Chapter 263 - 218: [Sect Leader Plan]

Chapter 263: Chapter 218: [Sect Leader Plan]

As Gu Heng finished speaking, a sharp glint flashed in Xie Jianlin’s eyes.

Yanjing!

The regional director of Yanjing!

Although Gu Heng hadn’t said it outright, everyone knew what he meant.

If the position of a regional director for a first-tier city was slightly inferior to that of a group vice president, then the position of a regional director for a super first-tier city held power that was equal to, if not greater than, a group VP’s.

Yanjing, at the feet of the Emperor.

It was the core of the northern market. As long as Zhen Cui Group could break into the Yanjing market, they would surely pour in a continuous stream of investment.

Take the brand effect Gu Heng had just mentioned. Restaurant brands like Zhenhai, Yuan Zhi, and Chao Yu were deeply rooted in Beichun and had a strong brand effect there, but once they left Beichun and Ji Province, that effect instantly vanished.

But Yanjing was different. If Zhen Cui Group’s many restaurant brands could establish a brand effect in Yanjing, they would retain that strong influence even if the group’s expansion one day headed south.

Looking at the long term, once Zhen Cui Group’s northern market expansion plan was fully implemented, it was highly likely that a few area directors would be appointed from among the twelve regional directors.

For example, an area director for the Jingjinji Region, or an area director for the Northeast Three Provinces.

If a regional director was a Governor, then an area director was a feudal lord. The extent of their power was far beyond what an ordinary group vice president could compare to.

Now, Xie Jianlin was taking over as the regional director for Jin City. If the market expansion in Jin City went smoothly, then according to the meaning Gu Heng had just conveyed, he would likely be sent to Yanjing next to take on the task of expanding the market there.

If everything went smoothly, with this experience under his belt, the position of Area Director for the Jingjinji Region would be his for the taking.

Hope!

Xie Jianlin, who had just been feeling that his future was uncertain, suddenly felt it light up once more.

He knew Gu Heng’s words might just be him dangling a carrot, but he had to admit that with this carrot dangling in front of him, he was filled with motivation.

The other group executives present naturally understood what Xie Jianlin had figured out. Now, many of them looked at Xie Jianlin with a hint of envy.

First Jin City, then Yanjing.

It could be said that Gu Heng had left the two toughest nuts to crack in the northern market expansion plan entirely to Xie Jianlin.

Was it difficult?

It was.

Extremely difficult.

But for all its difficulty, the rewards were directly proportional.

As long as Xie Jianlin could crack these two tough nuts, his appointment as the Area Director for the Jingjinji Region was practically a done deal. He would become the group’s most powerful executive at this stage, second only to Qi Min.

A golden path lay before him. All Xie Jianlin had to do now was cut through the thorns and brambles and charge toward the finish line with all his might.

In contrast, the four group vice presidents who had just been sitting pretty were the ones whose futures were now truly uncertain. They might be high and mighty group VPs today, but tomorrow they could be exiled to the frontier for any number of reasons, or even "optimized" right out of the group.

After all, they had been disloyal to the group, shrinking from the great Chairman Gu’s test. It would be perfectly reasonable to "optimize" them away.

Gu Heng would naturally not be stingy with his praise for loyal and capable subordinates.

With the appointments made, the group meeting officially entered its second phase: the trial period implementation stage.

The saying goes, "fierce generals need elite soldiers." Now that they had the fierce generals to expand their territory, they naturally had to be supplied with elite soldiers. Otherwise, it would be a case of a clever housewife being unable to cook without rice.

After prior research and decisions by Gu Heng, Qi Min, Zhuang Hanyu, and others, each second-tier city would have its personnel configured in a "1+3+5" team model.

[1] is the city’s Regional General Manager, to be filled by senior store general managers like Chen Zhifeng and Guo Jia Hui;

[3] are the city’s Deputy Regional General Managers. Each second-tier city is allocated three spots, with candidates selected from the group’s existing mid-level leadership. Those with store management experience will be given priority;

[5] are the city’s Regional Department Heads. Each second-tier city is allocated five spots, with candidates selected from departments directly under the group headquarters. The Finance, HR, Operations, Marketing, and Customer Service departments will each contribute one person.

This was the team configuration for second-tier cities.

As for first-tier cities, they would adopt a "1+5+9" team configuration, with two additional spots for Deputy Regional Managers and four additional personnel dispatched from headquarters departments.

Once the team configurations were finalized, it was time for another round of appointments.

Only this time, the ones in charge of making the appointments were not Gu Heng, but Xie Jianlin, Chen Zhifeng, and the others.

Soon, the lists and résumés of the group’s mid-level leadership, as well as the low-level leaders and outstanding employees from the various departments at headquarters, were in the hands of Xie Jianlin and the others.

As a former group vice president, and with his destination being the only first-tier city among the four targets, Xie Jianlin naturally had the first pick.

Chen Zhifeng and the others could only watch eagerly as Xie Jianlin made his selections, waiting for their turn.

