Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Even though the technology of simulated reality was good and provided one with a fantastic experience, it was still impossible to bring it over to Earth to transform it into a cash cow project. In order to create and execute a large-scale simulated environment, a super calculator with a high performing operational ability was required. It had to have an operational ability that could count to 100 quintillion and above.
Manufacturing a simulated reality headgear was not only extremely difficult, but also required medical knowledge of the human brain. It demanded a high level of security! Organizations that had not done ample research on the human brain had no right to develop a simulated reality headgear. With Earth’s current pace of development, Chen Jin predicted that even after 30 to 50 years, a simulated reality headgear still might not be created.
Of course, he certainly hoped that such a fantastic thing like simulated reality headgear would be realized earlier on Earth. However, he could not bring it over immediately. He had to wait for at least five to ten years.
“A genius is half a step ahead of others, a madman is one step ahead. If one is ten or twenty steps ahead, then he would be courting death! I still have to take it step by step.”
In addition, he entered a simulated high school in the process of experiencing the simulated world with Alice. After sitting in on two classes, Chen Jin suddenly thought of an idea. Besides the cleaning robot, he thought of a second project with a huge potential for development. Once the project was successful, it would carve out a market that was at least five times larger than the market of the cleaning robot!
“Knowledge is wealth; with knowledge, one has the ability to change fate! It is ok to eat and dress like the poor, but no matter how poor one is, he absolutely cannot have a poor education! Parents in Z country always stress that their children cannot lose out at the starting line. The product that I’ll make is an accelerated runway that facilitates acceleration until the very end! I would like to ask: Parents, are you moved? Will you fork out the money? Do you dare to buy? It’s done! It’s a one hundred percent done deal!” Chen Jin was very excited. With regards to this second project, he felt that as long as the product could be created, it would achieve success even more easily than the Wa-wah robot.
He muttered to himself, “Once the Wa-wah Original 1.0 is announced, I’ll immediately recruit staff and set up a new project team. The second project will start!”
…
In the early afternoon of May 1st, it would logical be a day off for some rest and relaxation. However, a meticulously-dressed man in a western suit and leather shoes arrived at the ground floor of Xing Hai Technologies.
His name was Ling Jundong. He was 33 years old and had a decade of experience as a Chief Executive Officer (CEO). He was admitted to the University of Essence at 16 years old. When he was 19, he was admitted into the Harvard Business School of Merica. At twenty-two, he had achieved a doctorate in economics. After graduation, he started working. He had taken up the post of CEO in as many as nine companies, two of which were foreign companies, and seven were enterprises in Z country. His curriculum vitae could be rated as vivid and abundant.
He did not want to talk too much about his working experiences in foreign companies. No matter how well he did, the deep-rooted xenophobia in foreign countries ensured that he was never rewarded with respect and admiration, only jealousy and resentment. However, he did accumulate two years of valuable work experience abroad. There was greater room in his country for professional development and a larger stage to shine. He had also achieved good results within a few domestic enterprises. He had helped three companies get listed successfully. He had helped to boost the average sales of three companies up to 150%. He had helped a company mired in debt to walk out of the woods and restored the health of its financial statements. It could be said that Ling Jundong’s resume was filled with success.
This caused Chen Jin to become very curious. Hence, he deliberately made a trip to the company to conduct a face to face interview. Chen Jin put down the resume. Resting his elbows on the table, he interlaced his fingers. He looked at him and asked, “In your resume, I noticed that you’ve taken up posts at as many as seven companies. And these are just the domestic companies. In each company, you’ve served your post for an average of about a year. You change jobs very frequently, may I ask what is the reason? Xing Hai Technologies needs a CEO that can act in a stable and long-term capacity.”
“To be exact, the average time that I’ve served in my post for each of the seven companies is only seven months. The longest that I’ve stayed in a company was only a year and a half,” Ling Jundong said mildly, unconcerned with the surprise on Chen Jin’s face.
“So, you prefer to job-hop?”
Ling Jundong shook his head. “I do not like to job-hop. However, I feel that when it’s time to go, I should take the initiative to leave. I don’t like to be kicked out.”
