Chapter 1231 Sony's Future (5k)

Katsumi Ihara left the scene, Ryoji Nakabachi apologized, the east wind overwhelmed the west wind, and the meeting could continue.

However, everyone still had their own thoughts in their hearts. Some people felt that in such a chaotic and confused situation at Sony, Fang needed to speak out in such a powerful way, and some people still criticized Fang and Stringer's close relationship.

Ryoji Nakabachi suddenly felt like a basin of dirty water was poured on his head.

From the first day to now, what he did in Tokyo was to let people speak to the media, criticize Stringer, and lobby various factions, thinking of taking the opportunity to take back the CEO who had lost.

Ryoji Nakabachi believed that he had a great chance of winning this time.

However, Fang's speech just now made him realize a problem.

Can Sony's current situation really be attributed to Stringer alone?

In other words, Sony suffered serious losses. Will the angry shareholders think that Stringer or the management led by Stringer need to take responsibility?

He said he was sidelined, but he was the executive vice president and one of the two directors on the board besides Stringer. Wouldn't he be purged by the shareholders?

Regardless of whether Sony can only be established after destruction, he should not be destroyed first...

Ryoji Nakabachi was willing to bow and apologize to Mr. Fang at the small meeting. Is it embarrassing to apologize to such a world-renowned business leader? Not embarrassing!

At the very least, he should not criticize himself like this at the shareholders' meeting...

Ryoji Nakabachi had a new idea after CFO Katsumi Ihara left. He didn't know what happened to Sony, and the shareholders didn't know what happened to Sony. Mr. Fang, the world's best CEO with golden brilliance, might be the beacon to guide everyone's thinking.

If, if he could get Mr. Fang's support again, wouldn't it be the day to set things right?

With this in mind, Ryoji Nakabachi was much more cautious when talking about the reasons for Sony's decline and the current situation.

After calming down, he observed the other executives in the meeting room and felt that their expressions also had some inexplicable meanings, and he couldn't help but feel cold in his heart.

As he spoke, his original wording was disrupted and slowly became what he had just heard.

Find out the situation, confirm the loss, throw away the burden, and start again.

Fang Zhuo drank coffee and listened to Nakabachi Ryoji's speech. He felt that it was much more pleasant to the ear. However, Nakabachi Ryoji had been lurking for so long. He could not only bow down to apologize to himself, but also start from reality. People like him cannot be pushed up.

Reform, Sony needs reform, how to change specifically...

Fang Zhuo also helped Sony think about a new future.

Looking back, there is one thing that Stringer is tinkering with Sony that has been criticized by various sources. In the past few years since he took office, Sony's electronic product business has gradually declined, and there have been rumors of being sold in a package.

He cut multiple product lines, reduced investment in semiconductor business, and this year began to implement the "zero environmental load" plan to transform to green industries.

Today, it seems to confirm many people's concerns about his initial rise to power - Stringer, who is not from a technical background, does not have that gene.

The most visible thing about him is that he abolished the original decision-making system and successfully created a decision-making mechanism for important areas headed by the CEO, but this is also criticized now.

The result is wrong, everything is wrong.

But Kazuo Hirai, who really successfully led Sony's revival, was also adapted to a more Western mechanism to a certain extent. He moved to New York when he was 6 years old and joined Sony America.

Fang Zhuo didn't know what specific strategy Kazuo Hirai adopted to turn around Sony. Now he only started from his own perspective. If he were to take charge of Sony, he would first follow public opinion and continue to lead the reform banner, second, continue to reduce employees and throw away business burdens, and third, the strategic focus and product structure also need to be adjusted.

Hmm...

Fang Zhuo fell into a long consideration. Splitting, selling, divesting, layoffs, structure, and focus are indeed not easy jobs. They require a head with inner tenacity, courage, and leadership.

The meeting lasted for a long time. With Fang Zhuo setting the atmosphere and Nakabatsu leading the way, everyone's speeches gradually became enthusiastic. In any case, except for a few people, all the participants hoped that Sony would get better.

Nakabatsu gave way to other executives in the second half, but he was also paying attention to Fang's attitude.

When they really started talking about Sony's future, he asked, "Mr. Fang, what do you think Sony will do next?"

"Just now, our CFO Katsumi Ihara mentioned my personal relationship with Mr. Stringer. I did agree to join the Sony board of directors because of my friendship with him." Fang Zhuo said calmly, "I am also very sad that Sony has reached this point today."

Calmly sad.

"Objectively speaking, I put more energy on my own company, and it is difficult for me to play any role in promoting Sony. In today's situation, I can't talk about Sony's future, so I will no longer serve as Sony's external director." Fang Zhuo resigned.

