Road to Revival

So far, since Tao Tang's arrival at Hongxing, the person under the most pressure from the leadership team is not Li Luo, nor Han Zhiyong, nor Zhao Qingmin, but Ma Guangming, who is in charge of production. This is simply because Tao Tang goes to the grassroots level almost every day.

Hongxing Company has a total of 23 production branches, most of which have a varying number of production workshops. Together with administrative agencies such as quality inspection centers, physical and chemical measurement centers, and logistics and distribution centers, they form the company's massive production system. Ma Guangming discovered that in less than half a month, Tao Tang had already moved more than half of the production branches.

There are several ways to go to the grassroots level. Accompanying leaders on inspections is the most common, as was the case with Tao Tang's predecessor. Song Yue mostly accompanied leaders and guests when he went to the grassroots level; he rarely inspected the workshops alone. Another way is to take a cursory look around. In Ma Guangming's view, Chief Engineer Jiang's visits to the grassroots level were like that—they didn't solve any problems and seemed more like a waste of time. The last way is like Tao Tang's approach: he came to thoroughly understand the situation. That day, he met Tao Tang at the Third Branch Factory and questioned the factory director, Chen Jianping, about everything from production capacity, technology, cost, and key quality control points, leaving Chen Jianping sweating profusely.

The Third Branch Factory is the main branch of the agricultural machinery division and one of Hongxing's largest branch factories. In Ma Guangming's eyes, Chen Jianping is one of the most outstanding branch factory directors. If Chen Jianping is so outstanding, others are probably even worse. Asking questions requires skill, and Tao Tang's relentless questioning of Chen Jianping deeply impressed Ma Guangming, while also putting him under immense pressure. This was because, when Chen Jianping was asked why the monthly production work order hadn't been completed, he gave two reasons: firstly, the attachments arrived late at the branch factory; secondly, there was insufficient production capacity.

Tao Tang then pursued two questions further. He summoned the deputy factory manager in charge of production, the planner, the dispatcher, and the dispatcher from the production department responsible for the assembly of the third branch factory, to inquire in detail: How many types of accessories were delivered to the third branch factory? How many were delayed? How many were late? What measures were taken? Where was the insufficient production capacity manifested? The branch factory currently operates on a one-shift system; what difficulties would arise if it were to switch to a two-shift system? How many people would be needed?

Chen Jianping's answer differed from the answers given by a group of people because the answers sometimes contradicted each other. For example, Chen Jianping said that one-third of the accessories were not delivered to the factory on time. Tao Tang asked the production department dispatcher to bring the relevant records, and the result showed that only 11 types of accessories were not delivered on time, less than one-tenth of the outsourced parts, with the latest being four days, not a week as Chen Jianping said.

Taking anything seriously is dangerous, and Chen Jianping broke out in a sweat.

The claim of insufficient production capacity is even more absurd. When operating at full capacity, the Third Plant can assemble over 300 agricultural machines per month, while the production plan for that month was only 160 units. It's true that some accessories arrived late, but this could be made up for with overtime. All the necessary conditions for overtime were met, so the failure to meet the monthly assembly plan was entirely due to organizational issues within the Third Plant. Therefore, the primary responsible unit for the unfulfilled task is the Third Plant, not the Production Department or the Accessory Supply Plant.

Chen Jianping quickly seized the opportunity and immediately offered a sincere self-criticism to Tao Tang. However, at the end of his self-criticism, he mentioned cost and quality control, saying that the branch factory preferred to achieve balanced production, as everyone was unwilling to work overtime, which would both increase overtime pay and make it difficult to control quality.

Generally speaking, working overtime will increase costs, but Chen Jianping seemed to be trying to excuse himself, so Ma Guangming glared at him fiercely.

Sure enough, Tao Tang's criticism came: "Director Chen, mistakes are common in work, not a big problem. But deviating from the right guiding principle is a big problem. I've already analyzed the reasons why you failed to complete the plan, and I think the responsibility lies primarily with you. Moreover, I think you don't accept this conclusion, which is why you've come up with a whole bunch of reasons such as cost, quality, and balanced production. We in enterprise management must always keep cost in mind, that's correct. Does overtime increase working hours? Not necessarily. If you're sure that the accessories are delaying assembly, why not apply for time off in lieu? That's what the Eleventh Factory does, and I think it's very reasonable. What's the point of the workers being stuck at the machine if the accessories can't arrive, hmm?" Furthermore, who said overtime leads to a decline in quality? Does the operation of a quality system have a time limit? Is it effective within eight hours and ineffective outside of those eight hours? Also, stop talking about that old tune of balanced production. That's how a market economy works: you supply as much as the customer needs, and you supply whenever the customer needs it. Balanced production is possible in a planned economy, but what about in a market economy? The situation at Factory Three reflects problems within your leadership team, and those problems are primarily your problems! You need to conduct a thorough self-examination; I won't allow similar mistakes to happen again. Especially, don't try to excuse your mistakes; that won't truly help you correct them. Mr. Ma, pay attention to Factory Three in this month's assessment of mandatory tasks.

