Dawn of Life

Shi Potian's face was ashen, his eyes filled with displeasure. He said, "I think your plan is logically flawed. A person's job level is an 'absolute value' concept. My team has just that many people who can reach the senior level. If an employee who can be rated as senior is demoted to the intermediate level just because their colleagues are more outstanding, that is very unreasonable."

"At the same time, there are many factors contributing to the team's poor performance. My team members are all very capable, but if the performance is poor, can you simply attribute it to my management problems? In my opinion, on the one hand, it's due to market conditions, and on the other hand, it's because the human resources team you lead hasn't kept up with the established mechanisms and processes."

Listening to Shi Potian's firm tone and clear logic, Lin Yue knew that he had come prepared. What he said wasn't entirely unreasonable; at least the two bosses present had definitely been misled by him.

He intentionally shifted the focus from job performance evaluation to management and performance issues. Lin Yue didn't want to follow his line of thinking and expand the discussion, otherwise it would turn into a pointless argument. She knew very well that she had to focus on the issue today and get the meeting's outcome.

Lin Yue's mind raced, preparing to throw the blame Shi Potian had thrown at her back. So she raised her chin, met his gaze directly, and said, "You are the head of the marketing center, which makes you the chief human resources officer of this team. Whether it's a performance issue or a management issue, you are the primary person responsible, while our human resources department is only responsible for providing management tools according to your needs."

"If there are any issues with the mechanisms and processes, you can come to me anytime, and I can make adjustments according to your management needs. Also, today is a job level discussion meeting; if you want to discuss performance and management, we can schedule another time to discuss it."

Previously, when Liu Zheng was in charge of the human resources department, he often encountered situations where the business department and the human resources department would pass the buck on management issues. Therefore, Qin Lan and Liu Zheng established the concept of "Chief Human Resources Officer". Lin Yue's proposal in this context can be seen as an echo of Liu Zheng's management philosophy, and its purpose is self-evident.

After Lin Yue's gentle yet powerful speech, everyone in the meeting sensed the confrontational atmosphere between her and Shi Potian. Workplace relationships are often so delicate; just a few days ago they could be sitting together, clinking glasses and having dinner, but today, their differing stances have created a tense atmosphere. But what can be done? If the blame is thrown at you, are you really going to let it fall on your own head?

Sheng Xing looked at Lin Yue and smiled with satisfaction. He felt that this subordinate, who always tried to protect herself and remain neutral, had finally stood up for herself today. It seemed that the shared secret they had created a few days ago had indeed worked.

Shi Potian and Liu Zheng exchanged glances, realizing that if the argument continued, it would turn into a blame game between the two departments, and would soon drag Liu Zheng and Shengxing, the two managers in charge, into it as well.

So Liu Zheng took over the topic, turned to look at Lin Yue, and said seriously, "I agree with your point of view. Let's focus our discussion on the issue of job level assessment in the marketing center. But you have to answer Shi Potian's question first: is a person's ability a concept of 'absolute value' or 'relative value'?"

Lin Yue nodded, a confident smile on her face. She wasn't intentionally avoiding the question; she was simply waiting for Liu Zheng to ask her.

"An individual's ability is certainly an 'absolute value' concept, but the talent structure of a team is relative. After each person is strictly evaluated according to the ability model, the final result will show a '271' normal distribution. Only such a team structure can be considered healthy. Senior-level personnel are the core strength of a team and need to participate in decision-making. If the proportion of these people is too high, it means that too many people are involved in decision-making, which will affect the efficiency of decision-making, and at the same time, there will not be enough people to do the actual work."

"We assume that the job levels and ratings in the marketing center are reasonable. At this point, we should consider promoting these senior talents. If there are no corresponding positions in the department, we need to transfer or eliminate these people to ensure a healthy team structure that meets the normal distribution."

The management theory Lin Yue mentioned was certainly reasonable. At the same time, she guessed that Shi Potian and Liu Zheng's efforts to secure higher positions for their team members were nothing more than an attempt to increase their salaries and win over more people during the chaotic period of team factionalism. Therefore, when she mentioned "job transfer" and "layoffs," she deliberately emphasized her words and observed Shi Potian and Liu Zheng's expressions.

That's how communication works. You have to find the other person's core needs to hit the nail on the head. Clearly, Liu Zheng and Shi Potian's expressions told her that she had grasped the key points.

Silence fell over the meeting room again, everyone waiting for Liu Zheng and Shi Potian to respond. After a long pause, Liu Zheng said helplessly, "Shi Potian, go back and revise the draft again."

Shi Potian, head drooping, was about to agree.

Lin Yue quickly picked up where Liu Zheng left off, interrupting Shi Potian's reply. She was worried that Shi Potian might come up with some new schemes after he got back, so she needed to finalize things quickly and decisively to avoid any unforeseen complications. Therefore, she said, "The project is due to close this week, so time is tight. Since everyone's here today, let's discuss and finalize it right here."

As she spoke, she turned her gaze to Shengxing and conveyed to him with her eyes, "Boss, I need your support." After receiving her message, Shengxing immediately said firmly, "That's right, let's finalize things here today."

Xiao Feng observed the entire meeting and everyone's reactions from an outsider's perspective. It was clear that Lin Yue had maintained control from beginning to end. He had initially worried that Lin Yue, who had never worked as an HRD before, might not be able to handle the current chaotic situation in Dasheng.

Judging from today's situation, there's absolutely nothing to worry about. If the extra care I showed this woman before was because she resembled someone from my memory, now it's also due to a sense of admiration.

Soon, the job titles for the marketing center's management team were finalized. Lin Yue knew that this was just the appetizer for today's meeting; the main event was yet to come. This was because the job titles of the managers under Liu Zheng, including Yin Jie from the technology department, Shi Potian from the marketing center, and the head of the operations center, had not yet been determined.

Lin Yue scanned the people present and finally fixed her gaze on Shi Potian, saying, "Mr. Shi, the next step is to determine your rank, so I'll have to trouble you to recuse yourself."