At 19:00 on July 19th, Lei Jun held his fifth annual speech titled "Courage" at the Beijing Shougang Ice Hockey Arena. This speech quickly garnered widespread attention and heated discussions, igniting a craze not only in the tech and automotive circles but also among outsiders who watched and shared it, with "Lei Jun drifting" quickly trending on social media, successfully breaking through circles. Data showed that during the 3-hour live broadcast, the peak popularity in Douyin's live streaming room reached 510,000, with 14.89 million viewers.

Some believe that the success of Lei Jun's speech stems from his unique "persona," with some even jokingly calling him the "sales champion streamer." However, a deeper exploration of this fascinating annual speech reveals that his charm goes far beyond that.

Under Lei Jun's leadership, Xiaomi's team dares to fight and innovate, making Xiaomi Automobile stand out in the fiercely competitive market. Behind this is a leapfrog innovation mindset, which is precisely Xiaomi's secret weapon in disrupting the automotive industry.

01 What Makes Lei Jun So Compelling?

This was Xiaomi's first annual speech after the launch of the SU7, during which Lei Jun shared many behind-the-scenes stories of the ups and downs of car manufacturing over the past three years.

Lei Jun's stories in this annual speech carried the idealistic sentiments of many people. Especially in the current economic downturn, where opportunities are scarce, and it's not easy to find the right direction, path, and success, Lei Jun's annual speech brought not only admiration and emotion but also a shot in the arm for fellow dreamers and strivers.

The speech opened with a major crisis, "Facing US sanctions, where does Xiaomi go from here?"

The opportunity amidst the crisis is car manufacturing.

The trend of smart electric vehicles is unstoppable, and for Xiaomi, riding this wave is the best choice.

But for Lei Jun personally, it might not be.

He asked himself three questions:

Entrepreneurship is so tough; do I really want to start all over again?

The risks are so high; if I lose, will I end up in disgrace?

Do I still have enough energy and stamina to enter a brand-new industry?

So, every night, he summoned the courage to prepare for a big push; the next morning, he was lost again. This kind of struggle and self-reflection is a necessary path for every entrepreneur, even for Lei Jun, who has already achieved success.

And the ultimate choice of an idealist must be like Lei Jun: Even if millions oppose, I will go!

From the sleepless night when Xiaomi announced its decision to manufacture cars, to building a car that Xiaomi engineers want to buy, to solidifying core technologies, to senior executives personally testing the cars... facing overwhelming doubts, criticisms, and slanders, they firmly held their confidence, broke through obstacles, and welcomed the joy of success.

Xiaomi's car manufacturing journey has been full of twists and turns, inspiring and invigorating to ordinary people, while idealists can relate even more deeply. The path Lei Jun led Xiaomi Automobile through is one they have also walked or are walking, with hardships beyond words.

Fortunately, Lei Jun not only articulated what they felt but also became a positive and successful role model.

What kind of person is an idealist?

When Xiaomi SU7 was officially launched, Lei Jun painted a portrait of idealists, who are also Xiaomi SU7's target users:

They refuse to be mediocre and continue to strive for their dreams;

They yearn for advanced technology and a happy life;

They have fire in their hearts and light in their eyes, shining with optimism and confidence!

02 Why Isn't Lei Jun's Speech Boring?

In Lei Jun's annual speech, frequently appearing numbers constantly struck the audience's hearts. The powerful persuasiveness of numbers transformed abstract concepts into concrete, tangible facts, making Xiaomi's car manufacturing efforts specific.

"A six-person research team visited more than 10 cities over 70 days, conducting 85 interviews with over 200 people."

"Fully invested $10 billion over the next 10 years."

"Interviewed over 300 engineers one by one. After that, we felt it wasn't enough, so we went to the parking lot and counted cars to see what everyone drives."

"Developing a battery pack takes about 10 months and tens of millions of R&D costs. Most cars in the industry only have two or three battery packs. We made over 10 for the SU7 and even built our battery pack factory."

