Find hope in despair, and life will eventually be brilliant.
Editor's introduction: Yu Minhong is included in the 'Business Maverick' column not only because he did not choose to escape when the industry collapsed, but also because he took on all responsibilities with a nearly resolute attitude and started anew in his sixties. The archival value lies in the fact that when his core business was reduced to zero and market value evaporated, he still upheld integrity and bottom lines, turning a corporate crisis into a maverick journey that earned society's respect. This choice of not losing one's true colors in desperate situations is the core spirit of a 'maverick.'
Yu Minhong was born in Jiangyin, Jiangsu in 1962. He was admitted to Peking University's Department of Western Languages in 1980 and stayed on as a teacher after graduation. [1] In 1991, he was disciplined by the university for off-campus teaching, resigned, and founded Beijing New Oriental School. [1] With his mastery of English teaching and unique classroom style, New Oriental quickly established itself in the study-abroad test prep market, later expanding into K-12 and vocational education. [1] In 2006, New Oriental listed on the NYSE, becoming the first Chinese mainland education institution to do so; in 2019, it completed a secondary listing on the HKEX. [2] At its peak, New Oriental had over a thousand learning centers nationwide, employed more than 60,000 staff, and its market value once exceeded 100 billion RMB. [3] However, the 'Double Reduction' policy in 2021 nearly eliminated its K-12 tutoring business, forcing a comprehensive transformation. [3]
Under the impact of the 'Double Reduction' policy, Yu Minhong made three critical decisions: unconditionally refund all student tuition in full, legally pay employee wages and compensation, and donate nearly 80,000 sets of new desks and chairs from nationwide campuses to rural schools. [4] To honor these commitments, New Oriental coordinated nearly 20 billion RMB for refunds, salaries, lease terminations, and debt handling. [4] Yu Minhong personally guaranteed everything with his reputation and corporate assets, refusing to shift blame or evade responsibility, earning widespread respect. [4] During the transformation, he adhered to a route of 'content-driven, knowledge-driven, sincere selling,' rejecting exaggerated marketing and formulaic scripts, and emphasizing long-term value. [5] He once said, 'Find hope in despair, and life will eventually be brilliant.' [6] This phrase has become the spiritual foundation of his personal and corporate ethos.
Yu Minhong's maverick path is not just a corporate self-rescue but has become a model case of responsibility and rebirth in Chinese business history. [7] He handled the aftermath of the 'Double Reduction' policy properly, ensuring that users and employees did not suffer, demonstrating entrepreneurial responsibility. [7] The success of East Buy is essentially the continuation and realization of New Oriental's accumulated integrity, responsibility, and reputation in a new track. [5] Yu's transformation proves that true long-termism is not about clinging to a specific business, but about finding new possibilities within the rules and holding onto unchanging values amid changing times. [7] His experience leaves a profound lesson for the market: industries have cycles, markets fluctuate, but an entrepreneur's responsibility, a company's integrity, and a long-term approach to work are always the core forces to weather storms. [7]
The business proposition Yu Minhong leaves behind is: in the face of epochal changes, where lies the boundary of an entrepreneur's responsibility? He answered with his actions—responsibility is not a cost but the most valuable asset. When the industry cycle reversed, he chose to sustain the brand with integrity and responsibility, ultimately achieving value restoration in the livestream e-commerce track. His experience proves that true strength is not about always standing at the peak, but about maintaining one's true colors in the trough and finding new directions. This may be the most profound significance of a 'business maverick' in our times.