Innovative Employees - How to Become Top-Performing, Most Profitable Employees - Ganlin Wisdom Training Files

Author: Wu Ganlin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-07-01
Features: Be an Autonomous Innovator
Through the previous unit, we have learned the importance of being an innovative employee. So, what qualities should an innovative employee possess? The qualities of an innovative employee are primarily reflected in six aspects. First, one must be an autonomous innovator.
Let the small ball push the big ball by one unit
If one wants to achieve long-term development and greater benefits, they must produce more creative results to enhance core competitiveness. Creative outcomes often emerge from the hands of "innovative employees" who demonstrate proactivity. Proactivity has always been one of the most important qualities of an employee. Employees who can innovate proactively are definitely those with the most potential for growth in the organization, and they can sometimes even create miracles of significant development for the company.
In April 2006, China Central Television (CCTV) aired a program that told the story of an internationally renowned innovation in the history of diplomacy – "Ping-Pong Diplomacy." This initiative had a decisive impact on breaking the deadlock in Sino-US relations at the time and was hailed as "the small ball pushing the big ball."
In 1971, during the 31st World Table Tennis Championships in Nagoya, Japan, an American table tennis player, Cohen, mistakenly got onto the wrong bus and ended up on the Chinese team's bus. At that time, China and the United States were in a state of confrontation, and neither side dared to interact with the other. However, Zhu Zedong, a Chinese table tennis player and world champion, proactively greeted him and presented him with a gift. This friendly gesture between the two athletes caught the attention of the media.
When this incident was reported to Chairman Mao Zedong and Premier Zhou Enlai, they immediately recognized it as a rare opportunity and instructed the Chinese table tennis team to formally invite the American team for a visit. On April 10, 1971, the President and Chairman of the U.S. Table Tennis Association, along with athletes Cohen, Resseck, and others, arrived in Beijing. Premier Zhou Enlai made specific arrangements for the visit, emphasizing its crucial role in opening up the situation in Sino-US relations. Premier Zhou Enlai personally met the American athletes and candidly answered Cohen's questions about "hippies."
A few days later, Premier Zhou received flowers sent by Cohen's mother in California, USA. The news of Premier Zhou Enlai meeting the American table tennis team quickly spread around the world. Within less than 10 hours of the news reaching the United States, President Nixon issued a statement announcing five new steps to improve Sino-US relations, including granting visas to Chinese citizens. Soon after, the United States invited the Chinese table tennis team for a visit. China specially appointed Zhu Zedong, who was still a player at the time, as the team leader for the visit to the United States.
Within less than a year after the American table tennis team's visit to China, Dr. Kissinger, President Nixon, Prime Minister Tanaka, and others visited China. The People's Republic of China was restored to its legitimate seat in the United Nations. Premier Zhou Enlai highly praised this event: "The small ball has turned the big ball – the Earth." It was just a small exchange between two national teams, yet with a touch of creativity, it evolved into an event that influenced the history of two major world powers.
As an employee, your proactive step at a critical moment of innovation could become a force that shapes the entire situation!
War command is an art. It not only requires commanders to think creatively but also demands that they have keen insight to seize opportunities and thus win victories. In 2005, a war-themed television drama titled "The Sword of Light" () became a sensation across major television stations in China. The story, set against the backdrop of the Anti-Japanese War, tells the life of the legendary professional soldier Li Yunlong.
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