"After 21 days of meetings, we reached a key consensus: As a newcomer, Xiaomi's biggest success is to successfully enter the game."

"Over the past three years, I've test-driven over 170 cars. When I organized my test drive notes and materials, they totaled over 200,000 words."

"So far, over 100 members of the management team and engineers have obtained racing licenses."

"Xiaomi's senior executives immediately responded, all participating in tests, with a cumulative mileage of over 100,000 kilometers. I participated in over 10 tests, totaling over 5,000 kilometers."

...

Whether or not you watched the annual speech, the above numbers like a thread connect Xiaomi's car manufacturing journey.

Through specific numbers, the audience can more intuitively feel Xiaomi's investment, efforts, and achievements. Upon hearing that Xiaomi's car manufacturing team exceeds 7,000 people, people immediately realize Xiaomi's enormous determination and resource investment in this field. Sales figures like 10,000 orders in 4 minutes and 50,000 in 27 minutes clearly demonstrate the product's popularity in the market. Lei Jun's "persona" and the image of Xiaomi's car manufacturing team are also established in the minds of the public.

At the speech, Lei Jun revealed that Xiaomi SU7's production capacity and delivery acceleration are progressing smoothly. As of July 19th, over 30,000 vehicles have been delivered, with an expected completion of the annual delivery target of 100,000 vehicles by November. By December, 220 stores are expected to open in 59 cities nationwide. In May, Xiaomi SU7 set its annual sales target (only 9 months) at a minimum of 100,000 vehicles, striving for 120,000.

Achieving over 10,000 deliveries in a single month within three months and setting a target of 100,000 vehicles in the first year of delivery, the phenomenal Xiaomi SU7 has remarkable achievements. Xiaomi Automobile's marketing has also become an unreplicable success story in the industry, which also means Xiaomi Automobile has successfully entered the game.

Lei Jun remains humble, "We're still far from success; our long march has just begun."

03 How Do Founders and Brands Integrate?

Mentioning Lei Jun's "persona," it's undeniable that Lei Jun and Xiaomi are a perfect integration of founder and brand.

Lei Jun, an entrepreneur with vision and an innovative spirit, has become the core driving force behind Xiaomi's rise with his remarkable wisdom and unwavering determination. His personal traits and ideals are deeply imprinted in Xiaomi's products and decisions.

We see Lei Jun's love and relentless pursuit of technology infusing Xiaomi with a gene of continuous exploration and innovation. On the one hand, he personally dives in, fully investing and enjoying the process. In this speech, Lei Jun shared, "To truly excel in a field, you must understand and love it." As a result, he not only retook the wheel after a long hiatus but also personally test-drove over 170 vehicles from different brands and obtained a racing license.

Xiaomi's values explain "love" as "fully investing and enjoying the process." Lei Jun not only "loves" but also fosters a passionate and creative team. Facing market competition, Lei Jun can quickly make decisions and flexibly respond, making Xiaomi stand out in the fierce market environment.

The value he advocates, "Honest people tend to have good luck," has also become an essential part of Xiaomi's brand culture. Xiaomi treats users sincerely, focusing on product quality while striving to control costs, enabling more people to enjoy the convenience and fun brought by technology. This "people-oriented and pragmatic" brand image has won the love and trust of consumers.

Lei Jun's "people-oriented and pragmatic" nature needs no elaboration. In every speech, Lei Jun comes across as a neighborly older brother sharing his experiences, with every word clear and understandable to ordinary people. In contrast, traditional automakers' press conferences often feature stern yet pretending-to-be-relaxed executives, spewing convoluted slogans filled with numerous adjectives like "first," "beyond," "top-tier," and piles of technical jargon, which, while professional, distance them from ordinary consumers.

Returning to the trending "Lei Jun drifting," it's fair to say that from the moment Lei Jun decided to do it, he hit the traffic password.

