Grow Strong, Grow Big, Grow Long: A Deep Dive into the DNA of Lu Guanqiu and Wanhang Group

Author: Xia Boyao
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-09-01
Features: About Wanxiang: One of China's most famous private enterprises, by the end of 2004, Wanxiang had 31,800 employees, assets exceeding 15 billion yuan, revenue exceeding 20 billion yuan, tax revenue exceeding 1.5 billion yuan, and export earnings exceeding 500 million U.S. dollars. Excluding the compensation allocated to the general manager, the average income of employees in the group company in 2003 was 230,000 yuan. About Lu Guanqiu: An early mainland entrepreneur with only a junior high school education, a figure who shone in the 1980s and 1990s, and a rare representative of the older generation of private entrepreneurs who remain prosperous today. In 2002, he was ranked fourth on Forbes China's list of the richest mainland entrepreneurs, with personal assets of 570 million U.S. dollars. He was named one of CCTV's Top 10 Economic Figures of 2001 and one of the 21 Business Leaders of the 21st Century by the China Entrepreneur magazine. The Hangzhou Municipal Government awarded him 3 million yuan in cash for Wanxiang's outstanding contributions to the local economy. His son, Lu Weideng, the general manager of Wanxiang, was elected as a candidate member of the Communist Youth League Central Committee. A book that Wanxiang had kept in the archives for three years, a book that would finally gain Lu Guanqiu's forgiveness, a book that was accepted with enthusiasm ten times and reluctantly rejected nine times, a book that serves as a passionate warning to Chinese enterprises. Xia Boyao, founder of Shanghai Gongtu Management Consulting Co., Ltd. Author of "The Dream of a Major Corporation" and "Seven Layers of Cultivation." Former economic researcher at the Zhejiang Academy of Social Sciences. He first met Lu Guanqiu in 1987 and joined the famous private enterprise Wanxiang Group in 1993, serving as the general manager of Wanxiang's Development Department and assistant to the president. He was one of the "young and promising" core members personally selected by Lu Weideng, the president of Wanxiang, and reported directly to Lu Guanqiu and Lu Weideng. He led the formulation of Wanxiang's "Nineteen-Ninety-Five Strategic Plan," pioneered the construction of "corporate culture" in Wanxiang, accompanied Weideng in implementing Wanxiang's "Western Movement," organized Wanxiang's "Salon," and actively worked to attract senior talent to Wanxiang. He witnessed Wanxiang's rapid growth from 300 million to 10 billion yuan and the evolution of its management model from "U-shaped to M-shaped and then to super-M-shaped," and deeply understands the limitations of Wanxiang's development.