Wang Yi successively acquired three companies: Sogou Maps, Gaode Maps, and Ele.me.
He merged Sogou Maps into Gaode Maps, with Gaode Maps president Cheng Wu serving as the top executive.
To prevent power from being overly concentrated, Wang Yi then had Tian Guanghan, the head of Sogou Maps, lead the Sogou Maps team to develop Gaode Ride-hailing, giving them an opportunity to grow and balance Cheng Wu's faction.
He also had Yu Wenle, Vice President of Gaode, lead some Gaode employees to work on Ele.me, to balance Zhang Hao's faction at Ele.me.
The main focus was power checks and balances.
Wang Yi's current arrangement is not only for internal checks and balances at Ele.me but also for internal competition within Ele.me!
From now on, Ele.me will not only be divided into two major regions, North and South, but also into two major factions: Gaode Maps employees and Ele.me's original team!
Ultimately, whether the top executive of Ele.me will be Ele.me President Zhang Hao or Gaode Maps Vice President Yu Wenle will entirely depend on the performance of the two major regions!
Recognizing the situation, Zhang Hao immediately stated:
"Chairman, I will definitely learn from my mistakes and work hard! Within a month, the Northern region will launch in at least five cities!"
Yu Wenle was not to be outdone:
"Chairman, the Southern region will also go all out and launch in six cities within a month!"
One with five cities, one with six cities!
Tit for tat!
Wang Yi calmly watched this scene; this was exactly the effect he wanted.
Ele.me's people aren't incapable, they just lack pressure.
And Yu Wenle and these Gaode Maps people are the whetstone, the pressure!
Only with such internal competition can there be development.
Following this trend, conquering a hundred cities this year will not be an issue; even 150 cities are hopeful.
In its previous life, Meituan conquered 200 cities within just one year of its launch.
Today's Ele.me has been developing for years, already has a foundation, a model, and no competitors.
150 cities a year is no pressure, and pushing for 200 cities is also hopeful.
If 150 to 200 cities are successfully conquered this year, then another 200 to 250 cities next year!
That adds up to 400 cities in two years!
This can completely cover first, second, third, and fourth-tier cities!
If so, even if BAT enters the food delivery market, Wang Yi will not be worried.
Ele.me, with 400 cities under its belt, would have already monopolized the market and would not fear BAT's challenge!
But if Ele.me followed its original slow development model, by the time BAT invaded the food delivery market, Ele.me would have only conquered a few dozen cities, and it would be doomed.
They must be pushed hard, pushed to the limit!
Wang Yi nodded:
"Very good, I will establish a headquarters assessment team to personally evaluate the development speed and revenue performance of Ele.me's Northern and Southern regions. From now on, the number of launched cities will account for 40% of the assessment performance, and revenue and profit will account for 60%.
The performance of the two regions will be comprehensively evaluated, and quarterly bonuses will be distributed accordingly. Regions with good performance will receive 70% or even 80% of the bonuses, while those with poor performance will only get 20% to 30%, or even zero bonuses!"
"Yes!"
both responded, thoroughly understanding that the two regions would now fiercely compete.
Wang Yi continued:
"Additionally, within your two regions, you cannot poach each other's staff or sabotage each other. Each of you must develop in your own territory, launch new sites, and compete on performance. If you need to poach people, look outside. There are so many group-buying platforms that have trained many talents; you can poach from them!"
"Yes!"
"You may go, I await your good news."
Wang Yi waved his hand and added:
"Zhang Hao, as president, if you are outdone by a vice president, I won't be able to protect you then!"
Cold sweat broke out on Zhang Hao's forehead; his fears were coming true.
The meaning was clear: if the Northern region couldn't outperform the Southern region, Zhang Hao's removal was a certainty.
Wang Yi waved his hand, and the two men withdrew.
Before the annual meeting even began, their Ele.me department was hammered.
Especially Zhang Hao, whose face turned dark, was directly scolded by Wang Yi point-blank.
Not only him but also other Ele.me staff were called incompetent.
Yu Wenle, on the other hand, was fine; although the pressure increased, he got a promotion.
Before, he was just one of Ele.me's vice presidents, but now he has become the head of the Southern region, on equal footing with Ele.me President Zhang Hao in terms of power.
Zhang Hao, as president, could not dictate to the Southern region.
Wang Yi promoted Yu Wenle to prod Zhang Hao and spark competition between the North and South.
