Chapter 1925: Image Matters

In this world, some people may never get a chance in their lifetime, lacking the ability to seize one. But if given a little sunshine, they might still break through the soil, push aside the boulder overhead, and grow strong, eventually becoming a towering tree.

Zhao Fusheng was such a person.

In his previous life, he had no opportunity to do anything. Now that he had the ability, Zhao Fusheng felt he should do what needed to be done.

A few days later, the charity gala was held as scheduled.

The scene was grand, with stars shining brightly.

But Zhao Fusheng, the instigator, was not there.

Representing him was still Zheng Yao, CEO of Future Group.

Why didn't you go?

Fan Baobao also did not attend; she was pregnant and it was not appropriate for her to go to such an occasion with a big belly.

But she didn't quite understand why Zhao Fusheng didn't go either.

With a chuckle, Zhao Fusheng said, "What, should I have gone?"

"No, I think, this kind of thing..."

Fan Baobao opened her mouth but didn't know what to say.

"With Zheng Yao and the others, and Feihong, they'll help Mom go through the whole process," Zhao Fusheng said calmly. "Today is just the beginning; what really needs attention is what comes after."

"I know."

Fan Baobao nodded; she naturally understood what Zhao Fusheng meant.

Her mother's name was just an excuse and a reason; Future Group needed this pretext.

The actual implementation would depend on the company's arrangements and what specific support the foundation needed.

In other words, in China, charity is not that easy to do.

"Is our daughter asleep?"

Zhao Fusheng asked Fan Baobao casually.

Fan Baobao nodded: "Asleep. She played a bit too hard during the day; this kid is getting more and more troublesome."

Their precious daughter, no one knew who she took after, but she was so lively. Just over a year old, she was restless all day, truly exhausting.

"How about hiring a nanny?" Zhao Fusheng thought for a moment and said to Fan Baobao.

"No need."

Fan Baobao shook her head: "Your mom and my mom both have time, and Beibei is growing up day by day; they can handle it. Besides, I wouldn't feel at ease leaving the child with a nanny."

This was her true feeling; in Fan Baobao's eyes, except for herself, she wasn't at ease with anyone else taking care of the child.

It's a common sentiment among parents, especially mothers.

"Alright."

Zhao Fusheng nodded and didn't insist further. In such matters, he always respected Fan Baobao's opinion.

Men handle external affairs, women handle domestic ones; regarding family matters, Fan Baobao's opinion was more important.

"Don't worry, I'll be home from now on too," Fan Baobao said to Zhao Fusheng.

She naturally knew what Zhao Fusheng was worried about. The two elders were getting older day by day; while it was reassuring to have them take care of the child, it was still somewhat inconvenient. If anything went wrong, it would be too late for regrets.

Fan Baobao had actually been considering the nanny issue, but her idea was to find the most reliable and trustworthy person; otherwise, bringing in a time bomb would be troublesome.

After all, Zhao Fusheng's child meant endless wealth; just that alone would tempt many people.

Be cautious and then cautious again—that was Fan Baobao's thought.

...

...

The charity gala was very successful. Big-name celebrities attended, the foundation officially stepped into the spotlight, and Future Group promised to allocate a portion of its funds each year for charitable causes.

If there were Weibo at this time, Future Group's charity gala would surely have topped the trending list.

Even so, the next day's newspapers and media were full of reports about the gala.

One had to admit that in this era, or rather at this time, companies like Future Group were rare.

"Future Group Invests Heavily to Give Back to Society!"

"Conscience of the Times: Why Can't Our Companies Learn from This?"

"Truly Rich People!"

"Those Heartless Rich, Take a Good Lesson!"

For a moment, all kinds of comments appeared online, but overall, people were very satisfied with Future Group's actions this time.

Especially after it was revealed how much charity the foundation had done over the years, and Yu Feihong herself stated that Zhao Fusheng was one of the founders of the foundation and had been funding it all these years.

People are like this—if others can do what they themselves cannot, and do it well, they naturally develop an emotion called respect.

Therefore, although Zhao Fusheng did not appear in person, through this charity gala, both his personal image and the image of Future Group underwent a significant change and improvement.

"This is a good thing."

Sitting in the office, Zheng Yao said seriously to Zhao Fusheng, "The improvement of your personal image is a very good thing for the entire company."

