A listed company recently hired more than 100 fresh master's graduates. The situation has become a Rashomon-style dispute, with both sides offering conflicting accounts. The students allege the company is conducting disguised layoffs and have escalated their complaint to the company's largest customer, the European Union.
Let me offer my personal perspective.
(1)
I once said that people cannot see their true selves unless they hit an insurmountable obstacle and are thrown back hard, only then realizing their real measure.
I have also said that only by reaching the pinnacle of success can you see what heaven looks like; only by being knocked down into the mud can you know what earth feels like. Seeing both reveals people's true nature, and that reveals your own.
I have also said that only hospitals and courts reveal a person. In hospitals, the fear of mortality brings out one's true character. In courts, the person you trust and love most knows all your vulnerabilities and strikes precisely at your softest, most fatal points — that is how you see others and yourself.
Of course, such things do not happen in ordinary times.
So in ordinary times, how do you see a person clearly and test their character?
(2)
In the past, I would send all new graduates to the customer service department to answer phones after two months of training.
Salesforce's founder started in Oracle's after-sales department, and I believe SAP's CEO did too.
Studying computer science doesn't have to lead to research and development. I've seen many excellent graduates, even PhDs, thrive in sales.
A friend of mine, a Harbin Institute of Technology master's graduate from the 1990s, often says, "I'm a rough guy."
But I never saw him as rough. He was equally skilled at drinking, playing sports, and singing karaoke. He was also adept at blocking clients' doors, pressing for orders, and even cursing. He knew every restaurant, from formal business dinners to hole-in-the-wall joints. In casual conversation, he could talk about books, movies, palm reading, off-roading, hiking, and exercise.
He rose from top salesperson to sales director but kept the instincts of a top seller. For major deals, he would rush to the client site. He was rarely in the office—either in a client's office or socializing with clients.
Even at the office, he was constantly on the phone. In the pre-smartphone era, he carried two phones and four spare batteries.
When he's not on the phone at the office, he's either in the boss's office, rounding up us CXO-level people for alignment or meals, or dining with his subordinates. He constantly drags me to major client sites, saying I need to get closer to the ground.
(3)
I also like Huawei's phrase: 'technology engineer-merchant.'
I strongly agree with sending new graduates—whether master's or PhD—to the field for an internship and training period first.
A colleague of mine often says: 'The gods are in the field.' I agree with that too.
There are many kinds of field sites: production, sales, customer service, and debt collection. This is a complete value chain. (Try debt collection yourself—you'll see the real China and human nature.)
Only in these field sites can you truly experience and understand the real conditions of Chinese enterprises, Chinese society, and Chinese human nature. Then, when thinking and acting, you'll be more effective and avoid wasted effort.
I recall training new recruits lasts three months: the first month you can tough it out, the second month you feel you can't take it, and by the third month you're on the verge of collapse.
The aim is not to break people, so three months is just right. Without reaching a limit, the experience lacks depth.
Working three months at each front—production, sales, customer service, and receivables recovery—would, I believe, yield a profound understanding of the company, its customers, and its products.