It seems Baidu’s recent struggles in China aren’t just about missing opportunities—there’s also a growing sentiment that their management culture is toxic and out of touch. One incident that really stirred public outrage was when Baidu’s PR head, Qu Jing, posted videos glorifying the grueling “996” work culture (9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week). Her comments, like “I’m not your mother” and “don’t expect weekends off,” rubbed people the wrong way, especially given China’s recent backlash against extreme work hours. This isn’t just bad PR; it’s a reflection of a broader management issue at Baidu where leadership seems indifferent to the well-being of their employees
"起个大早，赶个晚集" is such a good summary of Baidu's performance. The inefficiencies within the organization seem to consistently weaken its competitive strength. If Baidu struggles to succeed as an early mover, it's even less likely to win as a late mover.
I like how you use the word “again” in the title. Baidu always has a talent for screwing up everything, and I highly ascribe that to their terrible corporate culture
This is why leadership, is so important. You need solid people at the top you know how to steer the company, make good decisions, and most importantly get their execution spot on. Strategy is important. But execution, is the name of the game.
The fact that Baidu is no longer number 1 in maps or the only one in Autonomous driving does not mean that the management is bad. It simply is a reflection of the competitive nature of Chinese big tech. It happens to all first players in China. The fact that Short video got more popular than text on desktop and even mobile is a shift that affected Baidu, it does not mean that Baidu was bad for being affected by it. They could not have replaced short video specialists as not being specialized in it.
Their revamp of search with AI will change the experience completely. The search results will no longer be a static page. It's a wonder how it will be monetized but we cannot say that it is not user friendly. It's possible that all Chinese big tech will end up with similar AI capacities if AI gets commoditized and that would not be the fault of the first mover.
It seems Baidu’s recent struggles in China aren’t just about missing opportunities—there’s also a growing sentiment that their management culture is toxic and out of touch. One incident that really stirred public outrage was when Baidu’s PR head, Qu Jing, posted videos glorifying the grueling “996” work culture (9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week). Her comments, like “I’m not your mother” and “don’t expect weekends off,” rubbed people the wrong way, especially given China’s recent backlash against extreme work hours. This isn’t just bad PR; it’s a reflection of a broader management issue at Baidu where leadership seems indifferent to the well-being of their employees
"起个大早，赶个晚集" is such a good summary of Baidu's performance. The inefficiencies within the organization seem to consistently weaken its competitive strength. If Baidu struggles to succeed as an early mover, it's even less likely to win as a late mover.
I like how you use the word “again” in the title. Baidu always has a talent for screwing up everything, and I highly ascribe that to their terrible corporate culture
This is why leadership, is so important. You need solid people at the top you know how to steer the company, make good decisions, and most importantly get their execution spot on. Strategy is important. But execution, is the name of the game.
The fact that Baidu is no longer number 1 in maps or the only one in Autonomous driving does not mean that the management is bad. It simply is a reflection of the competitive nature of Chinese big tech. It happens to all first players in China. The fact that Short video got more popular than text on desktop and even mobile is a shift that affected Baidu, it does not mean that Baidu was bad for being affected by it. They could not have replaced short video specialists as not being specialized in it.
Their revamp of search with AI will change the experience completely. The search results will no longer be a static page. It's a wonder how it will be monetized but we cannot say that it is not user friendly. It's possible that all Chinese big tech will end up with similar AI capacities if AI gets commoditized and that would not be the fault of the first mover.