Moreover, this division also balanced the strengths.
The Northern region's economy is not as prosperous as the South, but Ele.me's original team has abundant staff and great potential.
The Southern region's economy is more prosperous than the North, but Gaode Maps has fewer transferred employees, its overall strength is weaker, and it still needs to recruit staff.
With one side strong in market and the other strong in human resources, it was a balanced start.
How it develops later will depend on the strength of both sides.
What left Wang Yi speechless, however, was that without internal competition, the two teams only managed to launch in 4 cities in a month.
With internal competition, one team can complete five or six cities, meaning 11 cities for both teams!
One can only say that Ele.me was slacking off before!
Unless you push them, you'll never know how much potential they have.
For a moment, Wang Yi even doubted if his previous strategy was wrong.
He was very good to his subordinates, not giving too much pressure, but instead providing very high compensation, simply believing that subordinates would also go all out.
But in reality, it was just wishful thinking.
Like Zhang Hao, if Wang Yi didn't pressure him, he would slack off for Wang Yi!
Wang Yi even gave him a 5% dry share dividend in Ele.me, but it still didn't have much effect, performing worse than Yu Wenle, who had no dividends.
Yu Wenle, without a dividend, led one-third of Ele.me's staff and still performed better than Zhang Hao!
It seems that from now on, Xingyi Technology will also adopt a wolf-pack culture, with survival of the fittest.
A benevolent leader cannot command an army; a righteous one cannot manage wealth.
Wang Yi considered his employees in every aspect, but employees would only try to take advantage of Wang Yi at every turn.
On the contrary, from now on, Xingyi Technology will reject equal treatment, embrace comprehensive internal competition, and practice survival of the fittest.
All businesses will be divided into markets for internal competition.
Base salaries will no longer increase; only bonuses will be added!
Departments with good performance will get promotions and raises, and can take 80% of the bonuses.
Those with poor performance will only get 20% of the bonuses, or even zero.
Their managers will face hardship, or even be dismissed!
From now on, within the same business unit, for the same position, different performances will normally result in three to five times difference in salary.
Equal treatment is meaningless; reward based on merit is necessary.
Whether middle management, senior management, or president, if competence is insufficient, they are dismissed.
If they've taken too much, they go to jail.
No ambiguity!
Just like a few days ago, the investigation at Meiyou was similar.
The inspection team found over forty mid-to-senior level managers with relatively serious issues, but ultimately over eighty self-surrendered, of whom more than sixty had serious issues.
These corrupt individuals were severely dealt with by the supervisory team and Song Sining, leading to a complete cleansing of Meiyou's marketing team and market department, making them healthier and more efficient.
Without these corrupt individuals, the development of Meiyou and Zhenyou after the New Year will only be better.
As for those who were corrupt, they faced misery, being investigated before the annual meeting; serious cases went to jail, while less severe ones had their year-end bonuses docked, or even were demoted, incurring heavy losses.
With this wave of swift action, anyone contemplating malpractice in the future will have to think twice.
After all, once investigated, not only would they have to return the ill-gotten gains, but their hundreds of thousands of yuan in year-end bonuses would also be gone.
It's not worth it.
Subsequently, Tian Guanghan, the head of Gaode Ride-hailing, walked in and began his work report.
He was originally the head of Sogou Maps, a company that started with maps, so serving as the head of Gaode Ride-hailing is a fitting role.
Gaode Ride-hailing and Gaode Maps are part of the same software, eliminating the need for secondary promotion.
However, Tian Guanghan was also a bit nervous at this moment.
He had been outside the door earlier and couldn't clearly hear what Wang Yi and the others were saying, but he clearly heard Wang Yi scolding Zhang Hao.
Seeing Zhang Hao's grim expression, he could fully understand what had happened.
Immediately, Tian Guanghan also became nervous:
"Chairman, after a month, the Gaode Ride-hailing business unit has been established, the new version of Gaode Maps integrated with Gaode Ride-hailing, and the Gaode Ride-hailing driver app have all been developed, and Chat Pay has also been fully integrated! Please take a look."
Saying so, Tian Guanghan handed over an xphone 1.
Wang Yi took it and examined it carefully.
It was still the original Gaode Maps, but in addition to the original "Home," "Nearby," and "My" tabs, a "Ride-hailing" tab had been added to the quick access bar at the bottom!
