Restart life

Chapter 406, 0396: [Another victim of workplace PTSD at Baidu]

Li Yanhong is currently riding high.

Baidu's stock price once fell to $100.5 last year, but rose against the trend this year during the economic crisis.

It has now surged to $160!

And it's still rising.

At this rate, it's estimated that it will rise back to $300 by the end of the year.

More and more American investors are seeing Baidu as a safe haven, and Robin Li has reached the pinnacle of his career.

"Boss, Hunan TV is going to hold a grand coming-of-age ceremony gala on May 2009th, Youth Day. We just received an invitation from Hunan TV to attend the gala. They will invite many celebrities, and Academician Yuan Longping has already confirmed his attendance."

"Will Academician Yuan Longping also go?"

"Yes. Yu Minhong is also confirmed to attend from the entrepreneur group."

"Then I'll go too."

"Okay, I'll reply right away."

If it were last year, Li Yanhong probably wouldn't have agreed; he wanted to maintain a low profile and remain mysterious.

But this year is different.

Baidu is so successful!

After Li Yanhong accepted Hunan TV's invitation, it was as if a floodgate had been opened. Every month thereafter, he would make public appearances, transforming into a life mentor and giving speeches everywhere.

……

ByteDance.

"Hunan TV invited me?" Chen Guiliang felt baffled.

"Yes, the gala is scheduled for May Fourth Youth Day. The theme is 'Paying Tribute to Role Models,' aiming to guide and shape correct values ​​among young people. At the same time, it will also serve as a collective coming-of-age ceremony for Chinese youth who have turned 18 this year or will turn 18 soon. Therefore, we will invite well-known figures from all walks of life. Academician Yuan Longping will also be present. Among the confirmed attendees are Li Yanhong and Yu Minhong."

"Okay, I'll agree then. I'll go join in the fun too."

Chen Guiliang was just there to join in the fun; he couldn't possibly have had any disagreements with Li Yanhong in that kind of setting.

Chen Guiliang took out his phone and made a call.

After the call connected, Yu Jun's voice came from the other end: "Hello. Who is this?"

Chen Guiliang said, "Hello Mr. Yu, I am Chen Guiliang."

"Mr. Chen, how did you get my phone number?" Yu Jun asked, slightly surprised.

Chen Guiliang explained, "I got it from a friend of a friend of a friend."

Yu Jun asked, "Is there anything I can help you with, Mr. Chen?"

"I would like to invite Mr. Yu to a meal. I wonder when Mr. Yu will be free?" Chen Guiliang said.

Yu Jun remained silent.

Chen Guiliang asked, "Is it inconvenient? Are Baidu employees not allowed to have private social interactions?"

Yu Jun said, "No, it's just a bit inconvenient. I'm the Vice President of Product at Baidu, and you're the CEO of two companies... It wouldn't look good if reporters took pictures of us."

"You choose the time and place," Chen Guiliang said.

After hesitating for a while, Yu Jun finally agreed.

He probably guessed that Chen Guiliang wanted to poach him.

Yu Jun really didn't want to work at Baidu anymore.

But he never thought about changing jobs, or even starting his own business.

The job of vice president at Baidu had left him physically and mentally exhausted, and he just wanted to quit and rest. Once he was rested, he would find something meaningful to do.

He never wants to have a formal job again in his life!

Baidu made him despair.

Two days later, he arranged to meet Chen Guiliang in a private room at a restaurant.

"Hello, Mr. Yu, I've heard so much about you." Chen Guiliang shook hands warmly.

Yu Jun was not in high spirits: "Hello, General Manager Chen."

The two sat down, and Chen Guiliang ordered food.

Yu Jun didn't say anything either; his mental state was extremely poor. He would go crazy if he continued working at Baidu.

Chen Guiliang put down the menu and said, "I'm sorry, it's not easy to find a restaurant specializing in Shanghainese cuisine in Beijing. I also don't know if the Jiangzhe cuisine here will suit Mr. Yu's taste."

"I'm easygoing and not picky about food," Yu Jun said.

Chen Guiliang didn't talk about work, let alone poaching people; he just chatted idly with Yu Jun.

Two dishes were served, and Yu Jun became a little impatient.

