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Introduction
Is the "wolf culture" that is widely touted by Chinese companies really effective? Why is "wolf nature" just a girl that can be dressed up arbitrarily? What kind of "nature" will enable a company to survive in the end?
"Wolf nature" is the most buzzword in Chinese-style management. It is called "Chinese-style" because it uses a typical technique of "expressing aspirations through objects," which is familiar to those of us who grew up under the institutional education system. Using an animal as a metaphor is the most common practice in Chinese business circles. Before the reform and opening-up, the most popular was the "ox"—"willing to be a willing ox for the children" and "willing to be a revolutionary old ox." After the reform and opening-up, there were more varieties: elephants, tigers, lions, leopards, eagles—everything you can imagine, usually with positive associations and a sense of might and grandeur. It wasn't until the "wolf culture" appeared that it dominated the scene. Based on my close observation, nearly half of companies advocate wolf culture, and a large majority of business owners highly praise it. Almost all training companies offer courses on "wolf culture," available on demand and ready to use. I once saw a company with walls covered in wolf-related slogans and images. At another company's annual meeting, the boss led the middle and senior management on stage to howl like wolves—a scene too awkward to watch.
Wolf culture is so popular, but the results of its implementation are vastly different: Huawei is undoubtedly the most outstanding example of success, while most others are just talk, exciting to hear but useless in execution, and some even end up in chaos with complex corporate politics.
The technique of using objects to express ideas has obvious advantages and disadvantages. The advantages are that it is vivid, easy to understand, highly acceptable, and emotionally resonant. It is much easier to talk about than Drucker, and everyone enjoys it. The disadvantages are also prominent: it is too vague and imprecise. Everyone's "wolf nature" is different—more varied than Hamlet—so the only option is "the final interpretation right belongs to the boss." We see so many companies promoting wolf culture, but each company advocates something different. "Wolf culture" is a universal basket; bosses put whatever they want to instill in their employees into it. Different starting points and purposes lead to different methods, and naturally, the results vary greatly.
The most famous "wolf nature" company is Huawei. From public information, Huawei's wolf culture mainly emphasizes: crisis awareness, teamwork, and ambition, which are important for any company.
If Ren Zhengfei had accidentally watched an episode of "Animal World" narrated by Zhao Zhongxiang before proposing "wolf culture," and thought lions were particularly crisis-aware, cooperative, and ambitious, Huawei might have had a "lion culture" instead. Huawei would still have achieved management success because the essence lies in the core, not the external form. Whether it's a wolf or a lion is just an explanatory tool. The key to "expressing aspirations through objects" lies in the "aspiration"—the boss's aspiration, who holds the final interpretation right—not in the object.
Let me share something I know well: According to my information, Ye Maozhong was the first in domestic enterprises to propose wolf culture, as early as the 1990s, and he publicly promoted it, even earlier than Huawei. Our slogan at the time was "Better to be a wolf howling in the wilderness than a beautiful tiger in the circus," followed by "If you don't have great ideas, go die." Cool, right? Doesn't it give you a feeling of drawing a sword against the wind?
Teacher Ye's wolf culture is very different from other companies. First, he used it externally to build his personal brand. Compared to the previous "old ox," the wolf feels very different—villainous, mysterious, individualistic, and more powerful, making it easier to gain client recognition. It's an ideal brand image carrier. Just like Old Ye's hat, it's not that he likes wearing hats, but that it's a need for brand building.
When Old Ye explained "wolf culture" internally and externally, he emphasized that "the wolf is the only animal in the world that can think while running at high speed" (I don't know if that's true; those interested in zoology can verify it). Running and thinking are the core. Teacher Ye used the wolf to express "action" and "thinking."
These are relatively successful examples of advocating wolf culture. Other notable ones include Baidu's "wolf" vs. "petty bourgeois," and Shi Yuzhu's "wolf" vs. "rabbit." Each company's "wolf" has its own specific meaning.
On the other hand, those companies that advocate "wolf culture" and end up in chaos and turmoil often have this situation: here, the wolf becomes a symbol of "working spontaneously," "achieving targets at all costs and by any means," "resolutely executing the boss's orders," and "absolute obedience."
The biggest difference from successful wolf culture companies is that in successful companies, the wolf culture is first and foremost required by the boss of themselves. Ren Zhengfei queuing for a taxi at Hongqiao Airport has been widely discussed. Boss Chen of Yake still personally handles product and brand innovation to this day. Ye Maozhong even wants to cover himself with wolf labels. In contrast, failed wolf culture companies require it of their employees.
These bosses have geniusly discovered the wolf's greatest trait: as the ancestor of dogs, the wolf is the easiest animal to domesticate in the world. (Group animals with hierarchies are easier to domesticate, as research has confirmed.)
