The Most Important Hiring Standard

In a recent interview, NetEase CEO William Ding was asked: “What is the single most important quality you look for when hiring—regardless of role?”

His answer was striking:
“The most critical quality—still rare among most Chinese students—is independent thinking. Second is logical reasoning. Some people literally lack logical capacity—it’s frustrating.”

Host: “Even graduates from top universities?”
Ding: “Yes. Many are muddled in logic—and lack independent judgment. They just echo others, never question anything.”

Yet in practice, we rarely assess these foundational qualities during interviews. Instead, we lean heavily on résumés or vague ‘gut feelings’. A colleague might say, “This candidate feels right”—but when pressed, they cite only past experience—or offer no deeper rationale.

So why do so many hires fall short? At least three things are at stake:

  1. Clarity of standards: Do we have explicit criteria—not just for technical skills, but for core cognitive traits like logic, curiosity, and self-direction?
  2. Interview discipline: Can interviewers ask questions that actually test those standards—or do they default to safe, superficial ones?
  3. Proactive sourcing: How much effort do we invest in finding exceptional people—not just screening applicants? For many, this is the hardest part.

On point #2: Often, the real failure isn’t the candidate—it’s the interviewer. When questions are weak or irrelevant, decisions devolve to intuition. That’s not hiring—it’s guessing. The fix? Interviewers must first think rigorously themselves. If you lack logic, you won’t recognize it in others.

The Right Kind of Empathy

During the Dong Yuhui incident, most people instinctively empathized with Dong—the charismatic front-facing star.

But that’s likely the wrong lens. In reality, most of us occupy less visible roles: the scriptwriter behind the scenes, the lighting technician, the editor, the mid-tier host, or the operations manager coordinating logistics.

Try stepping into those roles instead. What does it feel like to work tirelessly while staying anonymous? To balance creative input with corporate constraints? To support a star without ever becoming one?

This reminds me of a conversation about historical dramas. Many commenters romanticize ancient China—“Life was simpler then!” But they’re misplacing empathy. If you truly lived in Song Dynasty China, there’s a 99% chance you’d be a peasant bound to a five-kilometer radius—illiterate, overworked, and invisible to history.

Empathy isn’t about mirroring the spotlight. It’s about seeing the whole stage.

Nine Reflections on the Dong Yuhui Incident

  1. Dong Yuhui’s breakout as a cultural IP was profoundly accidental. His audience resonance defies formula—and cannot be replicated. New Oriental got extraordinarily lucky.
  2. That luck collided head-on with New Oriental’s traditional corporate DNA and managerial mindset—designed for stability, not viral unpredictability.
  3. Dongfang Select’s crisis exposed a deeper failure: misunderstanding fan economy logic in live streaming. Like many of us last year, they tried to control hosts—demanding obedience, scripting content, overriding instincts. That’s toxic for top-tier talent—and ignited open conflict.
  4. Yu Minhong’s response showcased rare leadership wisdom.
  5. Specifically, he did three things exceptionally well:
    • Issued a timely public apology;
    • Removed the Dong Yuhui–led Dongfang Select CEO;
    • Engaged Dong directly—offering higher compensation, inviting him onto his own livestream (40M+ views, 400K avg concurrent), and rebuilding trust visibly.
  6. After Dongfang Select stumbled, competitors Gao Tu Jia Pin and Xue Er Si You Xuan surged—especially after Xue Er Si announced its top host’s promotion to executive rank live on air. The lesson? Don’t get off the bus. Once you exit the live-streaming lane, re-entry is nearly impossible.
  7. Yes, Dongfang Select rightly worries about over-reliance on one star—but the reality is stark: almost every scaled live-streaming company runs on one dominant host, contributing 60–80% of revenue. I know several billion-RMB companies where a single person delivers 80% of income. That’s risky—but also normal.
  8. So if a star emerges, treat it as windfall—not liability. Double down: allocate maximum resources to amplify that IP—whether via dedicated teams, spin-off ventures, or shared equity models. Protect and scale the asset.
  9. And yes—alcohol remains a universal solvent.

Three Principles for Choosing Extracurricular Classes

When selecting interest-based classes for children, prioritize three pillars:

1. Natural Talent

Observe what your child already excels at—not what you wish they would. Amplify that strength. When talent meets opportunity, the result isn’t just skill—it’s confidence, one of life’s most durable currencies.

2. Foundational Traits

These fall into two buckets:

  • Character: kindness, resilience, optimism, integrity.
  • Cognitive capacity: logic, independent thinking, imagination, delayed gratification, learning agility.
    The more time I spend with highly successful or deeply fulfilled people, the clearer it becomes: their edge isn’t domain knowledge—it’s these invisible, lifelong traits.

3. Academic Alignment

  • Reinforce core subjects: reading/writing classes boost language fluency; structured thinking courses strengthen math reasoning.
  • Align with long-term goals: e.g., if aiming for overseas study, embed English immersion early—not as “extra,” but as daily habit.

Think of a child’s development as a tree. Foundational traits are the roots. They determine how tall it grows, how wide it spreads, and how fiercely it withstands storms.

On Live Streaming, Management, Memory, and Education

Over dinner with a longtime friend, we exchanged practical insights across domains:

Management

  • Project-based profit sharing: Assign monetary value to each project; let employees invest personal capital for equity stakes—beyond base salary, they earn dividends. Drives ownership, especially among high performers.
  • Quantitative task management: Define daily output targets per role. Miss them? Salary deduction follows. It’s modern piecework—transparent, measurable, outcome-focused.
  • Low base + high commission: Set minimal fixed pay. Push everyone to earn through demonstrable contribution—no room for coasting.

Live Streaming

  • Autonomy first: Let hosts choose their own video topics and scripts. Operations handles filming, editing, publishing. For livestreams, co-create—but keep the host firmly in the driver’s seat.
  • Talent > training: Success hinges on innate ability—“net sense,” original voice, charisma. Screening matters more than coaching.
  • Two filters for hosts: Does s/he have strong “net sense”? Does s/he already produce distinctive, ownable content?
  • Leverage existing momentum: Partner with IPs recently parted ways with prior platforms—they’ve already validated appeal. Collaboration extends proven success.
  • Protect personality: Every top host has quirks. Your job isn’t to smooth them out—it’s to safeguard them.
  • Honor intent: When negotiating with promising hosts, respect their passion for content, users, and product—not just metrics.
  • Sustained focus matters: Potential means little without stamina—the ability to show up, iterate, and improve daily.
  • Non-negotiable baseline: Every host must deliver excellent course content. No exceptions.

Memory

  • Storytelling is the core technique—but not just any story. Effective memory stories require: vivid imagery, dramatic tension, and tight internal logic.
  • All knowledge stacks: characters → words → sentences → paragraphs.
  • Great memory techniques don’t just encode—they deepen understanding.

Education

  • Honor individual variation: nurture strengths and address clear gaps—not uniformly, but thoughtfully.
  • One key criterion for extracurriculars: where does your child naturally shine? Follow that signal.
  • Environment is paramount: a calm, supportive, emotionally safe home shapes development more than any curriculum.
  • Many struggling students aren’t “deficient”—they’re under-motivated. “Parenting success frameworks” aren’t magic—but they can restore agency and hope. That alone has real value.