Business Insight丨Author / Liu Run finishing / Zhe Tao
In the past, I often asked myself a question, if I could acquire a super power, what would I choose? Later, I found the answer to this question. The most important ability is the ability to acquire ability. This answer is like looking for a magic lamp, and the magic lamp asks you what your wishes are. You say: My wish is to have three more wishes... So I have been thinking about how to quickly acquire a kind of ability, because I have mastered the acquisition. After the ability of the ability, other ability will follow!
▲Do any American TV fans know him?
If we make this problem more concrete, it is: how to use two years to achieve the effect of others' efforts for five years?
This article was first published in March 2019.
— 1 —Diligence, the ability to acquire competences When
I joined Microsoft in December 1999, the idea in my mind was to stay at Microsoft for only two years, and I would leave after learning.
It was also at that time that I began to think about how to use two years to learn the abilities that others can acquire in five years.
I quickly found the answer to this question, that is--
Overtime
It is not an open challenge to the labor law, but for a person who wants to improve, in this era of desperate running, there is no so-called "8-hour work system".
If you really don’t like the word overtime, then I’ll change it. Let’s call it——
diligent
——
What is hard work?
Many Internet companies now use the 996 work system-working from 9 am to 9 pm every day, 6 days a week.
Microsoft has a system, if you are willing to stay in the office at night, Microsoft provides dinner, as long as you leave the office after 9 o'clock in the evening, you can also reimburse the taxi ticket.
This system was later learned by many companies, especially today's Internet companies, which basically do it.
But the 996 working system can only be regarded as an average Internet company today.
Some Internet companies work at 711—every day from 7 am to 11 pm, all year round.
I dare not use this standard to demand everyone, but in my opinion, this kind of working hours can be regarded as "diligence".
——
Some people may say that this kind of diligence is due to the lack of a good working method, so it takes time to make up.
But in fact, when you use all means to maximize efficiency, diligence is still an accelerator, and it cannot be hedged by methods.
Diligence is not enough, you must be terrible diligence.
Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla, was giving a lecture at a university and a student asked him a question: What is the reason for your success?
Musk said:
Work Super Hard
A little bit heartbreaking, right? Better than you and harder than you.
It's easy to see the intelligence, vision, and ambition of a successful person...but we may not be able to see that they are really, very hardworking.
What is Work super hard? I want to use my own experience to tell you.
— 2 —
Work Super Hard
From 1999 to 2001, I worked in technology as an engineer at Microsoft.
You may know that Microsoft is a hard-working company, but in fact, to work at Microsoft, you must work super hard.
It's normal to work at Microsoft, let alone 9 o'clock in the evening.
But even at that point, you are embarrassed to leave, because the entire office is full of people...
How to do? Go ahead.
In order to "help" you be more diligent, Microsoft has prepared two rooms on each floor of its own office, with two beds in each room.
Yes, it is possible to live in an office at Microsoft.
——
But don’t think that putting a bed in an office means that Microsoft is forcing employees to work overtime.
The truth is that every morning, the first thing many colleagues do when they come to the company is to take the employee card and throw it on a bed, and quickly occupy a position...
At that time, Microsoft had a total of 5 floors of offices, and the 20 beds in these 5 floors were only for those who came early.
What about other people who don’t have a place, go home?
Not occupying a place only means that you cannot sleep in the office, but it does not mean that you can go home.
At that time, Microsoft signed an agreement with the hotel downstairs. Microsoft employees can directly show their employee card at the front desk of the hotel to get a room. Microsoft's administrative department will check out with the hotel every month.
Even so, many people feel that going to and from the hotel wastes time and affects their work.
then what should we do? The administration department is very considerate and has prepared a lot of sleeping bags in the office.
▲ It's like this
If you don’t have a bed and don’t want to go to the hotel downstairs, just feel wronged and use a sleeping bag.
So I often encounter situations where I can't grab a bed or don't want to go to the hotel downstairs, so I go directly to the administration department to get a sleeping bag.
