104: Chapter 104, etc., how did he succeed?

At Apple headquarters, it was time for the semi-annual report meeting once again.

Although Steve Jobs had already stepped back to the second line, this founder's desire for control over the company had become exceptionally high after experiencing betrayal.

If he hadn't been given a death sentence previously, he wouldn't have given up the CEO position.

Now that he had recovered his health, he decided to retake control of the company.

The first step he needed to take was to start with the company's finances and products.

The Chief Financial Officer introduced: "This quarter, iPhone sales grew by 18% year-on-year, meeting expectations; iPad sales fell short of expectations; and among all businesses, the third-party accessories track showed abnormal growth."

Steve Jobs frowned and asked, "I don't remember having any plans for third-party accessories."

Far from being joyful, Steve Jobs instead felt a sense of crisis.

Someone was making moves right under his nose!

This was not a good omen; it had to be nipped in the bud!

The CFO reported: "It's the power bank category, which was personally spearheaded and approved by you."

"At the beginning, many people were opposed to it, but your foresight has once again proven that we were wrong."

"DYB took 78% of the global market share in just 6 months, with a market share in North America exceeding 85%. Net profit for a single quarter was 2.6 billion USD, and the growth rate is still rising."

Steve Jobs momentarily doubted if he had heard correctly.

DYB... why hadn't he heard of this brand?

However, seeing everyone looking at him with eyes full of worship, Steve Jobs could only suppress his curiosity, signaled for the other party to continue, and gave instructions:

"Elaborate on that; I need to know all the details."

No one doubted him; after all, Steve Jobs had always been a strong-willed person who didn't like to follow the usual script.

The Chief Operating Officer was well-prepared for this.

"Mr. Jobs must want us to learn from this successful experience. Fortunately, I prepared in advance."

The COO spoke confidently: "Initially, following your instructions, Mr. Jobs, we only promoted it in offline stores."

"Through frontline staff promotion and feedback, we timely collected customer information and suggestions, then fed them back to the supplier for them to make improvements and rapid iterative updates."

"We launched a series of power banks that meet the needs of different target groups."

The COO became more excited as he spoke: "The best part is that this supplier's response speed is incredibly fast. Any requirement we propose, they can complete a finished product iteration in at most three days!"

"It's just that when coordinating, it always feels like they don't treat this business as their main focus at all; they never take the initiative to contact us."

Steve Jobs finally realized what happened. Half a year ago, he had casually agreed to let Fu Haoran's products enter the offline stores. At that time, he just wanted to brush the man off. Who would have thought his subordinates took his words as an imperial decree!

They actually invested manpower and resources!

This was fundamentally contrary to his original intention!

Yet, Steve Jobs couldn't show his annoyance because everyone viewed him as a 'god' and would execute his orders blindly.

If he negated this effort, what would the subordinates think?

Steve Jobs could only force a smile and cast an appreciative glance.

The COO, receiving affirmation, introduced even more vigorously:

"With our joint efforts, the current product line includes mobile phone battery cases, outdoor backpack power banks, household emergency models, and the hit AirDesk office table."

"Wait, tell me why they became hits, and... what's the deal with that office table?" Steve Jobs barely restrained the veins on his forehead from popping.

The COO said apologetically, "That's my mistake. I'll talk about the AirDesk first. This product has built-in wireless charging and a transparent smart screen that can monitor user activity and provide feedback."

"This AirDesk is not just a feature-rich office table; it also incorporates many innovative technologies."

"The most eye-catching feature is its tracking wireless charging function. This function allows the induction coil to intelligently identify and automatically find devices placed on the desktop that need charging, achieving an efficient and convenient charging experience."

"Furthermore, when one device is fully charged, the AirDesk can automatically switch to the next device that needs charging, ensuring a continuous power supply."

"Most importantly, the smart desktop can connect to and control all our smart devices, and it can even perform projections."

"Of course, I personally feel the most successful part is that it integrates smart speakers into it, achieving voice control and filling our shortcomings."

"Now, major financial and technology companies are using this kind of smart office desk, and Wall Street is a loyal user of ours."

