"Mm, everyone has worked hard during this period. With such a large shipment volume, everything has been well-organized, and everyone's work has been outstanding. The company's first battle since its opening has achieved such remarkable results. Does the general manager have any reward plans for the employees?"
"That's one of the tasks the general manager entrusted to me today. He has prepared several employee incentive plans, but they still need your review and approval." The secretary took out a document from the thick stack of papers and placed it on Mark's desk.
"Alright, I will review it as soon as possible and give him a response. Is there anything else?"
"The general manager wants you to attend the company's senior management meeting tomorrow morning. Although the current performance is impressive, the product line is still too thin. Also, there has been no news from your side regarding the company's product direction for the next quarter. The marketing department is also hoping for an early decision so that they can prepare the promotional plans."
"Well, I didn't expect that we would already have to start considering the next quarter's matters just two weeks after the product launch event. I will prepare well for this aspect. Before the meeting tomorrow, come to the lab and inform me, as I'm afraid I might get too focused on my experiments and lose track of time."
"Understood, boss. Then I'll leave now. The general manager still needs me to give him a response."
Mark nodded, signaling the secretary to leave, but his thoughts had drifted somewhere else. Mark's research center, a technology company that relied solely on him for the entire research and development system, couldn't find a second one like it in the whole world. Even Stark Industries had an entire research department. Moreover, compared to personal sole ownership businesses like his, which relied on technological products for operations, large companies like Stark Industries had a broad range of business activities and didn't need frequent updates to their product lines to mitigate risks.
Furthermore, launching a new product wasn't as simple as making a minor upgrade to an old product. The Mark Research Center, which had already been labeled by consumers, would suffer a severe blow to its image if it released a disappointing product. The direct or indirect losses resulting from it would be even greater than reducing the frequency of product launches. Therefore, Mark had to carefully consider the direction of the company's products for the next quarter.
"This won't do. If I have to spend time and energy thinking about what product to launch every quarter, it will undoubtedly consume a significant portion of my time and energy. Moreover, not every invention of mine is suitable for public promotion. Weapons like the Dominator, which require strict confidentiality, cannot be considered as options, even if the impact it creates upon disclosure would be sensational.
In that case, I need to seriously consider the flagship product for the next quarter, ideally something that can continue to iterate, upgrade, and bring forth new series of products even without my direct involvement.
Now that I want my consumers to experience the concept of the Mark Research Center creating happiness with technology, how can I not release a game? Yes, that's right! I should make a game, and it should be a console game. I can make money from hardware sales, and when consumers go home and find out that all the games are paid, I can earn more from software!
I also need to launch various accessories for the consoles, as well as peripheral and cultural products related to the game characters. It seems like there's great potential in this! Hehehe, the money-making model of Sony + Nintendo + Penguin, you'll all obediently fall into my trap and put the dollars into my pocket!"
...
"Master, your secretary has come to remind you that the senior management meeting is about to begin. Please go and attend."
"Alright~" Mark responded weakly, lifting his messy bedhead.
After deciding to enter the gaming industry yesterday, Mark started working overtime on creating a plan. After all, even if he wanted to emulate the money-making strategies of the big shots, the products still needed to be innovative. PS1, 2, 3, 4, Xbox, Switch—those cheap thrills—Mark couldn't bring himself to use the slogan of creating happiness with technology. If he wanted to enter the gaming industry, he needed to completely subvert everyone's perception of games.
So, after working on the plan all night, Mark, with disheveled hair and dark circles under his eyes, pale-faced, entered the meeting room with his prepared materials.
"Hello, boss!" As soon as Mark entered, all the high-level executives in the meeting room greeted him in unison.
Don't be fooled by the fact that everyone present was in their twenties or thirties and were young and promising elites in their respective fields. Mark was only fourteen years old, not even an adult yet. But these high-level executives, who dealt with company affairs every day, knew better than anyone else about their boss's terrifying talent.
The estimated revenue for the first quarter since the company's opening had reached 300 billion US dollars. The privately developed high-tech product, the Personal Health Assistant, not only gained the favor of various social classes but also received widespread praise and a good reputation. If Mark were willing to make his company go public at this point, the valuation of the company would be at least in the trillions, making this fourteen-year-old young man the richest person in the world.
Furthermore, Mark had the famous Iron Man as his father and the endorsement of Stark Industries behind him. So, whether it was in terms of ability or family background, it was enough to make these ambitious young talents willingly bow down to him.
"Good morning, everyone! If everyone is present, let the general manager preside over the meeting and start. Please call me when it's time for me to speak."
"Alright, boss. Let's first discuss the logistics cost pressure caused by the surge in online sales..."
Under the leadership of the general manager, the meeting officially began, and each department manager and supervisor gave their speeches one by one. However, the process of this meeting was not as Mark had imagined, where everyone simply read from their scripts. The atmosphere was intense and filled with heated debates. Perhaps it was because everyone was young and their ages were not too far apart, and each held a strong attachment to their own viewpoints. It was precisely because of this intense debate and clash of ideas that the meeting was highly efficient, and the decisions made were precise.
"...Now, I would like to invite the company's boss, Mr. Mark Stark, to talk about the company's product direction for the next quarter." As the meeting reached its conclusion and the general manager summarized the content, it was finally Mark's turn to present the company's future plans.
"Ahem..." Mark cleared his throat and then projected his plan onto the conference screen. He confidently said, "Gentlemen, your speeches earlier were brilliant. As for the company's products for the next quarter—everyone, let's focus on gaming!"
"!!!" x n
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