What he values ​​most now is the sensor company that cooperates with Sony. At the beginning, he cooperated with Sony sensors in Shanghai to establish the Shanghai production line of Bingxin. He was the dominant operator with 50%+1. Later, he further invested in Sony sensors and added financing from other institutions. If there are no accidents, he will continue to add.

Sony's other... Of course, but now it is a stage where its own development is stronger.

Fang Zhuo also wants to maintain his friendship with the Jazz.

Zhongbo Liangzhi saw that Fang was determined, so he agreed... He didn't agree, thinking that he couldn't agree like this!

What kind of person is Mr. Fang now?

Not mentioning his achievements in the business field, let’s talk about his sharp comments on CEOs. Just look at his attitude of defending Stringer and criticizing himself and Katsumi Ihara. Without the position of Sony’s foreign director, Sony’s top executives may not be the best. All must be within his gunfire.

Ryoji Nakaba changed his mind at this meeting and felt that he could win the support of Mr. Fang, a foreign director, to try to compete for the CEO position.

He still remembers the first time Mr. Fang came to Tokyo to attend Sony's board of directors.

"President Fang, you can't leave!" Ryoji Nakaba said excitedly, uncharacteristically, "President Fang, Sony is in chaos right now and needs the guidance of you directors with outstanding achievements. You can't leave!"

Fang Zhuo didn't feel that Nakahata Ryoji was sincere in keeping him, and he also knew the Japanese people's superficial emotions. He shook his head and said, "It's no longer necessary. Sony needs to start a new era."

"Mr. Fang, Mr. Stringer has left, and Sony is almost completely collapsed. Do you want to leave at this time like Katsumi Ihara?"

Ryoharu Nakahachi did not hesitate to use CFO Katsumi Ihara who was not attending the meeting as an example, and said: "Sony's management structure needs to be reshaped, Mr. Fang, I think the functions of the nomination committee should be strengthened, and you are the best person to be in charge of the committee. Ah, Mr. Fang, you can’t leave!”

He tossed out ideas that came up during his meetings.

The nomination committee is a special committee within the board of directors. As the name implies, it makes recommendations on the appointment and selection mechanism of senior executives. It is generally composed of outside directors.

Sony's board of directors, led by Stringer, has established a nomination committee and a remuneration committee, which can play a supervisory role in terms of procedures, but only in terms of procedures.

Zhongbo Liangzhi believed that this period was the time to strengthen its functions, and he used this to express his stance to Mr. Fang.

I sincerely want to stay with Mr. Fang, and I can use Sony’s conditions to negotiate the follow-up.

As soon as Ryoji Nakahachi said this, other executives in the Tokyo conference room were a little surprised or even stunned. There is a nomination committee, but this nominal committee now wants to seek an outsider, Mr. Fang...

Fang Zhuo frowned and briefly observed the expressions on the screen, but they were not very realistic.

He pondered deeply.

Having said that, my friendship with Jazz was only average, so I was doing him a favor by not expelling him from the Yike board of directors.

"Mr. Fang, regarding the future of Sony, we will go to New York to discuss with you again, and we also hope to communicate with Mr. Stringer again." Nakahata Ryoharu further requested an interview.

Interviews are always more convenient when the door is closed.

Now I always feel like I have nowhere to hide on Yike Online.

Fang Zhuo's expression softened: "Sony's future deserves caution. I also suggest that you have good communication with Stringer and let us get through this difficult time together."

He only mentioned Stringer, not himself, but he did not insist on resigning as an outside director.

Instead, Ryoji Nakabachi's nerves became tense, thinking that the next period of time may determine whether his career can reach a new level.

"Sony's future depends on everyone. The current situation is already very dangerous. If we don't unite, if we continue to be as motivated as Katsumi Ihara, maybe there will be no Sony name in a few years." Fang Zhuo updated his statement. , once again named Ihara Katsumi.

Zhongbo and Mr. Fang named the CFO at the same time, which sounded like they were sending a signal.

The executives participating in the meeting had their own thoughts, but they really needed to discuss the future of the group.

At the end of the meeting, Ryoharu Nakabachi made a suggestion, believing that Stringer's resignation could be accepted, but the news should not be announced immediately, and it still needed to be communicated in New York before being carried out in a smoother way.

It was already early in the morning when Fang Zhuo closed the computer. He rubbed his face and called the old jazz man to briefly explain his participation in the meeting.

Nakaba Ryoji's attitude has changed quite differently, and the purpose is not difficult to guess.

Speaking of which, Norio Ohga's reason for choosing Nobuyuki Dei was due to elimination. Later, Nobuyuki Idei was jointly invited by Stringer and Ohga. Now, this new generation of Sony leaders is about to resign on his own initiative. Born under circumstances...

