After rebirth, I became a great master

Chapter 419 The Wonderful Uses of Mascots
"How's it going? Pretty good, right?"

After Qiao Hai and the others left, he quickly came up to them.

Zhou Haoran laughed and said, "It's alright. We'll use this model when dealing with state-owned enterprises and public institutions in the future."

Qiao Hai thought for a moment and said, "We need to think long-term and find two permanent foreigners to come. If they are just temporary substitutes each time, it will be easy to give ourselves away."

Zhou Haoran suggested, "Why don't we find some? There are so many foreigners in the harbor. We could have a regular partnership and get a few hundred dollars for each appearance."

“That’s still fake…” Qiao Hai disagreed. “If you ask me, we should just formally hire two foreigners… They don’t need to do anything too complicated, just some international exchanges. It’s actually basic work, just give them the title of vice president.”

"up to you."

Zhou Haoran decided not to get involved in these details.

The others had already started packing their things, preparing to go home.

Qiao Hai came over and whispered, "I've finally come all this way to the TV station, aren't you going to show me around?"

"What's so interesting about this!"

Zhou Haoran's mind wasn't on this; he was thinking about what had happened to Zhan Yushan that made him so serious.

"Let's go, let's take a look around!"

Without saying a word, Qiao Hai grabbed him and started looking around as if searching for someone.

Zhou Haoran chuckled and asked, "What are you doing here? Coming to see the pretty girls?"

"No..." Qiao Hai mumbled a reply, then whispered, "Our company has a competitor."

"Huh?" Zhou Haoran suddenly turned his head. "Which business?"

Qiao Hai said, "A smart card!"

"So fast?"

Zhou Haoran was quite surprised. He knew that Zhongbo Software would definitely have competitors. This business was so profitable and expanded so rapidly that it was bound to attract attention.

I just didn't expect it to come so quickly!
Qiao Hai said seriously, "It was Ning Yuanjia who said that someone contacted him."

"Who?"

"I don't know, it was a headhunter who contacted us. Apparently, it's a new company with a strong background and considerable resources."

"Dr. Ning, there's no need to worry."

Zhou Haoran is not worried about Ning Yuanjia being poached. Not only will he not be poached, but the core team of Zhongbo Software will also be difficult to poach.

This group of people are all alumni of Fudan University.

Let's work together to make the smart card project a success; we're comrades in arms.

More importantly, the competitors must be emerging private enterprises... What qualifications do such companies have to recruit graduates from prestigious universities like Fudan University?

Qiao Hai nodded. "Let alone competitors, one of our biggest problems right now is that recruitment is too difficult! Top university graduates aren't coming, and talented people aren't coming either."

Zhou Haoran hummed in agreement. "As for recruitment, there are only two methods. First, leverage Fudan's alumni network to attract Fudan graduates, just like Fosun Group. The most important reason why Fosun Group was able to grow so quickly in just a few years is that it has social talent. The talent all comes from Fudan alumni. Second, we can find those with real talent and practical skills in the market with lower educational backgrounds, but that's more difficult."

Just then, a beautiful and charming female host walked by.

Qiao Hai's eyes never left her from the moment she appeared until she disappeared.

Zhou Haoran said angrily: "You have some potential!"

Qiao Hai quickly said, "If it's this difficult for Zhongbo Software to recruit, it must be even more difficult for our competitors. It's just that the enemy is in the dark while we are in the light, and we don't even know where they came from."

"They're moving so fast..." Zhou Haoran narrowed his eyes, thinking it wasn't hard to guess. "The market for smart cards is mainly on campuses, so these competitors must be connected with other universities in the port."

Qiao Hai became worried, "Projects from other universities?"

"No way." Zhou Haoran didn't think so. There was no need for other universities to poach people from their projects. "These days, the most effective way to make money is through information asymmetry. Probably a relative of some university leader has this kind of intelligence and realizes that making smart cards is profitable."

"Being targeted is a bit annoying!"

Qiao Hai wasn't worried about his competitors' strong technology; what he feared was their constant attempts to poach his employees, which would be a nuisance.

Zhou Haoran glanced at him, pondered for a moment, and said, "A major characteristic of this era is the abundance of swindlers. Every industry is rife with all sorts of swindlers. Often, sincerity cannot meet the high expectations of others; only swindlers can."

"What do you mean?"

Qiao Hai raised an eyebrow.

Zhou Haoran said, "That's exactly what happened just now. We brought in two foreigners to temporarily fill in, and they made the leaders beam with joy. If you were to do it honestly, I guarantee you wouldn't have such a good effect."

"Um……"

Qiao Hai pondered silently, not quite understanding what he meant.

Zhou Haoran narrowed his eyes. "If there are no liars, we can create them."

"what?"

"What you just said about hiring two foreign full-time employees and then giving them a vice president position is a very sound idea!"

"They just hire foreigners as mascots to handle these kinds of occasions."

Qiao Hai fully realized the important role that a foreign face plays in business development and social interactions.

"You're the planner, so you think this way, but others might not."

