The lively event that had lasted all night finally concluded at 12 AM, with Los Gatos Media announcing the end of the activities and the commencement of clean-up work, aiming to return Times Square to everyone by morning.
Despite tens of thousands of tourists remaining, they all cooperated and departed the square after enjoying free food, drinks, and entertainment. Simultaneously, the tin walls surrounding the square were re-erected, and the interior of the square returned to its original state.
However, all the employees did not leave. They remained in their costumes, gathered at the center of the stage, and watched as a man with a microphone walked onto it.
A beautiful woman stood beside him, translating his words into English. It was clear the man speaking was Huang He, and the woman translating was Hu Jing.
Upon seeing the two of them appear, the staff at Times Square seemed to remember that this was, in fact, their company's opening celebration, which had somehow turned into a party for all the people of New York.
After Mr. Huang began his speech, he first expressed his self-reproach. He had initially intended to give all his employees a spectacular opening ceremony, one that would be unforgettable and something they could boast about to their children for a lifetime.
Unfortunately, he had overlooked many things, leading the group to become the target of public criticism. This forced him to temporarily change the opening celebration into an open carnival for all tourists, also causing all his employees to work diligently for a night without enjoying their own happy time.
Therefore, Mr. Huang announced that for the next two hours, employees could celebrate freely, and the company would provide each employee with a subsidy equivalent to three months' salary per month.
As soon as this decision was announced, all the grievances and dissatisfaction felt by the employees vanished without a trace, and they began praising Mr. Huang as the greatest president in the world.
After Mr. Huang's speech, there was a period for free communication. Huang He stated that all employees could come on stage and ask him their first question regarding the company's development and their personal future prospects, and he would do his utmost to answer.
This process was mostly joyous, with employees posing various questions. Initially, they were about the company and work, but later they shifted to gossip about the boss, all of which Mr. Huang answered as best he could.
Until one employee came onto the stage, took the microphone, and asked, "Mr. Chairman, why can't you communicate with us in English? Having a translator in between like this makes our communication very unnatural!"
Upon hearing this, Hu Jing's expression changed slightly, and she truthfully translated the question.
"Heh heh!" Huang He chuckled and said, "My talent for languages is poor; I can't learn English!"
"I think English is very easy to learn. We at Los Gatos Media are an American-based company. Therefore, Mr. Chairman, you should master English, or you might encounter various situations that you cannot handle. For instance, at critical moments, if your translator is not around, or if the translator intentionally deceives you, it could have a very serious impact on you!" the employee continued.
"What you're saying makes sense, but you're mistaken on one point: Los Gatos Group is not an American-based company, but a world-based enterprise. In the future, our group's business will span all countries of the world, allowing people in every country to see our film and television content. You can't expect me to learn every country's language, can you!" Mr. Huang said with a smile.
"That's true, there's no need for that. However, America is the greatest country in the world, and English is the most widely used language globally. As an international enterprise, I believe the leaders of our company should also be proficient in English. This is also a form of respect for all our employees!" the employee stated.
The atmosphere in the venue suddenly became somewhat awkward. Everyone looked at the employee on stage who was directly confronting Huang He with astonishment, thinking how daring this fellow was. Then they looked at Huang He, wondering how their chairman would respond to such a question.
However, to everyone's regret, Huang He did not answer the question. Instead, he simply said in Chinese, "The event is over. Everyone can go home at 2 PM. The entire venue needs to be cleared within four hours!"
With that, Mr. Huang left the event site and disappeared without a trace. The employee who had asked the question, unaware of the trouble he had caused, still wore a faint smile, as if he were a hero championing the people.
"You're finished! Aren't you worried the Chairman will fire you tomorrow?" a friend approached him, looking concerned.
"No, Huang He won't fire me tomorrow. He might even praise me!" the employee said smugly.
"Why?" his friend asked, confused.
"This is a short story from China that I read!" the employee said with a smile. "It tells of an emperor named Li Shimin in China who had a minister who loved to offer him advice. Once, he even accidentally killed the emperor's beloved bird. However, every time this minister offered advice, his official rank was promoted by one level, and he eventually became the prime minister of the entire country!"
