As a senior self-leading writer, I deeply studied the report of ByteDance's 2024 annual all-staff meeting, and gave an in-depth interpretation of CEO Liang Rubo's speech. At this all-hands meeting, Liang Rubo made it clear that ByteDance is facing a huge crisis - the organization is becoming mediocre and unable to break through the existing bottlenecks.
Liang Rubo emphasized the key words in the sharing: "always start a business, escape the gravity of mediocrity", expressing his expectations for the company's future. This is not only an incentive for the team, but also an appeal to themselves to always maintain innovation and vitality in the market competition. He admits that the company expanded rapidly between 2019 and 2021, but now faces the problem of some people's feedback, that is, "all the diseases of the big companies that should be".
This kind of candor and sense of crisis made me deeply feel the CEO's concern for the company's development. This is not only an encouragement to employees, but also a responsibility for themselves. Liang's concern about the company's mediocrity reminds me of the dilemma that many successful companies face after rapid expansion. After the bonus period, problems gradually emerged, and the rapid growth masked many internal problems, which is also the inevitable growth pain of many companies.
On social **, in response to Liang Rubo's speech, some people said that "the problem is big", thinking that the company has shown signs of illness. Others argue that this is a problem that large companies will inevitably face, after all, it is not easy to navigate such a large organization. In this regard, I personally believe that Liang Rubo's frankness and the annual goal of strengthening the sense of crisis are a positive attitude. He did not shy away from problems, but dared to face them, which is a rare quality in leadership.
Liang Rubo's "strengthening the sense of crisis" also aroused my thinking. Behind the rapid development, whether the company pays enough attention to internal problems and whether it is always vigilant is a question that every enterprise needs to think about. In my opinion, strengthening the sense of crisis is not the same as being overly cautious, but rather being sensitive to the unknown and the ability to cope. As it is good to have money, "it is a matter of time before something feels like something is wrong", and it is important for businesses to be vigilant at all times.
Some comments on social ** expressed their understanding and support for Liang Rubo's frank statement. Some people see it as a sincere expression of confronting the company's problems head-on. There is also a warning against struggling with "non-mediocrity" as a KPI, which makes me feel that some leaders may be pursuing superficial prosperity while ignoring the real problem.
Liang Rubo's review of the company's rapid expansion reminds me of the time when many Internet companies were in the limelight. The number of employees has grown from more than 10,000 to more than 100,000, which is an impressive growth. However, with the expansion, internal management problems gradually emerged. I believe that the company should continue to innovate in the competition, not only to pursue scale, but also to pay attention to the construction of internal culture and management mechanism.
Overall, the report of this all-hands meeting reveals the challenges and sense of crisis that ByteDance will face in 2024. Liang Rubo's honesty and expectations for the future of the company made me think more deeply about the development of this industry. Every successful company needs to go through the pain of growth, and the key is how to solve problems with a positive attitude and maintain the vitality of innovation. Hopefully, in the near future, we will see ByteDance overcome its difficulties and achieve new breakthroughs.