Chatting with Liu Jiangfeng is a very comfortable thing, and this is an ideal interviewee. The interview outline is not required in advance, nor is it said to read the manuscript afterwards. Whatever you ask, he will answer. Sitting in a cafe in downtown San Jose, Silicon Valley, chatting for an hour and a half. He was always smiling and patient.
When talking about products, Liu Jiangfeng opened the pocket of his backpack, took out seven or eight prototypes that were still in development, and put them on the table to show them slowly, introducing how he would build Coolpad's future products and positioning. Don't worry about revealing the business secrets of the company, so that you feel enough trust.
We have prepared a lot of sharp questions in advance. Is Coolpad still working? What is the relationship with Huawei? There are some embarrassing topics hidden in the dialogue, how do you feel about starting a business, and how is your relationship with Yu Chengdong? He didn't go around in circles, and he didn't avoid it. It sounds nonchalant, yet feels proportionate.
He has worked for Huawei for nearly 20 years and built a glorious brand with his own hands. Liu Jiangfeng has won a position in the industry with his achievements. But as soon as Glory came to fruition, he chose to quit his job to start a business, a fresh food e-commerce company he had never set foot in. A year later, Liu Jiangfeng, who was struggling to start a business, returned to the industry and joined the LeTV camp as the CEO of Coolpad.
Although it used to be one of the four major domestic brands, Coolpad's market position has changed from what it used to be. In the past two years, it has encountered a series of turbulence until LeEco took over and restructured. Can Liu Jiangfeng, who is recognized as capable, lead Coolpad to regain growth and bring forth new opportunities? Show him a piece of Weibo that criticizes Coolpad. He read it carefully and said with a smile, "History is not created by bystanders."
How to revive Coolpad? Liu Jiangfeng said that he will complete the restructuring within the year. The current Coolpad is like Huawei five or six years ago. It needs to rebuild the brand, and he plans to bring Coolpad back to the domestic first-line status within three to five years. LeEco and Coolpad will operate independently, but LeEco can enhance Coolpad's competitiveness in terms of content and marketing.
The turnaround measures he listed include: establishing an open corporate culture, recruiting and making good use of talents, re-branding, doing a good job in market analysis, building a reputation for quality, and identifying market positioning. When talking about products, Liu Jiangfeng said, for example, that next year's Coolpad mobile phone camera will exceed this year's S7 and iPhone 7 standards.
Talking about the experience of leaving Huawei and starting a business, Liu Jiangfeng said that he is an alternative in Huawei and has never been changed by Huawei. Leaving Huawei is for a change. The experience of starting a business has helped me a lot in my personal growth and deepened my understanding of the Internet. However, no matter the success or failure of starting a business, sooner or later, I will return to the communications industry that I have accumulated for many years.
When it comes to the topic of platforms and individuals, Liu Jiangfeng said that if Glory can become bigger, the platform must be the first, but the platform is composed of talents. If an enterprise cannot retain talents, it will decline. He also revealed that he and Yu Chengdong actually have a good relationship, and the latter just spoke directly and simply.
The following is an edited transcript of the conversation between Sina Technology and Liu Jiangfeng:
About Huawei: I have a good relationship with Lao Yu
Q: You have worked for Huawei for 19 years, and now you are competing with Huawei, how does it feel?
A: Coolpad is far from competing with Huawei. We are still working hard for our own survival, to reshape our brand and reputation. We are still tenth, and hope to enter the top five domestic brands within two years.
Q: Many people say that Honor has developed well, largely because of the Huawei platform. You are gone, and Glory has developed well.
A: The platform must come first. But platforms are built by talent. When I joined Huawei, the company only had more than 1,000 people, and there were ups and downs in the middle, and it was almost dead a few times. The platform was not built by anyone, nor did it fall out of thin air. It was built by everyone together. The accumulation of brands is the biggest support for the company. With this brand, Wang Jiangfeng and Li Jiangfeng are equally capable. But with more brain drain, the company is empty. Keeping achievements will slow down, and if you don't advance, you will fall back. Why can't creative people stay in big companies? Because his ideas are not supported, many people think that the business is very stable now, the KPI assessment is very good, and the business is 1 million every year, why should I take the risk of doing 10 million or even 100 million things? If you don't do it well, and the personnel inside is complicated, you see that you have made a mistake, and it will kill you. In fact, this is the case in my old club, and everyone is unwilling to take responsibility.
Q: The traditional four domestic manufacturers "China Coolpad", now Huawei continues to lead, apart from the changes in the operator market, what are the reasons?
