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iPhone Duo: A Failure Product or a Company that Fails?

When a US$2,000 innovation breaks in your hands, it isn't just the screen that cracks. Trust can crack too. The Story: When Innovation Meets Reality On 23 October 2026, Apple launched its much-anticipated iPhone Duo, its first foldable iPhone. For Apple enthusiasts, it was an exciting moment. Imagine owning a beautifully engineered phone that could unfold into a larger screen. After years of waiting, customers finally had the opportunity to experience Apple's vision of the future. Initial online orders sold out within minutes. Then, just days after the launch, something unexpected happened. Some customers reported hearing a crunching sound when unfolding their new phones. Lines appeared across the inner display. In some cases, the screen cracked after only hours or days of normal use. Imagine spending US$2,000 on a premium phone, proudly showing it to your family, only to discover that its most exciting feature had become its greatest weakness. Apple acknowledged that a smal...

Stop Letting Fear Hold You Back with Niu Lai

How This “Terrible” Film Niu Lai, Served as a Wake-Up Call We are currently drowning in a sea of “manufactured perfection.” Major streaming platforms are saturated with content that has been meticulously optimized by algorithms and polished by committees—flawless and safe, yet often entirely devoid of soul. They feed us a dangerous lie: that to take the stage, one must first be perfect. Then came *Niu Lai*. When this low-budget animated film, produced for a mere RMB1,688, was released, it was, from a technical standpoint, an absolute disaster. Created over the course of five years by a self-taught director and his mother using outdated equipment, the film is riddled with animation glitches and features crude, unrefined character models. By industry standards, it should have been a total failure. Instead, it became a global sensation. To date, it has grossed 60 million RMB and reached audiences worldwide via YouTube. Why? Because its very flaws became its greatest strength. It proves ...

蜜雪冰城：全球餐饮业老大，已超越麦当劳

以坚韧精神铸就的冰淇淋事业：四次拆迁如何催生出一个全球商业帝国 1997年，一个来自农村的小伙子张红超，站在中国郑州街头一个尘土飞扬的角落，注视着一台简陋、发出刺耳声响的机器。由于买不起商用设备，他用废弃的电机和旧自行车零件，亲手组装了一台刨冰机。当时他身无分文，唯一的启动资金是3000元人民币。这笔钱并非来自银行或风险投资人，而是他的祖母倾其所有，将毕生积蓄交到了他手中。他给这个小摊位取名为“寒流”。随之而来的是长达十年的残酷磨难与心碎历程。张红超最初经营的三个摊位都以彻底失败告终，原因在于客流量极度匮乏。为了生存，他曾尝试转行养殖牲畜和售卖街头小吃，但每一次尝试都让他本就脆弱的资本消耗殆尽。当他最终重回冷饮行业时，一场新的噩梦随之降临。 1999年至2003年间，随着城市经历快速的现代化进程，当地政府先后四次拆除了他的店面。推土机四次开来，店面四次化为瓦砾，他的事业也四次归零。换作常人，恐怕早已崩溃。然而，城市可以拆毁砖墙，却永远无法摧毁张红超的意志。在他看来，店面不过是暂时的载体，而他始终坚守着一个核心使命：让大众都能享用得起美味、清爽的冷饮。 2006年，转机终于到来。当时，高端西方冰淇淋品牌大举涌入中国市场，其售卖的软冰淇淋甜筒定价在4到5元之间。对于富裕阶层而言，这不过是九牛一毛；但对于张红超所熟悉的工薪阶层学生和生活拮据的家庭来说，这却是一种遥不可及的奢侈。张红超决定向这种“高端壁垒”发起挑战。他把自己关起来，用鲜奶和鸡蛋反复试验，成功复刻出了软冰淇淋的配方，并推出了售价仅为1元人民币的冰淇淋甜筒。他考虑的并非如何从消费者的口袋里榨取最大财富，而是如何将价格压到极致，从而赢得顾客的心。市场反响极其热烈，店外排起了长龙——现代“ 蜜雪冰城 ”由此诞生。即便如此，挫折并未就此放过他。冬天来临时，那些主营冰淇淋的加盟店遭遇了大规模倒闭潮。张红超与兄弟果断转型，在菜单中加入了平价鲜柠檬茶和热奶茶，为合作伙伴们开辟出一条全年皆可盈利的生存之道。他们意识到，若要维持低价，就不能依赖中间商。于是，他们自建工厂、仓库和物流网络，使蜜雪冰城从一家脆弱的零售商，蜕变为势不可挡的B2B供应链巨头。如今，蜜雪冰城已跻身全球餐饮业的顶尖行列，在全球拥有近6万家门店，门店数量远超麦当劳（约4.6万家）。作为一家实力雄厚的上市企业，蜜雪冰城的财务架构独具匠...