That's how deputies are; when faced with a shrewd superior, they immediately lose their nerve. So when Tao Tang told Ma Guangming that the completion of this month's production plan would be reviewed and assessed before the holiday, Ma Guangming immediately offered self-criticism, apologized for not completing part of the April production plan as scheduled, and said he would make up for the shortfall in April in May.

During the day, he insisted on visiting grassroots units, leaving some desk work for the evenings. Fortunately, Tao Tang had no family burdens. At Xiaozhao, he also had to deal with a constant stream of visitors—no wonder, being from the same system as Shengdong. He experienced the same thing when he first arrived; people came every day for all sorts of trivial matters, which annoyed him greatly. Therefore, he usually spent an hour or two in his office after his evening walk, processing his daily documents, requests, reports, and the increasing number of complaint letters, freeing up time for visiting grassroots units during the day. After his reorganization, the security situation at the office building improved significantly, and the office became much quieter.

On the evening of the 29th, Tao Tang arrived at his office around 8:15 as usual and began reviewing documents and requests for instructions. He noticed a worrying trend: some issues that should have been resolved by departments or vice presidents were being pushed onto him. For example, he had encountered two similar issues that day. One was the overhead crane repair at the Fifth Branch Plant. Duan Hui, the deputy director of the Planning Department, wrote on the plant's report: "Please have the Planning Department, together with the Mechanical Department, conduct an on-site verification before making a decision." This was fine; of course, on-site verification by the relevant professional departments was necessary. Two days later, Duan Hui again wrote: "The situation is true; I propose to approve. Please have General Manager Luo approve." Two days later, Luo Chong wrote on the report: "Approved. Please have General Manager Tao review it."

Tao Tang believes there are significant problems with the process. First, was the overhead crane repair at this branch plant included in the annual or quarterly plan? If it was, why did the vice president in charge need to approve it? The relevant departments should simply follow the plan. It seems the overhead crane repair at the fifth branch plant wasn't included in the plan. What's the reason? Overhead cranes are crucial safety equipment; if a safety hazard arises, it must be repaired promptly and absolutely cannot be taken lightly. Given their typical usage, unexpected situations are unlikely. If a problem did occur, it should have been reported to the Technical Safety Department at the end of last year, reviewed and summarized by the Technical Safety Department, and then forwarded to the Planning Department for inclusion in the annual major repair plan. Clearly, this wasn't done. Second, the Planning Department's request to Luo Chong was somewhat redundant. This is a necessary task; why did the responsible leader need to approve it? And Luo Chong's requirement to "read" the document himself is even more unreasonable. If the general manager has to manage these kinds of matters, he won't be able to do anything else; just writing "approved" would exhaust him.

The second item was a report from the Human Resources Department regarding the recruitment of college graduates to the factory. Liu Xiuyun had also signed a similar opinion to Luo Chong's, requesting her review. Review what? The principles had already been explained to them, so why was the responsibility being pushed onto her? This was probably a problem raised by the two petitioners from the power company. On the one hand, it could be interpreted as Liu Xiuyun being overly cautious; on the other hand, it could be seen as shirking responsibility or even deliberately making things difficult for her.

These two matters were certainly not difficult, much simpler than the funding arrangements. But Tao Tang didn't see it that way...

Over twenty years of work experience have given Tao Tang a profound understanding of human nature that surpasses most people's. Don't make malicious assumptions about colleagues, and even more so, don't blindly trust them. Always consider the worst-case scenario first, and then address the best-case scenario...

Enterprises are relatively tightly organized economic organizations, characterized by well-established rules and procedures, a feature particularly pronounced in large state-owned enterprises. If the procedures stipulate that these matters require the general manager's approval, then any speculation about the deputy is baseless. However, Tao Tang didn't believe that Hongxing would create such an absurd work process—requiring the general manager's approval even for the repair of a piece of equipment that wasn't considered crucial. He wanted to see the procedures; he believed there must be a compilation of them, even if they were practically worthless.

The Development Planning Department is responsible for overseeing the rules and regulations. He thought of Lü Qi; ​​it seemed she was in charge of this... Tao Tang found the internal address book, intending to call Lü Qi, but after checking his watch, it was already 9:30, so he changed his mind. He made a mark on the calendar to remind himself to come back and review the procedures tomorrow.