Answer: People. Huawei has many talents, and there are many collisions and contradictions. Everyone quickly returned to a right track through learning and error correction. When doing things, leaders are the most important, what kind of people to bring and what kind of culture to shape. Now there are 100 manuscripts about how Huawei succeeded, and 99 of them do not mention the reasons, they are all theories after success.
First, the old Huawei people in this industry would never have imagined that it would be today, but it happens to be in this industry that has grown the fastest in the past few decades. Second, leaders attract a large number of excellent people and create a good corporate culture. Success is determined by individuals, but how far and how big is determined by the industry.
Q: You don't seem to be a typical Huawei person type?
A: I am an alternative at Huawei, and I am neither afraid of making mistakes nor taking responsibility. Of course, luckily I didn't screw anything up, so I survived. But you will feel very tired.
Q: So you think there is a conflict between edges and corners?
answer. Once I chatted with a rotating CEO of Huawei. He said, "Liu Jiangfeng, you've changed, so you left." I said, "I haven't changed much in 20 years. It's still me, maybe a little more mature, but people haven't changed." He said, "Yes, you really haven't. Changed, but the company changed, and you didn’t keep up with the company.” I smiled and said, "You're right anyway."
Some changes I don't want to follow. Huawei is a very successful company, but it does not mean that it will always be successful in the future. No company will be successful forever. If any enterprise does not respect talents, or make full use of their talents, it will decline sooner or later.
Q: So you left with more autonomy?
Answer: No. Before I did Glory, my position was actually higher than Yu Chengdong. When I was doing glory, no one interfered with me. To be honest, I am in Huawei, not to mention Yu Chengdong, even the boss, no one came to tell me what to do and how to do it, giving me enough space, which is an important reason for the success of Glory. At that time, I was asked to do glory, and there was no one, so I had to find someone myself to start doing it.
(Leaving Huawei) It's more because the company is too big, and the culture is somewhat uncomfortable. I'm in my 40s, and I still want to come out and do something by myself. After 20 years in a company, I always want a little change.
Q: After you came to Coolpad, did you communicate with Yu Chengdong and Huawei executives?
A: There is communication and contact with many people.
Q: What's their attitude towards you coming to Coolpad? It is said that Huawei has "playing music"?
A: I don't know about "playing music". But it will be more or less suppressed. This is also normal. It is better to have pressure.
Q: Do you mind asking about your relationship with Yu Chengdong? Everyone knows that he directly stabbed you in the circle of friends before.
A: Lao Yu is a very direct person, very simple. I am also a very simple person, but I am generally kind to others and will not attack others. He is such a person, sometimes we say he is immature and has low emotional intelligence. He also often said to me inside the company, "Liu Jiangfeng, you can't go on anymore". I laughed when I heard it. In fact, we have a very good relationship. As soon as I joined the company, I was in a small department with him.
About Coolpad: Back to the front line in three or five years
Q: How long did it take you to complete the Coolpad reorganization?
A: It will be completed by the end of the year, and it will take four months.
Q: What's wrong with Coolpad?
A: They did a good job before, but they relied more on operators, which was the problem later. There is no problem with the operator market and the operator itself, and they can do it, but they cannot hand over their entire product branding, planning and sales to the operator. Therefore, the market has undergone a transformation, and operators have lowered their subsidies, and they do not know how to operate. Coolpad's products, I think, are actually pretty good. The quality and design are quite satisfactory, but there are no bright spots. In addition, the brand channel is not well managed, so it doesn't sell well. Therefore, the quality of the product is not enough, it needs to have better performance, model and experience, especially the software needs to be innovative.
Q: Coolpad also launched the Internet brand ivvi.
A: In fact, ivvi is not an Internet brand. It wants to be a brand for young people in the open market. At present, it is not very good. I think Coolpad still tried a lot in the past and was willing to learn, but lacked persistence. OPPO and VIVO have not changed much in the way they play for so many years, they rely on persistence.
Q: What should I do after ivvi? What about several other sub-brands, including the just-launched Cool?
A: We are still re-examining ivvi, everything is possible. Cool is a new brand, and it will be more inclined to play on the Internet, mainly online and offline omni-channel, but more inclined to online communication and sales, closer to Xiaomi's play, this is the current plan. At the same time, we will still do some of the Coolpad brand, and we will still do some in the operator market.
Q: Your goal is to bring Coolpad back to the first domestic group, how long will it take?
A: Yes, within five years. In the mobile phone industry, no one can tell what will happen tomorrow. It is growing rapidly and declining rapidly. If it is fast, we may be in the top five in two or three years. Slowly, I think within five years.
Q: The former giants such as Nokia, BlackBerry and HTC cannot reverse the downward trend, and their R&D strength is not weak. Why are you confident that you can reverse the cool?
