Harvard Emotional Intelligence Class

Chapter 14 The Infinite Magic Power of Emotional Intelligence (4)
Three years later, when crude oil was still plummeting again and again, Rockefeller believed that it was time to invest in oil, which was far beyond the expectations of ordinary people.He invested $3 to open an oil refinery in partnership with Andrews, an Englishman who worked in an oil refinery.Andrews used a new technology to extract kerosene, which made Andrews-Clark develop rapidly.At that time, the oil industry was still very chaotic, with overproduction, poor quality, and chaotic prices... Fierce competition was already emerging. Rockefeller's company was like a small boat in the vast ocean, and it was in danger of sinking at any time.Rockefeller, who was far-sighted and far-sighted, realized that he had to expand his business so that the ship could withstand the impact of the stormy sea.He decisively persuaded his younger brother William to join in, established a second oil refining company, and sent him to New York to manage oil import and export trade, opening up the European market as soon as possible.Before William left for New York, the two brothers had a heart-to-heart talk and made an oath smugly: "We will expand and expand again. The more funds we have, the richer our development capital will be. We will dominate the world!" The "super empire" he created did not have a clear concept in his mind, but he was full of confidence in the future of the company and his personal future.From his headquarters in Cleveland, he commands the overall situation and meets all challenges.

To produce high-quality products and expand the market, the most important thing is to formulate quality management standards, cut costs and lower prices.He borrowed from the bank to build a new refinery called "standard", which produced standard kerosene, which was very popular.From the very beginning, he turned his attention to the international market.He opened an office in New York dedicated to selling the company's products to the East Coast and abroad.He cut costs as much as possible, such as making his own oil barrels, and buying a chemical company to make his own sulfuric acid for refining oil.He also bought tankers and pipelines to avoid paying for railroads.The thrifty habits of his youth were used by Rockefeller in production and brought great benefits.Scientific management, meticulous management, and high-quality products have won Standard Oil a reputation and solid competitiveness. When Rockefeller first entered the oil industry in 1865, there were 55 refineries in Cleveland. By the time Standard Oil was established in 1870, only 26 had survived. By the end of 1872, Standard Oil controlled 26 of these 21.By the end of 1879, just nine years after its incorporation as a legal entity, Standard Corporation controlled 9 percent of the nation's oil refining industry.By 90, 1880% of the oil produced in the United States was refined by Standard Oil.Since the history of the United States, there has never been a company that can completely dominate the market so completely.Rockefeller was keen on the combination of companies, and he combined two investment partners with strong funds and good reputation. Three years later, on January 95, 3, a new company with a capital of $1870 million was created, and its name was the Standard Oil Company.John Rockefeller, the company's founder and president, acquired most of the company's shares when he was only 1 years old.

With the development of Rockefeller's oil empire, the danger of being unmanageable due to its huge size has also become more and more dangerous.Rockefeller clearly saw this malady and paid attention to it.At this time, Rockefeller found an article in a public publication, which wrote: "The era of small businessmen is over, and the era of big companies is coming." He spoke highly of it, and hired Dowd, the author of the article, as a legal counsel with a monthly salary of up to $500.Dodd was a young lawyer. After he became popular, he tried every means to find legal loopholes for Rockefeller's company.One day, when he was carefully studying the trust system in the "English Law", he suddenly came up with inspiration and proposed the concept of "trust" as a monopoly organization.The so-called "trust" means that many enterprises producing similar products no longer operate independently, but form a comprehensive enterprise group in a highly integrated form.This form is much more monopolistic than the original "cartel", that is, the way in which independent enterprises form a united front in production and sales in order to control the market.Under the guidance of Dodd's "trust" theory, Rockefeller convened the "Standard Oil Company" shareholders meeting on January 1882, 1, and formed a 20-member "trustee committee" to take charge of all the shares of Standard Oil Company and subsidiary companies. stock.Rockefeller became the chairman of the committee as a matter of course.Subsequently, the Board of Trustees issued 9 letters of trust, of which Rockefeller and four persons alone owned more than 70, accounting for 4/46 of the total.In this way, Rockefeller got his wish and created an unprecedented joint enterprise-trust.Under this trust structure, Rockefeller merged more than 2 manufacturers, monopolizing 3% of the country's oil refining industry and 40% of the oil pipeline business.Trusts quickly spread throughout the United States and in various industries. In a short period of time, this form of monopoly organization accounted for 80% of the US economy.Obviously, Rockefeller successfully created a unique era in American history - the era of monopoly.

In this way, step by step, Rockefeller walked out of his own way, and at the same time created a way that no one had ever walked before.Without superhuman perseverance and innovative spirit, it is unimaginable. ★
Rockefeller's quotes of wisdom:
> Adapt to the environment: You cannot change the current situation, nor can you change the existing trading rules.This is a fact that we cannot but admit - business people must allow themselves to adapt to the environment at any time.

> Opportunity: None of us thought the company would expand to this extent later.We do our best to do what we do every day, looking forward to the future we see so we can seize opportunities while building a solid foundation.