"According to their feedback, our smart desk is no less than an intern secretary."

Steve Jobs waved his hand and said, "Tell me about the other situations. Why are the power banks... selling so well?"

Everyone felt a surge of respect. The founder who opened up a new track actually had no interest in the new product.

But it was normal when you thought about it; the AirDesk was expensive and destined to be a niche product.

Although power banks had a low unit price, they were electronic fast-moving consumer goods with huge demand.

As expected of the Great Master Jobs, his insight is unique! Why didn't we think of that?

The COO dared not delay and hurriedly introduced: "The success of the power banks stems from the fact that our iPhone battery life cannot compensate for daily use and does not support fast charging. The power banks fill these pain points."

"So, nowadays, power banks have become an essential item for our Apple fans."

Steve Jobs had a severe headache; he felt like he had shot himself in the foot.

"Then why don't we make large-capacity batteries? Why not use fast charging?" Steve Jobs asked with a grim face.

"This..."

Everyone looked at each other, unable to answer.

According to normal logic, shouldn't you fix whatever is lacking?

If a product has defects, just fix them.

The conference room fell into a dead silence; no one dared to speak up.

"I know, sir."

Everyone looked over together and found that the person speaking was CEO Cook.

Cook answered confidently: "You said that Apple fans are meant to be educated; you don't just give users whatever they want."

"The iPhone's thin design and the feel of the unibody casing are always more important than battery life."

"What users need to do is adapt to Apple, not have Apple adapt to them."

"Of course, only where there is demand is there a market. With insufficient battery life, consumers are willing to spend more money..."

Cook talked grandiosely, and everyone suddenly realized.

Right, why didn't we think of that?

Finally, Steve Jobs interrupted Cook's flow of speech: "Alright, everyone else out. Cook, stay behind."

No one thought much of it; after all, Cook was the successor personally chosen by Steve Jobs.

After everyone left, Steve Jobs could no longer suppress his anger and ordered:

"Immediately! Remove all DYB products from the shelves! Clear them out of the Apple stores!"

"This..." Although Cook didn't know why Jobs was so angry, he still told the truth, "I'm sorry, sir, I'm afraid that's impossible."

"What?!" Besides anger, Steve Jobs felt even more fear.

Had the successor he handpicked himself grown wings and stopped listening to his commands?!

Cook hurriedly explained: "Sir, not long ago, our President used a DYB power bank during a press conference."

"And he publicly praised it as the pride of American manufacturing, suggesting that everyone should have one."

"If we remove the products now, we'd be slapping the President in the face. The President will certainly think we are going against him."

"Secondly, DYB does not rely on our channels now. Amazon and Walmart supermarkets all carry their products; they don't lack channels at all."

"Consumers only recognize their brand. Removing them from our shelves won't affect them at all."

"In addition..." Cook said hesitantly, "The board of directors is very dissatisfied that we didn't allow DYB to use our brand as an OEM. They are requesting to talk to DYB about an exclusive manufacturing partnership and even want to acquire their battery technology."

After Cook finished speaking, he quietly peeked at Steve Jobs' expression and added silently in his heart: This time, you've really kicked a steel plate.

Steve Jobs slumped back into his chair, and the words he had said half a year ago flashed through his mind—the industry ceiling is very low...

Now he only felt like his face had been slapped hard, burning intensely.

What was even more disgusting was that he couldn't even find a reason to take them off the shelves.

There was no branding, no breach of contract, and no quality issues. They had completely relied on their own ability to become a bestseller.

The little 'favor' he had casually given back then had now become a knife stabbing into his own heart.

The disgusting feeling of digging a pit for himself and then having to jump into it while holding his nose rushed to his head.

"Then find a supplier to replace them!" Steve Jobs was furious.

"We've considered it..." Cook said, bracing himself, "We've searched Samsung, Panasonic, and LG. Not a single manufacturer in the world can match DYB's energy density and safety."

"And they don't lack customers at all. Samsung, Motorola, and even the military are seeking partnerships with them. They don't care about our orders at all."

Steve Jobs remained silent for a full minute, finally waving his hand: "You go out too. I want to be alone."

