Reinventing the Millennium

Since Olympus CEO Woodford took office this year, he has been fighting the company, trying to take complete power into his hands and start Western scientific management.

Such examples have been successful in large Japanese companies in recent years.

For example, Nissan’s Ghosn and Sony’s Stringer.

One is known as the "Savior of Nissan" and the other is known as the "Lord of Sony and ZTE". The former has an unprecedented reputation, and the latter... is still okay now.

Therefore, the giant Olympus hired Woodford as CEO, which is regarded as another attempt by Japanese companies to reform internally.

It's just that Olympus has serious internal problems and the board of directors has a stubborn structure. Woodford, who was originally the European director, has no idea what to do and can only resort to intimidation from external forces to try to reorganize the board of directors.

Now it is understood that Woodford's demand is for the chairman and other senior executives to resign en masse.

but……

Whether it was Kong Yu's observation or Fang Zhuo's experience, it was impossible for the company's board of directors to surrender like this.

Then let Olympus win the battle. As long as it fires the first clear shot, this side will quickly follow up and provide more shells.

Fang Zhuo and Kong Yu discussed it for two days in Silicon Valley and each added some ideas.

Kong Yu has a suspected goal and wants to use data and clues from official agencies in the United States. This requires friendship and collaboration.

Fang Zhuo corrected some of his practices.

According to the idea of ​​​​the gasoline man, he would build a position in advance and then blast it together. This would not only bring real benefits, but also take advantage of the opportunity to fish in troubled waters.

Fang Zhuo had no objection to the target, but he felt that there were some problems with this concentrated blasting.

Although the investigation will continue, there are no more than ten counterfeiting companies currently known. It is shocking to release them together, but the influence may not be long-lasting.

Just like the use of funds, you always use the funds on hand to leverage more funds elsewhere, so that you can maximize the allocation of funds.

"We ourselves are definitely not allowed to show up. We can anonymously break the news and directly announce on WikiLeaks that we have obtained internal investigation documents from the United States, which involve the financial and product fraud of Japanese companies. We have obtained a large number of them, and then after a few days God will release one."

"If the media pays attention to this matter, the leaked and falsified documents will easily attract attention, and the countdown-style behavior will also easily cause spread."

"First put some real ones with evidence, then put some that you suspect but can't get the evidence for, and finally mix the real ones with the fake ones to see if you can scare the target of your suspicions out of the snake, and see if it can be used More quantities will destroy the market’s trust in Japanese listed companies.”

Financial and product fraud, judging from the ones currently known, will be quite serious accusations. For example, once Olympus's case is completely confirmed, I am afraid that the stock price will be halved, which will be the collapse of billions of dollars. .

If this situation can be brought together, it must be an artificial shock by a Japanese company.

Kong Yu, who was addicted to investigation and research, was convinced by his boss's thinking that he should have thought of "counterfeiting leverage" a long time ago, so as to create more votes of no confidence.

Mr. Fang must be accomplished in this area.

At the end of Kong Yu's interview in Silicon Valley, he asked a question: "Mr. Fang, should Sony be placed in the front or in the back?"

Financial fraud, a huge loss of US$7 billion, if Sony is used as an appetizer, it will cause an immediate sensation, but if it is left behind...it seems to be quite a sensation.

"Put it behind you." Fang Zhuo gave the answer without much thought.

Kong Yu asked about the key to the decision: "Why?"

"I have a good relationship with the old Jazz. I want to make him happier every day." Fang Zhuo replied.

Kong Yu almost cried out in admiration.

It has to be Mr. Fang... there is tenderness under the iron face.

He ended this round of reports and quietly flew to Washington. He wanted to finalize everything that could be finalized as soon as possible because he didn't know the specific time of the cup drop at Olympus.

Fang Zhuoren is in Silicon Valley. On the one hand, he is reviewing Yike's R\u0026D center, and on the other hand, he is also actively participating in public activities in Silicon Valley. It is inevitable that he will talk about the evaluations of CEOs who have been popular during this period.

As news of Ballmer's resignation increases, the stock price has been responding positively.

Some investors called out Mr. Fang on Twitter: "Mr. Fang, please help us. Don't push up the stock price. Ballmer suddenly stopped leaving."