"Furthermore, this minister became a famous figure sung about throughout China! Since our Chairman is so intelligent and formidable, he will surely praise me for offering advice, just like that emperor!" the employee declared proudly. "I graduated from Harvard Business School, so I know that an excellent boss must always maintain an image of fairness and wisdom!"
"By offering him advice in front of all the company's employees, especially advice beneficial to the boss's management of the company, the boss, to showcase his charisma, will surely pay extra attention to me and promote me with a raise. Even if I embarrass him this time, the more so, the more he will have to promote me to appear more charismatic!"
"Conversely, if he fires me tomorrow, it means he is petty, which will cause all employees to look down on him. It will also block employees from offering suggestions, and no one will dare to offer advice to senior management in the future, which is very detrimental to the entire company's development. Therefore, if Huang He is a wise chairman, he will definitely reward me!"
"I see. As expected of a graduate from a prestigious school, you're so professional!" his friend exclaimed, giving him a thumbs-up and thinking the employee made a lot of sense. He felt he had always underestimated him.
He also thought that the business and workplace were truly profound; he couldn't comprehend their intricacies!
"This is called applying knowledge flexibly!" the bright graduate said proudly.
However, just two minutes later, Little John walked up to the employee and directly informed him that he had been fired from the company.
"How could you do this!" the bright graduate from Harvard Business School was completely stunned. He said agitatedly, "The Chairman hasn't even spoken, so how can you fire me!"
"Chairman has a magnanimous spirit and won't stoop to your level. But I am petty. You are an employee of our program department, and as the deputy head of the program department, I have the authority to make any decisions regarding my subordinates! I believe firing you will please the Chairman, so you should leave immediately!"
"Well, you are an intern at the company, so there are no formalities to complete. Tomorrow, I will have someone deliver your belongings directly to the company reception. You don't even need to enter the company; just take your things and leave!" Little John said crisply. The despairing Harvard Business School graduate was completely dumbfounded.
"How could this happen!" the man wailed.
"The boss might need a glorious and charismatic persona, but your direct leader doesn't!" the employee uttered a profound statement!
He had achieved enlightenment!
As a result, the story spread throughout the company the next day. However, the group as a whole did not create any stir because of the dismissal of the employee who dared to offer suggestions. It was only natural that someone who did something so foolish and lacked social graces would be fired; it was a normal occurrence, and there was no cause for dissatisfaction.
When the company had purged employees from the Hastings faction on a large scale before, no one had complained. Now, getting rid of a mere intern was insignificant!
However, this incident provided Little John with a new inspiration. He found Randolph and Donald and proposed his suggestion: to launch a campaign within the company to learn Chinese!
Little John stated that the incident that night was very shameful. The communication problems between the Chairman and employees due to language differences were indeed a very serious issue, but the solution should not be for the boss to adapt to the employees.
All employees were hired by the boss with money. How could it be the other way around, with the boss adapting to the employees? Therefore, there was only one solution: to immediately implement a policy of collective Chinese learning within the company, encouraging all employees to learn Chinese and striving to achieve proficiency in written Chinese for the entire company within a year, and spoken Chinese within three years.
Furthermore, for newly recruited employees, there should be a dedicated option for Chinese proficiency, prioritizing students who can skillfully master the Chinese language.
This suggestion completely bewildered Randolph and Donald. They cast a disdainful glance at Little John and directly stated that such a suggestion was completely unfeasible. It would greatly interfere with the employees' daily work and would also provoke intense resistance from the employees, causing significant disruption to the company. Therefore, it was better to abandon such unrealistic ideas and simply find a translator!
In response, Little John said that their consciences were deeply flawed. Even if he were alone, he would still submit this crucial suggestion to the boss!
Actually, Little John was just saying that. He never truly intended to implement a company-wide Chinese learning plan, as it would have a profound impact on the entire organization.
His sole purpose was to propose such a suggestion to let Huang He know of his unwavering loyalty, thereby achieving his objective. This was the true essence of office politics.
It was just that Little John did not expect that this news, while not causing a stir within Los Gatos Group, would reach the ears of another person!