Soon, he was the only one left in the conference room.

He crumpled the financial report in his hand into a ball, smoothed it out, crumpled it again, and finally smashed it hard against the wall.

Finally, he dialed Cook's phone and said through gritted teeth: "Agree to the manufacturing partnership with DYB. The condition is that we must get priority supply rights."

Hanging up the phone, Steve Jobs looked out the window at Silicon Valley and suddenly smiled, but the smile looked worse than crying.

When he had painted a grand vision for Fu Haoran back then, he wanted to see the other party fall into a pit.

Now he realized that he was the one in the pit, the kind he couldn't even climb out of.

He suddenly grabbed the phone on the desk and roared furiously into the receiver: "Investigate! Investigate DYB's background thoroughly! Where did the technology come from!"

...

At San Francisco Airport, Tom rushed out dragging his suitcase, jumped into a rented pickup truck, and floored the gas pedal.

He was an analyst who had just joined Goldman Sachs. In his three months there, he hadn't touched any big projects.

This time, Wall Street was going crazy trying to investigate DYB's background. The old-timers all thought this unknown brand had no financing plans, no intention of going public, and no institutional backing. Fearing a waste of time, this drudgery fell onto him.

Tom didn't mind this; he himself was a loyal user of DYB.

He had two DYB battery cases in his backpack. When traveling for projects, he didn't need to find a socket for a week. Almost all his friends and colleagues had one.

He was also curious in his heart. How could a brand that was a global hit not even have a proper headquarters address to be found, with only a Yellowstone Farm in Montana listed?

As Tom drove, he remembered his colleague's ridicule before he left: "What kind of tricks could a company selling power banks have? That stuff has limited marginal utility, and you can see the market ceiling at a glance."

"Even if it goes public, the stock price won't go up. It's not a good target."

At the time, Tom had nodded in agreement.

Now, looking at the coordinates on the navigation getting closer to the destination, he suddenly felt uncertain.

Especially seeing the scenery on both sides change from bustling towns to endless Gobi and farms, Tom felt even more unsure.

"What kind of company would run to such a remote place?"

...

The pickup truck ran on the highway for over three hours, getting more and more remote.

The surroundings changed from bustling towns to endless Gobi and farms, with even decent gas stations being rare.

Tom glanced at the navigation; the nearest international airport was already 200 kilometers away. He couldn't help but curse.

Could a factory earning billions a year be hidden in this middle-of-nowhere place?

He turned into a gas station in Yellowstone Town, jumped out of the car, and asked an old man cleaning a car for directions: "Hello, do you know where the DYB factory is?"

The old man didn't even look up, wiping the wheels with a rag, and pointed impatiently to the north: "Just over that hill ahead and you'll see it."

Tom thanked him, jumped back in the car, and continued driving.

He thought it was close, but after driving for over twenty minutes, the hill was still ahead.

If it weren't for the trucks passing by from time to time, Tom would have doubted if he had been tricked.

Until the pickup truck finally crested that hill, he slammed on the brakes, the tires screeching against the ground.

On the endless Gobi, a mega-factory had risen from the ground.

The silver-gray steel-structured factory buildings stretched as far as the eye could see, covering 1,200 acres, equivalent to 110 standard football fields.

In the factory area, freight trucks were lined up in a long queue, coming and going one after another. The roar could be heard from hundreds of meters away, and the scale was even more spectacular than the entire town of Yellowstone.

Tom stood frozen on the spot, not coming to his senses for a full half-minute.

He had surveyed Toyota's top factories and visited BMW and Mercedes factories in Germany, but he had never seen a mega-factory of such terrifying scale.

Suddenly, Tom realized that this brand hidden in the Gobi was not some small startup company at all, but a giant unknown to the outside world.

"Wait, with such a massive company, they couldn't possibly only want to sell power banks. If I can negotiate a partnership, wouldn't I be able to skyrocket in one step!"

His hands clutching the steering wheel were trembling, not because of nervousness, but because he knew he might have picked up the biggest case of his life.

Tom could almost see himself becoming a rising star investment manager on Wall Street!