Wang Yi clicked on "Ride-hailing" and quickly entered the ride-hailing page, which was done quite well.
In the bottom right corner of the destination input, there was also an advertisement:
"Register to become a Gaode driver and earn big money in your spare time!"
People are always wary of new things, and it's unrealistic to expect drivers to work full-time as ride-hailing drivers from the start.
Therefore, Gaode Ride-hailing's promotion also started with part-time work.
Once drivers taste the benefits, those with unsatisfactory jobs will naturally quit and become full-time drivers, doing ride-hailing every day.
Wang Yi clicked on the driver recruitment ad and instantly jumped to the Gaode ride-hailing driver registration page, where he filled in information, uploaded documents, submitted materials, and waited for review...
After the review passed, it guided to download the Gaode Ride-hailing driver app.
Wang Yi nodded:
"The software development is acceptable, but not perfect, especially in terms of passenger safety protection, which is severely lacking."
"Passenger safety protection..."
Tian Guanghan was startled:
"Please enlighten me, Chairman."
Wang Yi elaborated:
"Simply put, our review of Gaode ride-hailing drivers can only focus on documents, not delve into their morals or character. What if a passenger is an attractive woman, and the driver, driven by lust, drives the car to a deserted area and does something inappropriate? What do you think the consequences would be?"
Tian Guanghan's expression changed dramatically:
"Once such an incident occurs, Gaode will inevitably be held responsible. If public opinion ferments, even Xingyi Technology will be greatly affected. The consequences are too severe."
Wang Yi then asked:
"Then do you think such a thing would happen?"
Tian Guanghan nodded:
"Every forest has its share of birds. Such scum certainly exists, and if even one or two appear, the consequences would be unimaginable, bringing immense negative impact to both Gaode Ride-hailing and Xingyi Technology."
"Exactly. That's why you need to add some features to genuinely protect passenger safety!"
Wang Yi solemnly stated:
"For example, route restrictions: strictly require drivers to follow the navigation's planned route and never deviate. If a driver deviates from the navigation track, immediately warn the driver and send a text message to the user to confirm their safety and whether they need to call the police. Furthermore, deviating from the navigation track will result in a fine for the driver!"
"Yes, this way, we can prevent drivers from acting improperly, driving to remote areas, and committing illicit acts."
Wang Yi waved his hand:
"That's not enough. You also need to add a one-button alarm function, linked to the police. This allows passengers to call the police with a single tap in case of danger, directly sharing their location and movement trajectory with law enforcement!"
"Understood, Chairman."
Tian Guanghan noted it firmly.
Wang Yi continued:
"Also add a full-journey recording function, encrypted and transmitted to the server throughout! This way, it can prevent disputes from being unclear and also ensure passenger safety. It can also deter drivers from acting improperly and restrain passengers from making unreasonable demands."
"Yes, this feature is excellent!"
Tian Guanghan was thrilled:
"Thank you, Chairman. Your golden ideas alone are more numerous than our entire development team's. I'm truly ashamed."
Wang Yi waved his hand; these brilliant ideas were accumulated from the bloody and tearful lessons learned from ride-hailing services in his past life!
Next, Wang Yi changed the topic:
"How do you plan to promote the driver and passenger apps?"
Tian Guanghan elaborated:
"For driver promotion, we are launching new user discounts. Regarding commission, the first three orders will be commission-free, allowing drivers to earn money first. As long as they make money, they will be willing to continue as Gaode drivers."
Wang Yi waved his hand:
"New user discounts shouldn't be so high. Making the first three orders commission-free will make drivers feel they should always earn that much. Once 20% is deducted from the fourth order, their income will suddenly drop, and drivers will feel cheated."
"Yes, that makes sense."
Tian Guanghan suddenly realized.
Wang Yi continued:
"Change the new user discount to a new user bonus. Commissions will still be deducted as usual. New drivers who complete three orders will be rewarded 30 yuan. Completing five orders will reward 50 yuan! Additionally, during special periods like morning rush hour, evening rush hour, or late night, an extra 10%-20% subsidy can be provided."
Gaode Ride-hailing only takes a 20% commission from drivers on the actual paid price.
After a passenger uses a coupon, they actually pay 30 yuan, the driver receives 24 yuan, and Gaode only takes 6 yuan for operating costs.
