August 18th, Thursday.

Wu Bin and Cui Geng arrived at Halo Studio to meet Ruan Guangjian.

During their previous interview with Qiao Laoshi, they had already scheduled an interview with Ruan Guangjian.

However, the compilation and summary work after the interviews was time-consuming, so the interview was delayed until today.

Wu Bin was well aware that Ruan Guangjian was one of Mr. Pei’s good friends and a long-term partner, so he would certainly have a unique interpretation of Mr. Pei.

Ruan Guangjian fell into deep thought: “My first impression of Mr. Pei…”

“Would be that he’s a rather special client.”

“How should I put it…”

“The typical clients I’ve encountered before, or seen discussed online, all have certain flaws, such as…”

“Unclear requirements, asking for ‘colorful black,’ or simply saying ‘it doesn’t feel right.’ They have no clear concept of what they want in their minds and can’t express it clearly, yet they demand you create something they can’t even imagine.”

“Changing things for the sake of change, as if they’d be failing their role as ‘client’ if they didn’t suggest something. After all the changes, they often end up using the first version anyway.”

“Completely disregarding the vendor’s actual situation, rushing deadlines whenever possible, delaying final payments whenever possible, and frequently making unreasonable demands.”

“Mr. Pei, as a client, is completely different.”

“He never imposes specific requirements or interferes with your creative process. However, he guides your creation through other means, allowing the work to integrate with his original intent at a deeper level.”

“He fully trusts vendors, gives ample time and money, and never nitpicks or demands rework. As a result, vendors become even more conscientious about making improvements because they’re well-paid and fear losing such a valuable client.”

“And in most cases, the vendor’s first version is the best because when designing this version, the designer’s inspiration is fully stimulated and their energy is at its peak. Later revisions often suffer from mental and physical fatigue and the client’s brutal interference with the design intent, making them inferior to the first version.”

“That’s why clients often say: ‘Let’s go with the first version.’ It’s usually because the first version is genuinely better.”

“This is probably the biggest difference between Mr. Pei and other clients.”

Wu Bin took notes quickly, nodding frequently.

“So, Ruan, what do you think causes this difference?”

Ruan Guangjian thought carefully and answered: “I think the main reason lies in the philosophy.”

“Why do clients make vendors revise repeatedly? I believe the biggest issue is that there’s a natural conflict of interest between the two parties. The foundation of mutual trust is severely damaged, so most clients and vendors see their cooperation as a zero-sum game.”

“Some irresponsible vendors think they can get away with deception, first presenting a subpar proposal to the client. If the client doesn’t object, they’ve easily earned the money with minimal effort; if the client requests revisions, the vendor makes the changes, which is still easier than being serious from the start.”

“Such behavior destroys the client’s trust in vendors. Many clients believe all vendors are irresponsible and assume the first proposal will be garbage. So they insist on multiple revisions and numerous alternative proposals before selecting the most satisfactory one, feeling they’ve gotten their money’s worth.”

“Moreover, clients are the paying party and naturally hold a stronger position. The personnel responsible for requirement coordination, to demonstrate their work results, will continue to propose more modification requests. If a proposal is approved on the first attempt, it may seem like they’ve neglected their duties, so they must find faults.”

“If there are several layers of personnel in the coordinating department, each layer will want to assert their presence, which becomes a disaster for the vendor.”

“So, ultimately, it’s because both client and vendor treat the cooperation as a zero-sum game: clients feel cheated if they accept the vendor’s first version; vendors feel cheated if they give their best proposal in the first version.”

“Both sides hold back, eventually entering a vicious cycle—the more clients demand revisions, the less serious vendors are about their first version; the less serious vendors are about their first version, the more clients demand revisions.”

“Over time, it evolves into the current situation.”

“Mr. Pei can be a special client because he doesn’t treat cooperation as a zero-sum game, but rather as a win-win situation. At the philosophical level, he breaks the chain of this vicious cycle!”

“As a client, Mr. Pei first shows sufficient sincerity: offering prices far higher than industry standards, fully respecting the vendor’s professional expertise, working to integrate his ideas with the vendor’s, and allowing vendors to fully realize their potential.”

“As a result, vendors produce work far exceeding ordinary standards, which, combined with Mr. Pei’s ideas, leads to wildly successful products.”

“Not only are Mr. Pei’s projects hugely successful, but vendors also gain tremendous attention and recognition due to the project’s popularity.”

“This establishes a virtuous cycle where client and vendor trust each other and both put maximum effort into perfecting every project detail.”

