At the welcome meeting for new employees of Gree Electric, Chairman Dong Mingzhu's evaluation of a former intern Meng Yutong attracted widespread attention. She criticized Meng Yutong for his lack of professionalism, his use of the company's platform to pursue his personal fame, and his failure to perform his duties, which had a negative impact on the company. Dong Mingzhu said that although Meng Yutong was selected as a secretary because of his diligent performance, he failed to meet expectations in his actual work, and he was not even competent for basic copywriting work, but instead used the Gree platform to become an Internet celebrity, which Gree could not tolerate and finally decided to dismiss him.
While discussing the incident, Dong Mingzhu conveyed her values to the younger generation. She pointed out that although Meng Yutong has a certain fan base in Gree, it does not mean success. Dong Mingzhu emphasized that money should not be the goal pursued by college students, but the result of struggle. She criticizes young people who only seek material rewards, arguing that such an attitude to life is no different from the soulless walking dead.
In this regard, there is a view that Dong Mingzhu's remarks have a certain paternal flavor, similar to a condescending way of education, which makes people feel uncomfortable. Some have even compared it to Jack Ma's attitude towards money, arguing that such remarks are misleading.
On the other hand, there are also people who believe that Dong Mingzhu's Gree leadership style needs to change. It was suggested that she should give way to younger people who were more aggressive, creative and had a deep understanding of the Internet. At the same time, for older generation leaders like Dong Mingzhu, there should be less preaching to young people and more attention to improving their treatment and welfare, such practical support is more effective than any form of verbal encouragement.