Indeed, looking at the Fortune Global 500 list, Huawei is the only mainland Chinese company (out of 91 Chinese companies listed) earning more revenue abroad (67%). In a similar vein, Huawei makes use of an internal online forum, Xinsheng Community, which is accessible to all Huawei employees worldwide. 5. Zhengfei made this very clear when he said: I do not know anything about technology, but I can bring people together to work for the collective. He is praised for his desire to hire better people in the areas he is weak in, with the ultimate goal to improve the quality of Huawei products and services. There's a lot of disagreement, of course, on what the right course of action is in Europe. Fostering an ethos requires taking two important steps. This is beyond what anyone had imagined. We will also push the Chinese government to sign a cyber security agreement with the German government. There are various types of leadership styles (Fiaz et al., 2017) 1. The US stock market may witness a significant rise this July. Over the past century, which countries and companies have made the US scared? Mr. Ren: Huawei's future iterative succession system is clearly defined in our Articles of Governance. Steve Jobs is known more internationally. He has maintained the company as private and his management style has been extremely . However, we are not in any position to require other companies to do the same. Ren Zhengfei has lead Huawei to become a global brand making the top global 100 by 2017 (Huawei 2017). Or do you feel sometimes they are intimidated by that style of leadership? The multinationals that were present in China at that time did not consider this to be their problem, but rather that of the customer. When we were negotiating with the German government about signing such an agreement, we didn't know top officials from the Chinese government were also discussing the same thing. They had thought that disbanding was to weed out unnecessary troops and strengthen the remaining units. In particular, the emergence of AI has accelerated social progress. We remained focused on this same single point. At that time, Ren zhengfei often told all kinds of stories to encourage its employees to imagine the splendid future and try to cast them into reality with their own hands. Purpose-driven Ambition The core of Ren Zhengfei's leadership is the undeniable fact that he is very clear about the purpose of Huawei, which is helping customers to realise their dreams. It incorporates respectability well and great lead . CNBC is the leading global broadcaster of live business and financial news and information, reporting directly from the major financial markets around the globe with regional headquarters Singapore, Abu Dhabi, London, and New York. Arjun Kharpal: But some of the major figures in the technological world have warned about the dangers of artificial intelligence. February 9, 2021. Otherwise, how can we make ends meet? Ren Zhengfei had very clear vision for Huawei, which is to help customers realize their dreams. All Rights Reserved. Zhengfei was very clear about this ambition and demanded that all Huawei employees would adopt the US-based way of looking at business as introduced by IBM. All rights reserved. When he passed away, I was on a vacation in the mountains with my family. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. Leahy succeeded with both dramatic changes in part because he maintained a modest demeanor throughout. So we would never follow anyone's instructions to install backdoors. But I don't think Huawei can help solve the disputes between the US and China. We endorse unified global standards that make installing backdoors a crime. Arjun Kharpal: You mentioned in our conversation that people ask you about your vision for 20 to 30 years, but you don't even know what's going to happen in the next two to three years. By studying law on my own, I realized that only a focused approach to scientific research could lead to new products. Of course, several decades from now, that would potentially cause other side effects that we can't predict, but mitigating the side effects is better than immediate death. On one hand he possesses the characteristics of a controlling leader who makes all the decisions. If the US thinks we can be used as a pawn, I'd say they probably have the wrong person. So what is her role at this company if she is eventually released? Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox. I think it's the right thing for them to do. The government would find it hard to address its deficit. 2023 CNBC LLC. So there is no need to worry too much about some comments posted on the Internet. You're seen as a visionary very much here in China in the technology world. One opposing force is the idea of attack versus compromise or also referred to as the simultaneous tendency to cooperate versus compete. Arjun Kharpal: Do you feel that your military-style speeches empower the employees here? Every night, we took turns fueling the stove, because if it went out, we would have frozen. If we spread things too thin, there is no way we will be successful. As a result, I read a lot of books on law and learned that the market was about two things: the product and the customer. So he and his managers smashed the defective appliances. One key OQ competency is sending messages that reinforce the strategy. Zhengfei has a strong interest and passion for learning about historic events. An organization offers telephone exchange equipment. Networks belong to our customers, not us. although employees even management employees were not used to it, since it need a thorough change. Harshal Pawar We are not that important in the bilateral relations between the two countries. So productivity will be greatly improved. It has grown the market, enabling many other companies to survive. Indeed, EU officials initially wanted to investigate the anti-dumping act in relationship to Huaweis products. Ren is the son of school teachers and grew up in a mountainous town . Although he has introduced a strong focus within Huawei on continuously learning and reflecting, he leads his company with the passion of a true founder. I can share some numbers with you. This company philosophy was inspired by the heroic tales of the Glorious Revolution that took place in England in 1688. This fact inspired him to embrace the idea that one can win and still be cooperative. So it would be impossible for us to provide customer information to any third party. Even with those qualities, many leaders fail at the top job often because they dont know how to get the organization to do what they want. Leading Huawei: Seven Leadership Lessons of Ren Zhengfei, The relationship between China and the European