Internet moguls are being held hostage by the entertainment system!

Chapter 415 The Right Way to Recruit People

Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Beijing.

After walking down a carpeted corridor, Zhou Shouzi was suddenly stopped in front of the private room by the waiter.

I watched as the waiter knocked on the door to greet me, opened the door, and made way for me.

Zhou Shouzi thanked her before stepping inside, and then heard the door close softly behind him.

Just as he walked past the entrance to the private room, a figure suddenly appeared at the entrance ahead.

Zhou Shouzi looked up and saw Chen Xiu suddenly appear. His eyes widened and joy instantly filled his face.

"Shouzi, it's been a long time!"

"Hello, Mr. Chen."

Although Zhou Shouzi's title was still rather official, he couldn't help but smile as he felt Chen Xiu's enthusiasm.

Chen Xiu merely gave him a meaningful look before leading him inside.

After exchanging pleasantries for a while, the two sat down at the table and began ordering.

When Zhou Shouzi saw Chen Xiu continue to introduce the dishes after ordering, he couldn't help but feel uneasy.

Did I guess wrong?
He doesn't want to poach me?

But if you don't want to poach me, why did you invite me to dinner?

Out of work habits, Zhou Shouzi had already done some preliminary analysis of the invitation he received.

Considering that Chen Xiu had clearly expressed a desire to recruit him when they met last year, coupled with the recent news about Facebook targeting TikTok...

Zhou Shouzi believes that Chen Xiu's sudden invitation to dinner today is likely an attempt by Douyin to poach talent.

But now that we've been sitting here for so long, why haven't we gotten to the important stuff yet?

There was no third person in the private room, so if this was just a setup, wouldn't it be a bit too long?

With these doubts in mind, Zhou Shouzi didn't bring up the topic directly, but chose to continue waiting patiently, since he wasn't in a hurry.

As Zhou Shouzi's shoulders slumped down, the deep meaning in Chen Xiu's eyes vanished, and her lips twitched slightly as the topic suddenly shifted.

"Shouzi, the reason I invited you to dinner today is actually for something important."

coming.

Zhou Shouzi pondered to himself, but his expression remained unchanged as he asked, "May I ask what it is?"

Have you seen any news about TikTok lately?

I'm coming.

Zhou Shouzi felt his heart pounding faster, a hint of doubt appearing on his face before his expression slowly relaxed.

Are you referring to Facebook's business tactics against TikTok?

"Correct!"

"Their targeting is very comprehensive, ranging from public opinion attacks to launching similar products, attempting to leverage their user base to seize market share in the short video market..."

"Conserve capital."

Chen Xiu called out Zhou Shouzi's name with a deep gaze, and then, when she met his eyes, the corners of her mouth suddenly curled up.

"Hehe, what you just mentioned, there was already a similar business activity in China this March."

Zhou Shouzi paused for a moment, then thought, "You mean Tencent's actions against Douyin?"

“Yes! Facebook is also a social network. From this perspective, it’s not so hard to understand why Mark Zuckerberg was able to identify TikTok’s competitiveness and take action.”

Chen Xiu spoke casually, as if the business actions of Facebook, a global internet company with a market value of hundreds of billions of dollars, against TikTok were not worth his attention.

Zhou Shouzi also had similar doubts: "Mr. Chen, do you think that Facebook's competitive approach to TikTok will also end in failure like Tencent's?"

"That's hard to say. Zuckerberg seems to prefer using methods other than business tactics to achieve his goals."

Chen Xiu shook her head in denial, then said proudly, "I just think that TikTok, a company that has been established for less than two years, has already managed to get Facebook to use unconventional methods to compete with it. Isn't that a success?"

"really."

After subtly revealing the company's advantages, Chen Xiu subtly twitched the corner of her lips.

Then, he tried his best to explain his meaning within the information he could reveal.

"Although TikTok is a subsidiary of Douyin, it was established as an international company responsible for overseas markets, and its financing situation is relatively international. Considering the challenges the company is currently facing, the current CEO does not seem to be able to adapt to the company's changes."

"Do you have any idea?"

When he finished speaking, Zhou Shouzi pursed his lips slightly, and his eyes were much brighter than before.

In his mind, the CEO of TikTok is definitely more attractive than the senior vice president and CFO of Xiaomi.

As for becoming Lei Jun's successor...

Just listen to those words and leave it at that. Zhou Shouzi didn't have any hope anyway, because he felt that Lei Jun could continue to work hard for at least another 20 years.

Moreover, the work environment overseas is more boundary-oriented than at Xiaomi. When he gets off work, he doesn't have to answer calls from colleagues anymore; he can communicate via email.

However, Chen Xiu still needs to take the initiative to suggest changing jobs.

Because he can't refute TikTok's current CEO and then do something like "I'll choose myself."