> Collaboration: It is not easy to get powerful people to agree with your ideas.It has always been our policy to listen patiently and discuss frankly in the face of evidence, before reaching consensus and deciding on final action.

IBM's position in the world's computer industry today is irreplaceable by any company, but we must know that there must be an enviable legend behind such a huge achievement, and Watson is the outstanding leader of the enterprise.Thomas Watson was born in 1876 and died in 1956. He was the first president and spiritual leader of IBM.We can see from him that a great cause requires an outstanding leader.He took over IBM from 1914 to 1956.It has grown IBM from a small company on the verge of bankruptcy to one of the top ten manufacturers in the United States, and laid a solid foundation for entering the computer era in the future.This requires IQ, but also the power of EQ, which can be seen clearly from his success.

His experience is also full of twists and turns. At the beginning, Watson was employed by Anxun Information Company.However, when he was 40 years old, that is, after 18 years of working in Anxun, he was suddenly fired.

But such a blow is unlikely to make Watson give up, because his previous experience has honed his will.Watson sold pianos door-to-door in his hometown of Pantee Station, New York, in the farm area near Pantee Station, before coming to work for Anxon.His father was a lumber dealer.Watson was an honest and hardworking young man, two qualities he thought would make him rich as a salesman.However, after a series of setbacks, he came to understand that these two qualities alone were not enough.Later, he opened a butcher shop again, but changed careers due to poor management, and then managed to get himself into the Buffalo branch of Anxun Company as a salesman.Soon, Watson was talking, dressing, and thinking like a typical Accent employee, while being as successful as his colleagues.At the age of 28, Watson was appointed as the head of Accent's headquarters in Darden, Ohio.Peterson rewarded Watson for his loyalty to the company with a rather expensive Pierce Arnold car, and later rewarded him with a house next door to his own.Unfortunately, in early 1913, 22 executives at Anxon were convicted of violating the Sherman Antitrust Act.Watson also served a year in prison.Watson refused to plead guilty. He believed that he had done nothing wrong, so he would rather appeal and go to jail if he lost.The company even asked him to resign directly. He was only 40 years old at the time, but he was facing the fate of imprisonment.

Watson was out of work for several months after leaving Accent, and Watson had better qualifications than others.The opportunity finally arose when Flint, the capitalist who thought he had invented "the conglomerate," cobbled together four unrelated ventures into the Computing Tabulating Recording Company in 1911.Three years later, the company's operations began to decline, and it could barely afford the huge debt.After a three-day interview, Flint decided to hire Watson to lead the company. At that time, a company director strongly opposed the decision. Who will lead.But Flint overcame the difficulty and hired Watson.In name, though, Watson was the president of CTR, and things didn't go well at first.Within the first year of his tenure, he was sentenced to military service after losing a previous antitrust lawsuit, and his prospects as president were dimmed by this uncertainty.Then, in May 1915, Watson received a telegram that the original guilty verdict had been put on hold.A few days later, Watson was finally officially named president.

After Watson joined CTR, he adopted the style of Anxun, especially in terms of basic sales methods and cultivating international affairs operations, which was exactly the same as Anxun's approach.Later, in order to emphasize international affairs, the company changed its name to International Business Machines Corporation from 1924 onwards.Watson regards himself and every employee as an ambassador of IBM. Everyone does not only represent the company at work, but represents the company all the time.Conservative dressing became the company's mandated image: Even machine oilers at the Andycourt plant in New York felt obliged to wear white shirts and ties to work, and the entire workforce was transformed.Watson expects IBMers to have a good marriage, live in an exclusive neighborhood, drive the latest model of car, contribute to the community, attend church, and remain calm and steady at all times.In fact, IBM also stipulates that smoking and drinking are prohibited during working hours.Watson restructured his new company to bring businesses together and move the business forward.He regained his instinct, that is, the enthusiasm for selling pianos honestly and diligently, and made up his mind to study hard.

Watson issued an order to create an educational complex, he said: "To serve and not just to sell." Watson's attitude is: IBM should have better products and sales skills, otherwise other companies' sales will win over us.Watson built IBM to be equally aggressive and ambitious, but with a more correct view of success.At a time when many corporations are quite greedy, he wants them to run with integrity.He convinced executives and salespeople that the company would not let them down or lay them off.Watson expanded his business in good times, but he has the guts to do it massively in bad times.When the United States began to enter the Great Depression in October 1929 and IBM's sales declined, Watson did not fire salesmen, but instead hired hundreds of salesmen.Under his leadership, IBM has grown from strength to strength.