“Oh, what do you mean? Can you explain it for me?” Chen Jin was rather curious. He felt there must be a reason behind his statement.
Ling Jundong asked with a smile, “Chief Chen, do you want to know?”
Chen Jin nodded.
Ling Jundong stretched out a hand and formed a number seven with his fingers. He said, “Seven years. After a maximum of seven years, an enterprise that originally had good momentum for development will embark on its end. It will soon meet its death. There are a variety of reasons. Some companies start to fail because of inexperience, some because of errors in decision-making, some because of a rigid system, some because of chaotic management… but more than 90% of the reasons for failure are tied to the company’s founder. It can be said that the founder’s character, ability, IQ, EQ, his personal concept of the world, his outlook on life and personal values, etc., determines the success or failure of a company. But unfortunately, in the seven companies that I’ve served, they could not escape from the process of a strong ascent, then falling into chaos, and finally death. I call it ‘The 7 Years Law.’ Of course, my arrival will bring about a certain level of improvement to the company’s state of operation. But, what’s unfortunate is that their move towards chaos remains an irreversible process like the entropy of the universe. I am unable to change that… I’m just a CEO.”
Chen Jin suddenly realized something. “So you are looking for a boss, one who can break ‘The 7 Years Law,’ right?”
“Yes.” Ling Jundong nodded. “I’m looking for a boss with low internal entropy. Or in other words, a boss that can break the periodic law.”However, he shook his head. “Honestly speaking, this type of founder is in the rare minority! I’ve seen entrepreneurs who initially had low internal entropy and thought that they would definitely be successful. But, halfway through, they had a sharp rise in their internal entropy… The temptation that money brings often makes people lose themselves. Even the wise emperors from ancient times who lived to a ripe old age without making mistakes were rare.”
Chen Jin looked at him. Blinking his eyes, he asked, “Then what do you think about my internal entropy?”
Ling Jundong raised his head and stared at Chen Jin’s face for a while. He shook his head helplessly. “I cannot tell. I’m no physiognomist, and I can’t make such vague and unreliable judgments. But… Xing Hai Technologies has a really low internal entropy! And judging from the company’s name, it seems to encompass a great deal of ambition. Hence, I came over to try my luck.” Actually, Ling Jundong had been unemployed for six months. He had interviewed at more than 10 companies and also received countless offers. However, he had not met the right company. He was really tired of job-hopping! He wanted to find his eighth company where he could develop steadily on a long-term basis. He wanted to find a company that could break the so-called “7 Years Law.”
Of course, some wondered, why did not he start his own company? Where’s the meaning of always being an employee? In fact, entrepreneurs and CEOs are professions with two completely different concepts. Business founders have more tasks to do; they have to fork out more for business costs and have a greater network of relationships! CEOs simply manage the company. They just had to follow a development strategy that had been formulated and sprint in one direction in a straight line. They did not have care for scruples. Therefore, a good CEO might not necessarily be a good boss.
Ling Jundong understood what his limitations were. He knew that he did not have the capability to be a boss. Moreover, he liked to meet the different challenges that were presented in different companies. This was the calling of CEOs, and also where their talents shone.
“Ha ha ha ha!” Chen Jin was amused by his answer. Laughing, he stood up and held out his hand to him. “Join Xing Hai Technologies. I cannot guarantee anything else except that you’ll be able to work here for seven years or more. Do you have any other questions?”
As the company grew larger in size with an ever-increasing number of staff, it became extremely urgent to hire a CEO to be in charge of managing the company’s daily affairs. Chen Jin was really too busy to stay in the company every day to handle all of its matters.
Ling Jundong was somewhat surprised; he never expected to pass the interview so quickly. He swiftly stood up and shook Chen Jin’s hand. “I have no other questions, it was a great pleasure to meet you!”
Through the recent hubbub created by the “Quality Control Incident,” he thought that Xing Hai Technologies had good potential and a unique personality. Hence, he submitted his resume and took the initiative to come and try to score an interview. He did not think that he would pass the interview so quickly. This made him feel quite surprised, and he even felt a touch of joy. In the deepest corners of his heart, he thought longingly, I wonder, what kind of results can I achieve in this company?