While pursuing this vision, he continuously has proven his ability to design strategies that enabled him to adapt his vision to the challenges that the company faces. In total, 300,000 to 400,000 people have joined Huawei, but only around 180,000 people decided to stay. The billionaire founder of Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei rarely. I could not keep up with the times. We endorse unified global standards that make installing backdoors a crime. If a country is poor and they have nothing to lose, they aren't afraid of being attacked. After, completing his school, He attended the university named Chongqing and then Ren Zhengfei, joined Peoples Liberation Army research institute as, he wishes to work as a military technologist, reportedly in the PLA's Information Technology research unit. Nothing we've achieved would give us the right to neglect any laws or overlook the technologies of any country. In fact, the company only seems to be growing stronger. In our early days, we relied on only two multi-meters and one oscilloscope to develop the product. Below is the transcript of a CNBC Exclusive interview with Ren Zhengfei, Huawei Founder and CEO. So we would never follow anyone's instructions to install backdoors. If we didn't pay taxes or follow the laws and regulations in the over 170 countries where we operate, we wouldn't have survived in those countries. However, there was no way back. Huawei, one of the biggest company focusing on making communication tools like cellphones, is famous all over the world. Huawei is to a large extent no stranger to this system. He relentlessly convinces his employees through stories and actions. Without the leadership Ren zhengfei has, there could not have been todays Huawei. Its CEO, Ren Zhengfei, has long identified grey management as a principle of his leadership and employed it to provide his firm with a clear direction. I would have to repay tens of billions of dollars in debts. The industry had high requirements. For example, Huawei equipment broke down frequently, so Huawei technical engineers went to customer equipment rooms to repair the equipment at night when the equipment was not being used. 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. What we have is not some kind of nuclear bomb or weapon. Therefore, we will count on the law to address these issues. Ren is an active supporter of Communist Party of China. To give you a simple example. Consequently, Huawei's performance took a nosedive and employee satisfaction also sank. Meng is now in a similar situation. I stuck our 180,000 employees together, and encouraged them to forge ahead. When attending a summit in Croatia, Premier Li also told our employees not to install backdoors. If they do, they will buy some of our products. We obviously couldn't control our customers, so we had to get hold of the products. This practice allowed managers to become more active and creative, but also created chaos. I don't know what the government officials have said, what concessions they have made, or what opportunities or benefits they've received. We believe US laws are open, transparent, fair, and just. Ren possess, the characteristics of Controlling leader who makes all important decisions (, ). In Huaweis early years, Zhengfei retained authority on major decisions such as corporate development strategies and culture building, but fully empowered employees when it comes to R&D, manager appointment, compensation & benefit allocation, and other areas. Enterprises can now transfer their funds in other countries back to the US because of a low tax rate of 12%. What company can outperform Microsoft in Office and Windows? What else can we talk about? I think that is how this story is likely to end. It was all about hard work to bring the company up to the level that it was able to provide higher-quality service. Fuelled by his passion, Ren Zhengfei works hard to translate the purpose of the company into a vision aimed at Huawei achieving a world leading status. Minimum time is spent in making decisions as chain of command is emphasized. Zhengfei was worried that phase 2 created a kind of decision-making that was less than efficient. So I'll let her face what she is facing. The Laissez-Fair Leadership Style 1085 Words | 5 Pages They are engaging elements of transformational leadership in which leaders get great illustrations who increased in value, respected, replicated and trusted by subordinates ; . Recommended Lists: Scorpio Entrepreneurs I think this challenge will be good for my daughter. Vernon Hill was transformationally successful in leading Commerce Bank in the USA and then Metro Bank in the UK. It helps reduce many people's workloads. Trusted by 2+ million users, 1000+ happy students everyday, You are reading a previewUpload your documents to download or Become a Desklib member to get accesss. If we couldn't make ends meet, we wouldn't be able to survive. He has maintained the company as private and his management style has been extremely . Drawing on this experience, we developed our own 40-line switch for rural markets that could support 40 users. For example, In the UK, Huawei has put much effort into convincing the British government and general public that they and their procedures can be trusted, by (a) Setting up the Cyber Security Evaluation Centre in Banbury to ensure the quality of their equipment, and (b) Cooperating with the GCHQ, the UKs signals-intelligence agency, to ensure that the, The European Business Review uses cookies to improve site functionality, provide you with a better browsing experience, and to enable our partners to advertise to you. Among his other, achievements, Ren is accountable of development of cooperative programs, Chinas interior regions. 