Chapter 7 — The Creator Cannot Be Erased

5. The old strategy... takes on a new name On the seventy-sixth day since Zhou Kaiming joined the company... He held the first strategy announcement. Meeting notices are sent out three days in advance. The meeting name is:

"Tung Quang's second growth plan."

All leaders of business units were present. Teams at branches attended online. The brand department also invited a filming crew and set up three cameras at the back of the meeting room. I sat in the front row, close to the side. Chu Khai Minh stood in front of the screen, not reading from the script. In the first ten minutes, he analyzed the common difficulties of the hardware manufacturing industry. One time sale. Low return customer rate. The relationship with the user ends almost immediately after delivery. Then he moves on to the next slide.

"Over the next three years, Trung Quang will not just sell equipment. We will build a sustainable revenue stream through connecting equipment to the network, providing subscription consumables, maintenance services and spatial data."

A circular diagram appears on the screen. Selling equipment. Cloud-based management. Consumable materials service. Spatial data. Service extension. In the middle is a completely new name. LightOS – Growth Loop. I stared at that diagram. For several seconds there was no movement. Thieu Lam sat behind me and gently touched the back of my chair. Three years ago... I also did an almost identical plan. At that time, the profits of household appliances were decreasing. Costs for redistribution channels continuously increase. I propose to include the device connection rate to the online platform in the performance evaluation system. Then use consumables, replacement parts and extended warranties to create long-term revenue streams. The internal name of the project is very simple.

"Plan to digitize devices and subscription services."

To convince the Board of Directors... It took me and the whole team four months. We calculated twelve different fee models. User survey in six cities. Also directly worked with two cloud service providers to negotiate connection costs. In the end... Chu Dinh Son reasoned that the investment was too large and the short-term effectiveness was unclear, so he decided to temporarily shelve the project. He once said verbatim:

"Before listing, focus on turning revenue into real numbers. Don't tell stories too far."

Yet today... That same plan, just changed to an English name, appeared in Zhou Kaiming's strategy announcement. Even the sentence...

"Equipment is just the door, service is the thread that connects customers."

It's almost identical to the words in the proposal I wrote three years ago. Chu Khai Minh's presentation was excellent. He boils down the entire, very complex implementation process into four stages. At the same time, add metrics that the capital market loves such as renewal rate and customer lifetime value. Below the stage... Someone took pictures. Someone took notes. The head of the brand department kept nodding. Towards the end of the speech... He mentioned me.

"Of course, LightOS would not be possible without the supply chain, distribution and product foundation that the company has built. System The operation built by General Director Trinh over many years is a solid foundation for the new strategy."

The entire auditorium echoed with applause. I also raised my hand... Clap twice. The announcement ended. Everyone immediately surrounded Chu Khai Minh. Unit heads asked about the pilot budget. The brand department discusses when to announce it to the outside world. The President's office staff reminded him that he had an exclusive interview with the media that afternoon. No one asked... Where did the idea of this strategy come from? Thieu Lam followed me into the office. She closed the door. Then he opened his phone and showed me an old photo. It was a photo of a whiteboard in a conference room from three years ago. The year of the module is clearly written on it. Even the direction of each arrow... It's exactly the same as the diagram that just appeared on stage.

"General Director Trinh..."

"This is our plan."

"I know."

"Has he seen old documents?"

"It's all saved on the company's server."

"So why didn't you say?"

I returned the pens on the table to their original positions. Three black signature pens. A green tree. A red pen specifically used to mark contracts. The tip of the pen is all facing the same direction. That's the habit I always keep before every meeting.

"Now the project can be restarted..."

"It's also a good thing."

Thieu Lam still stood still.

"But just now..."

"Everyone thought this was his idea."

"Who proposed..."

"Does not affect the project being implemented."

"Why can't it have an impact?"

She lowered her voice.

"This isn't the first time."

"The company website has been edited."

"The interview was also edited."

"Now even the plan that took me and everyone four months to complete has become his merit."

"If this continues..."

"Who in this company knows what you used to do?"

I picked up the contract with the supplier waiting to be signed. Then softly said:

"Thieu Lam..."

"As long as the company grows, it's okay."

When I say that sentence... Even I find it very familiar. During the past nine years, every time someone complained on my behalf... I answered the same way. Just need the company to grow. Just need the project to be implemented successfully.