is, of course, a science, but it is very different from other sciences. Most other sciences are very rational, but management is different. For different industries and enterprises, some management methods are even completely opposite, but these two completely opposite management methods have both achieved success in their own industries.
For example, the IT industry in the United States and industrial workers in Japan. A comparison will show that what one side is striving to uphold is precisely what the other side is striving to abandon. However, they are both very successful.
Someone who doesn't understand management goes to the bookstore to find the answer. After reading a lot of books, the result is likely to be that he finds himself even more confused than before.
At this stage, and continuing until the rise of IT and e-commerce, management and marketing books were placed in prime positions in bookstores. After the IT tycoons had become successful and famous, they liked to talk to young people about life and ideals, just as they do now. There are also no shortage of books on management by successful business tycoons in bookstores.
For example, there is Rockefeller on management, Konosuke Matsushita on management, and the current hit is Jack Welch on management. They are all hardcover tomes that combine theory with practice, are very informative and persuasive, and have each formed their own systems. However, it is like trying to find a needle in a haystack to find the one that suits you from that complex system. That task is even more complicated than their system.
In fact, objectively speaking, when they were working, they would never follow such complicated theories, as that would most likely drag them down to their deaths.
For example, Stephen Chow once went to an audience at a film school to hear the professors analyse one of his films. They analysed how the scenes were shot well and why they were shot that way, listing a whole bunch of reasons and benefits for him. After listening, he himself said, 'Wow, if I knew it was that complicated when I was filming, I probably wouldn't have dared to film it.'
He actually just sticks to one principle: whether it's got a plot or not, as long as it makes you laugh.
The same applies to business management: the simpler your concept, the greater the chance of success. Feng Yiping believes that it is enough to do two things well: first, identify the needs; second, solve the needs. All work revolves around these two points, and then you will succeed.
Therefore, he now also buys management books to read, but only the basic ones, such as Robbins' Principles of Management, and some management textbooks from domestic universities that can be bought in bookstores. First, he thoroughly understands the principles, and then slowly explores them in combination with reality.
For example, his current management style is to manage the big and the small. The big refers to determining a general direction, while the specific details of how to do it are the responsibility of each manager. He usually goes about supervising from small things.
For example, in the metal products factory, after he has determined the main direction of the two directions of shelves and light steel structures, the specific things are the responsibility of Ding Qiang, and he only takes care of small things like the kitchen and bathroom.
Zhuge Liang was such a rebellious character, but because he did everything himself, he not only died from exhaustion, but the results were not good either.
Therefore, although he now often goes to the factory, he rarely interferes with specific business. There are various reports and work summaries to keep track of work progress, and there are regular and irregular financial audits of managers at all levels, so there is no need to worry about major oversights.
By now, Ding Qiang also knows his temper. Although every time he comes to the factory, as long as he is also in the factory, he will definitely come over to show his face, he will not pester for instructions as he used to.
Huang Jingping looked at Ding Qiang from the rearview mirror as he watched them leave from the factory gate, and said, 'This Mr Ding is very different from Mr Zhou.'
They are very different indeed. Zhou Xinyu is the kind of person who is courteous and debonair, while Ding Qiang is the kind of person who is quick-witted and decisive. But both men are very suited to their positions.
'Oh, by the way, I'm going to the provincial capital this weekend, and next month my father and his friends are going to go back to their hometown for a while, so there are some things I want to discuss with them.'
'Go ahead, I'll be fine on my own.'
Feng Zhenchang had to go back to his hometown for a few days next month. The county's two sessions were about to begin, and as a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, he had to go back to fulfil his duties. Moreover, the two factories in the town had already started production officially, and the survey and planning of the village were ready to go ahead. All these things could not be done without him.
As Feng Yuxuan had suggested, the noodle shop bought a large kitchen to focus on making wheat cakes and sticky rice chicken. Mei Qiuping is now mainly in charge of this kitchen, unlike before when she was in the shop all the time.
Feng Yuxuan, although most of the time she is still at the flagship store next to the station, is slowly preparing to take time off work to manage all the branches. At the same time, she has to find time to go to the driving school in the next two months.
In short, when Feng Yiping returned home on Saturday afternoon, his parents and sister were able to find time to come home, unlike before when they didn't get together until almost 10 o'clock in the evening.
Dinner was very sumptuous. Mei Qiuping still adhered to the concept of nourishing the body in autumn and winter in the old country, so she cooked not only beef but also lamb. Now that she was no longer haggling over a lamb shank that cost a few tens of dollars, Feng Yuxuan cooked a fish dish, which was the best among the several dishes.
Feng Zhenchang now has a daily quota every night, drinking a cup of white wine. It's not bought, but is a grain wine steamed in the old-fashioned way at home, pure and natural with no additives. Most of the time he drinks it by himself, but sometimes Feng Yuxuan will have a drink with him, and she's not bad at drinking either.
Feng Yiping still maintained his later habit. No matter how good the cigarettes and wine were, he could not get interested in them. Later, when he had to entertain guests, except for some unavoidable occasions, he usually drank herbal tea.