continent carries much history with it. Mr. Ren: In a long run, I can tell you clearly that I will retire as I won't be alive forever but in a short term, it depends on my mental agility as I get older. The contrasts were stark. Nothing we've achieved would give us the right to neglect any laws or overlook the technologies of any country. Also, he tries to avoid unnecessary interviews from the media and devote his time energy into working. I raised a total of over 20,000 RMB to pay the variety of fees needed to start a company. and pay only $8.50 each, Buy 50 - 499 Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. I was naive and took it for granted that I could earn money playing with this huge industry. Everyone at GE knew what to expect from Neutron Jack Welch. A good theatrical moment reverberates as stories about (and, more recently, videos of) the event are passed along. So we believe our engagement with the German government will be endorsed by the Chinese government. Nevertheless, Zhengfei remained persistent in talking about his ambitions at all kind of occasions. Divested mid-price range Honor brand in Nov 2020. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. This does mean though that many translators and stock analysts and the like will lose their jobs. 2023 | A2Z Pte.Ltd. Mr. Ren: I don't know about technology, management, or finance. The country wanted to reform and open its doors. He relentlessly convinces his employees through stories and actions. Do you think that companies like yours are too powerful and need to be regulated? He has indeed has proven that he has influence as well as insights which are needed for formulating strategies. Register as a Premium Educator at hbsp.harvard.edu, plan a course, and save your students up to 50% with your academic discount. The first is the ability to accurately estimate the level of conflict a particular course of action will elicit. Mr. Ren Zhengfei has been capable of pioneering the development of technology while growing in the world. He made this persuasively clear by literally saying that it is necessary To cut off your feet to wear the shoe, In China, leadership has traditionally been grounded in a hierarchical top-down management system. None of the information on this website is investment or financial advice. This meant we were left behind for many years in this area. In phase 2, running from 1997 to 2007, Huawei became more structured by hiring IBM to implement management structures as these were completely lacking at that time. The billionaire founder of Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei rarely. It's now just a scientific fantasy, and wouldn't necessarily ever happen. As we noted earlier, often references to past historic events are used to shape actions and beliefs towards the future. Rebelling from the top means taking on the biggest challenges only when you have the most firepower. Huawei, one of the biggest company focusing on making communication tools like cellphones, is famous all over the world. The last thing we want is to have bureaucrats or managers lead our way in technology. In the Qingdao headquarters of the Chinese company Haier stands a display case containing a sledgehammer. According to him, Huawei should be focused on building a company where peoples minds are the main asset and resource to rely on. To reinforce the message, he sent congratulatory emails when faculty had acceptances in such journals (but not for acceptances in academic publications). This is an idea that scares people, but right now, it is not yet anywhere near reality. But this year, once the slate is wiped clean, the financial statements they will release in July will be much healthier. I liked reading books, doing homework, and solving math equations on scrap newspaper. Thirdly, its his sense of management that helps him to become an excellent leader. The road to success for Huawei started in 1987 where it was founded in the economic testing zone of Shenzhen. How to Hide My Following List on Instagram From Followers 2023, Payke: High Tech to Enrich the Japan Experience, Extending The Time Equation: How TimeXtender Helps Businesses Save Considerable Time, Money by Automating Data Management Efforts, Future-proofing payment systems: the silver lining is in the cloud, Getting the AI edge: An exclusive interview with MobiDev CEO Oleg Lola, Promise and Challenge: AI in the Trade Finance Industry, ZeroBounce COO Brian Minick on Getting Better at Email Marketing, Refining the Search for Executive Talent in Europe, Re-creating the Trust of a Village in a Digital, Global Market: Insights From Trulioo CEO Steve Munford, Want to Succeed in Business? What do you make of his views? Second, Huawei is being stuck in an extremely difficult situation the US is launching intense attacks against us. True to this Chinese saying, Zhengfei has indeed proven that he had the influence and insights needed to design the most effective strategies to ensure that Huawei has grown into a world leading company across three phases, each lasting about a decade. Zhengfei is a big fan of the practice of story telling and makes extensive use of it as a vehicle to deliver his ideas to employees in a passionate manner. Being born blind and deaf is caused by missing of genes. At Huawei, we often talk about the term of "Van Fleet Load", which was invented by a general of the US army. Arjun Kharpal: Mr. Ren, you started Huawei over 30 years ago with 5,000 US dollars. Difficult as Huawei is, its founder Ren zhengfei still have faith about Huaweis future and its great success in few years later. For example, as the products of Huawei in their pioneering years were not yet well developed he visited many R&D offices abroad. We will rush towards and focus all of our efforts on this technology. If President Trump continues intimidating other countries and companies, and keeps randomly detaining people, who would risk investing in the US? He lives with his daughter Cathy Meng who is also the CFO of Huawei. For me, it was an exciting experience. If they attack a country, that country will fight back. Arjun Kharpal: I want to go back a little bit to talk about the US-China trade war because Meng Wanzhou was arrested in Canada on behalf of the US authorities. One defining feature of the Huawei culture is that it is able to bring together opposing forces and tendencies. Before moving to UK, he was a Professor of Management at China Europe International Business School in Shanghai. But our strategy of focused investment never changed as our capital grew. Publication Date: What they lack and what successful leaders embody, down to their marrow is organizational intelligence. 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