Management lessons from Chinese business and philosophy | Fang Ruan

翻译人员: Tu Janeyu 校对人员: Yolanda Zhang

I love dumplings.

我爱吃饺子。

But I seldom have dumplings in a restaurant,

但我很少在餐馆点饺子。

because my mom's cooking is the best.

因为我妈妈做的饺子是世界上最棒的！

One day, I happened to take a bite of Dumpling Xi's dish.

一天，我偶然吃了一口 喜家德水饺。

To my surprise,

让我惊喜的是，

they had a flavor of going home.

它们有一种家乡的味道——

Fresh, chewy and unexpected.

很新鲜，有嚼劲，出乎想象。

In addition to being a dumpling lover,

除了是一个饺子吃货，

I actually have a full-time job.

我还有一份全职工作:

I am a management consultant,

管理咨询顾问。

so naturally, I was keen to understand

出于职业习惯, 我非常渴望理解

the reasons behind those delicious dumplings.

是什么让喜家德水饺如此美味。

What I didn't expect

出乎我意料的是，

is that this dumpling triggered my exploration

这些饺子触发了我对

of new ways of management in China.

中国新商业管理方式的探索。

A change that is deeply rooted in ancient Chinese philosophies.

一种源于中国古代哲学理念的 管理理念的转变。

But first, let's go back to the dumplings.

不过书归正传， 咱们还是说说这饺子。

Gāo Défú founded Dumpling Xi 17 years ago.

高德福 17 年前创立了喜家德。

Today, the company enjoys 500 stores with 8,000 employees.

距今为止，该公司拥有 500 家门店， 8000 多名员工。

But it wasn't always the case.

但喜家德的发展不是一直顺风顺水的。

Three years ago,

三年前，

the demand for his dumplings was soaring

由于对健康食品的高诉求，

due to consumers' craving for healthy food.

消费者对高端水饺的需求量猛增。

But the strong growth of online food delivery services

但是网上送餐服务的强劲增长劲头

had pulled the consumers away from store visits,

把他们的门店客户拉走了。

causing a huge concern for Gāo.

给高德福造成很大困扰。

If I were to advise Gāo back then,

如果当时我去给高德福提建议，

I would go directly with the classical approach,

我会直接建议用传统的方式：

hiring venture managers,

聘用资深职业经理，

providing training on how to integrate online-offline sales,

提供线上线下融合培训，

or having some high potentials fully dedicated to the new job,

或者给新岗位配备 具有拼搏精神的高潜能人才，

such as a Chief Digital Officer.

比如首席数字官。

But Gāo did something totally different.

但高德福的做法完全不同。

He invented a two-hat model.

他发明了一个 “双头衔” 模式。

Instead of recruiting new executives,

他并没有招募新的主管，

he invited five successful regional heads

而是邀请了五个成功的大区长，

to take on a second role at headquarters.

在集团平台兼职。

The catch was, they had to do it while still being the frontline managers.

关键之处在于， 他们仍然继续一线的销售管理工作。

Keep in mind that these people had no formal training

请记住，这些人 在这个领域并没有接受过

or related experience in this field.

正规的训练，也没有相关经验。

What they did have, though, was natural strengths

但是他们拥有的是自己本身的长处

and a growth mindset.

和一个成长型心态。

When Gāo first told me the idea, I said,

高德福第一次告诉我 这个想法时，我说，

"Are you sure?

“你确定吗？

I have seldom seen companies as large as yours

我没见过像你们这么大规模的公司

having part-time senior executives."

选择聘用兼职高管。”

But Gāo smiled.

高德福笑了。

"This is my dumpling way."

“这是我喜家德的饺子范儿。”

Gāo's team was also puzzled.

他的团队也很疑惑。

In the first three months, the sales fluctuated,

头三个月，销量大幅波动。

some even dropped by 20 percent.

有时甚至下降了 20%。

But Gāo didn't blink.

但高德福眉头都没皱一下。

The regional heads had to learn new skills while still doing their job.

在做好本职销售工作的同时， 这些大区经理还必须学习新的技能。

Things like what kinds of dumplings can be sold online,

比如说，发掘适合线上销售的饺子品类，

how to digitalize their supply chain.

如何把供应链数字化，等等。

After the transition period,

过了转型期后，

something magical happened.

神奇的事情发生了。

The sales came back.

销量开始回升。

One year later,

一年后，

the company began to launch its fresh and spicy dumplings online.

喜家德开始在线上出售新鲜水饺。

Two years later,

两年后，

more talents with start-up dreams were attracted.

更多带着创业梦想的人才 慕名前来。

More importantly,

更关键的是，

the company began to translate these individual new capabilities

公司开始把这些个人的新技能

into company policies,

带入公司制度，

and roll them out.

并开始在内部大规模推行。

A true differentiator compared with his peers.