He asked directly, "Is Mr. Chen trying to poach me?"

Chen Guiliang smiled and asked, "Would Mr. Yu be willing to come?"

Yu Jun shook his head: "I'm not feeling well right now, and I plan to rest for a while. I won't join any company anymore, and I'll resign from Baidu as well. It's purely due to health reasons; I can no longer perform my duties. So, I thank Mr. Chen for his high regard, but I'm truly sorry."

Chen Guiliang said, "After you leave Baidu, you can come to ByteDance as a product consultant. You won't be a formal employee, and I won't even pay your social security. How does that arrangement sound?"

"I'll think about it some more." Yu Jun did not immediately refuse.

He had already cashed out all of his Baidu stock options when the stock price was extremely high.

Therefore, Yu Jun is not short of money.

In the original timeline, he declined countless invitations from companies, truly never looking for a formal job in his entire life, and too lazy to start a company or any other business.

But he couldn't stay idle, so he secretly took on various advisory roles.

For example, providing guidance to Wandoujia on how to operate its products.

For example, he couldn't resist his friend's request and agreed to serve as a consultant for Didi Chuxing.

He only wanted to live a carefree life; the passion, ideals, and ambitions of his youth had long been exhausted by Baidu.

Chen Guiliang asked, "Do you know Zhihu?"

Yu Jun nodded: "I've heard about it. I checked it once, but I couldn't register an account."

Chen Guiliang laughed and said, "Zhihu has always been left to its own devices, and doesn't even have a dedicated product manager. I plan to separate Zhihu from ByteDance and make it operate independently, responsible for its own profits and losses."

"Does Mr. Chen want me to be a consultant at Zhihu?" Yu Jun asked.

Chen Guiliang said, "Yes. You can go whenever you want, and leave whenever you want. You can say whatever you want. If the person in charge of Zhihu in the future doesn't listen to your suggestions, you can scold him on the spot and then quit. Doesn't that sound great to work as you please?"

Yu Jun had to admit that it was fucking awesome!
This was exactly what he had been longing for but couldn't have. He could express his true thoughts, and feel a sense of accomplishment when he made a good product. He didn't have to deal with messy interpersonal relationships, and if he got angry, he could yell at them or leave whenever he wanted.

It's like a husband who married a shrew and, after the divorce, never wants to get married again. He doesn't even want to date anymore.

But suddenly a beautiful woman said to him, "I'm willing to live with you, and you don't have to take any responsibility. If you're not happy living here, you can argue with me all you want and leave anytime. You can even treat this place like a hotel, coming here as many times as you want each month, or not showing up for six months at a time."

So cool!
But are there really such selfless beauties?

Yu Jun asked, "Why?"

Chen Guiliang said, "Who doesn't know that Baidu Tieba, Baidu Zhidao, and a series of other products are Mr. Yu's masterpieces? If you could come and be a consultant, you could fully utilize your intelligence and talent. I wouldn't even have to pay you a high annual salary, or even contribute to your social insurance and housing fund. Where else can you find such a good deal?"

Yu Jun was taken aback.

That's so true, it makes perfect sense.

In fact, the position Chen Guiliang really wanted to give Yu Jun was to be the product manager of WeChat.

Zhihu is just a front.

But you can't rush it; you have to fish it slowly. Once you've lured it into a mandarin fish, it will bite the hook on its own.

Commonly known as CPU... oops, PUA!

……

Upon returning to Baidu, Yu Jun immediately submitted his resignation.

Li Yanhong frowned: "Why? If there's anything that's not going your way, you can just say it."

Yu Jun said, "I was doing very well at Baidu, but my body couldn't take it anymore."

Li Yanhong said, "If you're not feeling well, you can go and rest for a while. You can take paid leave, and I'll keep your position for you. You can rest for up to six months."

"Boss, I've made up my mind to resign," Yu Jun said firmly.

Li Yanhong asked, "Which companies have tried to poach you?"

Yu Jun shook his head and then nodded: "Someone tried to recruit me, but I refused."

Li Yanhong asked, "Do you want to quit your job and start your own business like Liu Jianguo?"

Yu Jun said, "I won't start a business."

Li Yanhong was almost going crazy: "If you're not going to change jobs or start your own business, then why are you leaving? I'm giving you six months of paid leave, that's more than enough time for you to rest!"