4 Demolitions, Cold Winter and High Inflation Killed Businesses but Not Mixue

The Ice Cream Built on Unbroken Spirit: How 4 Demolitions Birthed a Global Empire In 1997, a rural boy named Zhang Hongchao stood on a dusty street corner in Zhengzhou, China, staring at a crude, rattling machine. He couldn't afford commercial equipment, so he had built this shaved-ice machine himself out of a scrap motor and old bicycle parts. His pockets were empty, save for a 3,000-yuan ($400 USD) loan—not from a bank or a venture capitalist, but from his grandmother, who had handed him her entire life savings. He named his tiny stall Cold Wave . What followed was a decade of brutal, relentless heartbreak. Hongchao’s first three stalls failed completely, starved of foot traffic. Desperate to survive, he pivoted to farming livestock and selling street snacks, but every venture bled out his fragile capital. When he finally returned to cold drinks, a new nightmare began. Between 1999 and 2003, as the city underwent rapid modernization, the local government physically demol...

A Note from Sun Yi and Teresa Teng

Tired of Being Ignored, Underpaid and Unappreciated? Perhaps You Haven't Found Your Teresa Teng! The remarkable story of a song rejected three times, yet made millions from 1977 to today. Have you ever given your best, only to receive little appreciation? You work hard, but your boss doesn't recognise your contributions. You deliver results, but your rewards hardly reflect your efforts. You have talents, ideas and ambitions, but nobody seems interested. You apply for opportunities, only to be rejected or ignored. Even the government schemes and institutions you hoped would support you may not recognise what you have to offer. Worse still, the government banned you. Eventually, you begin to wonder: "Am I really not good enough?" Before you lose confidence, let me share a story that moved me to tears. A song that struggled for recognition before becoming one of the most beloved Chinese songs in history. 1. Rejected by Its Own Creator In the early 1970s, composer Tony...

曾三次被弃用、遭禁，1977年重生，赚钱至今

如果说，你人生中最大的机遇其实早已被你拒绝、忽略，甚至丢弃了呢？这是一个令我感动落泪的故事——关于《月亮代表我的心》，这首史上最受喜爱的中文歌曲之一，有着一段非凡的历程。如今，距离邓丽君在1977年将这首歌唱红已过去50年，它依然跨越了世代、文化和国界，持续触动着人们的心弦。然而，它走向世界舞台的过程却绝非一帆风顺。它不仅经历过一次“死亡”，而是整整三次。这是一个关于拒绝、坚持、时机，以及最重要的一点——找到那些能慧眼识珠、认可你的价值并助你成功的人——的故事。 1. 第一位“对的人”：能看见他人所看不见之处的人 20世纪70年代初，作曲家汤尼(翁清溪)在波士顿求学期间创作了这段旋律。但他觉得这首曲子太过平庸、老派，于是便将手稿丢弃了。他的好友、作词人孙仪在翁清溪家中翻找东西时，偶然在垃圾桶里发现了这份手稿。他敏锐地捕捉到了其中的美感，在经历了几番挫折与尝试后，为这段旋律填上了歌词。这首歌曾一度“夭折”，却因一位能洞察其价值的人而重获新生。第一个启示：你人生中最大的财富，或许正是那些你早已弃之不顾的事物。许多才华横溢的人和充满潜力的企业，就像那份被丢弃的手稿一样。它们蕴藏着巨大的潜能，却始终未被他人所察觉。有时，你所需要的并非更多的才华或资源。你需要的是一个能够看见你自身都尚未察觉的价值的人。 2. 第二位“对的人”：在困境中依然坚信你的人 1973年，陈芬兰首次录制了这首歌，但销量惨淡，被视为一次失败的尝试。另一位歌手刘冠霖也看中了这首歌并进行了录制。她竭力推广，但销量依然不佳，因为当时台湾正处于戒严时期，这首歌遭到了禁播。原因在于，歌词中的一句“轻轻的一个吻”被认为是在传播负面价值观。此后的四年里，这首歌一直被尘封在唱片公司的仓库中，被视为毫无用处。在“重生”之后，这首歌又两次陷入沉寂。算上最初的挫折，它总共经历了三次失败。回想一下你自己的生活。你是否曾为某件事付出过巨大努力，结果却被完全无视？你是否曾明明拥有宝贵的价值，却依然遭到拒绝？遭到拒绝并不代表你没有价值。有时，只是因为受众不对、环境不宜，或是时机未到。 3. 第三位“对的人”：让你的价值熠熠生辉 1977年，邓丽君偶然发现了这首歌。她非常喜欢，便告诉作曲者汤尼，她想重新演绎这首歌，将其打造出一种温柔、细腻且舒缓的风格。面对当时台湾地区的禁令，邓丽君及其团队做出了一个...