这一步，令他们与同行相比， 遥遥领先。

Because most Chinese entrepreneurs

大部分中国企业家

are very good at growth strategies.

都十分擅长增长型的公司战略

In Chinese, we call it kāi jiāng kuò tǔ,

我们中国人管这叫“开疆扩土”，

expanding territories,

意思是开辟领土，

but not so good at what we call zhì guó ān bāng,

但并不擅长所谓的“治国安邦”，

converting individual best practices

就是从长远上， 个体的最佳实践固化到公司制度里

into company policies for the long run.

旨在公司的长治久安。

The nature of Gāo's approach,

高德福这个方法的核心理念包含：

such as having tolerance for frontline managers

允许前线管理人员

to make mistakes,

犯错；

or having some new ideas not coming from the top,

听取一些不是来自高层的新想法。

is not common in China.

这些在中国都不寻常。

Because they go against our traditions.

因为它们有悖中国的传统。

In the past 2,000 years,

在过去的 2000 多年里，

Confucianism has been dominant in China,

儒家思想主导着中国社会。

which values seniority and authority.

它主张论资排辈，尊从权威。

For a nation, this is a time-tested formula

从国家角度来看， 这是个久经考验的准则，

to ensure order and harmony.

保证了国家的稳定与和谐。

For a company,

从公司角度来看，

this ensures precise execution at a large scale.

这一举措可以保证 政策的大规模精准执行。

But with business environments constantly changing,

但是随着商业环境不断变化，

internet disrupting traditional industries,

互联网颠覆传统行业。

new millennials becoming a major workforce,

新千禧一代渐变成职场主力军，

new ways of management emerge.

新的管理方式出现了。

I feel so lucky to study this in such a dynamic age,

我十分庆幸自己能在 这个活力澎湃的时代学习企业管理，

while at the same time

同时，

to satisfy my stomach with delicious dumplings.

还有美味的饺子满足我的胃。

Gāo's two-hat approach is just one example.

高德福的 “双头衔” 项目 只是新型管理方式的一个例子。

Another example comes from Miranda Qu,

另一个例子来自瞿芳，

the founder of Xiaohongshu.

小红书创始人。

Xiaohongshu is a thriving internet company with 300 million users.

小红书是一家蓬勃发展的互联网公司， 拥有 3 亿用户。

It is an online community where young fans can get together

它是一个线上社区，供年轻粉丝聚集，

to talk about their favorite soap opera, "Go Go Squid!"

谈论他们最喜欢的连续剧， 比如《亲爱的，热爱的》;

Or buy the cool shoes that the lead actress wears

或在平台上购买女主角在戏中

in a running scene.

穿着跑步的炫酷的鞋子。

From the early days,

在公司创办的早期，

Qu wanted the whole organization to be ready to spot things

瞿芳提倡任何员工 随时可以发现问题，

that need to change

解决问题，

and challenge the authority.

倡导大家挑战权威。

But one day,

但是有一天，

she noticed her interns were calling senior staff "teachers."

她注意到她的实习生 管资深职员叫 “老师”。

This may sound innocent,

说者无心，

but it signaled a problem to Qu.

听者有意。

Because if the teacher phenomenon becomes a norm,

因为如果这个 “老师现象” 变成了一个惯例，

it will encourage hierarchy and discourage ownership.

它会鼓励阶层制度的蔓延， 阻碍主人翁精神。

This is also something related to Confucian thinking.

这种现象也可以追溯到儒家思想。

In Chinese, we call it "benfen."

在中国， 我们管它叫 “本份”。

"Ben" means me, myself.

“本” 代表我，我自己。

"Fen" means the share of the job.

“份” 代表，我的份内事。

"I will just focus on my job and not cross any lines,"

教导人们要 “只专心做 我的份内事，不越界一步，”

which is totally the opposite to Qu's thinking.

这个理念跟瞿芳的思维完全相反。

So Qu created a unique initiative called "Signature Program."

所以她创建了一个独特的“薯名文化”。

In the program,

“薯名”文化中，

each employee chooses an avatar character

每个员工选择一个虚拟角色，

that pops up alongside digital communication channels.

作为自己在日常沟通的用户名。

Some common ideas include Captain Hook, Harry Potter

有些是常见的角色， 包括库克船长，哈利·波特，

and many well-known characters in Chinese literature.

还有很多中国文学里 众所周知的角色。

The way these characters interact proved to be the answer to Qu's problem.

这些角色之间的互动解决了瞿芳的问题。

Avatars from the same story would get together

来自同一个故事的虚拟角色 会不定期的举行聚会，

to talk about their favorite characters.

讨论他们最喜欢的角色。

In the community called "Slam Dunk,"

在 “灌篮高手” 社区里，

people from different cities, different departments,

来自不同城市，不同部门，

different levels of the organization,

不同层级的员工

they would talk about how these characters inspired them at work.