Seeing Zhou Shouzi's expectant eyes, Chen Xiu smiled awkwardly: "You should have already guessed what I'm thinking."

"I'm not sure if your idea is the same as mine." "This decision is currently under wraps..."

"I understand, I'm sorry, my question was a bit too inappropriate."

Zhou Shouzi gave an awkward smile, picked up the red wine on the table, and tactically moistened his throat.

Chen Xiu took in his expression and actions, and feeling that she had piqued his interest enough, she immediately moved on to a new point of view from the topic that had stalled.

"How about this? Since I still need to ask you more questions, could I continue our discussion using a more descriptive approach?"

"of course can!"

"Okay! Suppose I were to become the CEO of an international internet company and also be responsible for pushing forward its IPO process, from your perspective, which market should I consider?"

"..."

Zhou Shouzi's lip muscles twitched instantly, and he stared blankly at Chen Xiu for a long time.

"I'm sorry? What did you just say?"

"Suppose I were to become the CEO of an international internet company..."

"No, no, no, what I mean is, why would you be chosen as CEO?"

"There is no one more suitable than me right now."

Chen Xiu said in a serious tone that he was of course not really going to become the CEO of TikTok.

This was mainly to test Zhou Shouzi's true thoughts.

At the same time, this method was used to lower Zhou Shouzi's expectations, assuming that Zhou was willing to switch jobs.

The essence of work is that everyone is improving their core competitiveness so that they become irreplaceable.

If you give others the feeling that you are irreplaceable at the negotiating table, the entire negotiation will fall into a completely passive position.

Chen Xiu always likes to have a plan B. By including himself in the TikTok CEO candidate list, he was trying to preemptively dispel the notion that Zhou Shouzi was irreplaceable, thereby gaining the initiative in the subsequent negotiations.

Sure enough, upon hearing Chen Xiu's question, Zhou Shouzi's eyes became much clearer.

“You are indeed a suitable candidate, but your work from Didi to Douyin has always been about formulating the company’s future development strategy. The CEO needs to take care of more complex things.”

Zhou Shouzi tried his best to make his advice objective and rational, but then he began to suspect that Chen Xiu's words might be a test of him.

Unexpectedly, Chen Xiu seemed to agree with his advice.

“You’re right! I’m not the ideal candidate for CEO, but the company is at a critical stage. What I need to do is lead the company through this phase and then find a more suitable CEO.”

"You see yourself as a transitional phase?"

Chen Xiu did not answer, but put away her smile, looked at Zhou Shouzi with a serious expression, and started a new topic.

"In principle, CEO is just a position. The job is to execute the company's strategic plans. I only need to complete the tasks at this stage, and a suitable person will succeed me in the future."

"So, you don't have any intention of becoming the company's spokesperson?"

"What matters is not the individual or the position, but the company itself."

"...I agree with this view."

Zhou Shouzi pursed his lips slightly, visibly moved, and shifted his gaze from Chen Xiu's face to the tablecloth.

His resume shows that after graduation, he joined Goldman Sachs as a bank analyst.

Zhou Shouzi’s experience working at Goldman Sachs, a century-old investment bank, made him highly agree with Chen Xiu’s point that what matters is the company itself, not the individual or position.

This is also one of the reasons he doesn't quite approve of Xiaomi, because the entire company treats Lei Jun as their spokesperson, and even during internal team-building activities, they have to give way to him when running...

"Mr. Chen, based on what you just said, can I understand it this way: if there is a more suitable candidate, you can skip the stage of taking on the role of CEO yourself and directly appoint the appropriate person?"

Zhou Shouzi slowly raised his head and stared at Chen Xiu.

He had already guessed what was going on with today's invitation, and his willingness to accept it under these circumstances showed that he had already made his choice.

While being Xiaomi's senior vice president and CFO is a good job, becoming TikTok's CEO would be a bigger stage for him to achieve his life goals.

The reason why the topic wasn't brought up earlier was exactly as Chen Xiu thought: she was waiting for a better price and trying to gain more leverage in the negotiations.

Now that he knows Chen Xiu's "true thoughts" and understands that he is not the only option, Zhou Shouzi can no longer maintain his composure.

Hearing what she wanted to hear, Chen Xiu's smile widened.

"If we can find a suitable candidate to employ long-term, we can also reduce the management costs associated with personnel turnover. Why not do it?"

"Then what do you think..."

"Shouzi, wait a moment."

Chen Xiu raised her hand to interrupt Zhou Shouzi's "initiative," then got up and went to sit next to him, grabbing his forearm.

Under Zhou Shouzi's surprised gaze, Chen Xiu earnestly said, "Actually, when I was discussing candidates with Yi Yi, you were the first person I considered. I only became a backup candidate because I was worried that you wouldn't be willing to accept the invitation."

"Are you the backup option?"

"Of course!"

"Am I the first person you'd consider?"

"Of course!"

"Then I..."

(End of this chapter)