Your Business May Be Sitting on a Goldmine — But Who Will Discover It?

What if the greatest opportunity of your life has already been rejected, overlooked, or thrown away? This is the story that moved me to tears, the remarkable story of The Moon Represents My Heart ( 月亮代表我的心 ), one of the most beloved Chinese songs of all time. Today, 50 years after Teresa Teng made it famous in 1977, the song continues to touch hearts across generations, cultures and continents. Yet its journey to worldwide recognition was anything but smooth. It died not once, but 3 times. It is a story about rejection, perseverance, timing and, most importantly, finding the right people who recognise your value and help you succeed. 1. The First Right Person: Someone Who Sees What Others Cannot Composer Tony Weng Qingxi ( 翁清溪 ) created the melody in the early 1970s while studying in Boston. But he considered it too ordinary and old-fashioned, and discarded the manuscript. His good friend, lyricist Sun Yi ( 孙仪 ), while going through the trash bin at Tony’s house, sa...

希音非便宜，其背后的真正秘诀

别再只说希音 Shein“便宜”了：这家全球最具颠覆性的零售商，其背后有着怎样的真正秘诀？我们或许都曾在网购时盯着一件售价仅人民币10元的上衣，心生疑惑：这怎么可能呢？但如果你认为希音庞大的全球商业帝国——年销售额超过 380 亿美元，占据全球快时尚市场 18% 的份额，业务覆盖 160 多个国家，服务着 2.3 亿用户——仅仅是靠“超低价”建立起来的，那你就没看懂它真正的成功之道。绝非仅仅是一家低成本的代工企业或折扣品牌。它是第一家真正以自身逻辑征服全球市场的中国消费企业，而它实现这一目标的方式，就是重写了商业规则。传统的“猜谜游戏”与“实时数据流” 回想一下传统时尚行业的运作模式。几十年来，零售巨头们通过将产品交付周期缩短至几周，从而主导了市场。但即便如此，他们依然是在“赌博”：设计师预测六个月后会流行什么，然后进行大规模生产、发货，最后祈祷消费者会买单。一旦预测失误，大幅降价和堆积如山的库存就会迅速吞噬掉利润。 Shein 审视了这种存在缺陷的模式，并将其彻底颠覆。他们不再靠“猜”，而是将时尚视为一场实时数据实验。每推出一款新设计，他们仅进行 100 件的小批量试产。如果应用中的数字信号显示用户产生了即时的点击和加购行为，自动化软件便会立即触发合作工厂，连夜扩大生产规模；如果产品反响平平，生产则会立刻停止。因此，Shein 几乎不存在库存积压问题。披着服装品牌外衣的科技平台在这种敏捷性的背后，是一套精密复杂的“技术神经系统”。Shein 并没有建立庞大的中心化工厂，而是将广州等产业集群中的数千家独立作坊整合进了一个自有的云端网络中。供应商直接接入 Shein 的数据流，根据用户的实时行为接收自动生成的“微型订单”。再加上由人工智能驱动的趋势预测系统——能够实时监测社交媒体上的微趋势——Shein 成功绕过了传统的中间商。他们构建了一座直面消费者的数字桥梁，通过高互动性、游戏化的购物模式，积累了数千万活跃用户，并实现了数十亿次的应用程序下载量。回归“第一性原理” 这一经验的启示远不止于服装行业。当企业陷入困境时，通常是因为它们偏离了商业的本质。现在是时候摒弃干扰，回归“第一性原理”思考了：明确客户的需求，并满足这些需求。不要再仅凭过时的传统去揣测市场需要什么。建立反馈闭环，实时倾听受众的声音；消除需求与交付之间的阻碍；让客户来引领方向。作者...