A: The systems of these companies hinder innovation and commercialization and fail to retain innovative talent. It wouldn't be cool if it was just me. Coolpad has a lot of excellent talents, but they cannot exert their abilities under the original culture and system, so they need to break the original system and let them rejuvenate their abilities. In addition, we are also aggressively recruiting talent. In the past, it was difficult for Coolpad to recruit outstanding talents. Now many new employees have good backgrounds and strong abilities.
Q: Do you have any specific strategies and plans?
A: Coolpad's traditional R&D and supply chain are good, but product positioning, branding, and channels are still relatively lacking. First of all, we need to reposition the brand, and even start a new brand to face the high-end market. Then there is the crowd segmentation, do a good job in market analysis and insight, determine my target crowd and users, and define the corresponding products.
Back to the product, the most important thing is higher quality, better design, and better word of mouth. This takes time, which is to let consumers feel our sincerity and our changes. Although the current Coolpad is still called Coolpad, it is not the Coolpad it used to be. From culture to organization to process, we are all refactoring. This is not reform, but reform.
Q: What is your corporate positioning for Coolpad?
A: I hope Coolpad will become a company like Sony, and use its products to win the love of consumers.
About the product: next year's photo shoot will exceed S7
Q: You say that the current Coolpad is like Huawei back then, everything is possible, what do you mean?
A: It's like Huawei mobile phones in 2010 and 2011. Before that, they were all in the operator market. They didn't have their own brands, and they didn't know how to sell mobile phones and make brands. In fact, it does well and gets up very quickly. I operate several major models of Huawei, including P6 and Honor. From 200,000 to 300,000 yuan for one machine to 5,000,000 yuan for one machine, I quickly established a cognition of the consumer market and learned how to do marketing and channel design.
Q: How does the current Coolpad learn from Huawei?
A: The main reason why Huawei can rise is the pursuit of quality, the pursuit of products, and the strong learning ability. First make system equipment, and then learn how others make mobile phones. Although the mobile phone is sent for charging, although it is ugly, it is affordable and durable, at least it has a good reputation. Later, with good products, we will slowly educate and guide consumers, which will take one or two years. Two years can take a company from the edge of the market back to the center.
Q: How do you think Huawei's mobile phone has broken through the high-end market, and how is the brand marketing positioned?
A: The Huawei brand itself is not that high-end, just because the price is high. He also had some national sentiments, among them patriotism. Patriotism does not support the high-end market, so in the long run, Huawei's marketing is still risky.
Q: So what is Coolpad going to do?
A: Identify the market positioning, conduct accurate marketing, establish brand reputation, and make users feel satisfied based on good products. After establishing word of mouth, it takes two years without three or four generations.
Q: Many business leaders don't see real market demand. How do you avoid this?
A: Always be on the front line, to understand consumers, to deal with consumers, retailers and suppliers. For so many years, Huawei has been following the user to see the market.
Q: Talk about the breakthrough point of the product?
A: Take a point as an example and take a photo. We are now starting to customize the algorithm and research it ourselves. Next year, I think our camera can surpass the level of this year's S7 and iPhone 7. I don't mean that this year will surpass the new flagship of Samsung and Apple , but that our camera can at least surpass the level of their camera this year. Coolpad's dual camera is a combination of two identical pictures, one in color and one in black and white. On other dual-cam machines, the other camera is either depth-of-field or telephoto (Apple). The so-called true and false dual camera can be seen by looking at the resolution in low light.
Q: Can you make it waterproof?
A: It's a money thing. I can achieve IP68 waterproofing on a 2000 pc phone, no problem.
Q: What do you think of the new hammer?
A: I have a good relationship with Luo Yonghao. But realistically speaking, the three selling points of his new machine. The first one is from iFLYTEK, but many consumers don't use it. When he uses it, it makes many people feel particularly awesome. The second Big Bang, that thing has been implemented by other applications. The third One Step, originally Android has split screen, but many manufacturers do not have this function, our machine can achieve it next year.
Q: This is the success of Lao Luo's marketing.
answer. He is just digging out the selling point for publicity, and he has enough influence to let everyone know. Now it is better to say better than to do well, and to write better than to speak well.
Q: You don't seem to like the way Internet companies hype their marketing online all day long.
Answer: Yes.
Q: So what do you think of LeTV?
answer:. . . They are my shareholders. I think every business has its own way of survival at different stages. In the Chinese market, if everyone else does it, you don't, unless you are like OPPO.
About LeTV: LeTV and Coolpad will distinguish user groups
Q: When did Jia Yueting start recruiting you?
