The more Meng Chang reasoned, the more sense it made to him!
First, he could be certain of one thing: this was definitely not a simple charity activity.
Because the content of this activity had already been planned very clearly and specifically, if it were purely charitable, they could just implement it directly. Even if they wanted some good publicity, they would just spend more money on promotion. There wasn’t much technical complexity in that, and it wouldn’t require employing Meng Chang’s skills.
But Mr. Pei had proposed additional requirements on this basis, which indicated that Mr. Pei definitely had some deeper meaning in mind!
Mr. Pei had also specifically emphasized that this deeper meaning wasn’t about making money.
So it must be for a more grand, long-term, positive goal.
Combined with an in-depth analysis of the business domain, Meng Chang gradually reconstructed the ultimate effect that Mr. Pei wanted to achieve.
“In other words, Mr. Pei feels that for Tenda to do charity alone is ultimately too thin and inefficient.”
“I’ve heard that Tenda has been persistently doing charity work before, but it hasn’t generated much attention. Although it’s been somewhat effective, with Mr. Pei’s personality, he definitely wouldn’t be satisfied.”
“It’s not that Mr. Pei craves this empty fame; it’s mainly that Mr. Pei can’t accept such low efficiency. At this rate of development, when would charitable work be able to spread across the country?”
“So this charity activity should be considered a bold attempt by Mr. Pei.”
“Although charity is a good thing, it also needs to be efficient. To put it more seriously, inefficient charity can be seen as a waste of resources.”
“For example, giving a high-quality dairy cow to an ordinary impoverished household with the intention of helping them become self-sufficient dairy farmers, but a few days later finding that they’ve already slaughtered the cow for meat. This is inefficient charity that not only fails to achieve the goal of helping the poor but also wastes resources.”
“Of course, we can’t blame some poor households for being short-sighted. As the saying goes, ‘poverty shortens ambition.’ Poverty often limits people’s horizons, making them narrow-minded and blind, which is why they easily do things like ‘burning a qin to cook a crane’ [destroying something valuable for a short-term gain].”
“In many cases, the initiator of an activity must establish reasonable and comprehensive rules. Just like in games, designers must balance between rules and freedom. If freedom is emphasized without rules, the game will certainly become very chaotic.”
“Mr. Pei is a game designer, so he’s certainly very clear about this principle.”
“The more seriously you want to do charity, the more you need to focus on the effectiveness of charity.”
“If so-called charity is just going to impoverished areas to scatter bundles of cash and then spreading staged photos all over the internet, then it’s meaningless.”
“Although this in itself is indeed a form of charity and is certainly more meaningful than not donating a single cent, such behavior is ultimately for oneself. Whether it’s for reputation or to satisfy one’s own compassion, the primary purpose is not to genuinely do charity or alleviate poverty.”
“True charity should maximize efficiency; only then will limited charitable resources not be wasted.”
“Only by efficiently utilizing charitable resources can it be sustainable, continuously expanding the scope of charity to benefit more people. Therefore, the method and approach matter!”
“So what kind of plan does Mr. Pei want me to create specifically?”
“Hmm… First, it would be best to get many companies and individuals actively involved. To achieve this, they must be given some benefits beyond economic gain to fully mobilize their enthusiasm.”
“After all, not every company puts social responsibility first like Tenda. For many companies, survival is still a pressing issue to be resolved.”
“Second, the promotional effect of this project must be good in the impoverished rural areas it covers, but poor on the internet and in unrelated fields. That is to say, it should focus on doing real work rather than seeking empty fame.”
At this point, Meng Chang suddenly felt enlightened.
Got it, completely understood!
It must be said, Mr. Pei is truly Mr. Pei. He not only stands out in business but can also pioneer new paths in charity!
A very interesting point is that while Mr. Pei emphasizes social benefits in business—a win-win for manufacturers and consumers—when it comes to charity, he emphasizes incorporating certain business attributes, using business thinking to make charitable efforts as efficient as possible.
This focus is very thought-provoking.
This is completely different from some people saying “business is the best form of charity.”
If we were to nitpick the words, there’s nothing inherently wrong with the statement “business is the best form of charity,” because business can promote economic development and drive employment. With employment opportunities, people’s incomes increase, and they naturally consume more, building a positive cycle in a region.
When a region’s economy develops due to business, the living standards of people in the region naturally improve, thus achieving the goal of poverty alleviation. It could be said that business and charity achieve the same result through different paths.
But the problem is that we can’t just look at what someone says; we must also look at what they do.
If someone says “business is the best form of charity,” draping their profit-making in the sacred cloak of “charity,” one-sidedly emphasizing and exaggerating the positive impact of enterprises in promoting regional economic development, while extending their money-making hands into ordinary people’s grocery baskets and young people’s loan interest, not directly creating value but profiting through platform monopolies and promoting consumerism, never mentioning the harmful things enterprises do that destabilize society and distort young people’s values, along with the adverse effects this brings—no matter how noble their words sound, it’s still difficult for people to be convinced.
But what Mr. Pei is doing now is clearly completely different.
For some enterprises, charity is a facade, and business is the goal; but for Mr. Pei, business is the means, and charity is the goal.
The two behaviors may seem somewhat similar on the surface, but in nature, they are worlds apart.
After understanding this point, Meng Chang also had a general idea of how to create this plan.
He returned to the advertising and marketing department and immediately began formulating the plan.
“This charity activity will still focus on the content arranged by Mr. Pei, which is providing supplies like meat, eggs, and milk to primary school students in impoverished areas. On one hand, this ensures the nutrition they need for growth and development; on the other hand, it also helps maintain their parents’ support, reducing the possibility of these children dropping out of school.”
“However, on this basis, we need to solicit funds from the outside world in a targeted manner, allowing more enterprises or individuals to participate in this activity. Through Tenda’s role as a link, these funds can be better utilized.”
“So we need to establish a charitable organization or a public welfare organization. This shouldn’t be difficult; Tenda has a special status in Jingzhou, and since we’re doing good deeds, it should be easy to get approval.”
“Any company or individual who contributes to join this charitable or public welfare organization must have certain benefits, which is what Mr. Pei meant by having a bit of business rules in it. Otherwise, pure charity would struggle to achieve higher economic efficiency.”
“For example, enterprises participating in this charity activity, on the basis of having good quality and reliable brands, could develop deep cooperation with Tenda?”
“Individuals participating in this charity activity could receive some additional preferential treatment when purchasing Tenda products or using Tenda services?”
“There might be many types of charity projects, and we could introduce some competition to improve quality and efficiency internally?”
“In the future, we could even consider poverty alleviation through product promotion? Finding markets for some high-quality agricultural products from impoverished mountainous areas?”
“Hmm, these details still need to be finalized, and we need to think of a more appropriate name. After that, we can present it to Mr. Pei.”
“When the time comes, I’ll definitely be the first to contribute money to support this charity activity! Of course, I can’t donate all of it; I’ll definitely need to keep some money to continue making more money.”
“As long as I continuously use the money I earn for charity, Mr. Pei shouldn’t pursue the matter. After all, although what I’ve earned is ill-gotten wealth, it hasn’t affected ordinary people. It’s all earned from big companies and gambling addicts. Though it’s not very honorable, using it for charity should be fine, right?”
“Perfect!”
Meng Chang found his direction of struggle once again and began seriously working on the plan.