No More Guessing, It's Just Data, Stupid!

Stop Calling Shein Cheap: The Real Secret Behind the World’s Most Disruptive Retailer We’ve all stared at a three-dollar top online and wondered: How is that even possible? But if you think Shein’s global empire, pulling in upwards of US$38 billion in annual sales, capturing an 18% global fast-fashion market share, and spanning over 160 countries serving 230 million customers , is built entirely on dirt-cheap prices, you’re missing the real story. Shein isn’t just a low-cost contract manufacturer or a discount brand. It is the first Chinese-born consumer company to truly conquer the world on its own terms. And it did it by rewriting the rules of commerce. The Old Guessing Game vs. The Real-Time Feed Think about how the fashion industry traditionally operated. For decades, retail giants ruled the space by shortening lead times to weeks. But even they were gambling. Designers would guess what trends would peak six months from now, manufacture massive bulk quantities, ship th...

昂首做人：不靠头衔，也能活出自己的光芒！

昂首做人：不靠头衔，也能活出自己的光芒！如果有一天，你走进一个坐满亿万富翁、企业总裁、政商名流的房间，却没有人认识你，你还能自信地昂首挺胸吗？没有显赫的学历，没有响亮的头衔，没有强大的人脉，也没有人为你介绍。你会从容自在，还是顿时觉得自己矮人一截？这个问题，揭示了一个值得我们深思的人性弱点：我们太习惯用别人的眼光，来衡量自己的价值。一、真正有底气的人，不需要证明自己想象两个人参加一场高端交流会。第一个人，一开口就介绍自己的学历、职位、成就，以及认识多少重要人物。他迫切希望别人知道自己有多厉害。第二个人，只是微笑着自我介绍，然后真诚地问：“最近有什么事情让您特别兴奋，或者感到挑战？” 他认真倾听，提出有深度的问题，适时分享自己的见解。除非别人问起，否则他从不主动炫耀自己的资历。活动结束后，谁更容易给人留下深刻印象？很可能是第二个人。因为别人可能忘记你的头衔，却不会轻易忘记你带给他们的感受。二、别再拼命追求认可，让自己成为有吸引力的人现代专业教练领域的先驱托马斯·伦纳德（Thomas Leonard），提出了著名的《28条吸引力法则》。他的核心理念是：不要拼命追逐成功，而要让自己成为一个能够自然吸引机会、人脉与成功的人。真正的吸引力，不来自外貌、财富或地位，而是由内而外散发出来的力量。任何人都可以通过以下八个方法，活出自己的底气：接纳自己：不必得到别人的认可，才觉得自己有价值。挺直腰杆：你的姿态、眼神和从容，往往比语言更有力量。少表现，多关心：不必急着让别人对你感兴趣，先真诚地对别人感兴趣。用故事代替头衔：一个真实的人生故事，可能胜过十张专业证书。勇敢做自己：即使意见不同，也敢于有礼貌地表达自己的观点。让别人感觉更有价值：真正自信的人，不需要贬低别人来抬高自己。表里如一：无论在线上还是面对面，都让品格与行动为自己说话。活出更大的使命：把注意力从“别人怎么看我”，转向“我能为别人创造什么价值”。三、真正的底气，来自爱的智慧（LQ）我所倡导的爱的智慧，有三个核心要素：关爱（Care）：尊重自己，也真诚地关心别人。勇气（Courage）：敢于做自己，敢于说真话，敢于坚持原则。连接（Connection）：不靠讨好或炫耀，而是通过创造价值，建立真诚的人际关系。三者结合，就...

