Author: Guan Hongye
Putting down the phone, my brain wandered for a while, and suddenly realized: reading an article, just browsing for a few seconds and then skipping it in a hurry; Watching videos, I always want to fast forward at double speed and only stare at the results...... At the moment when efficiency is paramount and time is in a hurry, everyone has become a slave of "fast".
In large part, this stems from the fact that the world we live in has broken into the VUCA era. There is more uncertainty and helplessness, and everything is rolling up, and it is difficult everywhere; China's economy has changed from "big water and big fish" to "heavy wind and rain", and the gloomy prospect, anxiety, irritability, and retreat have become the norm.
But this is not an unsolvable problem. In the past few days, he has been swiped by Andy Lau's "Mid-Year Talk" short film. In "Walking with Time", Andy said: "Don't be superficial, take root downward, don't just stare at the present and lack foresight." When we let everything overheat, we use long-termism to cool it down. ”
Like a pool of spring water, it cools the anxiety that rises from time to time.
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Halfway through 2024, most people have more anxiety about being left behind.
Humanoid robots are about to go on the market, and NOA autonomous driving is more grounded, and you can see the world in a few minutes by turning on your mobile phone...... We seem to be omnipotent, but we have slowly become "people in a suit".
Pillar industries are falling one after another, the Internet is laying off workers, automobile factories are laying off workers, and 11.79 million college students are pouring into the workplace, forcing people to go faster and faster under heavy pressure.
Undoubtedly, this is an era of fast-pacedness. 43 years ago, a giant placard with the words "time is money, efficiency is life" was erected at the most conspicuous intersection in Shekou, Shenzhen.
The problem is that behind decades of rapid growth, there are not only some unbalanced, uncoordinated, and unsustainable contradictions and problems, but also everyone's psychological exhaustion.
Especially those who live a "double-speed life", who are busy every day, but feel more and more blind and at a loss. Gradually being eaten by "fast", he lost his patience and ability to think, and fell into the whirlpool of impetuousness and superficiality.
As a result, people flock to temples to worship Buddha, yearning to go to Altay to relax, trying to find a sense of ritual that "slows" down in addition to the daily "fast". But the more this is the case, the more anxious and sleepless I am in the back and forth between fast and slow, and the separation and imbalance between reality and ideals.
"Life is a marathon, but we think of it as a sprint, fast enough, and it's better to take a shortcut. As a result, the posture is deformed and the mentality is unbalanced. In "Walking with Time", Andy Lau said it.
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Obviously, no one can run a marathon at the speed of a sprint, but they must maintain the speed of the surface, so the blind pursuit of "fast" will deteriorate into all kinds of "rolls".
Since "lying flat, rolling can't win", everyone is eager for the flow of the sky and is keen on quick success; Since black and red are also red, let's go a little further on the road of "black...... The statements from their respective positions have completely torn and divided the automobile circle. Should it be rolled or not? How exactly should it be rolled? Become a life-and-death topic.
Since the beginning of 2023, price wars have come and gone, and the table has been lifted. From the Internet celebrity founder of the Beijing Auto Show, a specious traffic feast was opened; At the Chongqing Auto Show, the major manufacturers have different interpretations of the long-term car-making spirit, and the entire industry has fallen into a vigorous "involution" of no return: volume price, volume configuration, volume flow, volume boss.
Although everyone expressed their attitude against involution, their bodies were quite honest and followed the roll. The price war seems to be just a volume price, but in fact, the technical quality, service, and business ecology are all spared. If it continues to deteriorate, it will only end up with a lose-lose outcome: for the enterprise, it will be difficult to maintain operation in the future if it continues to make profits and capital; For dealers, delaying the account period, selling one and losing one, it will not take long to close the door; For consumers, under the low price, how can there be hard goods?
Obviously, people in the world have been suffering for a long time.
Fortunately, the market is starting to have more consensus on this. For example, Geely Li Shufu said: "China's automobile industry has the world's largest degree of involution, and the price war is higher and higher, which is also unparalleled in the world." For example, GAC Zeng Qinghong said: "Rolling down is not a way." Without efficiency, it is impossible for enterprises to survive. For example, Li Ruifeng of the Great Wall said: "There is no problem with the volume, but it must be rolled healthily, benignly, and with a bottom line, and this bottom line is to bring long-term car ownership value to users." ”
The sound of the reverse roll has been deafening, and it will change the direction of the general trend.
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In my opinion, should it be rolled or not? How exactly should it be rolled? In essence, it is also a question of how to look at fast and slow, and how to uphold long-termism.
"Fast" is undoubtedly the key word in today's society. The development of science and technology and the explosion of information communication are all promoting the rapid development of society. But if you are just blindly fast, in a hurry, eager to become famous overnight, fast will lose its value.
Only by "slowing" down can we "fast" go up.
"Slow" is a kind of persistence and waiting. True success often requires a long period of accumulation and precipitation.
"Calm down and take your time. This is why there are so many brands, which can still move forward steadily after a hundred years", this is another piece of advice from Andy.
The century-old brand that Andy Lau admires is Audi and the flagship model Audi A8.
As the flagship model of the Audi brand, the Audi A8 has been accumulated for 30 years, without urgency or impatience, focusing on the meticulous craftsmanship of every detail, showing respect for time and quality. Not only does it represent the brand's top-notch technology and manufacturing processes, but it also carries Audi's long luxury car tradition and rich history, and is recognized as a benchmark in the field of luxury cars.
In particular, the A8L Horch version that appeared with Andy Lau, in the name of the founder August Horch, is not only Audi's thinking on the D+ executive flagship product, creating a product with unique charm, but also representing Horch's enterprising spirit of excellence.
It can be said that the Audi A8 is not only the culmination of Audi's century-old craftsmanship and forward-looking technology, but also the embodiment of the spirit and value connotation of long-termism.
Not only is it the embodiment of A8 products, but also in terms of marketing innovation, FAW Audi deliberately "slows down", adheres to the belief of long-termism, and patiently polishes the brand, which not only precipitates the unique marketing assets of the luxury car market, but also makes inspiration for reference on how to do marketing and establish a brand in the era of traffic.
On the one hand, it is to open up the full luxury touchpoints, and create a more desirable luxury experience through ace IPs such as the double-sided life journey of the station wagon, the Q Campaign extreme journey, and the RS city circuit;
On the one hand, it is deeply engaged in event marketing, insisting on devoting itself to sports events, and constantly interpreting the century-old brand sports genes;
In addition, we will relay the value of celebrities and join hands with Ma Weidu, Andy Lau, Zhang Yadong and others to create an online and offline Audi Yingjie master class IP to maximize the use of celebrity value to empower the brand.
Obviously, the real long-termist is not simply measured by "one hit", but continues to do the right thing until the benefits are maximized. When everything is overheated, the only way to cool it down is to use long-termism.
The same is true for car building. Building a car is a hundred years of cultivation, how can it become popular overnight; Building a car is a 42-kilometer marathon, and it will never be achieved overnight. In the dialectical relationship between "fast" and "slow", only "Walking with Time" allows time to polish the brand brightly.