Sony's foundation is still solid and it can withstand the torment of two leaders, but I don't know if it can withstand the third one.

When Stringer heard on the phone that Nakaba Ryoji and others were coming to New York, his reaction was very dull: "Come on, Nakaba Ryoji has long wanted to be CEO."

"Is he suitable?" Fang Zhuo asked.

Stringer was silent for a while: "I don't know."

Fang Zhuo felt that this answer was a bit unexpected: "Don't know?"

"Yeah, I don't know. This is what I really think. These days, I am also thinking about and reflecting on my work as CEO in the past few years." Stringer said with emotion, "If I hadn't been CEO, if Sony hadn't been so What a loss. If Nakahata Ryoharu was the CEO, he might have been able to do a good job at Sony, but if he is asked to deal with Sony's problems now, I don't know what will happen."

Stringer's Sony career is over.

He looked back on the past. At the time, he had great ambitions to ascend to the position of head of Sony, and he discussed Blu-ray standards with Gates in high spirits. He always felt that he would accomplish everything with a high-profile achievement.

But now, there are huge losses, voluntary resignation, widespread criticism, glory gone, and the future is unclear.

Stringer really doesn't know who can lead Sony forward.

"Sir, you must have some suggestions for them. Is it possible that you just resign and don't care about anything? I still think it's better to put an end to it." Fang Zhuo said.

Stringer was silent again and asked, "Will you join the nominating committee?"

Fang Zhuo asked, "Do you want me to join?"

"You..." Stringer swallowed and suddenly said, "Sometimes I feel that inviting a rival boss like Yi Ke to serve as a director is like planting a Trojan horse for Sony."

Fang Zhuo laughed dumbly.

He had recently been paying attention to the cooperation between Microsoft and Nokia, and wanted to see if that Trojan horse would reappear. Unexpectedly... well, the Trojan horse turned out to be me.

"Yike only has a competitive relationship with Sony Ericsson mobile phones. We cooperate more than compete in many fields." Fang Zhuo said, "I have always viewed the relationship between our two companies this way. Besides, Sony Ericsson mobile phones are half as good as Ericsson. I I don’t think it’s because of Yike that Sony Ericsson’s mobile phone didn’t develop. It’s more of an internal problem, Sir, what do you think?”

Stringer sighed: "Yes, looking at it now, Sony should re-elect a Japanese CEO. Ryoji Nakahachi is hopeful, and so are Hiroshi Yoshioka and Yoshihisa Ishida."

Except for Ryoji Nakahachi who has been sidelined in recent years, Yoshihisa Ishida and Hiroshi Yoshioka are both senior executives in charge of business. The former is in charge of Sony Computer Entertainment and the latter leads the television business.

Stringer hesitated for a moment and then said: "Actually, Kazuo Hirai's work in online entertainment is also good, he is still very capable."

Fang Zhuo said "hmm" and thought about making suggestions for Sony.

Stringer briefly talked about his thoughts on the three people. How should I put it? Sony almost collapsed across the board. It must be the general among the short ones.

"Okay, I still mean that. I have to give the company an explanation after all." Fang Zhuo looked at the time. It was already 2 o'clock in the morning. "It's too late. Let's meet and chat when Zhongbo and the others arrive."

Stringer agreed, and when he was about to hang up the phone, he suddenly asked: "Which company will be exposed on the Wiki?"

"Ah? Is there any news now?" Fang Zhuo asked.

Stringer said: "Mr. Fang, you are well-informed. I thought I would hear new news."

"I am also very concerned about this matter. From Olympus to Sony to Takata, different Japanese companies in different fields are involved in such a wide range of things. It is really unlike the ordinary situation." Fang Zhuo analyzed.

Stringer nodded slightly, it was indeed unusual, it seemed organized and premeditated.

He put down the phone. If Mr. Fang was really involved, then he was more extraordinary than he thought.

Stringer looked out the window, the night was particularly dark today.

The next day, Fang Zhuo, who was working normally and paying attention to the current public opinion situation, unexpectedly received a call from Jazz. His first reaction was that Zhongbo and the others had arrived, and then he realized that it couldn't be so fast.

"Mr. Fang, Kazuo Hirai came to see me and wanted to visit you." Stringer told Fang Zhuo even more unexpected news.

Fang Zhuo is a person who likes to take the initiative, but Kazuo Hirai...

He smiled and said: "No problem, does he also want to try to compete for the CEO? At noon, I have time at noon, and I have a meeting with Yike in the morning. I have been working on the company's cloud business recently, and I am a little busy."

After consultation, Yike's cloud business has been initially determined to try the German and French markets to empower small and medium-sized enterprises in Europe and take its cloud business to places where Amazon and Google have not yet done so.

