visit are owned by them. Snack Run, which has stores all over the country, is just one of them."

The turtle girl blinked her adorable big eyes and asked, "An'an, your dad isn't going to hand over this huge company to you right now, is he?"

"My father did entrust it to me, but I have absolutely no clue how to do it."

Although An An had done many entrepreneurial projects before, none of them were as big as Snack Run.

It's impossible to have that many employees!

It just goes to show that the bigger the company, the greater the responsibility.

The short-haired, spirited girl comforted her, saying, "What's there to be afraid of? As the saying goes, a tall building starts from the ground up. Your father didn't become so powerful overnight, and Snack Run didn't start out this big either. Although you, President An'an, have taken over this company, you can treat yourself as a newcomer and start from scratch. Once you understand everything about this company, you will naturally think of a way to save it."

"With your dad backing you up, there's absolutely no need to put so much pressure on yourself from the start."

That makes a lot of sense.

An An fell into a misconception that is often the biggest pitfall for the second generation of wealthy people taking over the family business.

That is, attempting to reform one or two things, or to dismiss a large number of elderly people.

To revitalize the group immediately.

This kind of reform is also referred to by these second-generation individuals as "getting rid of the old and innovating."

The final outcome will either be the death of the group, or the group will truly come back to life.

But the most likely outcome is still death.

Because in a group of tens of thousands of people, if you're sitting in the top office, it's very difficult to hear the truth.

They can't even hear the truth, yet they want to directly administer a strong medicine to cure the big corporate problems that have accumulated over the past few years.

If managing a large corporation were that simple, so many rich kids wouldn't have failed at it.

Advice for short-haired, edgy girls needs to be very down-to-earth.

She started with the basics, and after she understood the group's specific operating model, profit-making projects, and group advantages, she began to learn more.

Naturally, many reliable methods will come to mind.

Large companies like Snack Run, with a market value of tens of billions, have a large number of departments within their group.

Chen An'an was going to the real core departments, not the peripheral departments.

Such as the market franchise department, finance department, human resources department, venture capital department, channel operation department, and food supply chain, etc.

She needs to understand these things; only by understanding them can she truly have a voice.

This process is destined to be lengthy.

An An also took several of her roommates to various departments for her first internship.

The purpose, of course, is to investigate the main problem of the group's sluggish response.

You won't know until you go, and you'll be shocked when you do.

In the years without the father's personal management, the management at all levels of the group has become filled with people with connections.

These people with connections arrived the latest and left the earliest.

Most of the work is delegated to subordinates, and they frequently seek reimbursement from the finance department for unknown expenses.

An'an had just been assigned to a department when she encountered this person who had connections.

She's a woman who graduated from university less than a year ago, and she's in charge of logistics and customer service.

My main responsibility is to liaise with franchisees and address their questions and concerns.

Such an important department was a complete mess under this woman's management, practically non-existent.

Don't be fooled by the old man's indignant and eloquent words.

When it comes to their own children graduating and looking for jobs, their first thought is still to use the resources and power at their disposal.

This allows them to easily sit in an office and earn a million-dollar annual salary.

Although the group has various regulations prohibiting children or relatives of direct senior executives from joining the group.

But the big boss no longer has the energy to manage it; he's gone. If even one person breaks any of the rules he established...

Then a whole bunch of them will pop up.

Snack Run has over 20,000 directly operated stores nationwide, plus countless franchise stores.

Between 14 and 17, over a billion yuan was invested annually in those snack manufacturers.

We have supported no fewer than 15 snack food manufacturers to go public.

With this level of capability, it wouldn't be in this state if it weren't for major management problems.

Not to mention the meager annual profit.

(End of this chapter)