Zhou Haoran chuckled and said, "You mean..."

Qiao Hai could tell from his expression that this guy was up to no good.

"Find a foreigner and make him Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, nominally the top technical expert at Zhongbo Software. Set a strict contract, for example, with a penalty of 200 million for breach of contract. Then promote him both internally and externally, saying that he is a PhD from MIT, a top expert brought in from the United States, responsible for the technical iteration and upgrade of the smart card project, and that Dr. Ning Yuanjia is only fit to be his assistant."

Zhou Haoran was able to quickly come up with a solution.

It wasn't that he reacted quickly, but rather that he had seen similar things many times before.

Many companies, in order to have a better public image, will showcase a strong executive team... Among the executives, there are often a few foreign faces who claim to have graduated from Ivy League universities in the United States.

It's really just for show.

Only when developing international business is it necessary to hire foreign executives.

They only target the domestic market; the presence of foreigners is just a smokescreen.

This strategy became very popular ten years later.

In the social atmosphere of the 1990s, with its strong worship of foreign things, it would have been a fatal blow! Not to mention foreigners, even a few fake Hong Kong or Taiwanese businessmen, acting like high and mighty figures, could easily fool many local leaders.

Qiao Hai suddenly realized what was happening, his face flushed red, and his eyes widened. "You mean, you mean..."

"Since the enemy is in the shadows while we are in the open, it's a case of one willing to hit and the other willing to be hit." Zhou Haoran showed no mercy to his competitors. "Using this tactic in this day and age... it's an absolute surefire way to wipe them out!"

Qiao Hai found this tactic too underhanded, and a chill ran down his spine. He muttered, "We'll find a foreign mascot, give him some basic training, and have him act as a figurehead, becoming Zhongbo Software's Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer. Then we'll promote him extensively and include exorbitant penalties for breach of contract in the contract. When competitors try to poach him, they'll definitely target him!"

"Yes, let them dig! The best way to deal with someone who dares to undermine you is to turn the corner into a cesspool so that they fall in as soon as they start digging."

Zhou Haoran is knowledgeable and well-informed.

Most of the time, he was too lazy to get involved and let his apprentices and underlings do whatever they wanted.

If he were to actually engage in business warfare, in the current domestic market environment, it would be an understatement for him to fight against a hundred opponents.

"That was a really ruthless move..." Qiao Hai was still a little scared as he analyzed, "The competitors went to such great lengths, paid a huge penalty for breach of contract, and finally managed to poach the foreigner... only to find out that he was just a clueless imposter. Even the biggest boss can't afford to mess with that. I reckon the day they successfully poach him will be the day they fall into a cesspool, go bankrupt, and close down."

Zhou Haoran calmly said, "That's only one aspect."

"besides?"

Qiao Hai's eyes widened.

Zhou Haoran said, "Didn't you say that Zhongbo Software is having difficulty recruiting right now?"

"That's right, top-tier university graduates don't want to come here; they can't compete with foreign companies!"

Qiao Hai was heartbroken when he talked about this.

“That’s normal. Zhongbo Software isn’t well-known, so its appeal is naturally weak.” Zhou Haoran’s eyes were piercing. “However, if Zhongbo Software’s Chief Technology Officer were a PhD graduate from MIT and a renowned American scientist, it would be more attractive during recruitment, and many people would be willing to come. In terms of internal management, the technicians would have the opportunity to learn from a top American expert, which would also motivate them and foster internal admiration.”

"I go……"

Qiao Hai was stunned.

Too bad!
This is deceiving even their own people!
Zhou Haoran sighed and said helplessly, "Many people in society say that private enterprises are bad, that they have an original sin. Look at this environment, how can private enterprises survive without some unconventional methods?"

In a daze, Qiao Hai left with his colleagues from Zhongbo Software.

His gaze lingered on the two foreigners who had been brought in as temporary extras.

My feelings are complicated.

I never expected that foreigners could achieve such results when using it correctly.

On the other side, Zhou Haoran walked towards Zhan Yushan's office.

"Haoran!"

Deputy Director Fan Fu bumped into him.

"Director Fan," Zhou Haoran smiled, "how was today's Red Star Card presentation?"

"Yes, the arrangements are excellent!"

Fan Fu was very satisfied; his impression of the young man was much better than before.

There are also vested interests at play.

Zhongbo Software secured an order for Red Star Cards, totaling 520 million yuan.

However, only 420 million yuan was actually received.

The missing 100 million yuan is now lost to who knows where it ended up.

"Oh, by the way, the 'Host Competition' project was discussed at the noon meeting. You were the one who planned that, right?"

Deputy Director Fan Fu also realized that this young man was capable and was intentionally trying to curry favor with him.

Zhou Haoran laughed and said, "Yes, I did it."

Fan Fu said meaningfully, "You should think this through carefully. You're still young, so you need to control your emotions. If you can avoid getting involved in something, then try not to."

"Ok?"

Zhou Haoran was taken aback, realizing that there was a hidden meaning in his words.

(End of this chapter)