会讨论这些角色 如何在工作中鼓舞他们。

An employee with a signature called Coach Anzai

其中一个叫 “安西教练” 的员工。

was facing some difficulty in leading a very young team.

在领导一个十分年轻的团队时 遇到了一些困惑，

Other Dunk fans will share the best practices

其他的灌篮高手迷就会分享一些

on how to motivate a diversified team

激发多元化团队的最佳实践，

and inspire them to work to their full potential.

帮助员工发挥潜能。

The signature program plays a pivotal role

小红书的“薯名”文化在促进协作中

in fostering a collaborative environment at Xiaohongshu.

扮演着十分重要的角色。

Not only the teacher issue has disappeared,

不仅那个 “老师现象” 消失了，

the company has been ranked

在过去两年里，

as one of the most innovative Chinese companies by Forbes

该公司还被福布斯评选为 中国最具创新力的

in the past two years.

企业之一。

Gāo's two-hat approach and Qu's signature program

高德福的 “双头衔” 项目 和瞿芳的 “薯名文化”

are just two examples of empowering the frontline staff.

是两个充分为一线员工赋能的例子

But these methods may not always be right.

但是这些方法也许并不是万能的。

Let's take Ping An, for example.

我们就拿平安公司举个例子。

Very successful insurance company.

这是一个很成功的保险公司。

The company couldn't adopt

该公司没办法在整个公司内部

such an approach for the whole organization,

这种自下而上的方式的原因是

because, one, the company has 400,000 employees,

一，这家公司有 40 万个员工，

and the line between innovative chaos and chaotic chaos is very thin.

创新性混乱和一团糟的混乱 之间的界限非常模糊。

Two, the company has five ecosystems and 10-plus sectors --

二，该公司覆盖五个生态系统 和十个以上的部门——

health care, insurance,

医疗保健，保险业务，

real estate, smart city.

房地产，智能城市等。

Very difficult to apply a bottom-up innovation to all.

很难让一个自下而上的 创意覆盖到所有人。

But the company still needs to be innovating.

但是他们也是需要创新的。

Ma Mingzhe, the founder,

创始人马明哲

positions the headquarters as the steering wheel.

把公司总部比喻作方向盘，

Steering innovations and new ideas,

引领创新，

cascading them down to its subsidiaries.

并将其传达给各个子公司。

One of the ideas that headquarters came up with

来自总部的一个创意

is AI-enabled loss assessment.

是“智能闪赔”。

For a not-so-complicated case,

我们举个没那么复杂的案例。

the car owner can take a picture of the damaged car,

车主可以给损坏的车身拍照，

upload it online.

上传到网上，

The insurance center can decide a claim amount right away

理赔中心通过人工智能

by AI-enabled loss assessment.

做损失评估，并即刻算出 赔偿金额。

Facial recognition, ID verification.

车主在完成了人脸识别，身份验证后

The car owner can get a payment in a few minutes,

就能在几分钟内收到赔款。

which could have taken a few days.

这个过程在以前要花上好几天。

So, for companies that [find it] difficult to conduct grassroots innovation,

所以，对那些很难采用 底层创意的企业来说，

a centralized approach is also an option.

集中化方法也是一个选项。

The more I see these unconventional management mechanisms --

看到了越多像这样的 非传统管理机制——

Gāo with two hats,

高德福的 “双头衔” 项目，

Qu with the signature program

瞿芳的 “薯名“ 文化，

and Ma with the steering wheel --

马明哲的“总部方向盘”——

the more I ponder where do these mechanisms come from.

我越想知道这些方法 是哪里冒出来的。

They're definitely not Confucian.

它们肯定不来自儒家学说，

They are very similar to another Asian school of thought,

却类似于另一派古老的亚洲哲学

Taoism.

道家学说。

Confucianism believes the way to achieve perfection

儒家认为获得完美

is to organize and regulate things.

需强调“规”和“矩”，

But Taoism believes in letting things work to their perfection naturally,

但是道家却追求“无为而治”，

to support their natural state

让事物自然优化，

and to let them transform spontaneously.

自发地变革。

In other words, leaders should not impose their will.

简单说就是， 领导人不应把意志强加于民。

Leaders should act by shaping the context

领导人应该塑造环境，

rather than control.

而不是强加管控。

Confucianism works best in winning a stable context,

儒家思想更适合 确定性高的场景，

whereas Taoism, with its power to shape the context,

而道家学说强调的“改变环境”

is more effective in dealing with uncertainty.

可以更好地应对不确定性。

A leader is best when people barely know he exists.

“太上，不知有之…...

When work is done, people say,

功成事遂，

"We did it ourselves."

百姓皆谓‘我自然’。“

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）