[China News Weekly website January 24 comprehensive report] He claims to be the most mysterious big man in the corporate world, but his corporate crisis management is widely spread. Moreover, more importantly, when all kinds of speculations about him or about Huawei or a negative surge came, this self-proclaimed "very lonely" king proactively and violently spoke, and almost all the speech failed. 

His Huawei and him are like a mystery. No one else can say it except himself. So, how does he build Huawei's "public opinion country"? How does this "nation" grow into a fertile land?

Why don't I see the media?

Since the founding of Huawei in 1988, Ren Zhengfei has never received any positive interviews from the media. He has never participated in selections, awards, and entrepreneur summits. He has even refused to promote Huawei's brand image.

He was not only himself, he even bluntly "forced" all employees to keep a low profile. In "Winter of Huawei", he wrote: "I want to treat the media with a low-key attitude. Because we are not a public company, we do not need to publicize the society. We are mainly responsible to the government and to companies. Responsible for effective operation. The responsibility to the government is to abide by the law and discipline. The value-added tax and income tax we handed over to the country last year were 1.8 billion yuan, and the tariff was 900 million yuan, which adds up to a total of 2.7 billion yuan. It is estimated that this year we may be taxable. A further increase of 70 to 80 percent may cost the country more than 4 billion. We are already responsible to society. "

Behind all this so-called "low-key" is his deep insight into the characteristics of the media, and this observation is sometimes even clearer than the media people themselves.

He once stated his views on the media: "The media have their own rules of operation. We should not participate. Some of our employees go online to debate, which is to help the company."

"Why do n’t I see the media because I know myself. See what the media says? I ’m afraid I ’m overdone; I do n’t believe others if I do n’t believe it, and even think it ’s hypocritical. .I know that my shortcomings are not less than the advantages, not the so-called deliberately low-key. "

"Media reporters always like to deduct their achievements on the head of a corporate executive, otherwise it is not vivid, and a virtual person is shaped by a virtual method. I don't consider myself as influential as outside legends, but very dedicated, selfless, capable Unite people. Over the years, Huawei has achieved a little bit of achievement through the united efforts of all employees and the collective leadership of the core management team. However, the entire management team is also very humble, so I added some honors to my head. Actually, it is difficult to support. "

"Ren Zhengfei" in the media

Deep mistrust and isolation from the media made him and his Huawei labelled "mysterious". However, Huawei's aggressive development momentum along the way makes it still a gorgeous "fragrant incense" in the eyes of the media.

Therefore, there are many interpretations of Ren Zhengfei and Huawei in various facts and prostitution. For example, Ren Zhengfei has various names, such as "coyote", "tough guy", "Huawei godfather".

Alas, he was also called "paranoid" and "very irritable". There is such a widely-circulated paragraph. It is said that at a mid-level cadre meeting, he said to the CFO of Huawei: "Your growth is very great," but the second sentence is, "From a particularly poor level to a relatively poor one!"

There are also people who say he looks like an old worker. He said that he usually wears loose clothes, and it is said that he is like an old worker. His shirt sleeves are always half-armed, and sometimes his tie is often not correct.

Of course, in addition to detailed and literary jokes, there are various grand titles:

In 2008, Ren Zhengfei was honored with the “2008 China Lifetime Achievement Award for the Most Influential Enterprise Leader” by Chinese Entrepreneurs. Liu Donghua, president of China Entrepreneurs Magazine [Weibo], commented on him: "Ren Zhengfei is almost the most calm and energetic entrepreneur in China."

In 2010, the Chinese version of the famous financial magazine "Forbes" for the first time launched the annual list of "Most Admired Chinese Entrepreneurs" with 12 members, and Ren Zhengfei topped the list. The Chinese version of "Forbes" states that although Ren Zhengfei does not like to appear in public, he is respected among the leaders of large global multinational companies. No one in China can surpass it. Huawei is still almost the only one in high-tech fields Mainland Chinese multinational companies with global competitiveness.

In 2011, the Chinese version of "Fortune" recently announced the list of "China's 50 Most Influential Business Leaders". Huawei CEO Ren Zhengfei topped the list. Lenovo Holdings Chairman Liu Chuanzhi and Haier Board Chairman Zhang Ruimin ranked second and third. name.

However, Ren Zhengfei never responded to all of this. He even repeatedly said, "It was because we were naive that we started a communication product, but we couldn't get back."

