Private Enterprise Internal Management Research/Pan Wenfu

Time-travel dramas are becoming more common, with both Europe and America and China producing them. However, there's a difference in the direction of travel: most Chinese time-travel dramas go backward, while European and American ones go forward.

Going forward requires ample imagination, even designing props is troublesome; going backward is much simpler and cheaper to produce. For ordinary people, what does traveling back mean? The most obvious is having plenty of opportunities—buying antiques, cheap houses, or investing in Alibaba.

Actually, the ones who most want to travel back are bosses. Ordinary people only occasionally think about it, but bosses think about it every day. If you don't believe it, listen to what bosses say daily:

  1. Business used to be easier;
  2. Profits used to be higher;
  3. Costs used to be lower;
  4. There were fewer people, and they were simple and easy to manage;
  5. There weren't so many promotions, and sales came easily;
  6. There were fewer people in business, so competition wasn't as fierce;
  7. Taxes were minimal—just a few hundred yuan a year...

Relatively speaking, business did seem easier before, but can we go back? If we had the ability to go back, why would we be in business? We'd be running for UN Secretary-General!

The fantasy of going back is actually an escape from current difficulties. When business gets tough, it's natural to recall the good old days. But what factors really lie behind the difficulty?

  1. Is it that there's no business at all, or are there too many competitors? For most, the difficulty stems from increased competition, not a lack of total consumption or growth space.

  2. Have bosses examined their own roles? Is it always others' faults? Could it be that bosses themselves have issues? Even if others are to blame, can you solve that? The only problems we can solve are our own. Of course, stubbornly refusing to admit fault is a cultural trait of our people.

  3. There will always be business, but whether bosses are competent is another matter. Bosses should continuously learn and improve, keeping up with the times. But how many are willing to do so? Old methods may not work for today's business. The reluctance to learn stems from an unwillingness to admit they might be wrong, insisting they've always been right.

  4. The ease of past business was due to information asymmetry—essentially exploiting loopholes and fooling people. Now that things are standardized and compliant, there are no shortcuts, and people are harder to deceive.

  5. Doing business is increasingly like engineering: it requires planning, layout, budgeting, innovation, strategy, and upfront investment. But bosses find these too troublesome and beyond their capabilities. They hope for a simple, high-profit, low-risk business that doesn't require much thought. Unable to find one, they fantasize: "If only it were thirty years ago, I'd be rolling in money."

Of course, if we could travel back, all these problems would be solved. But we can't, and we refuse to face the current market, change ourselves, or improve. What's left is complaining. When they meet others with similar grievances, they feel like kindred spirits, and complaining together makes them feel better: "See, it's not just me; business is tough for everyone." At the root, they refuse to admit their own regression and obsolescence.

Some bosses think the difficulty is due to too many restrictions, too many competitors, high costs, and little room for innovation. But business is about finding possibilities amid impossibilities. If anyone could do business, everyone would be a boss. Restrictions and difficulties are real, but complaining is useless. We must face them, examine ourselves, and proactively change. Speaking of change, let me add: even industries like petroleum, salt, and tobacco—once considered untouchable—are actively reforming. Even the military, to attract post-90s and post-95s youth, is changing recruitment ads, benefits, and management. If salt, tobacco, petroleum, and the military are all reforming and progressing, what reason do we have to wait for the market to become easier? Are we still dreaming that business will automatically improve?

Pan Wenfu, a private enterprise owner, has managed a family distribution company for years while also serving as business manager and trainer for several manufacturers. His research focuses on internal management of small and medium-sized private enterprises, covering topics like HR management, cost control, management backend setup, and integrating veterans into private enterprises. He continuously breaks down over 400 topics in private enterprise management, keeping materials and solutions updated.

The 3rd (CFIC) China FMCG + Internet Conference will be held in Chongqing in November 2017. Centered on the theme "New Forces, New Ecology," it will invite 1,000+ distributors, 500+ brand owners, 200+ B2B platform founders, and 100+ investment institutions to explore new chapters of cross-industry integration!

Core Topics:

  • How can the FMCG industry leverage B2B for new growth opportunities?

  • How should the new supply chain behind new retail be built?

  • How can intra-city logistics help B2B achieve leapfrog development?

Highlights:

  • The industry's first "2017 China FMCG B2B Industry Competitiveness White Paper"

  • Case studies of excellent distributors in transformation and upgrading

  • Upgraded conference and exhibition: Hall 6 Internet Technology Expo strengthens networking

  • Leaders from Alibaba Retail Link, GL Capital, EASIA Supply Chain, Best Store Plus, YijiuPi, and Haiding will deliver keynote speeches.

November 8-9, 2017 Chongqing Yuelai International Conference Center, Xinyue Hall Registration is now open: long-press the QR code below or click "Read Original" to sign up. Add friend with note "Conference Registration" Click the links below to review the first and second FMCG + Internet conferences: 2016 "FMCG + Internet" Summit Forum -END-