Watson, who fueled IBM's rapid growth in the 20s, became a public figure, almost the shining star of corporate America.When Watson first became a public figure, he was known for his Democratic leanings. He was one of the few industrialists who wholeheartedly supported President Roosevelt and the New Economic Policy.At the same time, Watson is also committed to world peace.Later, IBM benefited greatly from President Roosevelt's New Economic Policy, and in 50 the company received a data processing contract from the newly created Social Security Administration.As for world peace, IBM has benefited a lot from it. In 1935, IBM's global operating bases had spread to 1940 countries.Still, it would be a bit cynical to say that IBM benefits from supporting the Democrats and world peace.If Watson had been a sarcasm, back in 75 he wouldn't have been pleading guilty to something he said he didn't do.If Watson was the sarcastic, IBM wouldn't exist.The quality of an individual determines the fate of an enterprise.

Wang Xiaojin, an outstanding leader of the Gujing Group who dared to open up the empire, graduated with a postgraduate degree in economics, a senior economist, a national outstanding entrepreneur, a master of Chinese management, chairman of Anhui Gujing Group, chairman and general manager of Anhui Gujing Distillery Co., Ltd., initiated in 1989 A "liquor revolution" that shocked the whole country, known as "No. 1 in the Chinese liquor industry" and "management geek".Behind these achievements and honors, there are many intriguing places. As long as we dig carefully, we will definitely find what we need.Among them, we can learn something from this leader's business strategy.

Both IQ and EQ can be manifested in perception, and a person's IQ and EQ can often be seen from the understanding and judgment of the situation.Wang Xiaojin's savvy is very high. When baijiu is in short supply, Gujing's production scale has increased several levels in a short period of time.They have achieved scale production, scale operation, and scale benefits, so it can be said that they are one step ahead.See far and see deeply.But after the expansion of investment was completed, before he could catch his breath, he encountered a problem, which was the depression of the liquor market in 1989.Suddenly all the wine was unsalable.Wang Xiaojin believes that this is not a market reason, and the prosperity of the entire liquor market cannot be denied with temporary twists and turns.Later they played three tricks: "reduce the price and reduce the price, operate in debt, and sell with value preservation".As a result, Gujing became the only famous winery in the country that did not experience a landslide in 1989, and their profits and taxes increased by 3% that year. The rectification in 1989 provided an opportunity for the general depression of the national liquor industry, enabling Gujing to rapidly expand its market share across the country, and the energy accumulated in the large-scale production in the past few years was released at once.It brought about six consecutive years of high-speed growth from 1990 to 1996.At that time, the speed was doubling every year, and the annual net increase in profits and taxes was 6 million yuan.It can be said that the governance and rectification in 1 cleared Gujing of market obstacles, but the premise was large-scale production and large-scale operation.The enterprise completed the first leap, that is, from a production-oriented enterprise to a production and sales-oriented enterprise.Therefore, after the enterprise has accumulated a large amount of capital, it begins to enter into capital operation.

Therefore, in terms of previous accumulation, Gujing began to move towards another path, that is, from a production and management type to a combination of production and capital management.We call it the second historical leap of Gujing.Wang Xiaojin took a longer-term view. At the end of 1990, he proposed to expand the production scale again, with a target of 10000 tons.Although the wine market is huge, the risk of expansion is also great, and the speed of expansion is very slow only with its own funds. The market opportunity in 1990 was very good, but this kind of opportunity was fleeting. If you step by step from civil engineering to factory buildings, equipment, and then to wine production, the time will not wait for anyone, so Wang Xiaojin started the first step of capital expansion. As a result, the surrounding township enterprises were acquired, forming the current production scale of Gujing.

We found that the two expansions of Gujing are one step ahead, rather than waiting until the opportunity comes to you before starting to expand.Now the expansion of enterprises, whether it is enterprise behavior, government behavior or market behavior, is to wait until the situation forces the company to expand, but then it will be too late.Furui's advanced decision-making and advanced expansion are based on the judgment of the market. It does have certain risks, but rewards and risks coexist. Without risks, of course, there will be no high returns.This requires leadership vision and courage.Some people have asked Wang Xiaojin what he relies on to grasp when investing. He said: "Rely on the sixth sense, rely on intuition to judge." In fact, the formation of this sixth sense is the long-term accumulation of knowledge and experience. A perception of the market.Wang Xiaojin’s experience is: after contacting a project, we must first have an intuitive judgment, and then make an analysis from qualitative to quantitative. If the quantitative result is consistent with your feeling, then this project can be completed. well done.If there is a gap, it is necessary to integrate the plan to minimize the risk.As for whether the project is to be approved or not, and various feasibility analyzes are not our business, it should be done by experts in various fields.

Rare things are more expensive, and if there are too many things, they will definitely depreciate.This is true of any industry, and the development of the wine industry will inevitably lead to excessive competition in the end. "Gujing" is one of the eight famous wines with high quality, good management and a large market network.But when Wang Xiaojin realized that he could no longer invest in wine, he could only invest in other directions.They did not make the mistakes of many wineries - "Gujing" established the policy of "establishing a factory with science and technology, multi-angle development, compound management, and comprehensive development" very early on.For so many years, "Gujing" has certainly taken many detours, but the most basic point is that there is no directional error in investment.So far, the first three pillar industries of "Gujing" have been very successful.

(End of this chapter)