Walking and Thinking - A Flight Diary for Entrepreneurs

Author: Chen Huixiang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2007-01-01
Features: In recent years, everyone has been busy with their own affairs, and although Huixiang and I occasionally exchanged information, our interactions were few. In my subconscious, my judgment of Huixiang actually fell into another misconception: according to the "cruel law" of media professionals, few people are worth the high standards of long-term "exploitation" by the media. Because readers are changing, the times are changing, and media standards are constantly improving. Under the strict criteria of us media professionals, we watched as leaders in business, academia, and all fields one after another passed through the center of the stage. Once they moved on, they could leave people with long-lasting memories or respect for their "classic performances," but it would be difficult for them to create new, greater value. I had assumed that Huixiang would not be able to break through this "common pattern" and its "destiny," and in my "scale," he should be categorized as an old friend who "when we meet, there is nothing to talk about, but when he is not here, I often miss him." This time, I was wrong. Because I "discovered" again that meeting Huixiang would not be so dull and ordinary as "nothing," but would always be "something," and would always bring "gains," and often important gains. Several years ago, he told me that he was preparing to temporarily step away from his role as a "professional strategist" providing strategic consulting and planning for entrepreneurs—the "Emperor Teacher" career—to take on the role of Vice Chairman and CEO for a period of time at the invitation of a private entrepreneur with assets worth billions. He said he had an agreement with the Chairman, and this was just a temporary choice, that by fully "immersing" himself in the role of CEO, he could provide more authentic intuitive experience and material for his lifelong career in empirical business research. After serving as CEO for less than two years and leading the team to increase the company's annual revenue by over a billion, he indeed left, and indeed used this valuable experience and years of rich accumulation to launch a monumental work explaining in detail how Chinese enterprises can pass through one death threshold after another through structural transformation to ultimately achieve enduring success——《Dance to the Top》. Liu Chuanzhi, the CEO of Legend Holdings, known as the "Father of Chinese Enterprises," passionately wrote the preface for the book and sent a message to future readers: "We have only climbed over hills; what you must scale are the true." Zeng Ming, a renowned expert in corporate strategy and the former CEO of Yahoo China, highly praised it as "a must-read for Chinese enterprises seeking to break through growth bottlenecks." After reviewing the manuscript, I was not only delighted by Huixiang's new breakthrough contribution but also happy that Chinese enterprises constantly troubled by various issues finally had a book to help them. In addition to the painstakingly produced 《Dance to the Top》, recently Huixiang presented another manuscript that caught my eye—it is his new "treasure," which is the book in your hands—《Thinking on the Go》. If 《Dance to the Top》 explains the theory of corporate structural transformation in a serious manner, then 《Thinking on the Go》 presents it in a relaxed way, sharing one after another inspiring insights that can change your management philosophy. Since 1999, Huixiang has traveled among hundreds of enterprises, like a pastor listening to the worries and fears of countless entrepreneurs, and like a doctor diagnosing and treating the market economy kings who long for health and longevity. At the takeoff and landing of planes, after observing and inquiring, the precious experiences, pressing topics, insurmountable thresholds, and common pitfalls of Chinese enterprises and entrepreneurs often stirred Huixiang's thoughts, forcing him to concentrate and record valuable discoveries and reflections into essays and diaries that business professionals cannot afford to miss and enjoy. Since this is a long-term record of reflections, the text is both profound and vivid, but it cannot guarantee that every article represents Huixiang's latest judgment. Therefore, if we are overly critical, we will certainly find that some articles or viewpoints in the book carry the imprint of yesterday; however, from another perspective, if we start from the real trajectory of Chinese enterprises and entrepreneurs, and if we want to build today's and tomorrow's thinking and actions on a more solid foundation, does not 《Thinking on the Go》, accumulated during his time as an "Emperor Teacher," provide us with a greater, irreplaceable value? Therefore, if I were to summarize my evaluation of Huixiang's 《Thinking on the Go》 in one sentence, I would say: it is a small book written for business professionals, worth scrutinizing, referencing, treasuring, and reading at any time.
Ten years ago, when I first met Huixiang, he offered a suggestion and piece of advice to the then-revitalizing 《China Entrepreneurs》 magazine. The suggestion was to make it a themed magazine, focusing on one or two major events or themes in the business and economic circles each issue and delving deep into them; the advice was that the magazine's positioning determined its service, which were the most discerning and demanding readers, and that success could rival 《Fortune》 or 《Forbes》, while failure meant only one path—a dead end, with no middle ground. Because of these words, Huixiang became one of the most important patrons of 《China Entrepreneurs》's second revival and gradually became my close friend. One weakness of human nature is that the more you possess, the more easily you tend to overlook it. After becoming friends with Huixiang and carefully studying the motivations behind his success with 《Why is Lenovo?》 and 《Critique of Chinese Enterprises》, I naturally assumed that I knew all his strengths and even felt that I possessed some of the important values he represented. However, every time we met and chatted, he would surprise and delight me. Just as someone who has climbed Mount Xiang believes they have seen its beauty, each climb reveals new discoveries and surprises them with the scenery they had previously overlooked. And precisely because of this, you avoid "aesthetic fatigue" and instead make the relationship grow richer and deeper over time.