How important is strategy? There is no need to discuss this. What I want to say today is about how to keep the thing called "strategy" confidential. In November, a well-known website's CEO had a face-to-face talk with me. When we talked about the company's strategy, he said that the next step would be... He particularly emphasized that this strategic layout had never been disclosed to his subordinates, including the middle management, from the very beginning. Now that it's about to be implemented, it still won't be announced before the launch. Why? Because it can't be announced in advance. One reason is the fear of misinformation spreading. Second, a strategy is always a distant goal. Revealing it too early could lead to instability among the team members. It's better to give them a short-term goal and let the team focus on running towards it. Even if some team members suggest doing things differently, they will firmly deny and reject those suggestions.
I really appreciate his sincerity in revealing all of this to me. After considering various factors, I politely declined the possibility of joining, but I am actually quite impressed by his decisive attitude and style. Especially in terms of strategy, he can control the degree of what to say and what not to say. Unfortunately, his company is neither in Shenzhen nor purely an internet company.
I'm not the type who can easily hide my thoughts. Over the past few years, I've met hundreds of people from all walks of life. From the perspective of an entrepreneur, although each entrepreneur has distinct characteristics, their persistence and strong pursuit of goals are also one of the main reasons why they attract VC investments.
In the beginning, my boss Li and I lacked such an attitude, and we were a bit picky. Otherwise, we wouldn't have idly watched our resources go unused during those two years when VCs were rampant.
A small difference can make a huge gap. Success always has its roots. Experience is the best teacher.