In the annual speech, Lei Jun said that to deepen his understanding of cars, he set a goal for himself: to become one of the best drivers among domestic automakers. To achieve this, he obtained a racing license. Subsequently, a video of him drifting was released, immediately trending on social media.

Lei Jun's drifting directly demonstrated his personal love for cars and his dedication and hard work in car manufacturing. This act also showed Lei Jun's determination and investment in car manufacturing and his emphasis on car performance and driving experience.

For Xiaomi Automobile, from Lei Jun not driving to obtaining a racing license and drifting, even bringing the management team to race, not only increased their understanding of racing and vehicle极限性能, but also helped drive continuous product optimization and development. Of course, the most direct benefit is trending on social media, garnering immense traffic.

04 Why Does Lei Jun Always "Get It Right"?

Some jokingly call Lei Jun the protagonist of a feel-good novel. It's worth pondering: Why does Lei Jun always "get it right"? Why does he always grasp the traffic password? What unique way of thinking does he possess?

I found the answer in Lei Jun's book "Xiaomi Entrepreneurial Thoughts" – engineering thinking, creatively applying scientific principles to systematically solve various problems and innovatively address many systemic issues.

Lei Jun specifically mentioned in his 2023 annual speech, "I advocate engineering thinking because I always believe it's a way of thinking that can efficiently solve complex systemic problems and anticipate non-existent 'structures,' thereby achieving leapfrog innovation."

Since its inception, Xiaomi has been using engineering thinking to solve problems. Lei Jun summarizes the most critical experiences as: finding a mission, starting from first principles, finding the first "wrench," understanding and reconstructing systems, repeated verification, and rapid iteration.

The book states: Finding a mission first involves identifying what you love and excel at and striving for it throughout your life.

In college, Lei Jun found his mission: to found a great company. To this day, whether it's his early entrepreneurial experiences, founding Xiaomi, or Xiaomi's foray into car manufacturing, this mission has remained unchanged.

The first significant role of finding a mission is to set goals and directions, ensuring that one doesn't lose course in the face of problems and difficulties. This role is not only effective for individuals but also helps gather talent and resources in business. After all, those who share the same aspirations will prevail. Meanwhile, the mission serves as a bond between Xiaomi and its users.

First principles refer to reasoning from the basic principles of things.

Applying first principles, Lei Jun repeatedly pondered the core question when founding Xiaomi: What is the most fundamental expectation users have for products? The answer is eight words: "Touching hearts and being price-conscious."

Starting from "first principles," Xiaomi determined that the core issue to address was enhancing business efficiency. Subsequently, all activities achieved efficiency improvements based on the original foundation.

Furthermore, the book states, "In the 12 years since its inception, Xiaomi has focused on one thing: using internet thinking and methods to transform traditional manufacturing, practice and enrich 'internet + manufacturing,' and drive an efficiency revolution in the business world to maximize user benefits and socioeconomic operational efficiency."

After over a decade of reflection and iteration, Lei Jun summarized internet thinking into seven key principles: focus, excellence, word of mouth, and speed. Lei Jun candidly admitted, "The seven-word mantra has played a decisive role in my thinking and subsequent Xiaomi journey. Even today, it still guides Xiaomi's practices and has a profound impact on the company."

Clearly, an idealist with only "courage" can only be a foolhardy person. To become a hero of the times, one's way of thinking is even more crucial. Those with a "god's-eye view" are hard to defeat.

When traditional automakers still rely on products and treat car models as sales items, not yet adept at storytelling, Lei Jun has already conveyed a distinctive lifestyle and values. So, the question arises: Should we emulate Lei Jun by establishing a persona and telling stories to drive immense traffic, or should we continue to honestly talk about products and steadfastly do marketing?

In my opinion, blindly copying Lei Jun is akin to the ugly imitating the beautiful, which may result in embarrassment and risk. However, studying how Lei Jun leverages trends, uses numerical magic, achieves a perfect integration of founder and brand, and solves problems with engineering thinking is feasible.