"I'm sorry," Yu Jun said, unwilling to elaborate.

Li Yanhong said with a dark face, "I'll give you three months to complete the handover of your work."

"Thank you." Yu Jun said goodbye and left.

Li Yanhong stared at Yu Jun's retreating figure, unable to understand what had gone wrong.

Over the past three years, Baidu has seen a constant turnover of top executives. Except for one who died unexpectedly, all the others resigned voluntarily.

When asked why he resigned, he replied that he was not in good health.

All the executives who resigned refused to have a genuine conversation with him.

Baidu's performance is excellent, and its compensation is top-tier in the industry. So why can't it retain its employees?

Could it be that the feng shui of the Baidu building is wrong?

In fact, Li Yanhong understood this in his heart, but he was unwilling to admit it.

Li Yanhong's personal style is too assertive; he personally oversees every department. Once he makes a decision, no one is allowed to change it.

Moreover, whether it's a new business or an old business, if it fails to meet expectations within a certain period of time, Li Yanhong will either replace the person directly or severely reprimand them.

He also liked to bring in parachuted personnel, euphemistically calling it the "catfish effect." Every department had a parachuted person as a deputy, constantly threatening all senior and middle managers.

Baidu's management team has always been in a "pressure cooker" environment.

That's bad enough, but Baidu is also aggressively developing new businesses. Moreover, these new businesses are often unpredictable; if they don't show immediate results, resources are reduced. Yet, they aren't simply cut off; they're left there even without resources, and people are constantly pressured to produce results.

In addition, Li Yanhong's development philosophy clashed seriously with that of the senior executives, so it's no wonder that the management team was driven crazy!
Those executives with stock options or shares have already achieved financial freedom, so who the hell would want to stay and suffer humiliation?
Li Yanhong's management style is somewhat similar to that of the Chongzhen Emperor.

Working under such a person for a long time will either lead to giving up or quitting.

Zhang Chaoyang, on the other hand, went to the other extreme, acting as a hands-off manager for a long time and completely ignoring company affairs. Only when the company encountered truly serious problems would Zhang Chaoyang come to personally resolve them.

This is very interesting.

The head of operations at Game Science is busy handing over his responsibilities before moving on to become the vice president of games at Baidu.

The vice president of product at Baidu was also busy handing over his work before going to ByteDance to work as a product consultant.

Who suffers more loss?
Chen Guiliang felt he hadn't lost out; he hadn't even offered Yu Jun a high salary to poach him, nor did he have to pay for Yu Jun's social security. He also didn't have to pay any penalty for breach of the non-compete agreement, since Yu Jun wasn't even considered a formal employee of ByteDance.

This situation is quite bizarre; it's purely because Baidu caused Yu Jun to develop workplace PTSD.

"Have you found anyone yet?" Zhang Chaoyang would call every few days.

Chen Guiliang laughed and said, "We've found it."

Zhang Chaoyang asked, "Is he really the vice president of Baidu?"

"Really," Chen Guiliang said.

"Who?"

"It's a secret. You'll find out later."

"Damn it, that's not fair!"

"Hehe, just keep guessing, I'm going to be on Hunan TV."

"Hunan TV?"

"Didn't Hunan TV invite you? Li Yanhong and Yu Minhong are going, and so is Academician Yuan Longping," Chen Guiliang teased him deliberately.

Zhang Chaoyang fell for it as expected, feeling resentful: "Why didn't Hunan TV invite me?"

Chen Guiliang said, "It's probably because Li Yanhong and I are both handsome. You're not. You're barely considered ugly."

"Get out of here, I'm way more handsome than Yu Minhong!" Zhang Chaoyang was particularly annoyed, mainly because he felt embarrassed that Hunan TV invited other people but not him.

Chen Guiliang hung up the phone with a grin and flew to Hunan TV with Bian Guanyue.

There were quite a few celebrities who came this time, including Andy Lau, JJ Lin, Jolin Tsai, Li Yuchun, S.H.E... and Sister Xiaolu, who loves getting her hair done.

Yes, Guo Jingming is here too.

Hunan TV also invited Han Han, but Han Han didn't give them any face.

(End of this chapter)