Speech country

Then, if you think that Ren Zhengfei is conservative and backward, and you do n’t understand the importance of speech communication, you are totally wrong.

In "My Father and Mother", he explained his mother with another tone of indifference in the face of Huawei's negative public opinion: "We cannot debate in the media. This will cause controversy. The state paper is too expensive. It's too wasteful to argue for a small company like ours. For a small company like ours, we can't bear such a big responsibility to interfere with the country's publicity focus. They mainly don't understand, we didn't introduce it, just understand. "

And this "introduction" right to speak, including when to say, how to say, how to say, are firmly in Ren Zhengfei's own hands.

During the rapid development of Huawei, Ren Zhengfei used "How long can Huawei's red flag be played" and "Living is the last word of the enterprise" to warn employees that they are in danger.

Around 2001, when the international high-tech industry was raging in the wild and entering the cold winter, but Huawei, with its good results, seemed to be in harmony with the spring, ranking first among the top 100 national electronics companies. Ren Zhengfei also published "Huawei's Winter". He believed that "Huawei Existing problems do not know how many days and nights to count clearly ... Huawei's winter is coming, various mechanisms, management, etc. are facing a crisis, and it has reached the point of having to adjust and reform. "

Then, when the cold current of the global high-tech industry was approaching, he wrote the passionate "Spring of the Northland" with romantic feelings: "As long as we continue to discover problems, continue to explore, constantly self-criticize, and constantly There will always be a way out for construction and improvement ... We will strengthen our internal transformation while we are in the winter. We will surely welcome the melting snow and streams. Huawei's spring will surely come. "

This kind of corporate governance style of “good at talking, only talking about problems, always having problems” has once become the most powerful mark of the Ren Empire.

Of course, in addition to the problems discussed, there are also real problems. For some time, Huawei has constantly had employees commit suicide and self-harm, and the increasing number of depression and anxiety among employees has made Ren anxious. Therefore, in a letter to Huawei employees, he said, "Have a happy life full of difficulties." He admitted, "I was also a patient with severe depression and anxiety, with the help of a doctor. Together with my optimism, my illness was completely cured. I believe everyone can get out of trouble! "

On July 21, 2006, just 63 days after Hu Xinyu's sudden death, Huawei's internal magazine, "Human Renbao," published a special article entitled "Tiandao Reward" on the front page of the headline, stating: "What is difficult to manage in the world is Industry, and the most difficult to manage in the industry is the electronic information industry. Elimination is even more ruthless. Retreating means dying. Huawei, unfortunately, entered the information industry because of its naivety, and unfortunately learned electronic engineering. Forced to go nowhere. Huawei dies if it does not fight, and there is no way out if it does not fight. "

Therefore, in the process of communicating with the public and his employees, Ren Zhengfei has not been slack, not only that, but also with deep affection, in "My Father and Mother", he confessed his entrepreneurial mentality in detail.

However, in Ren Zhengfei's entire "speech country" system, the recently published "Will the Next Fall Be Huawei" is the heaviest chapter. Finance writer Wu Xiaobo [Weibo] even defined it as "for the first time Huawei intends to be honest."

In the book, the author uses hundreds of thousands of words to describe Huawei's simplest success theory, "the triumph of common sense": 1. spare no effort in technology investment; 2. attach importance to customer service; 3. fair company culture and incentive mechanism; 4. Temper temperament.

The reason why this book was included in Ren Zhengfei's "Ideal Country" was that the author of the book was Tian Tao, Ren Zhengfei's long-time friend, and Wu Chunbo, who had assisted Ren Zhengfei in drafting the "Huawei Basic Law."

Ren Zhengfei used his "speech" to confess Huawei to the public little by little, even himself: "I personally have no personal relationship with any government official and no close working partner; with any entrepreneur in China, I There is no contact, except for Lenovo's Liu Chuanzhi and Vanke's Wang Shi, who have had two contacts in 20 years; I have not been associated with any reporter in any media. My personal life is very painful, very lonely, and I ca n’t find anyone to play with . Farther away from the grass-roots employees, in order to be able to balance the company, I have to endure this loneliness, endure this loneliness. "

It seems that this lonely king only wants to live stubbornly in his own voice, and it is futile to praise or degrade you.