500000 employees in military field. China also didn't have its own testing instruments, so I invented one. Technologies are advancing. October 01, 2018, Source: I think he was super great. People will be afraid of getting trapped there. At that time, China didn't accept Mendel's theories; instead, we followed Ivan Michurin's theories. But if you were in the room with the US President, what would be your message to him? They will be able to produce more quality products than the whole world can consume. I felt very uncomfortable with the transition from the military to Shenzhen which was becoming at forefront of the reform and opening-up. This introductory chapter offers an overview of the entire book on the management transformation of Huawei. As a result, I went back to where I started and jumped into the market economy. Many will say that the blueprint of Huaweis success has been laid out by Zhengfei and even though Huawei nowadays makes use of a rotating leadership system in which every six months another board member is the acting CEO, its founder still has a significant impact on the pace and direction of the company. Its this kind of spirit in Ren zhengfei that propels his company to become one of the best in China even the world. Although he is a billionaire, Zhengfei prefers a low profile lifestyle and even travels on the public transport. To reinforce the message, he sent congratulatory emails when faculty had acceptances in such journals (but not for acceptances in academic publications). Mr. Ren: Huawei is based in China. This is how, John Sutherland on Leadership and Teamwork, Pro-active Leadership: How to overcome procrastination and be a bold decision-maker, ChatGPT and Its Impact on Author Transparency in Scientific and Academic Journals, How New Age Entrepreneurs are Changing the Way We Think About Business, Layoffs in Tech: Redistribution of Resources Amid a Tech Transformation. I believe China and the US should stress collaboration and shared success. In his pursuit of the Huawei dream, Ren Zhengfei seems to know his own limitations and does not portray himself as the ultimate know-all leader. Arjun Kharpal: So would you say the US is scared of Huawei? Huawei's achievements were not created by me alone, but by our 180,000 employees. Learn how to create a winning business plan. With an "umbrella", Apple sells at high prices and maintains high quality. It is great in that it has always pushed to make the market bigger, not smaller. His passion to be the best technology company they can be in service of the customer ensures that he has deserved the reputation of being eager to keep learning and stay informed all the time. At the same time, the company acknowledged the contributions of dedicated employees by remunerating them generously. Strong leaders usually have strong views about how things should be done, which can lead them to take on too many fights too early in their careers. We'll buy them directly." According to him, Huawei should be focused on building a company where peoples minds are the main asset and resource to rely on. With Huawei becoming the largest telecommunications equipment manufacturer in the world, Ren zhengfei has already become a paradigm Autocratic leadership: It is also known as pragmatic leadership. What's next for Meng Wanzhou in her life, in her career? Arjun Kharpal: I want to switch topic a little bit to talk about your daughter, Meng Wanzhou. Its success stems in no small part from its ethos, the wolf spirit of Huawei, created by founder and chairman Ren Zhengfei at the start. Moving forward, we will invest more in this direction. Ren joined Peoples Liberation Army with the aim of making synthetic fiber. After all these upheavals, she has changed her mind and doesn't want to leave. 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. In the early years, Huawei, as a private company, had to battle primarily the State Owned Enterprise (SOE) dominated market. High-OQ leaders foster an understanding, or ethos, of who we are. When leaders move from managing individuals or small groups to leading entire organizations, they need to create a shared understanding of whats important and what the organization stands for in other words, an ethos. HBR Learnings online leadership training helps you hone your skills with courses like Business Plan Development. Use the strengths of your organization to achieve your goals. Moments of theater are a potent part of a CEOs toolkit for communicating and reinforcing an ethos. For example, in the early years of Huawei (Phase 1), he regularly told stories to employees that he believed that in 20 years Huawei would have 1/3 of the market share in the world, despite the fact that at that time Huawei only employed about 200 employees. This meant we were left behind for many years in this area. So George revamped the universitys advisory board meetings. Arjun Kharpal: You were in the People's Liberation Army. Particularly the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21, His ability to critically reflect on past successes and at the same time to identify the future challenges in the next decade makes Zhengfei an impactful business leader in the eyes of many Chinese. For that, they need organizational intelligence (OQ), or the ability to get the organization to do what they want it to do. One defining feature of the Huawei culture is that it is able to bring together opposing forces and tendencies. Join us in Amsterdam for the 2023 European Compliance & Ethics Institute! You often use military imagery and images of battles in your speeches and communications with the employees at the company. I want to use a case analogy here. Some US politicians are criticizing Huawei everywhere they go. Is that something you would welcome? Huawei was founded by Ren Zhengfei when he was in the mid-age crisis. This fact inspired him to embrace the idea that one can win and still be cooperative. Some people asked me what the world would be like in 20 or 30 years. If they attack a country, that country will fight back. It incorporates respectability well and great lead . There is nothing else that I want to share with him. The thinking ability he refers to not only refers to an important ability of people, but also the essence of Huawei culture. It's a wealthy country, so it has a lot to lose. We just provide the equipment used to build these networks. Particularly the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road initiatives, which include a patchwork of diplomacy and free trade zones, have received their share of attention. What Industries are the Best Teachers for International Managers? This focus on unlimited delivery of services helped Huawei to gain the reputation that they sincerely cared about the needs of their customers, and as a result gave them a competitive advantage. But unfortuetely he fails to, achieve military rank, due to which he was not allowed to join communist party of China for, continuing his career in Military field as, Ren Zhengfei family belongs to social background and, Ren Zhengfei was accountable for many, technological achievements. Ren has been described as more of a spiritual leader than a hands-on executive. For that reason, phase 3 focused on simplifying management and creating conditions that more creative chaos could be brought back into the structured management models. Effective moments of theater have three important characteristics. In a newly published speech originally given in June 2020, Ren called for decentralised . We want to hear from you. Just tell me what you think are going to be some of the significant technological developments over the next two years that you see coming. The law governs what's in between the transaction. Figure 1: The Leadership Lessons of Ren Zhengfei 1. If I could not pay, I would be hounded by creditors every day. We are also collaborating with many vendors in the storage domain, trying to do better, because in edge computing, we will see either CPUs embedded into storage devices or the other way around. When he passed away, I was on a vacation in the mountains with my family. Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox. Our company was very small then and almost had no capital or technology. As can be expected of a man with an army background he served in the Peoples Liberation Army he is known to be intense and tough and never loses control. On the other hand, Zhengfei is also known to give much freedom when it comes down to how decisions are executed. You're seen as a visionary very much here in China in the technology world. Along the way he introduced one important innovation: the Clubcard, the UKs first supermarket loyalty card, which allowed Tesco to leapfrog Sainsburys into the number-one retail spot. As of February 2019, he had an estimated net worth of US$3.3 billion. Why cannot we edit human genes? Ren Zhengfei now serves as a deputy chairman of the board of directors. At this time, Ren Zhengfei's family was starving. It emphasized clear-cut goals, hard-and-fast rules, employee dedication and absolute obedience. In the early years of Huawei, Zhengfei was very much aware that their products did not meet the standards of those of its competitors. Accelerate your career with Harvard ManageMentor. Third, follow the small rules so that you can break the big ones. They replied that they could not make it smaller. This helps the US greatly improve their national reserve. We invest heavily in our focus area. The relationship between China and the European continent carries much history with it. Important in this whole management process is that his use of an adaptive vision never compromises the purpose and values of the company. His tax cuts are helping revitalize enterprises. The first is the ability to accurately estimate the level of conflict a particular course of action will elicit. So I don't think there will be a significant impact on Huawei's business. Microsoft focuses on Windows and its Office Suite. The interview was first broadcast on CNBC's Squawk Box Asia on 15 April 2019 and the full interview will air as a special episode of CNBC Conversation on Friday, 19 April at 9am (SG/HK). Huaweis competitors assumed that they only had to provide the technology to the customer. Since China has become the second largest economy in the world, this relationship has taken new forms in the shape of several business initiatives. Ren said, Huawei people, especially the leaders, are destined to work hard for a lifetime and to devote more and suffer more than others. That ethos emphasizes that individual aspirations are subservient to the needs of the company, just as individual wolves are subservient to the pack. Western companies are no different. This case focuses on the distinctive "paternalistic" leadership and management style of Ren Zhengfei, founder of Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (hereinafter "Huawei") and considers whether. As a leader, Ren Zhengfei insists on self-criticism and careful consideration. As the dean of Rotterdam School of Management (RSM), one of us, George, set the strategic objective of persuading faculty members to publish in practitioner journals like HBR and MIT Sloan Management Reviewin addition to academic journals. However, it kills employees creativity and . This revolution was also referred to as the bloodless revolution because the victory of William of Orange was achieved without bloodshed. Leahy succeeded with both dramatic changes in part because he maintained a modest demeanor throughout. In particular, we will build the simplest networks, ensure cyber security, and protect user privacy. Of course, we can still be concerned about this, but we believe we will have the ability to harness AI and create benefit. The US stock market may witness a significant rise this July. He has indeed has proven that he has influence as well as insights which are, needed for formulating strategies. For example, in 2014, the company made a decision on bonuses, which received over 70,000 negative comments, leading to a modification of that decision. If the US opens its telecom industry and its operators say they are going to purchase tens of billions of dollars in equipment from us, I wouldn't believe it and wouldn't be willing to make billions of investments. That's why some deep-pocketed countries with rich oil reserves are buying from us. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Ren described it as a blend of three qualities: extreme resilience, a willingness to self-sacrifice, and sharp predator instincts. His ability to critically reflect on past successes and at the same time to identify the future challenges in the next decade makes Zhengfei an impactful business leader in the eyes of many Chinese. It is a well-known fact that Zhengfei truly lives this purpose and pursues it with unlimited energy, making Huawei his natural born mission. Where does this idea of competing in a cooperative way come from? So he and his managers smashed the defective appliances. Mr. Ren: First, Mr. Yang Jiechi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, made a statement at the Munich Security Conference that the Chinese government always requires Chinese firms to abide by international rules and laws and regulations of the country where they operate, and that China has no law requiring companies to install backdoors or collect foreign intelligence. Small projects like this ignited my passion for scientific research. 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. "Every generation produces its own great character, and each exerts impact for hundreds of years.". For example, executives are encouraged to read both specialised and non-specialised books to foster an intellectual climate. High-OQ leaders rebel from the top. I don't think we need to worry too much about the adverse impact of this technology. If they have too much money, they would be obsessed with capital gains. So we gritted our teeth and pushed ahead. Taiyuan, Shanxi. Take machine translation as an example. Do you feel that technology has been a force for good or a force for evil? Elon Musk, for example, has continuously warned about the impacts on jobs and actually, artificial intelligence getting more intelligent than humans. Today, only 30 years later, ultra-broadband has become accessible in most rural areas around the world. The differences of leader skill in America and China. 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