Fang Zhuo naturally saw this sound, but he could only pretend not to see it.

How can I say harm? Why should I get involved in a matter with a market value of US$300 billion?

He is even reflecting on a question: Will such an effect affect Nokia's situation? Nokia was originally acquired by Microsoft, but now it is in the stage of deep integration. It will not be acquired in the end, right?

If we don't buy it, can we dismantle Nokia and let us Yike also pick up patents?

Fang Zhuo couldn't get the answer and could only continue to observe the matter.

However, Ballmer's purchase of the team is progressing very quickly. In less than a week, news came out that a consortium is now in contact with the "76ers" team in Philadelphia.

Judging from this situation, Ballmer has indeed made up his mind to leave Microsoft, which is "empty of mobile", and let it inject new leadership.

When Fang Zhuo participates in offline business activities in Silicon Valley, he will still be asked about his views on Ballmer and Microsoft. After all, this is a familiar brand.

Also, some people asked why there were only nine good and bad CEOs in the first decade of the 21st century.

"You see, there are Lehman, Motorola, and Kodak. Giants like them that have been there for decades have fallen in a few years. There are also companies like Yike and Apple that have seized the opportunity to rise rapidly."

"No matter how big it is now, maybe you will have a place among the worst CEOs in the next decade. No matter how small or even a start-up company it is now, maybe you will have a place among the best CEOs in the next decade."

"Those two positions are reserved for the next decade."

Fang Zhuo explained the purpose of his chicken soup and received warm applause as expected.

What should I say?

He now feels that it is easier and easier for his words to become quotations from famous people, and he can discover profound meanings even from ordinary things.

Another Silicon Valley event with media participation. This time, in addition to recent events, reporters once again raised the issue of semiconductors.

Since Fang Zhuo came to the United States this time, he has had to face such a situation. On the one hand, Yike's products and performance have been highly praised, on the other hand, the ice core has also caused more criticism.

If Fang Zhuo hadn't come, I believe that SIA's previous report would still have been released. The trend of criticism was getting bigger and bigger. After he came, he gave a positive response and diverted some attention.

"Semiconductor manufacturing is only one link in the industrial chain. Compared with manufacturing, Yike's energy in this field is on design."

"We will discuss whether all of our ZR series chips will be installed on our mobile phones next year."

When Fang Zhuo talks about Yike and Bingxin, he naturally separates the two and treats them separately. There is no Yike system, just Yike and Bingxin.

How can a low-profit wafer manufacturing company compare with the news of a world-renowned company.

If Zhurong chip is iterated next year, it will be ZR03, which will be the third generation.

Of the two product lines currently developed by Yiko, it goes without saying that Mars has been the light of Android since its birth, while Selfy, which focuses on imaging, is more focused on thin and fashionable positioning, and its performance this year has also stabilized the market.

So, is it necessary to continue purchasing Qualcomm next year?

Should the Iron Triangle camp kick Qualcomm out?

The news thrown out by Fang Zhuo really blocked the media's questioning.

The wafer manufacturing in the distant East is really not as good as the current Yike operation.

Following Fang Zhuo's statement, Qualcomm's stock price fell.

In today's high-end mobile phone chip market, only Yusan's shipments can be compared together, and Qualcomm accounts for one and a half of them. Although the news from Yike is predictable, when it really comes out... Qualcomm's space will undoubtedly be further occupied. Compressed.

More importantly, what will Yike do next?

Will the chip of the mobile phone be exposed?

Fang Zhuo did not answer subsequent questions.

When he faced problems related to the semiconductor field again, this matter was used as a shield in various ways.

"The potential of the smartphone market is far from being fully realized. I think everyone always thinks that we are fighting against each other. In fact, we are working together to make this pie bigger."

"As a long-term partner, I appreciate Qualcomm's work in the field of IC design. Yike's current job is only to provide better products to consumers, and there is no idea of ​​accepting chip orders yet."

This is also a relatively clear statement.

Yike will no longer purchase Qualcomm chips and will all use its own chips, but it will not sell ZR to other mobile phone companies.

This reason was stated rather euphemistically, and it was quickly interpreted correctly.

The growth of the global smartphone market is far from reaching its peak. The competitiveness of Yike’s exclusive holding of ZR chips will bring far better profits than selling chips. Now is of course the time to make big money and put small money away, just like Apple will not release A chip.

