MMB Chapter 60 Old Ma's Appreciation
Chapter 60 Old Ma's Appreciation
Wang Jialei was the first to see the post.
He was very curious about how Lin Mu would explain their business. If the post was of good quality, he planned to report it to General Manager Zhang, and even use it as a starting point to reprint it in the newspaper, so as to show the outside world Taobao's determination to firmly promote the Taobao Mall business and fight a big, tough, and arduous battle.
As soon as the page was refreshed, Wang Jialei saw the link sent by Lin Mu.
He clicked on it, and after reading just the beginning, he sat up straight.
He sensed the power and elegance of the writing; this post was something special.
After reading the first part, Lin Mu's explanation of "Why Taobao Mall Must Exist," Wang Jialei knew that the post was a success and could be shown to Boss Zhang.
Lin Mu's arguments for the necessity of e-commerce are not new. Many insightful people within Alibaba have already expressed similar views on the internal network, but they have not integrated and organized these views into a complete logical chain.
What's truly unusual is the content of the second part of the post, "How to turn the tide."
When Wang Jialei saw Lin Mu write, "We need to create a key holiday as a node, invest resources around this holiday, negotiate with major merchants, and set up a 50% discount for the entire store," he was completely amazed by Lin Mu.
He had discussed these matters with Lin Mu, and the two had talked about creating a commercial festival for Chinese e-commerce, with the date set for November or December.
However, he did not disclose the specific implementation details, and the team has not reached a consensus and is still discussing it repeatedly.
Lin Mu's overall execution plan surprisingly coincided with the opinions of many people in the team.
For example, regarding the specific date, Leng Yue from the team suggested setting it for November 11th, and Lin Mu happened to agree with her. The idea of offering a 11% discount on everything was his, while selecting key big brands and establishing category awareness was Zhang Zong's suggestion.
Lin Mu's plan is essentially a combination of the strengths of many different approaches.
The final part elevates the otherwise mundane content.
After reading the entire post, Wang Jialei couldn't help but leave a comment for Lin Mu: "Great! A magnificent piece!"
Immediately, Wang Jialei forwarded the post to Zhang Yong, asking him to take a look, and also typed a message asking: "Xiaoyaozi, should we mobilize resources to promote this post? Reprint it in newspapers and on commercial websites to send a signal to the outside world that we are determined to carry it out."
……
A tea room.
Zhang Yong was chatting with the bigwig across from him, and they were also discussing the logic of the business lines.
Zhang Yong joined Taobao in 2007 and immediately became its CFO (Chief Financial Officer).
Before joining Taobao, his resume was quite impressive: he graduated from Shanghai University of Finance and Economics with a major in finance.
In 1995, I joined Arthur Andersen, one of the world's Big Five accounting firms, and worked in auditing.
In 2002, the Enron scandal broke out in the United States, and Arthur Andersen collapsed. He then moved to PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he was responsible for auditing Internet and technology companies and was promoted to partner.
He joined Shanda Interactive Entertainment Limited in 2005 as Chief Financial Officer, leading Shanda's NASDAQ listing and subsequent financial integration.
In 2007, he joined Taobao as its CFO, recommended by Joseph Tsai.
After joining the company, he immediately participated in designing Taobao's business model, pioneering profit paths such as small-amount GG, performance-based payment, and value-added services for merchants.
Next, he launched Taobao's Double Eleven in 2009 and established Cainiao Network in 2013 in conjunction with postal services, STO Express, and other express delivery companies.
In 2014, he helped Alibaba go public. In 2015, he officially succeeded Lu Zhaoxi as CEO of Alibaba Group. In 2016, he promoted the launch of retail businesses such as Hema Fresh. In 2019, he promoted the development of Alibaba Cloud. In 2023, he stepped down and was awarded the title of Alibaba Meritorious Person.
Of course, Zhang Yong was unaware of his future achievements at that moment.
At this critical moment, he was entrusted with taking over Taobao Mall, a business area that was still in its exploratory stage. It would be impossible for him not to feel nervous or worried about failure.
When Zhang Yong saw the message forwarded by Wang Jialei, he casually glanced at it with his iPhone 3G phone. But as soon as he saw it, his eyes sharpened, and he immediately began to read it carefully.
After reading it all, he thought to himself: This young man named Dayan has given me another surprise.
With this article here, subsequent internal communications and business cooperation negotiations will be a bit easier.
Although it's only a small amount, it's still a help.
Sitting across from Zhang Yong, Jack Ma asked, "Old Zhang, what's up? Is something important at work?"
Zhang Yong smiled and said, "Mr. Ma, I know a very interesting newcomer who posted a very interesting article on the intranet. Let me show you."
Old Ma took the Apple 3G phone and scrolled up and down to read the post Zhang Yong had mentioned.
After reading it, he nodded in approval and asked, "Old Zhang, is this a newcomer in your team? Wait a minute, do any of your capable subordinates have a name like Dayan? I don't remember."
Zhang Yong laughed and said, "Of course Mr. Ma doesn't remember him. He's a young man who just joined this year. He's only at the P2 level and will be promoted to P3 at the end of the year. He hasn't come to the Taobao Mall department yet."
Next, Zhang Yong recounted in detail how he noticed this young man on the intranet and how he tried to contact him. He originally wanted to ask if the young man would be willing to transfer to Taobao Mall, but the young man himself was already eager to do so and even gave him a very interesting suggestion: to change the name of Taobao Mall.
They have already set a schedule internally to discuss what name to give Taobao Mall.
Zhang Yong said, "Mr. Ma, do you know what's most interesting? Our team didn't reveal the specific implementation plan for this holiday to him at all. He pieced together these execution strategies from scattered information and then supplemented and modified them. Looking at our internal draft implementation plan, it coincides exactly with his proposal."
Jack Ma asked curiously, "Do you mean he has other posts on the internal network? This young man is interesting; I'll take a look at his other content."
Subsequently, Zhang Yong showed Lao Ma the post that Lin Mu had written on the internal network about the user mindset and audience management strategies behind the "Buy One Item While You're at It" feature.
Old Ma looked at the post, nodding in approval. When he came across something particularly interesting, he couldn't help but pick up his teacup and take a sip.
He was aware of the business line changes regarding the "Buy One Item While You're at It" feature.
When he first learned that the technology department was going to internally test this feature module, he was very optimistic about the business prospects that would follow. However, because he had been away from the front lines for too long, his vision of this future blueprint was still rather vague.
Lin Mu's post has now perfectly filled in the blueprint for him.
Old Ma remarked, "Young people these days are truly remarkable. Back when I started my business, I didn't have anyone this capable under my command."
At the same time, he was somewhat pleased, as the fact that such talented people were willing to serve him proved his success and correctness.
He glanced at the time and said, "Old Zhang, I have a meeting at the government office to attend next time. If you have the chance, bring this young man over so I can get to know him. I'll treat him to a meal sometime."
Zhang Yong smiled; this young man had caught Boss Ma's eye. However, being a smart man, he always appreciated capable people, and this was an opportunity the young man deserved.