The Decline Of Vape Companies May Be Due To Of Pseudo Executives

The China vape industry is undergoing a profound transformation from fanaticism to rationality. The once prosperous scene of capital influx and overall surge no longer exists, and many companies have fallen into development difficulties or even declined. When analyzing many failed cases, we found a striking commonality: the decline of enterprises is closely related to the existence of a group of “pseudo executives”.
These executives hold high salaries and occupy key positions, but they have failed to create corresponding value for the company and instead become stumbling blocks to the organization’s progress.

The China vape industry has moved from the initial wild growth of the “shallow sea” area to the “deep sea” field that requires precise operation and strategic depth. In this process, the drawbacks of pseudo executives are infinitely magnified, ultimately leading to the company losing its direction or even sinking.
The deep-sea environment has put forward new requirements for the executive teams of vape companies:
The extensive management, marketing driven, and rapid customer acquisition capabilities that were once effective in shallow waters are no longer applicable in deep sea areas. Nowadays, what enterprises need are more solid capabilities such as refined operations, technological innovation, compliance management, and organizational construction.
Unfortunately, many executive teams of Chinese vape companies have not been able to complete this transformation in a timely manner. They performed well in shallow waters, but appeared inadequate in deep-sea environments, ultimately leading to the inability of the company to adapt to the new competitive environment.
The typical manifestation of pseudo executives is short-term behavior orientation: excessive self-interest while neglecting the goals of the enterprise; Enthusiastic about immediate projects while neglecting foundational work that requires long-term investment; Pursuing the highlights of personal resume rather than substantive progress of the enterprise.
The common characteristics of pseudo executives in the vape industry are: adept at weaving fancy PPTs and grand narratives, but unable to effectively promote specific work; Proficient in meeting speeches and task deployment, but lacking the ability to solve practical business problems; Likes to introduce various management theories and tools, but cannot integrate them with the actual situation of the enterprise.

In terms of technological research and development, they talk a lot about innovation and disruption, but know very little about the core technology, user experience, and quality control of vapes; In terms of brand building, they shout to build a century old brand, but they cannot even grasp the basic user profile and brand positioning; In terms of channel management, they emphasize digitization and new retail, but have only a superficial understanding of the actual operation of offline channels.
When companies encounter real challenges, these pseudo executives are unable to go deep into the front line and lead their teams to overcome difficulties. They are more like bystanders than problem-solving leaders, accustomed to listening to reports rather than personally seeking answers.
Pseudo executives often carry a strong bureaucratic atmosphere, establishing barriers, emphasizing hierarchy, excluding dissidents, and being wary or even hostile towards capable and independent subordinates.

This bureaucratic style is manifested as an excessive emphasis on processes and forms rather than substance and results; Establishing information barriers and consolidating one’s position through monopolizing information; Rejecting different opinions and viewing subordinates’ questioning as a challenge to authority.
In the rapidly changing industry of vape, the harm of bureaucracy is particularly severe. It will lead to slow response of enterprises and miss market opportunities; Inhibiting organizational vitality and causing the loss of outstanding talents; Formalism breeds, and people are more concerned with ‘who is responsible for whom’ rather than ‘what is responsible for things’.
Pseudo executives are often proficient in upward management and relationship management, and they devote a lot of energy to understanding superiors and building relationship networks, rather than actual performance creation.
This upward management is reflected in multiple aspects: selective reporting, exaggerating achievements to cover up problems; Follow their preferences and say what the boss wants to hear instead of the real situation; Build a personal image by packaging oneself and establishing factions to consolidate one’s position.
In the vape industry, we often see this phenomenon: some executives regard the recognition of their bosses as the highest goal, rather than the recognition of the market; Play office politics to perfection, but be helpless in dealing with real business issues; In terms of resource allocation, it tends to focus on projects that can demonstrate personal achievements, rather than areas that are most valuable to the enterprise.

Pseudo executives are like delicate porcelain – beautiful but fragile, unable to withstand real pressure and challenges. When a company is sailing in deep waters, facing undercurrents and reefs, such leaders cannot lead their team to safely reach the other shore.
The vape industry has bid farewell to the era of savage growth and entered the stage of deep-sea competition. At this stage, the success of a company no longer relies on a single heroic CEO, but on a truly efficient executive team. Eliminating fake executives and cultivating and attracting real executives may be the key battle for vape companies to break through in the deep waters.

However, in recent years, the foreign vape market has been saturated or policy uncertain: Europe, the United States, and the United Kingdom, as huge markets for vapes. They are undergoing changes. So, if Chinese vape manufacturer or vape factory do not make personnel adjustments. The only result is that it is getting worse and worse.