In China, leadership has traditionally been grounded in a hierarchical top-down management system. Often, Zhengfei and other senior executives are also criticised on the forum. We invest heavily in our focus area. Drawing on this experience, we developed our own 40-line switch for rural markets that could support 40 users. After all these upheavals, she has changed her mind and doesn't want to leave. They don't choose certain goods just because a politician says so. Mr. Ren: I think my children have grown up without experiencing much hardship. By the time I got my business license, I didn't have a single penny left. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. In the first decade of the developing of the company, Huawei is needy for all kinds of human resources. Copyright 2023 Harvard Business School Publishing. The US government must present evidence to substantiate their charges against Huawei as this lawsuit proceeds. At that time, since the number of the employees is limited, the difficulty Ren zhengfei and its group encountered in the human resource management is little. In fact, the recent and growing success of Huawei in Europe can also be attributed partly in addition to their service-oriented focus (see again the point of purpose-driven ambition) to their philosophy of explicitly incorporating a strategy to develop cooperative relationships with competitors in the market. We will wait for the court to make its judgment. Secondly, we need to pay taxes to the Chinese government. During one of these visits, in 1997, he visited the Bell labs in the USA. Around 2008, Professor Arikan published a mathematics paper. We believe US laws are open, transparent, fair, and just. The slogan at that time was: We shall drink to our hearts content to celebrate our success (ren sheng de yi xu jin huan), but if we should fail lets fight to our utmost until we all die (ju gong jin cui, si er hou yi). Interesting in this journey so far is that each phase is characterised by a specific focus and strategy. After learning from the West for almost 20 years, Huawei has established an increasingly standardized and institutional decision-making system. In many ways the second skill is the more difficult one to develop; most top managers are competitive, and their natural reaction to a challenge is to take it head-on. Back then, it would reach minus 20-something degrees Celsius in the winter. Arjun Kharpal: But some of the major figures in the technological world have warned about the dangers of artificial intelligence. Information that flows through the networks also belongs to our customers, not to us. CEO's are the driving force behind any for-profit organisation. 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. I would have to repay tens of billions of dollars in debts. Ren possess the characteristics of Controlling leader who makes all important decisions ( Tanwar and Priyanka,2018 ). I am just taking as a bucket of "glue". 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 ; . Arjun Kharpal: But what was the personal effect of her arrest on you as a father? Twenty or thirty years from now, outstanding talent may be able to combine genes with electronics technology to create new "people". 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. We are going to make this happen. If we get caught in the middle, we will be crushed like a watermelon when these two powers clash. Zhenfei introduced the leadership style to the IT firm several years ago after observing the intricate migration . Back then, China was still going through the Cultural Revolution. 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. 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. What Crisis? Its this kind of spirit in Ren zhengfei that propels his company to become one of the best in China even the world. He said, Those are air bubbles. This selective messaging was not popular, but it was highly effective. However, Ren zhengfei and Huawei made it in the end. Instead of issuing an EQ response to mollify the professor, George sent an OQ response: We all work for RSM.. Mr. Ren: If they aren't scared of us, why are they advertising for us everywhere they go? A TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP ON REN ZHENGFEI very clear vision for Huawei believes in realizing his own employees' dream first an Employee Shareholding Scheme with Ren Zhengfei only holding 1.4% Employees express their views and share knowledge on Xinsheng Community 2018,ren zhengfei published a document criticizing the company's leaders for mismanagement and fined himself 1 million yuan Ren Zhengfei has lead Huawei to become a global brand making the top global 100 by 2017 (Huawei 2017). 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. Not really, we think. 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. None of the information on this website is investment or financial advice. Fostering an ethos requires taking two important steps. If we didn't abide by those laws and regulations, we wouldn't survive even a day. PIC:A portrait of Ren Zhengfei, the founder of Huawei. Beset by internal and external challenges, Huawei needed to completely rethink its approach to business, corporate culture and company management. What company can outperform Microsoft in Office and Windows? The US doesn't need to conquer the world through violence. 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. Arjun Kharpal: You said Huawei should not be used as leverage between the US and China, and Donald Trump, President of the United States, said that he could intervene in the Meng Wanzhou case as part of a bigger trade deal between the US and China. These cookies do not store any personal information. If everyone went to invest in the US, the US economy would grow dramatically. Huawei is now the world's largest telecoms equipment maker. Instead, we will use it to fund universities and scientists for their research and explorations into the future. I lived through the great famine that hit China, and the economic recovery that followed. 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. Mr. Ren: We have worked closely with our customers for 30 years. Leadership Style Assignment : Ren Zhengfei. 2023 CNBC LLC. Mr. Jobs was great not because he created Apple, but because he created an era, the mobile Internet era. Technology has moved on so rapidly in the past few years that a lot of people are talking about the impact of technology on society. Over the next 20 to 30 years, we will never do anything that compromises security and we will remain secure. We are actually learning from US companies. During World War II, there was a famous Il-2 aircraft that kept flying after being riddled with bullets from both other planes and anti-air defenses. What makes Huawei interesting is its rate of growth and . If you'd like to share this PDF, you can purchase copyright permissions by increasing the quantity. We have raised our prices and now many people think Huawei is expensive. 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. As of February 2019, he had an estimated net worth of US$3.3 billion. So productivity will be greatly improved. Mr. Ren: I think Mr. Jobs was a great man. But this year, once the slate is wiped clean, the financial statements they will release in July will be much healthier. You've often looked up to Apple as a role model. Technologies are advancing. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. Mr. Ren: I often talk about staying focused. Photos/ Taddeo Bwambale . Decisions were taken much slower than in the first more chaotic years of the company and fear existed that the bravery and courage underlying the companys striving for innovation would disappear. If the US government speaks ill of Huawei, why couldn't the Chinese government speak in our favor? It is good for society and can greatly increase social wealth. At Huawei, we have two major areas that we are focusing on for the future. Mr. Ren: I think the most essential factors to judge guilt are facts and evidence. Otherwise, how can we make ends meet? This does mean though that many translators and stock analysts and the like will lose their jobs. We have reflected on this a lot. | All rights reserved. Effective moments of theater have three important characteristics. This helps the US greatly improve their national reserve. We just wanted to produce some small things that could easily be sold. Back then, we couldn't use testing instruments from foreign countries. High-OQ leaders send messages that reinforce the strategy and minimize other messaging. Why European Companies Should Double Down on AI Now, The Role Of Mobile Learning In The Future Of Remote Work, Connecting the Unconnected in the Automotive Industry Four Ecosystems that are Reshaping Automotive Industry Collaborations, Robot Travel Agency: A Warm and Technological Welcome, Riversoft Makes the Connection: From Travel Services to Medical Data Via NLP, Whats Next for TravelTech? Ren zhengfei led his group to study and bring in the management system of IBM company. 3.2 Findings 3.2.1 Huawei's leadership style Many will claim that Zhengfei (the founder) laid the foundation for Huawei's . Difficult as Huawei is, its founder Ren zhengfei still have faith about Huaweis future and its great success in few years later. With the accounting error, Hill broke a big rule but we suspect that had he followed the smaller rules around issues like showing favoritism to family members, he would have had a better chance of survival. To rebel from the top, leaders must strike a difficult balance. Ren has adopted the "controlling only" style which has made him successful leader. I only care about the growth of my company. He took. China also didn't have its own testing instruments, so I invented one. So there is no need to worry too much about some comments posted on the Internet. Does China feel under pressure from President Trump's tactics in the negotiations? He lives with his daughter Cathy Meng who is also the CFO of Huawei. He has maintained the company as private and his management style has been extremely . Twenty years later, the then CEO of Ericsson asked me where I got the courage to enter the communications industry despite its high entry barriers. Some US politicians are criticizing Huawei everywhere they go. This is thanks to Trump. When two nations or companies meet, they must collaborate to achieve shared success. (Stanford Business Schools Richard Pascale once said, It is easier to act your way into a better way of thinking than to think your way into a better way of acting.) The approach is particularly useful in organizations where the leader has limited hierarchical power. Ren described it as a blend of three qualities: extreme resilience, a willingness to self-sacrifice, and sharp predator instincts. He is very careful not to feed the myth of his leadership and rather emphasises the importance of working hard in the success story of Huawei. President Trump hasn't shared his thoughts with me. Arjun Kharpal: But the US has put intense pressure on some of its allies in Europe, for example, Germany and the UK, to block Huawei from 5G networks. Arjun Kharpal: One of the concerns is that these powerful technologies like artificial intelligence are being developed by a small group of very, very big technology companies. 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. Mr. Ren Zhengfei has been capable of pioneering the development of technology while growing in the world. Amazon, Google, and many others all have their own focus areas. She will be a hero if she makes it back to us. Leading Huawei: Seven Leadership Lessons of Ren Zhengfei, The relationship between China and the European continent carries much history with it. After getting the retirement from the army, Ren then worked with, ). Ren Zhengfei now serves as a deputy chairman of the board of directors. However, after this change, the effiency gradually increases. This is surprising because Huawei has been very active in 2014 and 2015 in securing many partnerships with European firms, ranging from a focus on cloud storage and cell phone applications in security areas. He made this persuasively clear by literally saying that it is necessary To cut off your feet to wear the shoe (xue zue shi lu). Everyone at GE knew what to expect from Neutron Jack Welch. If so, what did she say to you? It's not up to me to designate a successor. 5. First, embrace bureaucracy rather than rail against it. We earned a bit of money this way. 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. He believed that the combination of his skill to organise a company and the IT background of his executives and employees would create wonders. I could not keep up with the times. As far as I know, Huawei has never been mentioned in any of the China-US talks or in any official news releases. Figure 1: The Leadership Lessons of Ren Zhengfei, The core of Ren Zhengfeis leadership is the undeniable fact that he is very clear about the purpose of Huawei, which is helping customers to realise their dreams. Organisations need to implement leadership innovation to secure a successful and profitable future, as Ren Zhengfei has done with his multinational company Huawei. We have set up this joint lab and adopted a co-leadership mechanism, where leaders from the coal industry have a greater say on mining aspects, while Huawei leaders have a greater say on the . For example, as the products of Huawei in their pioneering years were not yet well developed he visited many R&D offices abroad. Due to his technical skills, He was appointed as a delegate from, PLA for attending the National Science Conference in 1978 (, ).It was a golden opportunity for Rein to lean and gain knowledge, about the field. For the rest, let the organization keep doing what it does well. 500000 employees in military field. Bill Gates changed his mind though during his later speeches, suggesting that AI could greatly boost social progress. The leadership of Ren Zhengfei, however, does differ from this rather controlling only style in important ways. It was analog technology, analog automatic control. Our scientists spotted it and spent 10 years turning his theories into the 5G standards of today. Why do they accept these things? It is a well-known fact that Zhengfei truly lives this purpose and pursues it with unlimited energy, making Huawei his natural born mission. To create new `` people '' decisions ( Tanwar and Priyanka,2018 ) in any news... Permissions by increasing the quantity my business license, I did n't have a single penny.! We need to worry too much about some comments ren zhengfei leadership style on the.... 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