He started reading newspapers: *People's Daily*, *G Province Daily*, *Economic Daily*, *Reference News*, *China Sports Daily*, *Brilliant Daily*, and *Red Star*, a total of seven. The first five were provided to him by the factory office at his request; he had subscribed to them for several years and was used to them. The latter two were from his own system, and every office had them. Newspapers were one of his main channels for obtaining information. Everyone's reading methods and focuses differ. Apart from his favorite sports newspaper, Tao Tang generally only looked at the headlines of the other four major newspapers, only reading carefully the content that interested him. Many leaders scoffed at national-level newspapers, considering them full of worthless nonsense. Tao Tang's party secretary at Shengdong didn't understand why he insisted on reading the party newspaper. But Tao Tang wouldn't share his insights with his colleagues; he could always find what he needed and pinpoint the direction of his work. To be a key leader in a state-owned enterprise, one must possess the qualities of a statesman—this might be a bit of an exaggeration, but it's the reality. Just pulling the cart without looking at the road is useless; just looking at the road without pulling the cart is utter nonsense. Some people pin their hopes for promotion on connections, but Tao Tang has always looked down on such people and doesn't believe they'll go far. What leaders need are subordinates who can solve their problems. Like Hongxing now, Feng Shizhao certainly trusts and supports him, but if he can't pull Hongxing out of the mire of corruption and reverse its declining business situation, Feng Shizhao's trust will fade. Conversely, even if he doesn't frequently visit Feng Shizhao, Feng Shizhao will still keep an eye on him because Hongxing's fate is tied to Feng Shizhao's future.

There was a knock on the office door. "Come in..." Tao Tang didn't look up, still carefully reading an article about industrial restructuring. The article was published on the front page of the G Province Daily on April 28. He believed that the province's main leaders would definitely see it, and might even have personally reviewed and revised it.

The reason he studied this article was because he found it to be different from his previous works…

"Oh, what good article are you reading?"

"It's you..." The person who came was actually Lü Qi, wearing a light gray casual outfit and sneakers, looking capable and neat.

Tao Tang put down the newspaper. "Hey, I was just about to make a call, but I was afraid your husband would be upset."

That's a bit ambiguous.

"Did you need something?" Lü Qi suppressed the panic in her heart.

"Let me talk to you first. Did you need something from me?"

"No... I came out for a walk and saw your office light was on, so I came up... Did I disturb you?"

"No, no... Please sit down."

Lü Qi didn't come up to the office by chance. She had overheard that Tao Tang came to the office almost every night, so it was intentional. Because Yan Shuzhen, the head of the women's union, happened to be visiting, she was delayed by half an hour and arrived a little late. But the urge was hard to suppress, so she came anyway. Fortunately, the opportunity was good; Tao Tang was there, and he was alone.

"What do you want from me?" Lü Qi looked expectantly at Tao Tang, who seemed a little tired.

"Oh," Tao Tang's calm expression disappointed Lü Qi. "Is that so? I'd like to see the company's work processes, right?"

"What did the boss find wrong? Go ahead and ask. I handled all the procedures, so I should be able to explain it clearly."

"Great. Do we need to approve personnel entering the factory?"

"Yes, it is necessary. The Human Resources Department proposes a plan, which is then reviewed and approved by the supervisor, and finally submitted to the General Manager for approval." Lü Qi explained the process, adding, "Personnel issues have always been the prerogative of the top leader, so this regulation was established."

"Oh. What about major equipment repairs? I don't need to approve that, do I?"

"No need. The major repair plan at the beginning of the year needs to be submitted to the general manager's office meeting. Anything included in the plan can be arranged and executed by the Development and Planning Department. Any additional repairs made mid-year can be approved by the relevant supervisor."

"Understood."

"There is a special case: equipment with an original value of 3000 million or more must be submitted to the general manager's office meeting. There is only one such piece of equipment in the factory, namely the precision casting machine imported from Germany."

"The one in Factory No. 7?"

"Yes. Is there a problem?"

"The process is fine, the problem is the actual issues. They always push trivial matters onto me." Tao Tang picked up the folder and shook it.

"Maybe it's best to be careful..."

"I hope so. But that won't work. I don't have the energy..."

"I've been wanting to tell you for a while, I think you're working too hard. You need to take care of yourself..."

"Thank you. I'm alright, at least for now."

"By the way, I wanted to ask about that task you assigned. Liu Shulin handed it over to me, but I'm worried I haven't fully grasped the leader's intentions."

"What's up? Oh, you mean the steel pipe factory of Donghu Machinery?"

"yes."

"What would you like to drink? I have imported Jamaican coffee here..."

"If I don't drink it, I'll have insomnia."

"Alright, let's have some tea then...we can talk about this steel pipe factory."