STAND TALL: You Don't Need a Title to Be Somebody

STAND TALL: You Don't Need a Title to Be Somebody If you walked into a room full of billionaires, CEOs, politicians and influential people, and nobody knew who you were, would you still feel confident? No impressive qualifications. No prestigious job title. No powerful connections. No one to introduce you. Would you stand tall, or quietly feel smaller than everyone else? This question reveals something uncomfortable about human nature. Too often, we measure our worth by how important other people think we are. The Man Who Had Nothing to Prove Imagine two men attending an important networking event. The first immediately introduces himself with his impressive qualifications, past achievements and influential connections. He desperately wants others to recognise his importance. The second simply smiles, introduces himself and asks, "What is the most exciting challenge you are working on?" He listens attentively, asks thoughtful questions and shares an interesting perspecti...

AI Is Taking Over Human Actors: Sustainable or Not?

AI Is Taking Over Human Actors. Is This the End of Acting as We Know It? AI is no longer just helping filmmakers write scripts, edit videos or create special effects. It can now generate realistic-looking actors, voices, facial expressions and entire performances, without hiring a human actor for every role. For producers, this creates enormous opportunities to reduce costs and experiment creatively. For human actors, however, it raises an uncomfortable question: If AI can perform my role at a fraction of the cost, why would anyone continue hiring me? But there is an even bigger question for the entertainment industry: If replacing human actors makes filmmaking cheaper, does it necessarily make the industry more sustainable? Not necessarily. AI can improve financial performance while creating new challenges involving employment, consent, intellectual property, audience trust and the long-term development of creative talent. The real-world warning: AI actress Tilly Norwood In 2025, the ...

房东宁可空店2年也不降租金是违背易经

为什么你喜爱的店铺会空置（以及为什么这种情况不会持续下去）如果你曾纳闷：“为什么房东宁愿让店铺空置两年，也不愿降低租金？”那么你其实触及了现代金融体系中一个奇怪的现象。不过不必灰心——尽管这套体系看起来出了问题，但历史和基础经济学告诉我们，市场力量终将胜出。 “固执房东”背后的谜团要理解店铺为何空置，就必须看看房东是如何融资的。许多商业地产都背负着巨额银行贷款。银行在发放贷款时，其额度往往基于该建筑在账面上“预期”能产生的租金收入。如果房东为了帮助小商家生存而主动降租，这便向银行释放了一个信号：该建筑的价值已缩水。这可能触发一项可怕的惩罚——即“权益缺口”（equity shortfall），银行会要求房东立即补足数百万现金，以填补这一价值差额。为了避免面对这种残酷的现实，房东们往往会采取一种“胆小鬼博弈”（game of chicken）的策略：他们人为地维持高昂的租金要价，寄希望于能奇迹般地出现一位“财大气粗”的租户；宁可让店铺空置，也不愿承认市场环境已经发生了变化。 “幽灵街区”的危险遗憾的是，这种固执会引发连锁反应。零售业遵循一个简单的逻辑：人流会吸引更多人流。人们逛街时，绝非为了光顾某一家特定的店铺，而是为了感受那里的活力、多样性，以及在不同店面间闲逛的乐趣。当一家店铺关门，人流量便会随之减少；若有三四家店铺空置，整条街区就会显得死气沉沉。顾客不再光顾，转而选择网购或前往其他区域。很快，即便原本经营尚可的街角面包店或精品店，也会因周边商业生态的枯萎而陷入困境。这看起来仿佛是街区走向彻底衰败的“死亡螺旋”。为什么市场力量终将胜出看到成排的空置店铺，人们很容易担心当地商业街将彻底没落。但经济学中存在一种内在的自我修正机制，而且这种力量势不可挡——那就是“重力”。毕竟，一家空置的店铺，产生的收入为零。与此同时，房产税、保险费、安保费和维护费用等账单却月复一月地接踵而至。无论房东多么自负，或者资产负债表看起来多么雄厚，只要物业空置，现金流就在不断流失，这无疑是沉重的打击。更重要的是，一个终极期限正日益临近——那就是“债务到期高峰”。贷款不可能永远持续下去。当商业抵押贷款到期需要续期时，银行不会理会房东的一厢情愿，而是会要求根据现实情况进行重新评估。如果店面空置、周边冷清，银行便会拒绝按原贷款额度进行续贷。届时，一切幻想随之破灭。银行收回抵押...