A: After the Spring Festival this year, in fact, he always wanted to take me to LeTV, but I was still a little more, so I didn't go. Later, it was because of LeEco's acquisition of Coolpad, but it was discussed for a long time in the middle.
Q: Are there any twists and turns in the middle talk? Are there any psychological fluctuations?
A: There is no fluctuation. I didn't really want to re-enter a big company, after all I've been doing it for so long. And I didn't do well at many points. I came out and started a small company myself, wanting to make some small smart hardware.
Q: Is it the idea of creating the Le Pro 3? How is it now?
A: Yes, that's a product we build. Now Zhongsi is still an independent company, providing technology for LeEco and Coolpad. It may also be incorporated into Coolpad in the future.
Q: What did you think of LeEco when you were in glory?
A: At that time, LeTV did not make mobile phones.
Q: After LeEco released its mobile phone, what do you think of them?
A: I was on the outside at the time, and I really didn’t understand LeTV very well. I felt that this company was very radical, with big dreams and layouts. I'm also worried about whether LeTV's resources can keep up, and whether its personnel can keep up. But I think Lao Jia is very ambitious and courageous. Moreover, we used to have a good personal relationship and were friends.
Q: Was this the main reason you finally decided to join?
A: He wanted me to go to LeEco before, but I felt that the system was too huge and I was not very willing. At that time, many companies came to talk to me, including Lenovo, Xiaomi, etc. Later, I thought Coolpad was pretty good. It was relatively independent here, and there was an independent stage where you could rebuild a brand according to your own ideas.
Q: Did LeEco acquire Coolpad for R&D and patents? Like Google's acquisition of motorcycles?
A: Coolpad started to decline after 2014, and now its technical strength and supply chain are still very strong. Coupled with the participation of 600 to 700 people in Zhongsi, the technology, brand, channel, supply chain, and R&D strength should still be at the forefront in China in the future. Patents are of course an important reason for LeEco to acquire Coolpad, but in the future, LeEco and Coolpad will operate independently as two brands and two companies.
Q: How do you differentiate between those two brands? Will they all carry LeTV's ecological content?
A: The content of LeEco will be extended to all product lines, but the presentation method may be different. We will have our own UI. I hope that Coolpad and LeTV are more cooperative than competitive. Of course, there must be competition. After all, they are in the same market, but they hope to distinguish different user groups. LeTV mobile phones are cost-effective, and we will not only focus on cost-effectiveness.
Q: Like the relationship between Honor and the Huawei brand?
A: Honor and Huawei are a common backstage, but they are in a competitive relationship with each other. LeTV and Coolpad are two completely independent companies with fully competitive resources. I am reporting to the board, not LeEco.
Q: What kind of competitiveness can LeEco bring to Coolpad?
A: The most important thing is LeEco’s content and ecological resources, especially IP resources and sports resources. LeEco's public relations and marketing capabilities are also very strong, and Coolpad had no such awareness before. After I came, I completely changed Coolpad's marketing system.
Q: Why did you leave the mobile phone industry last year to do fresh food e-commerce, and why did you come back this year? Because starting a business is not going well?
A: It doesn't matter. Whether it goes well or not, I will definitely return to the communications industry. All my accumulations are here, making it smoother. In the fresh food market, I lost my original contacts and had to rebuild, and I didn’t know enough about many things. But this experience has helped me a lot in personal growth. A lot of times in life is accidental. At that time, it was a friend who wanted to do it and pulled me to take the lead. It was a great opportunity and I worked hard. More points are still there, the social value is greater than the commercial value, but they do not make money.
Q: What lessons did the year bring?
A: A lot. My understanding of the Internet has deepened. In the future, the opportunity must be the Internet to change traditional industries. Traditional industries must have this awareness to usher in new opportunities. Those who haven't done it don't know the opportunities in it. Every industry is becoming Internet-based, and it is an opportunity for the Internet of Things. How to use Internet technology to improve the efficiency and decentralization of the entire industry. However, intelligent hardware will always be a core part of it. The mobile phone is the enhancement of the human body, it is a part of the human body. The next step for smartphones is definitely to develop in the direction of artificial intelligence, which can sense your emotions, and this kind of active interaction will become more and more.
Q: What research and development does Coolpad have in this area? Compared with Huawei, what is the ratio of Coolpad's annual R&D expenditure to revenue?
A: There is some R&D, but not much. Many of Apple's technologies are not developed by themselves, but are open and win-win with others. We will integrate many resources to provide better products to consumers together. Coolpad now has 4,000 employees, half of which is R&D. Mobile phones and systems are completely incomparable. This is comparing apples to peaches.