This commission rate is already very low; after deducting R&D costs and operating costs, the profit is not high.
"Additionally, launch a new driver referral program. Successfully recommending a new driver to become a Gaode driver and complete five orders will earn a 50 yuan bonus! Only by having more ride-hailing drivers can the business grow big."
"Understood, Chairman."
Tian Guanghan noted each point and then continued:
"As for passenger promotion, we plan to promote through Gaode Maps, attracting passengers to experience placing orders by offering coupons."
Wang Yi waved his hand:
"Promoting drivers through Gaode is effective, but promoting passengers has limited results. Currently, most Gaode users own cars, and car owners rarely use ride-hailing. It's better to promote through Meiyou and Xingyi Video; users without cars are the main consumers of ride-hailing."
"Yes, that's the logic."
"Subsequent updates to the Meiyou APP will also include a Gaode Ride-hailing entry point, attracting a large number of passengers to Gaode. Offline promotions, advertisements, and such will also keep up."
Wang Yi said:
"Gaode Ride-hailing's service must keep up, with fast driver-side reviews and rapid deployment!"
"Ride-hailing has competitors; there's no time to dawdle. If you're like Zhang Hao, you won't need to be the top executive either."
"Yes!"
Tian Guanghan quickly nodded, understanding Wang Yi's style.
Those who work hard have unlimited prospects.
Those who perform poorly, whether due to lack of effort or insufficient ability, will receive one warning and be dismissed after a second time; there's no third chance at all!
There's no other way; a bad soldier is one problem, a bad general ruins the whole army.
A president absolutely cannot be a failure; otherwise, the entire business will be ruined.
"Develop as quickly as possible, deploy as quickly as possible. After the New Year, ride-hailing must develop rapidly."
"Yes!"
Around eleven o'clock, the people from Meiyou Technology also arrived.
At this point, all core employees and representatives were present, and the Xingyi Technology annual meeting officially began.
Wang Yi walked onto the stage and looked around:
"Today marks Xingyi Technology's first annual meeting, a summary of the past year and a bright outlook for the coming year. It's also the day to distribute year-end bonuses!"
"Hahahaha!"
Everyone laughed; nothing was more tangible than the year-end bonus.
Wang Yi elaborated:
"In the past year, Xingyi Technology grew from nothing, developed rapidly, and achieved significant accomplishments in many areas. Many departments and businesses performed exceptionally well and brilliantly. However, many departments also performed very poorly and trashily!"
Instantly, everyone present fell silent.
Cold sweat poured off Ele.me's Zhang Hao.
Wang Yi waved his hand:
"At today's annual meeting, let's not talk about those disheartening matters. We'll reward according to merit and distribute year-end bonuses!"
"First, Meiyou Technology, Apparel Business Unit!"
"From alluring-style dresses to alluring-style autumn wear, to down jackets and fur, the Meiyou Apparel Business Unit progressed steadily, creating brilliant revenue and profit, making it a complete cash cow for Xingyi Technology!"
"Presumably, the entire Xingyi Technology Group is well aware of this."
"Many businesses even started their operations relying on the apparel business."
"Therefore, the Meiyou Apparel business will receive an S-level year-end bonus. Employees with performance assessment A will receive a 6-month salary year-end bonus. Those with assessment B will receive 5 months. Employees with C will receive 4 months! Employees with D will receive three months. Those below D-level will not receive a year-end bonus."
"Thank you, Chairman Wang!"
"Thank you!"
For a moment, the entire Meiyou department was excited.
Most employees were in categories B and C, meaning they could receive four or five months' worth of year-end bonuses, which was absolutely fantastic.
As for those below D-level, they were all corrupt employees who deserved not to receive a year-end bonus.
"Additionally, Chen Chuanqing, President of Meiyou Apparel, with an S-level performance assessment, will receive an 8-month salary year-end bonus + a Beijing household registration!"
"Thank you, Chairman Wang!"
Chen Chuanqing was beaming; in his first year, his monthly salary plus performance was 30,000 yuan, and an 8-month year-end bonus added another 240,000 yuan!
He would receive at least 600,000+ yuan annually, not even counting the luxury BBA car Wang Yi provided him.
And a Beijing household registration is something money cannot even buy.
More importantly, half a million in the first year, and if it increases a bit next year, it could potentially be eight hundred thousand or even a million!
Of course, if performance is not outstanding, failing to receive an 8-month year-end bonus would be in vain.