(Article comprehensive reports from New Weekly, Chinese Entrepreneurs, Harvard Business Review, etc.)

Quotations from Ren Zhengfei:

1. Criticize others for dinner

Be gentle with the wind when giving advice. I think that criticizing others should be to treat guests to dinner, it should be painting, embroidery, and be kind and respectful. We must not turn the internal democratic life into a gunpowder-like meeting. Senior cadres are sharper because they have higher quality and should be gentler as they reach the grassroots. Things can't be expected to be done once, not one year, two years, and three years of progress. I hope that cadres at all levels must grasp the scale when organizing self-critic democratic life conferences. I think that people are afraid of pain. It is too painful and not very good. Like painting and embroidery, they help others analyze his shortcomings and propose improvement measures. (From: "Huawei's Winter")

2. Cadres who have neither made mistakes nor improved can be removed on the spot

In this job, we must dare to be responsible, speed up the process, and clear out those who protect themselves. Huawei has given good benefits to employees, so some people say that you must not lose this seat, and you must not lose this benefit. He is a stumbling block to change for anyone who wants to protect his own interests and be removed from his post. In the past year, if he did not improve his behavior, even made a mistake, and did not improve his work, can he be removed from his post on the spot. The per capita efficiency of his department has not improved, and he cannot be a section chief. He said he didn't make any mistakes, can he be a cadre without making mistakes? Some people have never made a mistake because he did nothing. And some people have made some mistakes in their work, but the per capita efficiency of the department he manages has been greatly improved, and I think such cadres will be used. Cadres who have neither made mistakes nor improved can be dismissed on site. (From: "Huawei's Winter")

3. Peace of mind, not alarmist

Have all employees of the company considered that if one day, the company's sales decline, profits decline, and even bankruptcy, what should we do? The peace in our company is too long, and too many officials have been promoted in peacetime. This may be our disaster. The Titanic was also a sea of cheers. And I believe that this day will definitely come. Faced with such a future, how do we deal with it, have we thought about it. Many of our employees are blindly proud and blindly optimistic. If too few people have thought about it, maybe it is coming. He is worried, not alarmist. (From: "Huawei's Winter")

4. For ten years I have been thinking about failure every day

For the past ten years, I have been thinking about failure every day, turning a blind eye to success, and having no sense of honor or pride, but a sense of crisis. Maybe it only survived for ten years. Let us all think about how we can survive and maybe survive longer. The day of failure is bound to come, everyone must be prepared to welcome it. This is my unshakable view. This is the law of history. (From: "Huawei's Winter")

5. Ask your superiors for everything

Why do we emphasize a process-oriented and time-effective system? Nowadays, cadres operating on the process are also used to asking their superiors for everything. This is wrong. It is already stipulated or has become a custom. You don't need to ask for it. You should let it go quickly. The person who executes the process is responsible for things. This is the accountability system. Asking for everything is accountability, which is convergent. We need to reduce unnecessary confirmation, and reduce unnecessary and unimportant links in management. Otherwise, how can the company operate efficiently? At present, our agency has quite a few departments and quite a lot of establishments, which are producing garbage, and then this garbage goes into sorting, cleaning, and creates job opportunities for some people. These complex documents were created, complicated procedures and unnecessary statements and documents were provided to feed some government officials who did not need to support, and government officials could not produce value-added behavior. We must try our best to streamline the organs under the condition of effective monitoring. (From: "Huawei's Winter")

6. Self-criticism is a good way for personal progress

The company believes that self-criticism is a good way for personal progress, and employees who can't master this weapon yet, hope that departments at all levels will not promote them anymore. Two years later, cadres who have not yet mastered and used this weapon must reduce their use. Incumbent cadres must work hard and keep making progress. (From: "Huawei's Winter")

7. The only shame is sorry parents

Looking back on the history I have gone through, I ask myself, I have no shame in my life, the people, the career and the employees, and the friends. The only shame is that I am sorry for my parents. I have not taken care of them when I have no conditions. Did not take care of them.

Mom and Dad, I can call you a thousand times, I can't call back a thousand times.

The deceased is dead, and still alive. (From: "My Father and Mother")

8. What is success?

What is success? It is like the Japanese companies that they can live a good life after nine deaths. This is the real success. Huawei did not succeed, it was just growing. (From: "Spring in the Northland")

9. Tears burst into tears while listening to the Spring of the Northland