2/ A section of the book “Survival Strategy in the Native Age (2021-2049)” by 何帆 provides a glimpse into how BYD, a battery and EV manufacturer, went from never producing a single surgical mask, to being the world’s largest mask manufacturer in just a few weeks.

— Bridget McCarthy (@bridgemccarthy_) February 10, 2021

4/ On January 31st, long before we were even aware of COVID-19 cases in the U.S., BYD’s President Wang Chuanfu posted a message in BYD’s executive WeChat group while on a business trip overseas.

— Bridget McCarthy (@bridgemccarthy_) February 10, 2021

6/ In a matter of days, BYD’s designers drew more than 400 renderings of mask machines, the electronics group prepared the necessary parts, & 3,000 engineers from 13 business divisions started building. A week later, BYD was producing masks to be sent around the world. pic.twitter.com/rpku3PaW74

— Bridget McCarthy (@bridgemccarthy_) February 10, 2021

8/ BYD’s unmatched R&D & vertical integration allowed it to build mask production lines using existing machinery. For parts of the lines that weren’t readily available, BYD produced them within just hours. Each line consisted of over 1,300 parts, of which 90% were made in-house. pic.twitter.com/uyZD2LQgWu

— Bridget McCarthy (@bridgemccarthy_) February 10, 2021

10/ Through such a busy and chaotic time, BYD employees of all levels felt a sense of entrepreneurism again, as the company transitioned into a completely unfamiliar field to more directly save lives.

— Bridget McCarthy (@bridgemccarthy_) February 10, 2021

11/ In China, people call Elon Musk “the Wang Chuanfu of the West”, though the two titans’ handling of COVID-19 couldn’t have been more different.

It’s important to take a step back and look holistically at companies’ true impacts on the world. BYD makes that easy.

— Bridget McCarthy (@bridgemccarthy_) February 10, 2021