"Work hard and aim for an annual salary of a million next year!"
"Don't worry, Chairman, I'll go all out!"
Wang Yi nodded and continued:
"The Meiyou Beauty Business Unit's performance is commendable, but not exceptionally outstanding. The department's overall assessment is B. All employees in the department will receive year-end bonuses of 4, 3, 2, or 1 month's salary respectively, based on their individual performance assessment grades A, B, C, or D."
For a department with an S assessment, the upper limit for the year-end bonus is 6 months.
For a department with a B assessment, the upper limit for the year-end bonus is only 4 months; even if an individual's assessment is A, they can only receive four months.
An A-grade employee in a B-grade department receives the same year-end bonus as a C-grade employee in an S-grade department.
Only when the entire department's performance is outstanding can the entire department's year-end bonus be elevated by one level.
"The Meiyou Gaming Department's 'Protect the Pomelos' game has surpassed 250 million users, performing excellently with an overall rating of A. All employees in the department will receive year-end bonuses of 5, 4, 3, or 2 months' salary respectively, based on their individual performance assessment grades A, B, C, or D."
Thanks to the outstanding performance of "Protect the Pomelos," even D-grade employees with the lowest individual assessment can receive a 2-month year-end bonus!
This is the benefit of outstanding business performance.
"As for 'Happy Elimination,' released after the New Year, it naturally won't be included in this assessment. But I'll give you a promise: as long as you perform better than 'Protect the Pomelos,' you can also receive an A-level year-end bonus next year, or even an S-level year-end bonus!"
No one was surprised by this; they had joined a month or two ago, and the game was just completed in 2012, so it was perfectly normal to miss out on the 2011 year-end bonus.
Wang Yi's promise further energized the entire "Happy Elimination" department, making them determined to achieve an S-level reward next year.
"The Meiyou Novel Department has performed well and developed rapidly. Especially with 'Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation' becoming a hit across the entire internet, the department's performance assessment is A-level. All employees will receive year-end bonuses of 5, 4, 3, or 2 months' salary respectively, based on their individual performance assessment grades A, B, C, or D."
"Additionally, Editor-in-Chief Kucha, with an S-level performance assessment, will receive a 6-month year-end bonus!"
"Thank you, Chairman Wang!"
Editor-in-Chief Kucha was overjoyed; a 6-month year-end bonus meant another 200,000 yuan in his pocket.
In 2011, that was really not a small sum of money.
"Star author You Wanwan, blockbuster author award, 500,000 yuan!"
Wang Yi said with a smile:
"I hope You Wanwan will continue to strive for excellence."
"Five hundred thousand!"
You Wanwan's eyes sparkled:
"Chairman Wang, my idol, thank you, thank you. Love you!"
Wang Yi was speechless internally:
'Look at your small ambitions.'
However, in the online literature scene of 2011, a 500,000 yuan bonus was truly not a small amount.
Moreover, Wang Yi also gave You Wanwan very high manuscript fees, which increased to a guaranteed 200 yuan per thousand characters plus a share of any amount exceeding that.
In just a few months, this person earned over 600,000 yuan just from manuscript fees!
Wang Yi continued:
"The Xingyi Mobile Phone Department has performed outstandingly. Within one month of its launch, sales exceeded 4 million units, and in less than two months, it surpassed 8 million units!"
"The Xingyi Mobile Phone Department's performance assessment is S-level. All employees in the department will receive year-end bonuses ranging from 3 to 6 months' salary based on their individual performance!"
"Zhu Changlin, head of mobile hardware, and Yang Yan, head of software, both received an S-level performance assessment and will get an 8-month year-end bonus."
"Additionally, Xiao i Robot took on the task under critical circumstances and successfully integrated the Xiao Ai AI voice assistant into xphone 1 in an extremely short period, surpassing Siri and laying the foundation for xphone 1's current popularity, for which it deserves great credit. Therefore, the entire team received an A-level performance assessment, with performance bonuses ranging from 2 to 5 months' salary!"
"Thank you, Chairman!"
The Xiao i Robot employees were excited.
New Year's Day was just one month after their acquisition, so they shouldn't have received a year-end bonus.
Wang Yi had assigned a task, promising a three-month year-end bonus if they could quickly integrate Xiao Ai AI.
They achieved it, and Wang Yi delivered!
(End of chapter)