秉持“本分”，成就非凡

秉持“本分”，成就非凡——探寻中国版“巴菲特”的成功之道在当今这个喧嚣的世界里，人们总是被催促着要跑得更快、寻找捷径、不惜一切代价去赢；然而，往往是那些最安静的声音，蕴藏着最强大的力量。我们常被教导，要通过超越他人或比别人更精明来衡量自身的价值。但真正的成功，其实无需向外探求，只需回归内心，坚守一种极其务实的哲学—— “本分”。 “本分”的核心，在于恪守自己的根本职责。它意味着坚定不移地做正确的事，立足于自身角色，并且一旦意识到自己在做错事，便能果断停止——无论周围的世界如何变迁。若想领悟“本分”所蕴含的那种静谧而宏大的力量，不妨看看段永平——步步高电子，即OPPO和vivo背后的商业巨擘）的传奇创始人。他所建立的商业帝国，并非依靠疯狂追求高速增长，而是将“本分”奉为企业经营的坚实准则。多年前，市场遭遇严重低迷，大量电子产品滞销，仓库里堆满了卖不出去的存货。当时，许多竞争对手选择撕毁合同，将财务压力转嫁给当地经销商，以此保全自身的利润空间；而段永平却选择了一条令旁人费解的道路。他看着那些分布在各城镇的经销商, 这些家庭将毕生积蓄都投入到了他的品牌之中, 意识到自己最重要的职责是保护他们，而非仅仅关注眼前的财务报表。步步高没有强行将库存压给经销商，而是主动承担了巨大的财务损失，默默回购了滞销产品，确保这些个体经营的小店能够维持生存。整个过程没有大张旗鼓的公关宣传，这仅仅是他们所坚守的“本分”。多年后，当市场复苏时，这些经销商以一种金钱买不到的、极其坚定的忠诚回归了。在竞争对手纷纷分崩离析之际，段永平旗下的品牌——OPPO、vivo、realme等——却崛起并占据了全球智能手机市场的主导地位。在深谙这一准则之后，段永平退出了企业的日常运营，转而全身心地投入到价值投资之中。他以同样耐心且合乎道德的视角审视苹果（Apple）和网易（NetEase）等公司，并借此积累了数百亿财富，因而被誉为“中国巴菲特”。段永平将这一核心理念传授给了他的门生黄峥；黄峥在得到指点后，将“本分”这一准则运用于拼多多（Pinduoduo）和Temu 的发展之中，使它们成长为全球零售巨头。 “本分”绝非弱者的策略，而是自律者最坚固的盾牌。它源于一种深刻的认知：你无法掌控经济环境或他人的行为，你所能掌控的，唯有自身言行的纯粹。当你不再归咎于外部因素，而是为自己的角色承担起全部责任时，你...

Benfen Your Way to Success Like the Warren Buffet of China

In a world that screams at us to run faster, take shortcuts, and win at all costs, the quietest voice in the room often holds the greatest power. We are taught to measure our worth by who we outrun or outsmart. But the truest form of success requires looking nowhere else but within, anchored by a deeply practical philosophy: Benfen (本分) . At its core, Benfen means honoring your fundamental duty . It is the unwavering commitment to do the right thing , to stay grounded in your own role , and to relentlessly stop doing the wrong thing the very moment you recognize it, regardless of what the world around you is doing. To understand the quiet majesty of Benfen , one needs only to look at Duan Yongping , the legendary founder of BBK Electronics (the powerhouse behind OPPO and vivo ). Duan built an empire not by chasing hyper-growth, but by practicing Benfen as a strict corporate shield. Years ago, during a severe market downturn, warehouses were overflowing with unsold electronic good...