Yike is competing with mobile phone brands such as Apple and Samsung, not Qualcomm, although it has actually weakened its share of the high-end chip market.

As September entered, Fang Zhuo slowed down his public activities slightly, noticing that the comments made by Olympus executives and CEO Woodford were becoming more and more out of bounds, and the conflicts became more acute.

What about this trend...

Judging from his experience in fighting, one party will definitely take action against the other party. Either Woodford convenes a shareholder meeting to purge the board of directors and some senior executives, or the board of directors directly decides to remove the CEO.

No matter which side strikes first, the other side will inevitably launch an angry counterattack.

Fang Zhuo put himself into the perspective of both sides and felt that there was quite room for maneuver.

On September 2, just as the Gasoline Man team added another Japanese company name, "Akebono Brake", he received a call from Bill Gates.

"Hey, Mr. Fang, look at the good things you've done." Gates asked as he came up.

"Are you talking about the thing that increased Microsoft's stock price?" Fang Zhuo asked.

Gates smiled and said: "That's just a small matter. You drove my comrades away from the company."

The first time Fang Zhuo met Gates was with Stringer. At that time, Microsoft and Sony were discussing Blu-ray standards, and Stringer and Gates had a conversation in the house in Sun Valley.

His memory was fleeting and he said: "I was also a little confused. I just told what I saw. Unexpectedly, everyone seemed to have the same idea as me. This is indeed a bit cruel to Ballmer, but, I'm sure Respect your Microsoft and his own decision."

Gates laughed dumbly: "Listening to your words, I feel that you are a director of Microsoft, like a shareholder of Microsoft."

"I can be one too," Fang Zhuo said. "Besides, I really bought Microsoft shares. It can be considered as my opinion of the company as a small shareholder."

In addition to the high-risk, high-return approach, MIGA funds also used part of their funds to buy stocks of several well-known companies in the US stock market, including Microsoft.

"There's no need for a director. I think Sony's situation hasn't been very good since it invited you to become a director. We at Microsoft are already changing CEOs, so we don't need to add more chaos to the board of directors." Gates clearly rejected Mr. Fang's joke.

"Then why are you calling me? You don't invite me to be a director, and you don't talk about company cooperation. Are you here to express your anger?" Fang Zhuo asked with a smile.

Gates said seriously: "Just to express our grievances, our news should be announced soon."

Fang Zhuo understood that Microsoft was going to officially announce the replacement of CEO.

He was a little surprised: "So soon? You picked a new CEO so quickly?"

"It's not thanks to Mr. Fang." Gates said, "It can be regarded as a kind of complicated gratitude."

"Gates, I would rather you express your gratitude to me publicly, no matter how complicated your mood is." Fang Zhuo immediately replied, "Let my vision be fairly evaluated!"

The fact is that Microsoft has become increasingly rigid under Ballmer's leadership. Even the majority of investors and institutions in the secondary market have realized this, and Gates should be even more aware of it.

"You already have many reviews, not least of which is this one." Gates said, "But you can come and visit us when you have time."

He extended the invitation.

Fang Zhuo happily agreed. No matter what, the new CEO must thank himself for being such a critical friend.

By the time the phone call ended, it didn't take too long. The news that had been spreading wildly since the salon came to light. Microsoft CEO Ballmer announced his resignation, and Vice President Nadella would take over the position.

The new CEO immediately accepted interviews with the media and expressed his attitude and confidence in reform.

"The company's technological breakthroughs have been hampered by organizational shortcomings. Different departments are working independently, and it is difficult to integrate each other's advantages. We need to carry out a top-down reform."

"We need to let go of the past and strive for a new appreciation in the next decade."

A reporter asked Microsoft's new CEO: "Will you attend Mr. Fang's business salon? How do you think he will evaluate you now?"

Nader made a joke: "We discussed at the meeting whether to invite Mr. Fang to serve as CEO, but considering the rapid development of Yike, I ultimately defeated him for this option. I don't mind if the time comes. Discuss the development of Microsoft or Yike with Mr. Fang."

He thought for a while and said uncertainly: "Mr. Fang shouldn't be too critical of a new CEO like me." (End of Chapter)