About idols: most admire the boss Ren Zhengfei
Q: Domestic mobile phone manufacturers all respect Jobs. What business idol do you have?
A: I don't have any clear idols. The one I admire most is the former boss Ren Zhengfei. When it comes to cell phones, Jobs is hardly an icon. Most of Apple's technology is not its own, but foreign resources, but his reputation and management effectively promote Apple to quickly integrate these resources. Of course, Apple marketing is also good. You say that Apple is a technology-driven company, and it's hard to say how much progress has been made after the success of the iPhone.
Q: Apple has a system advantage.
A: Apple system is good, that is also the hardware to seize the opportunity. You say iOS is better than Android, that's because of the problems that Android opens up, but they each have their pros and cons, just like Macs and PCs before. The Mac system is good, but it is not the same. Apple's core competitiveness is mainly the ability to integrate many new technologies, including multi-touch and overall interactive experience. The tipping point has been crossed, a giant leap from the previous smartphone.
Q: How will the smartphone market landscape change in the next year or two?
A: Fengshui turns around, when everyone eats meat, there are times when they are beaten. Coolpad is being beaten now, but there will be meat-eating times in the next two years. People who eat meat now will also be beaten in the future. The bigger they do, the more dangerous it is. This is the case with any business.
Q: What about the status of Huawei?
A: There is no eternal king. Huawei's success has its inherent factors, inevitability and chance, 70% luck and 30% hard work.
Q: What is the status of Coolpad and LeTV? Can ecological play enter the mainstream group?
A: We happen to have different styles of play and learn from each other's strengths. Will definitely enter the first group, the global field.
Q: How long will it take to implement?
A: If it cannot be achieved within five years, it will not work. Our goal is five years.
About Enterprise: Creating an Open Internet Culture
Q: What kind of corporate culture will you create at Coolpad, and will there be any influence from Huawei?
A: We will all learn a good culture. I hope Coolpad becomes a more Internet-oriented corporate culture, but at the same time has the tradition and pragmatism of a hardware company. Nowadays, many Internet companies lack brand awareness and quality awareness, because the Internet pays attention to speed and trial and error, but this cannot be done in the hardware field, so the two must be combined. In the past, Coolpad, including Huawei, was an industrial age culture that focused on efficiency, control, cost and quality.
Q: Huawei culture is like a huge army or a machine.
A: You can say that. When everyone interprets Huawei's previous culture, it is often a desire for success or responsibility for results. This is based on a combination of rights and matching under an authorization system. When everyone is responsible for their own results, the entire organization's Efficiency and execution are naturally strong.
Q: So what kind of Coolpad corporate culture do you want to rebuild?
A: First of all, we will transform to the Internet culture as a whole, but we will add an intermediate point and intermediate state between Internet culture and traditional industrial-level culture. For example, we pay more attention to respect, and now we are refreshing our corporate culture. .
Q: How exactly?
A: Take my previous work as an example. The first item in the culture is called "sharing success". We must share the success of this enterprise with our employees and partners, including our suppliers and customers. The second is called "Grow quietly and fly freely". We hope that we will not be noisy and arguing on the Internet all day like Internet companies. There is no limit. But for individuals, we want you to fly freely, to innovate, to encourage everyone to try, and to encourage young people. Now Coolpad's post-85s account for more than 60%, the entire company is more active, and we are more open in the entire culture, encouraging everyone to speak and try and make mistakes. All the documents and speeches of Coolpad allow everyone to comment below, laughing and cursing. This kind of open culture was not there before. .
The third is called "respect for the individual", and freedom comes from responsibility. Respect individuals to grow together, and provide career channels, training, and exercise opportunities, but individuals must be responsible and shoulder your responsibilities. The fourth rule is "Don't cater to, dare to take responsibility." Cadres should not only be superior, but dare not cater to them. I give you rights and authorization, but you must dare to make decisions, dare to make decisions, and take the consequences and responsibilities of decision-making. In fact, some of them are a bit similar to Huawei, including user first, quality first, and pursuit of the ultimate, but we pay more attention to respect, freedom, and equality. These are the culture of the Internet, and I hope they can be integrated together.
Q: How is Coolpad doing in the US market, and what will it do in the future?
A: Coolpad's overseas market accounts for one-third. In the US market, we are cooperating with the three major operators of AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint, basically behind ZTE. Now two or three million units are shipped every year, mainly in the low-end, prepaid market. It is a long-term process for a new brand to enter the United States, and it needs to be taken slowly. Apple and Samsung account for 60-70% of the high-end market. In the future, investment and development will be accelerated. The Indian, Southeast Asian and European markets are also slowly picking up. In the end, it depends on products and services.