Requiring employees to be fierce externally, seize profits, be loyal to the company, be devoted, work hard, and not expect rewards—these are the truths hidden under the guise of wolf culture.
Here, "wolf nature" becomes a tool for bosses to pressure employees and make them work desperately. It is a culture of enslavement and麻痹, backward, ignorant, and self-righteous.
It is backward because this culture is only suitable for situations with closed information and limited mobility, perhaps only suitable for the专制 conditions of the agrarian era. The resulting evil consequences are often the survival of the worst, with corporate eunuchs running rampant.
Under brainwashing and high pressure, talented people who value exchange will choose to vote with their feet—they leave. What remains are often incompetent people with poor alternatives, who show their "wolf nature" by pledging loyalty, pumping up the team, eliminating the disobedient, and putting on a show of hard work, thereby securing their positions in the company.
I just heard a real story a few days ago: a senior executive at a company often went to the office in the middle of the night to call the boss on the landline to report work, and received praise from the group company. Ha.
When the King of Chu liked thin waists, many in the palace starved to death. Incompetent people will mass-produce a product called "wolf nature" and sell it to the boss. And the company, after taking the drug repeatedly, will head toward death in a collective high.
Poor information flow and weak employee rights are the fertile soil for this kind of "wolf culture." Therefore, the more backward the region, the more bosses like to promote "wolf culture." If the management targets are the post-60s and post-70s generations, promoting wolf culture may have better results, but young people with strong employee rights won't care about these things at all.
Additionally, here's some unfortunate news for these companies promoting "wolf culture": current research shows that for innovative work, high intensity and high pressure do not necessarily improve performance; more often, they are counterproductive. In other words, your painstaking brainwashing project is not only difficult to achieve, but even if it is achieved, it may only harm your company, not benefit it.
Those who advocate wolf culture often design a logical trap: they create a despicable opposite for the "wolf" (the enemy-making rule is easy for everyone), making those who fail to meet the boss's requirements feel ashamed, such as "sheep nature," "dog nature," or "rabbit nature," but they conveniently omit the one aspect that should be most valued: "human nature."
Management science has two major premises about human nature: first, people will not automatically work for an organization; second, people can work proactively for themselves. True management science is about establishing a close relationship between the organization and the individual, thereby promoting organizational efficiency. Some advocates of "wolf culture" try to change human nature through brainwashing and high pressure, and what they get is a bunch of freaks and genetically modified organisms.
Li Kunyao said: "The gray wolf will eventually disappear in history because the grassland will one day be eaten up. What will survive in the end? I can almost certainly say it won't be wolves, but only humans who understand life and civilization, using more civilized means, more cultural thinking, and a business model with a sense of history, will have the conditions to continue surviving."
Old Miao says, let's just be human!
New Food Era · New Distribution —— 2016 China "FMCG + Internet" Summit Forum ——
This is a grand event focused on how the FMCG industry's channels will transform under the trend of Internet+ transformation
Conference Agenda
09:00-09:30 Registration 09:30-09:35 Host opening 09:35-10:05 2016 China FMCG Industry Trend Analysis Report — Zhao Bo 10:05-10:25 FMCG Enterprise Transformation Strategy and Path — Liu Chunxiong 10:25-10:45 Opportunities and Challenges Brought by FMCG Channel Transformation — Liu Zhao, CEO of Waiqin365 10:45-11:25 Alibaba Retail Link All-Around Empowerment — Guo Kunkun, Alibaba Retail Link 11:25-12:00 Roundtable Forum — Brand Transformation: Improvement vs. Reconstruction? (Guests TBD) 12:00-13:30 Lunch 13:30-14:00 Distributor Transformation: City Distribution Trend Development — Wang Qi, CEO of Weijie City Distribution 14:00-14:30 Roundtable Forum — Why Should Distributors Do Logistics in Transformation? 14:30-15:00 Detailed Explanation of Zhongshang Huimin's "One Machine, Two Wings" Strategy — Su Xiaoxin, Vice President of Zhongshang Huimin 15:00-15:30 Detailed Explanation of Zhanghe Cloud Factory Strategy — Yang Lixiang, Zhanghe Tianxia (Content TBD) 15:30-16:00 Supply Chain Finance: The Lubricant for B2B to Drive Traditional Business — Chen Xian, CEO of 51 Order 16:00-16:30 2B Investment Principles and Approaches — Xu Xiaoping, Founder of ZhenFund (Guest TBD) 16:30-17:00 Small Retail, Big Opportunity: China's Retail Transformation and Upgrade — Wang Jianfeng, General Manager of E-commerce Division, Yurun Group 17:00-17:30 Roundtable Forum — Who is the King in FMCG B2B Models? (Guests TBD) 18:00-20:00 Dinner
For manufacturers and distributors who want to transform, this is an event you cannot miss. Interested friends can long press the QR code below or click "Read Original" to register.
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