Internet moguls are being held hostage by the entertainment system!

Chapter 416 The Moment Lei Jun's Defense Was Breached
"Fortunately, I live up to my fate!"

After having dinner with Zhou Shouzi, Chen Xiu immediately went to ByteDance headquarters to inform Zhang Yiming of the good news.

Sitting behind his desk, Zhang Yiming was taken aback at first, then a look of joy instantly spread across his face, and the muscles that moved when he smiled completely covered his already small eyes.

He got up from behind his desk, rushed over to Chen Xiu, and asked, "Is it done?"

"all the best!"

Chen Xiu answered affirmatively, and then wanted to tell Zhang Yiming about her conversation with Zhou Shouzi.

However, despite his happiness, Zhang Yiming remained perfectly clear-headed.

He first raised his hand to stop Chen Xiu, then went to the door and locked it, before pulling Chen Xiu to the sofa to listen to his detailed explanation.

When it came to poaching talent, Chen Xiu not only spoke with a steady voice and eloquent words, but also vividly described how she held Zhou Shouzi's hand and gave him a half-empty promise of the future, making Zhang Yiming feel as if he were there.

"Hahaha! That was a really clever move of yours, but what if Zhou Shouzi doesn't agree?"

“If he doesn’t agree, he won’t pay attention to TikTok news, he won’t care whether I become CEO or not, and he won’t listen to me say all this.”

Chen Xiu gave her analysis with a smile on her lips, then suddenly shook her head with a look of shame on her face.

"Zhou Shouzi could easily figure out what I was trying to do with this little trick. Fortunately, I was completely honest with him about the second half, so even if he figured it out, he wouldn't be offended."

"You've put in this much effort, and you still claim to be completely honest with me?"

"Sincerity needs to be laid out. If you are sincere from the start, others will think you are not sincere enough."

"...That's true."

Zhang Yiming pursed his lips and nodded, then asked, "Did Zhou Shouzi tell you when he was going to leave?"

"He said it was this month, so we'll see if Lei Jun tries to keep him."

"Didn't you say yesterday that whether you stay or leave, people will leave anyway?"

"The outcome is certain, but the process may be somewhat tortuous."

Chen Xiu said meaningfully.

During his conversation with Zhou Shouzi, he could tell from Zhou's description that Zhou and Lei Jun had a certain personal relationship.

However, this level of personal relationship was not enough to influence Zhou Shouzi's decision to change jobs.

Hopefully, Lei Jun will be able to accept this news with composure...

"Alright! The meeting is about to start, you should get ready too."

"OK."

Chen Xiu nodded to Zhang Yiming, got up and left the office, heading towards the conference room.

I came to ByteDance today to give a briefing, but that was secondary; my main purpose was to attend the company's board meeting.

……

Inside the CEO's office at Xiaomi.

"...Last month, Xiaomi's smartphone market share in China declined, and the first batch of pre-orders for the Xiaomi MIX3 fell short of expectations. The real feedback from users was that the price was too high."

Upon hearing the report, Lei Jun lowered his eyelids slightly, and his breathing became heavy.

Sensing the oppressive atmosphere, the marketing department manager who came in to report on his work had a sweat slowly seeping through the back of his shirt.

Why do you think the price is too high?

Lei Jun's rhetorical question seemed to be a soliloquy, leaving the marketing manager unsure whether to answer.

Fortunately, Lei Jun didn't trouble him for long before starting his self-questioning and self-answering mode.

"We need to find the points that users really care about. The configuration of the MIX3 is absolutely the best among models in the same price range! Its screen and CPU are also configurations worth more than 5000 yuan."

“We can’t just focus on price changes, but also on the improvement of phone performance. You need to tell this concept to the sales staff working in front-line stores, so that they can tell users about the product strength of the MIX3 and eliminate their concerns.”

Lei Jun said earnestly.

He is not the kind of incompetent manager who lashes out at employees when problems arise; rationality and restraint are his work ethic.

His strength lies in telling employees what to do and then urging them to complete the task before reporting back.

Upon hearing Lei Jun's words, the marketing manager nodded repeatedly, assuring the staff that he would provide training...

After the report concluded, the head of the marketing department let out a long sigh as he left, only to realize that his back was soaked with sweat.

Normally, Lei Jun doesn't speak harshly; he shouldn't be so nervous.

However, as someone who reports directly to Lei Jun, this marketing manager also understands one thing: Lei Jun will only patiently teach you if he thinks you have no major problems; if you make a big mistake, you will be dealt with swiftly and decisively!
"Luckily, I got through it."

"But if users think the phone brand is low-end and don't want to buy it, what's the point of talking to them about specifications?"

"Sigh, I'll just do whatever the boss says."

After quietly venting his frustrations, the marketing manager returned to his department and convened a training meeting for the team managers.

On the other hand, after listening to the report, Lei Jun also began to seriously consider the strategic adjustment of the company's products.