Microsoft has a lot of independent meeting rooms. I often sleep directly under the table in the meeting room.
The next day, the aunt came to clean up in the morning. She didn't know someone was sleeping in it. She turned on the light and kicked you, and you woke up.
What then? Get up and continue working.
How to brush your teeth, how to wash your face? Microsoft helped us think about it.
There is a drawer in the office pantry, which is full of disposable toothbrushes and towels.
Even taking a bath, Microsoft can solve it.
In our office's 5 floors, each floor has a separate shower room.
You may ask again, how do I change my clothes after the shower?
Don't worry... you just need to give the dirty clothes to your aunt, and the aunt will help you out for dry cleaning. After washing, they will be neatly folded and pulled over and handed over to your desk.
In other words, as long as you want, you can live in the Microsoft building for a lifetime.
Many people lie on a bed or in a sleeping bag in the middle of the night, and suddenly have an idea in their minds, they will naturally get up and wander around the office in their pajamas.
You can imagine the experience of having a group of people walking around the office in their pajamas in the middle of the night...
This is how every colleague in Microsoft, including me, came here. This is Work super hard.
— 3 —
Three days and two nights without sleep
At Microsoft, someone often stays for a month.
The time I was most impressed was when I slept in the office for three days and two nights.
In various countries in the Far East, including Japan, Australia, New Zealand, etc., there are many local Microsoft technicians serving major local customers.
These major customers are very important, and there should be no problems, such as the United Nations, Compaq, and the Hong Kong Jockey Club... because once a problem occurs, it will affect the national economy and people's livelihood.
I still remember one day at 9 o'clock in the morning, I went to the office and worked until 9 o'clock in the evening.
I was planning to get off work, but suddenly I received a call from Malaysia. The other party said that there are problems with more than 1,000 Microsoft servers in Malaysia and they must be resolved by tomorrow morning.
More than 1,000 units, what should I do?
Can I say: "I will find out about the situation first, go home and think about it, and solve it when I go to work tomorrow"?
I could only start to solve this problem immediately, and until two or three in the morning, there was still not much progress.
At this time, the CIO of Compaq called me and asked me: What is your name?
I told him my name is Liu Run.
He said:
I remember you. I was classmates with your Microsoft Global CFO in Cambridge. If you can't solve this problem at five o'clock, I will call him.
You can imagine the pressure I received from the call... but I replied: No problem, everything is under control.
——
What should I do when the phone hangs up?
No idea, at two or three in the morning, I was so sleepy that I didn't make much progress until five or six in the morning.
But if I can’t solve it, I guess other people won’t work either... In the morning, when many people came to work one after another, some colleagues said to replace me, but when I thought of clarifying the situation, it would take a lot of time, so I said, forget it. , I will follow.
After a day and night, I went on to work all day...
I thought that with the help of many people during the day, this problem could be solved smoothly. But at 9 o'clock in the evening, I still didn’t get it...
Compaq knew that it had no choice but to send many people to guard at Microsoft.
At 9 o'clock in the evening, I have to make another important decision: Do I want to continue tonight?
Think about it, forget it, let me do it myself.
So it worked all night.
It has been two days and two nights.
By the third morning, the problem was finally solved.
Even if I wanted to rest, I didn’t feel sleepy anymore, so let’s go to work...
For 55 hours, I have stayed in the office without sleep.
In my opinion, this is called Work super hard.
Desperately or health?
People often ask me: Mr. Run, how do you achieve self-discipline? I also want to learn.
I said: Trust me, you don't want to learn.
After telling my story today, some students may say: President Run, this is not good for your health, otherwise I will learn something from you...
Yes, health is of course important, but there are trade-offs in everything.
Don't choose health preservation when you can work hardest.
Why are sleeping bags, U-shaped pillows, or tents sold online? There must be a demand behind this.
Today, in this world, there must be someone like me at Microsoft, Work super hard.
Please remember that if you really want to gain a higher ability than others, you only have to work harder than others.
Methodology is important, but hard work is the booster of your ability.