In the past, Guo Jia Hui had always been very polite to Chen Zhifeng, treating him as a senior and showing him full respect. But times had changed. This was no time for politeness or deference.

Expanding into a new market wasn’t a solo effort; team strength was crucial.

A good teammate could double your results with half the effort, while a bad one would halve your results despite double the effort.

Chen Zhifeng and the others were all group veterans. Even if Guo Jia Hui wasn’t as senior as Chen Zhifeng, he had still worked at the group for over ten years. Thus, they knew the internal situation of the group like the back of their hands.

Who was a doer, and who was an old fox.

Who had real skills, and who was a half-wit.

Who could hold their liquor, and who was cunning.

For things like this, even if Chen Zhifeng and the others couldn’t claim to know everything, they could at least glance at a résumé and immediately recall the person’s general situation and reputation.

Different leaders, different strategies.

Chen Zhifeng himself was a doer, so he naturally preferred subordinates who were also doers. But having been a leader for so many years, he also understood that the power an excellent team could unleash depended not on how long its longest plank was, but on how short its shortest one was.

Because Chen Zhifeng was a doer, he had never been a fan of drinking culture. But sometimes, his hands were tied; some people just insisted on talking business over drinks.

To address this, when assembling his team, Chen Zhifeng might want a deputy who could hold their liquor, was smooth in their dealings, and skilled at socializing, thereby compensating for his own weakness in this area.

Conversely, someone like Guo Jia Hui, who himself could hold his liquor, was smooth, and sociable, could easily handle all sorts of drinking engagements on his own. He wouldn’t need such a person on his team and would therefore be more inclined to choose a results-oriented, hands-on deputy.

It might seem like there would be no conflict between Chen Zhifeng, Guo Jia Hui, and the other man, as their preferences were different. In reality, all three of them were red in the face, fighting over people.

The reason was simple...

The most outstanding talents are often multifaceted.

Being a doer and being able to hold one’s liquor were not mutually exclusive.

Having a quick mind and being smooth in one’s dealings were not mutually exclusive either.

If you compared personal strengths to tags, some people might only have one, but others might have four, or even more.

In this situation, anyone would want the multifaceted talent with the most tags, which naturally led to arguments and competition.

From mid-level leaders to low-level leaders, and finally to outstanding employees.

They haggled over every detail, refusing to yield an inch.

In response, Gu Heng had to use his great balancing act to coordinate. In the end, Xie Jianlin configured his team list in just ten minutes, while it took Chen Zhifeng and the other two a full half-hour.

"Human Resources."

Once the four of them—Xie Jianlin and the other three—had finalized their team lists, Gu Heng gave them a quick glance and then issued a direct order: "Take the lists from President Xie and the others, and contact the people on them now. Talk to them and see if they are willing to accept an out-of-town assignment."

"Yes, Chairman Gu."

The Director of Human Resources immediately stood up and acknowledged the order.

"Also—"

"Effective immediately, the group will officially launch the [Sect Leader Plan]."

"In the future, as the northern market expansion plan continues to advance, the group will urgently need to cultivate a batch of store managers who can hold their own. Therefore, this plan will be open to all loyal and capable entry-level employees."

As Gu Heng spoke, the LED screen behind him changed, displaying a detailed explanation of the [Sect Leader Plan].

First, to be eligible to apply for this plan, one must have worked for Zhen Cui Group for at least two years and have been named an "Outstanding Employee" at least once.

Second, after meeting the above two conditions, candidates must sign an agreement with the group, stating their willingness to accept future out-of-town assignments to work in other city branches.

Finally, the group’s current eight directly-operated restaurants will change from their existing "one general manager, three deputies" model to a "one general manager, five deputies" model. In other words, each restaurant will be equipped with five Deputy Store General Managers in the future.

At the same time, outstanding employees selected for the [Sect Leader Plan], after undergoing the group’s core business training, will be directly assigned to various stores as Deputy Store Managers. They will then rotate positions every three months until they have worked at every one of Zhen Cui Group’s restaurant brands.

During this period, the group will conduct various assessments and spot checks.

Anyone who fails multiple times will be removed from the [Sect Leader Plan].

After reading the details of the [Sect Leader Plan], the many group executives present all had a general understanding of it.

The so-called [Sect Leader Plan] was, in fact, a management trainee program in disguise. It was a way for the group to screen and cultivate a batch of outstanding management talent with leadership, strategic vision, and innovative thinking.

"Hmm..."

"Regarding Zhen Cui Group’s northern market expansion plan, that’s all for now. Everyone, go have lunch at the cafeteria. Return here in half an hour, at which time I will announce another major decision for the group."

Gu Heng raised his hand to check the time. It was already just past noon. After giving his instructions to the group executives, he was the first to rise from the head seat and, accompanied by Qi Min and Zhuang Hanyu, quickly walked out of the main conference room.

’There’s another major group decision to be announced later?’

The many group executives stared at the backs of Gu Heng and his two companions as they left, looking at each other in stunned silence...