Chapter 96 – Integrating Departments
With the words of Lin Xin falling, it felt as if all his strength had been drained away. He slumped into the executive chair, his face pale and defeated.
He had struggled in Changfeng for over thirty years, pushing himself to the limit and climbing up the ladder. Finally, he managed to establish a relationship with Zhou Tongpeng and became his right-hand man, then served as the Deputy General Manager of Changfeng Group. He thought he had achieved success in his life. But little did he know, within just two short months, fate played a cruel joke on him and sent him crashing down from his position.
The higher you climb, the harder you fall. Now he understood the meaning of this phrase all too well. How could it not hurt? This was the position he believed was beyond reach, yet he obtained it. However, he hadn’t had the chance to enjoy the view from the top, nor experience the chilling desolation that comes with being in high places. He fell down just like that, leaving nothing but shattered remains and a heartache that pierced his soul.
Seeing Lin Xin in such a state, Chairman Sheng no longer cared to argue. He simply glanced at his assistant, who received the order and forwarded a personnel transfer prepared by the chairman to the HR department.
This personnel transfer had already been stamped with the seal representing the board of directors. Lin Xin, who had barely warmed his seat as the Deputy General Manager of Changfeng Group, was now being removed abruptly. It could be said that Lin Xin had the shortest tenure as Deputy General Manager in the history of Changfeng Group.
Having dealt with Lin Xin, the next issue was how to handle the mess that Lin Xin and his team had stirred up. The chairman looked towards Wei Chen and asked, “Director Wei, you must have been monitoring the performance during this period. Do you have any solutions?”
Wei Chen replied expressionlessly, “I have already contacted the responsible individuals of those automotive companies that wanted to terminate their contracts with us in advance. I assured them that Changfeng’s future development will absolutely align with what was promised during the signing. I have managed to appease them.”
The chairman’s face lit up with a smile, once again adopting his affable demeanor. The atmosphere in the entire conference room relaxed as a result.
“Very good. Being able to gain their renewed trust in Changfeng can also be considered as preserving the reputation of our company. Director Wei, whether we can have a pleasant cooperation with them in the future will depend on your marketing department!” The chairman’s words effortlessly restored Wei Chen’s authority in the marketing department.
Wei Chen nodded in agreement, without mentioning any difficulties he faced during this period. He didn’t show any signs of pride even after receiving praise from the chairman. With composure, he presented a sharp contrast to Lin Xin’s demeanor.
“This is just one aspect. Director Wei, do you have any other measures to boost performance?” the chairman asked, his eyes filled with a smile, focused on Wei Chen.
“Department integration,” Wei Chen replied without hesitation.
However, this statement was like a thunderbolt out of the blue, causing the entire conference room to erupt. Everyone ignored the chairman and started whispering and speculating about which two departments Wei Chen intended to integrate.
Zhou Tongpeng’s composed expression vanished, and he suddenly looked up, fixing his gaze on Wei Chen. He had a foreboding feeling, and his brows involuntarily furrowed. Finally, his gaze shifted to the chairman, who had a beaming smile on his face. Zhou Tongpeng suddenly realized something.
Why could Wei Chen stay away from the company for nearly two months without any issues? Even if his authority was overshadowed, Wei Chen didn’t have a reason to take a two-month leave. Zhuge Feng was not qualified to approve such a long vacation for a director; only the chairman had the authority to do so.
So Wei Chen’s two-month leave wasn’t approved by Zhuge Feng but by the chairman.
Why would the chairman agree to grant a newly hired director a two-month leave? This was a question worth pondering, but it was one that Zhou Tongpeng had overlooked.
Now, as Zhou Tongpeng recalled everything, many things began to connect in his mind, and his brows furrowed tightly.
From the beginning, the chairman wanted to make changes in the marketing and sales departments. Wei Chen’s arrival only sharpened the knife in his hand and made his strikes more accurate. Even the events that occurred in the past two months were orchestrated by the chairman, all leading up to this day!
Zhou Tongpeng became increasingly anxious as he thought about it. Over the past six months, his faction had gradually gained the upper hand. More than half of the department heads under the company belonged to his faction, including the marketing and sales departments. Among the three deputy general managers, two of them were on his side, especially after Lin Xin assumed the role of deputy general manager two months ago, all three were now from his faction.
For this reason, Zhou Tongpeng felt proud and couldn’t help but mock Zhuge Feng’s futile attempts.
In his self-satisfaction, he forgot that there was someone sitting above him, someone who appeared gentle and harmless, but once they made a move, no one could resist.
And now, he silently suffered a setback.
Zhou Tongpeng deeply felt that the overall situation had slipped away. He didn’t want to resist or fight against what would come next. Self-preservation through wisdom was his priority now.