“Clients can offer high prices without worrying about being deceived; vendors can fully unleash their creativity without worrying about micromanagement or repeated revisions.”

“Once established, this virtuous cycle becomes unbreakable and ultimately benefits both client and vendor.”

“This is where Mr. Pei excels as a client. He not only provides vendors with generous economic benefits but also gives them complete trust and personal care. I’ve deeply experienced this.”

Wu Bin nodded frequently, feeling greatly inspired.

Indeed, everyone had witnessed Mr. Pei’s care for Ruan.

Whether establishing the “Tenda Standard” to increase prices for vendor products, helping Halo Studio overcome difficulties after relocating to Jingzhou, or building the Shudder Inn to satisfy Ruan’s preferences, all demonstrated Mr. Pei’s care for his friends and partners.

Wu Bin suddenly had a flash of insight: “In that case, it seems Mr. Pei has a similar relationship with his employees!”

“Other company bosses view their relationship with employees as a zero-sum game. They believe that exploiting employees more reduces their costs and increases profits.”

“Employees, in turn, distrust their bosses, feeling exploited, and spend work hours slacking off or looking for new jobs.”

“Mr. Pei breaks this vicious cycle by ‘showing sincerity first,’ reestablishing mutual trust with employees!”

“That’s why this miraculous phenomenon occurs: a company on the brink of collapse with unmotivated employees just waiting for payday is revitalized under Mr. Pei’s management. Every employee begins to work diligently, striving to create value for the company!”

“I originally thought it was some mystical ‘Tenda Spirit’ at work, but now I see that Mr. Pei’s efforts to build mutual trust with employees are also a crucial factor!”

Ruan Guangjian nodded: “Yes, I agree with this view.”

“This also shows that Mr. Pei has never treated employees as his personal property or as livestock to be driven at will, unlike other bosses.”

“Logically, an employee’s position should be lower than a vendor’s. Vendors are often companies with stronger bargaining power, while employees are individuals who find it harder to refuse the boss’s demands.”

“This often forms a chain of oppression: clients oppress vendors, and vendors oppress their employees. This chain remains under high pressure and can collapse at any moment if not carefully maintained.”

“Consequently, many outsourcing companies lose large numbers of bottom-tier employees annually due to unbearable oppression, and must hire inexperienced newcomers to fill the gaps. Without talent accumulation, output becomes even less satisfactory to clients, leading to greater oppression.”

“But Mr. Pei is completely different. He treats employees as collaborators, just like vendors. Employees receive rewards proportional to their efforts. Under this incentive model, most people’s potential is unleashed because their efforts don’t lead to exploitation but rather to advancement in their careers.”

Wu Bin was excited, feeling that today’s interview was tremendously rewarding!

As a member of the Human Resources department who had come to Tenda from another company, Wu Bin felt the difference between Tenda and other companies.

But how exactly was this difference formed?

Wu Bin had never found a particularly accurate answer.

The Tenda Spirit was indeed one explanation, but it seemed more like a summary or categorization rather than a cause.

Now, the cause had been found.

It was Mr. Pei’s philosophy that broke the vicious cycle of the zero-sum game, establishing a mutually beneficial, win-win community of interests between company and employees, clients and vendors!

The interests of the company, employees, and consumers were unified, making everything seem so harmonious and smooth.

It sounded simple, but upon careful analysis, Wu Bin realized that only someone with extraordinary courage and perseverance could achieve this!

To break this chain, the benefits Mr. Pei had conceded were enormous, perhaps beyond the imagination of all employees.

With such massive concessions, Mr. Pei’s wealth as Tenda’s owner might be less than that of some exploitative sweatshop bosses.

But clearly, Mr. Pei cared about more long-term benefits.

Perhaps the bosses of other exploitative companies had wealth far exceeding Mr. Pei’s, but their companies would be defeated and utterly crushed when competing with Tenda.

Mr. Pei had given up an enormous amount of personal benefit. Only this approach could create a rapidly developing business empire like Tenda in just two years, maintaining extremely rapid growth and making tremendous progress!

Wu Bin stood up and shook hands with Ruan Guangjian: “Thank you! Ruan, your words have deeply inspired me!”

“I believe all the materials needed for the annotation of the Tenda Spirit have now been collected!”

“Next, I will seclude myself to deeply analyze the relationship between these materials and the Tenda Spirit, striving to annotate the Tenda Spirit and analyze the most comprehensive, most authentic Mr. Pei!”

Ruan Guangjian was also pleased: “You’re welcome; it’s all part of my job. But… when the book is written, could you send me a copy?”

Wu Bin nodded: “Of course, no problem!”