Today's food is good. The father and daughter over there are having a drink, and the mother and son over here are having dinner. They all have company and the atmosphere is good.
It seems that both parents have discussed it. After dinner, they called Feng Yiping and his sister together for a more formal conversation.
'Your mother and I have decided that starting next month, we will alternate between living in the hometown and in the city.
We are already a bit behind on many things in business, and have been staying in the city all the time. Sometimes we really miss the hometown, and there are a lot of things going on there now. There are already two factories in the town, and according to what Yiping said, there will be new factories opening in the future. Your uncle and his family have a handmade noodle workshop, and your uncle's family has a chicken farm that needs someone to help look after it.
The noodle shop is doing well now. We don't know much about Yiping's business, but it seems to be doing well too. We're not young anymore, and we're very content with our achievements.
Your mother and I have thought a lot about what Yiping said last year. Our main task now is to live longer and enjoy our lives more, so we want to live a little more easily in the future.'
'Dad, why are you saying this? You guys are still so young.' Feng Yuxuan knew that she would definitely be handed the noodle shop next, so of course she was happy and looking forward to it, which is why she had to say something like this.
'Listen to your father finish,' Mei Qiuping said.
'So, today, we want to make some things clear. You, Yuxuan, will be in charge of the noodle shop in the future. Is that okay with you, Yiping?'
'I have no objection!' Since the noodle shop was back on track, Feng Yiping had hardly been involved except for providing some timely help, so of course he had no objection to this arrangement.
'That's good. Next, I want to talk about the profit distribution of the noodle shop. Your mother and I have discussed it, and we have decided that we will take half, Yiping will take 30%, and Yuxuan will take 20%. Do you agree?'
'I have no objection,' Feng Yiping said.
'Yu Xuan, if you have something to say, say it today. Don't let it fester inside, causing the family to fall out over money.'
'Then I'll say it. Dad, mum, I do have some opinions. In the past two years, my younger brother has rarely asked about the noodle shop. I have been busy all the time. I have done my best, even if I don't get any credit. Why does he get more than me? Aren't you being patriarchal again?'
'Whether we are biased, whether we are patriarchal, you will understand if I explain. In the beginning, you were always away, and there are some things you may not know clearly now. Let me repeat.
The year Yiping entered junior high school, the idea of selling roasted chestnuts in the province came up. That year, he wrote a novel on his own and received several thousand yuan in royalties. Either he bought chestnuts for us or paid off the family debt. It was from that year onwards that things started to get better for the family.
In the year when Yiping turned 13, you also came to the provincial capital to be with us. It was also Yiping who saw that we were having a hard time and suggested that we open a noodle restaurant. Most of the ideas about where to open the restaurant and how to open it came from him. I still have the stack of papers he wrote at the time. All the subsequent restaurants were basically modelled on his.
And when we opened the first restaurant, we didn't have enough money, so we went to Yangcheng and sold a few songs, and they gave us 35,000 yuan. Without that 35,000 yuan, it's doubtful whether we could have opened the restaurant on Xueyuan Road, and whether it could have become such a high-class restaurant.
In the past two years, he hasn't asked too many questions about the noodle restaurant, but he has done a lot. For example, the system, you now know the benefits, how much trouble it saves you? He also helped with the franchise and recruiting staff. Without him, could a noodle shop like ours recruit university graduates?
To be honest, your younger brother is mainly responsible for the family's current success. We all feel that 30% is too little for him and that he should get 50% and we 30%.
But as parents, we have to save some face, and Yiping doesn't really care about this area anymore, so your mother and I finally decided on this split.
After hearing all this, Yuxuan, do you still think that your younger brother shouldn't get more than you, or that we are biased and favour boys over girls?'
Feng Zhenchang and Mei Qiuping chose to say these things today after thinking about it for a long time. In the past, when the family was poor, there were many difficult things. Now that they are rich, if some things are not handled properly, they could also cause trouble, and it might even cause their siblings to turn against each other.
Although their daughter doesn't even have a boyfriend yet, she will have to get married in a few years. And after their son graduates from university, the matter of starting a family will definitely be on the agenda. If these matters are not clarified now, when Feng Yuxuan takes over the noodle shop, it will be even more troublesome to sort things out as more wealth is accumulated and the family grows.
Feng Yuxuan was more or less dissatisfied with what had been said, but she had nothing more to say.
She did not help when the family was at its lowest ebb, nor did she come up with the idea of doing these things at home. She did not help with the start-up capital either. To be honest, she is at best a high-level employee, and she was given a share mainly because she is a member of the family.
Feng Yiping really doesn't care about this now, and it would be fine if he gave it all to his sister. However, his main concern is his sister getting married.
In his memory, after his sister got married, she was encouraged by her husband to make things difficult for him, almost causing him to lose his foothold in life. He has always remembered this very clearly. Even now, when he thinks about it, his heart feels cold. What if Feng Yuxuan meets someone similar to Feng Yiping's memory? With the noodle shop as capital, wouldn't that be even more destructive?
So no matter what happens in the future, this way of distribution by their parents is very reasonable.