Zhao Fusheng looked helpless: "I know, I know."

He actually understood what Zheng Yao meant, but the problem was that others thought his purpose was to enhance the company's image and his own image, when in fact he had never thought that way.

From start to finish, Zhao Fusheng had never considered using this to gain anything.

But obviously, the outside world did not see it that way.

Or rather, the actual results were there, leaving him no choice but to accept.

In fact, many things in this world are like this.

You may deliberately plant flowers but they don't bloom, yet inadvertently plant willows that provide shade. Often, it is not the things done deliberately that achieve the best results.

If done deliberately, it is easy to backfire.

"We discussed it and plan to take this opportunity to start promoting your image externally, temporarily positioning you as low-key, family-oriented, and socially responsible."

Zheng Yao said to Zhao Fusheng.

Since Zhao Fusheng's name was now beginning to be known to the public, the issue of shaping his image had to be put on the agenda.

This concerned the reputation of the entire Future Group.

The corporate leader and the corporate image are closely related issues.

In management studies, there are different definitions of "leader." Synthesizing several viewpoints, the so-called "leader" refers to a person who holds a leadership position and can exert significant influence over the entire process of setting and achieving organizational goals.

The explanation of "personality" in the Etymology Dictionary refers to a person's overall mental outlook, which is the sum of characteristics such as temperament, disposition, and ability. It reflects an individual's moral quality and their qualification as a subject of rights and obligations. Therefore, the so-called "personality charm" mainly refers to the overall personality evaluation of whether a person has great appeal, charisma, and affinity on the spiritual level. Based on this, the meaning of "corporate leader's personality charm" is the overall personality evaluation of the corporate leader's ability to exert great appeal, charisma, and affinity on the spiritual level.

Of course, this is the official explanation. In fact, the image of a corporate leader is very beneficial to the enterprise.

For example, Zhang Ruimin of Haier has an image of pragmatism, acumen, and sincerity. And the overall image of Haier in the public's perception is also like this.

Moreover, a good image of the corporate leader can effectively enhance the company's visibility and reputation.

What is corporate visibility?

Visibility refers to the impact of a corporate image, including product quality and service quality, on the public, or the degree of public understanding and awareness of the corporate image. Visibility is an important prerequisite for a company's business activities, reflecting the company's influence and share of the public. Therefore, expanding visibility is very important and necessary.

Zheng Yao came from an advertising background, so she naturally understood this principle. Even if she didn't, the think tanks in the company's strategic planning research office would suggest this to her.

After all, the benefits of doing so were too many.

"Try to be as authentic as possible."

Zhao Fusheng thought for a moment and said to Zheng Yao, "There's no need to deliberately guide customers, understand?"

"Got it."

Zheng Yao nodded: "Integrity first."

She naturally understood what Zhao Fusheng meant. You see, from a consumer psychology perspective, consumers first develop curiosity and trust in a company's products through trust in the corporate leader, then move from identification with the corporate leader to identification with the product, and finally from understanding the corporate leader to understanding the product.

In other words, some people would develop trust in Future Group's products because of this promotion.

That's why Zhao Fusheng said it must be authentic and not deliberately guide customers.

This is no joke. Many foreign corporate leaders are very skilled at this kind of operation.

For example, Bill Gates, for example, Warren Buffett.

Especially Buffett, the title of the Oracle of Omaha has accompanied him for decades. This kind of promotion, to some extent, has always influenced investors' judgment of his investment company.

After all, he is the Oracle of Omaha; the stocks he invests in have never lost money—that's the thought in most people's minds.

With such a mindset, people naturally subconsciously choose to trust Buffett's stocks.

Zhao Fusheng did not want to become that kind of image.

It's not that that kind of image is bad, but Zhao Fusheng felt that it's better not to establish a persona if possible. If one day the persona collapses, the trouble would be huge.

The collapse of Uncle Bo and Dr. Zhai's personas left too deep an impression on Zhao Fusheng.

Why do many people like Lin Gou? In the final analysis, it's because this guy, known as the dream of nine hundred million girls, has no persona.

With no persona, there's no collapse. No matter what he does, he doesn't have to worry about being criticized.

Conversely, those who like to sell personas and shape themselves into high-end, grand, and classy images always face a problem: what if the persona they have painstakingly built collapses? What should they do?

Zhao Fusheng did not want to become the second Lao Xue.