In addition, Yike Cloud will be separated from Yike YMS and become a parallel business group YWS - Yike Web Services, further enhancing its strategic positioning in the company.

The morning Yike meeting ended and it was almost noon.

Fang Zhuo met Kazuo Hirai for the first time.

Compared with Stringer, the 51-year-old Hirai is considered young.

Regarding this person, Fang Zhuo's deepest impression of him was his smile and the title of "No. 1 Saxophone" given to him by everyone. Kazuo Hirai visited the scene and played the saxophone before bidding farewell to the Ginza Building.

However, Hirai did not smile today, but seemed a little nervous.

"We've ordered a meal, let's chat while we eat, but we don't have to go around and around, just say what we have to say." Fang Zhuo knew that the protagonist of today's trip was not Stringer but Kazuo Hirai.

Stringer nodded without objection.

Fang Zhuo noticed that Kazuo Hirai took two breaths, probably to relax his mood.

After sitting down, Hirai Kazuo used his subjective initiative and stated the purpose of his trip: "Mr. Fang, do you think I can be the CEO of Sony?"

"You can't." Fang Zhuo said bluntly.

Kazuo Hirai was not angry and asked the reason: "Why?"

"You found me, but you have poor eyesight." Fang Zhuo replied.

Kazuo Hirai didn't think there was any problem.

Fang Zhuo smiled and said: "I'm just a foreign director. You should persuade Sir to support you more, or go to Tokyo more. What's the use of having me as a foreign director? I'm actually not as influential as you think."

Although Sony is in chaos, the situation will eventually calm down, and by then, the foreign directors will be just foreign directors again.

"I heard that Ryoji Nakahachi and others are also coming to New York to visit Mr. Fang." Kazuo Hirai said about the news he heard from Stringer, "I will also go to Tokyo, but I still hope that Mr. Fang can help me. Put my name forward on the board.”

Fang Zhuo said seriously: "Sir and I talked about you and said that you are very capable, but in a situation like Sony's, what good strategy do you have on a ship that is leaking everywhere?"

Hirai Kazuo knew that this was a question from the outside director in response to his request.

He said seriously: "Mr. Fang said that Sony is leaking everywhere, so our first step is to stop the water and increase revenue and reduce expenditure."

"All the burdens of Sony can be thrown away. We can stop the LCD panel cooperation with Sharp, sell our chemical department, and sell our optical drive department. If the optical drive cannot be sold, we will disband it directly." Hirai Kazuo said his heroic act, "and the computer business VAIO can also be sold."

He mentioned Sony's four important business lines in one breath.

Fang Zhuo was a little surprised: "You want to sell them all?"

"Yes, Sony is too bloated. These businesses cannot make profits and will only continue to drag us down. Sony has the disease of a big company. I always think that these businesses can be kept and wait and see, but now I can't wait any longer." Hirai Kazuo said his observations.

Fang Zhuo said, "If you do this, you will definitely be criticized."

"There will always be someone who has to bear the criticism. As long as Sony can go light, I believe there will be a painful but refreshing new beginning." Hirai Kazuo continued, "Not only these businesses, but also Sony's real estate purchased around the world, including the Sony Building and the Tokyo headquarters building, can all be converted into funds."

He said seriously, "We need flowing blood, not letting it rot in the company."

Fang Zhuo glanced at Stringer.

Stringer had no expression, as if he had already decayed.

Fang Zhuo thought about it, and this was quite consistent with his own ideas, but Hirai Kazuo's observation and understanding of the business was more specific.

He nodded: "If you want to get out of the quagmire, you should go light. Sony's business is a bit complicated."

Hirai Kazuo continued to talk about his ideas for Sony, including the synergy of various business segments, including the shift of core areas to imaging, games and mobile directions.

He saw that his eloquent talk was exchanged for Mr. Fang's frequent nods.

The lunch time passed quickly, and before we knew it, we were chatting until after 1 p.m.

"Sir, you really didn't make a mistake." Fang Zhuo wiped his hands and praised, "No matter whether it can be implemented, your idea is very revolutionary, bold, and desperate."

Kazuo Hirai nodded with some joy. Mr. Fang is the most influential person outside Sony.

Fang Zhuo glanced at Stringer and said, "In a few days, I will communicate with the senior executives from Sony. I can't guarantee what it will be like."

This is not easy to guarantee. After all, the business that Kazuo Hirai wants to cut is what they are responsible for, such as TVs and computers... Let's see if they agree to be cut.

If they agree, I have nothing to say.

Kazuo Hirai immediately stood up and bowed to thank him: "Please, Mr. Fang!"

Fang Zhuo shook his head: "No need to thank me, it's just for the future of Sony."