He was well aware of what users were thinking, but Xiaomi's initial strategy was to offer the best value for money.

This approach initially made Xiaomi successful, but now it has become the biggest stumbling block preventing Xiaomi from moving into the mid-to-high-end market.

"If all else fails, how about spinning off Redmi to focus on the cost-effective market, while letting the main Xiaomi brand go all out to target the mid-to-high-end market?" This thought flashed through Lei Jun's mind, and he quickly seized upon it and began to consider the possibilities.

After thinking it over, he opened his company's product page on his computer and quickly browsed the categories of Redmi and Xiaomi phones.

After reading it, Lei Jun felt the idea was more and more feasible, so he started to turn his thoughts into mind maps, analyzing them as he went along...

"Dingle bell! Dingle bell!"

The sudden ringing of his cell phone alarm interrupted Lei Jun's burst of business inspiration.

He frowned in dissatisfaction, grabbed his phone, and was about to turn off the alarm when the note on the screen stopped him.

"Invite Zhou Shouzi to dinner to test whether he has met with Chen Xiu."

Lei Jun relaxed his brow, turned to look at the orange sun that was already setting in the west outside the window, and then glanced at the mind map on the screen, which was already more than half completed, with lingering interest.

Never mind, I can do the work later. Let me go find Zhou Shouzi first!

Lei Jun sighed, got up, grabbed his coat, and headed towards the company cafeteria while texting Zhou Shouzi.

He ate in the cafeteria not because he was stingy, but mainly because he had to come back to work later, and the time cost of going out and coming back was too high, so it was better to eat nearby.

Moreover, the food in the cafeteria is pretty good...

Thinking of this, Lei Jun smiled knowingly, and then his mind automatically went on to devise a plan for Redmi to become independent.

If Redmi is made into an independent brand, then Zhou Shouzi can host Redmi's new product launches in the future!
In this way, after a few more years of experience, he can gradually take over Xiaomi's mobile phone business, and I can shift my attention to other areas to make Xiaomi's business portfolio more complete...

With the idea of ​​Redmi becoming independent, Lei Jun began to envision the future.

Just as he successfully met with Zhou Shouzi, and the two selected a few dishes and ate at a small table alone, Lei Jun's mood became excited because of his idea.

“Shouzi, I’ve come up with a new model, which is still in the conceptual stage. Let me tell you about it, and you can give me your opinion.”

"Uh……"

Zhou Shou's usual professional smile instantly turned into an awkward expression of not knowing how to answer and not wanting to continue after hearing Lei Jun's words.

Lei Jun, with his keen eye for detail, felt a sudden unease when he saw Zhou Shouzi's expression.

His excitement over the idea was quickly dampened, as if doused with ice water.

The two stared at each other awkwardly for a while before Lei Bus finally spoke in his usual calm tone, "Shou Zi, what's wrong?"

"Um, that."

Zhou Shouzi hesitated for a moment. He didn't want to announce it so early, but he was forced to separate it from the company's confidential information because of Lei Jun's desire to share.

"Mr. Lei, the model you mentioned should be considered important company information, so it's better not to tell me."

"You are the company's senior vice president; there's no important information we need to hide from you!"

"But what if the situation changes?"

"..."

Lei Jun's mouth gaped slightly, his eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at Zhou Shouzi.

He had considered that Zhou Shouzi's lunch date today might be a business dinner.

However, Lei Jun didn't think a meal could have any effect.

He has worked with Zhou Shouzi for three years, and the two have worked side by side. It was Zhou Shouzi's efforts that enabled the Hong Kong Stock Exchange to approve the dual-class share structure, making Xiaomi the first company with a dual-class share structure to be listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

With this kind of relationship, you're telling me you changed your mind after just one meal?

Lei Jun felt his worldview had been greatly shocked, and he remained seated, unable to recover for a long time.

"Mr. Lei, Mr. Lei?"

"Ah? What's wrong?"

Lei Bus blinked, turned his head, and saw Zhou Shouzi looking at him with concern.

"Are you OK?"

"it's okay no problem."

Leibusi waved his hand, then immediately came to his senses: "Shouzi, did something happen to you?"

"No, not at all."

Zhou Shouzi put down his chopsticks and looked up to meet Lei Jun's gaze, indicating that he had not lied.

He knew that Lei Jun valued him highly, and that his future development at Xiaomi was promising.

However... Chen Xiu gave far too much.

Putting aside salary and stock options, which are several times higher than what Xiaomi offered, Chen Xiu has given away management control of TikTok in terms of position and authority. His job only requires reporting to the board of directors (Douyin still holds a controlling stake in TikTok's equity structure, and most of the board members are also senior executives of Douyin), which is exactly the treatment of a genuine CEO.

So, I can only apologize to Mr. Lei.

Zhou Shouzi thought to himself, then looked at Lei Jun's expectant eyes and added, "Even if I don't work at Xiaomi in the future, we will still be friends."

"..."

(End of this chapter)