The semiconductor equipment industry is highly cyclical and is a hard-hit area of the "bullwhip effect". The business fluctuates so much that orders can double or halve within a few months.

Category：hotcomm

2025-06-17

MBA just graduated from my first few years, I was in a semiconductor equipment manufacturer in Silicon Valley, engaged in supply chain management and management suppliers. The semiconductor equipment industry is very cyclical and is the hardest hit area of " bullwhip effect ". The business fluctuates so much that orders can double or halve within a few months. The environment is harsh and the personnel changes are very large. Four bosses have been replaced within three years. Every time I change my boss, I have to start from scratch what I have done before, because most new bosses have their own set. If the boss comes from another industry, the problem will be even greater: because you don’t understand the new industry, many semiconductor industries’ practices and practices, whether good or bad, will be challenged; the previous decisions may be even greater. At that time, the pain of professionals was nothing more than lay leaders and experts, and novices and management veterans.

until I met Ms. Shirley Young, former vice president of GM. It was April 2006. The Chinese-American elite organization " Hundred People Club " held its 15th annual meeting on San Francisco . The last event was the "Teacher Program", which is to guide young people by respected and successful people in the industry. I was lucky enough to be assigned to Ms. Yang's group, so I asked her what to do. Her answer was a bit surprising: Follow the boss. She explained that bosses often know some situations that their subordinates don’t know, but they may not have time, or it may be convenient for them to explain them clearly to their subordinates; their experiences are often more comprehensive and richer than their subordinates, and they are experienced people, although they are not necessarily in their subordinates’ majors. Think about it, nowadays, at least in foreign-funded enterprises, are all working bosses. They have their own affairs and have to manage a group of people. They work more than ten hours a day, and they have their difficulties. If you face a veteran who is always in conflict with you and spend hours explaining everything, it is indeed a problem.

Of course this is not a blind obedience, although Ms. Yang did not have the opportunity to explain further. What I have learned over the years is that the boss’s requirements are legitimate and the decisions are correct, but if you know that some risks are not aware of them, you still have to tell the boss objectively and strive to give the boss a comprehensive information. Provoking advice as a supporter is often easier to convince the boss than the opponent. This applies not only to the boss, but also to everyone - human nature is to like to be affirmed. In my experience, telling the boss the pros and cons and letting him make decisions by himself, the result is often the boss changing his mind. If you always protect your previous decisions, it will often affect your argument and evolve into a confrontation between new leaders and old employees. So when you become a person, communication becomes more difficult and it is even more difficult to solve.

So, for the elders, it is better to regard the new boss as an opportunity than to regard him as a burden. It is considered as a burden that will worsen the situation, which will be of no benefit to the company and both parties; on the contrary, it is regarded as an opportunity to strive to make the new boss successful, and it will also make yourself successful. Instead of twisting and drying , it is better to follow it. This is that responds to changes in all changes , which is more constructive.

Post-note: This article was written around 2008. For six or seven years, I have been leading the team and managing employees myself, and I feel the difficulty of the management. In large foreign-funded companies, the director and manager belong to the middle level, with senior executives at the top and employees at the bottom. They manage people and affairs, and they are the most miserable class. In particular, I saw some old colleagues in the United States struggling. They were not as good as employees in business and had no achievements in management. Once they lay off employees, they often became victims first, and they felt that they were very pitiful. People will grow old. It may be difficult for domestic professionals to understand because the employment army is generally young. So when people complain to me about their boss, one of my suggestions is to have a poor boss, get things done, move on.Yes, you and I are in our prime, and I don’t want to do it here anymore, so there is a place to go. As for them, they are all fifty or sixty years old, and they have no way to retire and lose their jobs. Where can I go?

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