Zhou Tongpeng was indeed Zhou Tongpeng. Just based on Wei Chen’s concise four-word strategy, he immediately grasped the interests at stake and quickly made the decision to detach himself and protect his own interests. However, how many people in the room could be as perceptive as Zhou Tongpeng? Some of them didn’t even understand what Wei Chen meant by “department integration.”
The chairman sensed Zhou Tongpeng’s gaze and smiled at him, as if asking why Zhou Tongpeng was looking at him, did he have something to say? The chairman’s innocent expression infuriated Zhou Tongpeng, making him feel like he was going to cough up blood. He quickly shifted his gaze, trying to pretend he hadn’t seen anything.
“Director Wei, do you have a specific plan for the department integration you mentioned?” the chairman redirected his gaze and looked at Wei Chen and asked.
“Yes,” Wei Chen replied, standing up and walking to the projector area with a USB flash drive in hand. He started the presentation of prepared slides.
The people in the conference room only realized at this moment that Wei Chen had come prepared!
After everything was set, Wei Chen turned his gaze toward the chairman. The chairman made a gesture of invitation and said, “Director Wei, please proceed.”
Wei Chen began playing the slides, then slowly began to speak, “I believe everyone here understands the relationship between the marketing and sales departments. Generally, the marketing department sets the overall development direction, and then the sales department is responsible for implementing it. To put it simply, it’s like the relationship between the brain and the limbs. The brain gives commands, and the limbs execute them. It’s not about determining which one is more important, but if the limbs refuse to accept the commands from the brain, how can we achieve a perfect outcome?
The marketing department is responsible for market research, grasping market trends, formulating development strategies. The formulation of each development strategy is not a decision made by our marketing department alone but a result derived by our colleagues in the marketing department from various reports and scientific data, after careful consideration.
We can’t guarantee that every development strategy is entirely correct, but we can guarantee the scientific basis behind each strategy. However, when the sales department and the marketing department are on equal footing, and their positions are equivalent, if the limbs, that is the sales department, refuse to accept the commands from the brain, chaos and recklessness ensue, and naturally, the performance will suffer.”
Wei Chen was not afraid to offend people. With a slightly cold tone, he pointed out the current issues within Changfeng Group. At this point, anyone who wasn’t a fool could understand Wei Chen’s main point from his words—to integrate the marketing and sales departments, changing their relationship from equality to a hierarchical one!
Everyone felt that Wei Chen’s tone was a bit too strong. After all, the marketing and sales departments had existed since the establishment of Changfeng Group. How could they be changed with just a few words from Wei Chen?
Everyone present thought that Wei Chen was just boasting and talking big. However, Wei Chen then presented group after group of data, throwing it in their faces. Gradually, they realized the consequences of the lack of communication between the sales and marketing departments. The expressions on their faces froze.
The slides prepared by Wei Chen were concise, but each set of data starkly reflected the problems within Changfeng Group. It was bloody, and every director present couldn’t help but wonder if the company would head towards extinction if it continued to develop in this direction.
No one knew the answer to this question, but they had already accepted Wei Chen’s proposal to integrate the departments. The sales and marketing departments would merge into one department, eliminating the position of the sales director while keeping the position of the marketing department director unchanged. The sales department would be incorporated into the marketing department.
Almost as soon as the chairman proposed this outcome, almost all the directors present raised their hands in agreement.
Furthermore, they now understood that what had happened today seemed to be Wei Chen’s suggestion, but the ultimate authority had always been in the hands of the chairman. So it wasn’t difficult to guess the chairman’s intentions. He not only supported Wei Chen’s proposal, but perhaps it was the chairman’s own idea, and Wei Chen was simply following the chairman’s lead.
When the meeting ended, many people realized that Wei Chen was not Zhuge Feng’s ally but the chairman’s ally.
It seemed that the chairman had long seen the future of Changfeng Group and orchestrated this play with Wei Chen’s cooperation. First, he had Wei Chen produce an outstanding answer sheet that others couldn’t reach, and then he handed over the power to Zhou Tongpeng’s team, letting them make mistakes and relinquish their influence. After that, everything would naturally fall into place.
Once they understood the cause and effect, when the people in the room looked at the chairman, they felt a chilling sensation from his smiling expression.
Silently and without a single drop of blood shed, he had defeated his enemies. No wonder he could occupy the chairman position for so long without anyone being able to shake his status.
The meeting ended, and everything settled.
The chairman was the first to leave the conference room. Before leaving, he called Wei Chen into his office. It was estimated that he wanted to have a deep discussion with Wei Chen about the integration of the departments.
Zhou Tongpeng saw the chairman leave and smiled bitterly as he looked at Zhuge Feng, saying, “You knew all along, didn’t you?”
Zhuge Feng smiled back, with a proud expression. “You thought Wei Chen was brought in by me, but the marketing department is your territory. Do you think anyone I brought in could become the director of the marketing department?”
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