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Chinese leaders feared instability more than anything. The Party had made a simple bargain with the people: economic growth in return for political stability. That in turn meant Party control. Prosperity was the source of Party legitimacy.
It was the nature of dealing with China: nothing was done until it was done.
The key to breaking into new markets is to brand yourself by building strong relationships with the most important clients.
Maneuvering to hold on to power, Mao subsequently initiated the Cultural Revolution, purging the senior ranks of the Communist Party and unleashing the Red Guards to persecute millions throughout the country in the name of class struggle.
The lesson I drew was that you need to listen hard to what your counterpart is really saying they want—and, if it’s not unreasonable or unethical, do your best to meet their objectives or convince them they can’t be met.
I tend to approach all challenges the same way: start with a big vision, choose a concrete first step that can be accomplished quickly to build momentum, then push forward relentlessly, holding people to tight schedules.
I saw that no matter how hard we competed with one another, we were united by things even more fundamental and important: love of country, surely, but also a powerful, pervasive sense of shared humanity that made us all determined to prove that terrorists would not defeat us or weaken our resolve.
The Communist Party had essentially made a deal with the people to provide prosperity in return for continued political power. The Chinese leaders’ credibility with their citizens was rooted in economic opportunity, job creation, and an ever-improving standard of living.
The key to success in any modern business is to select a strong and commercially minded CEO who enjoys full operational autonomy and accountability as well as the ability to pick the members of a management team and to motivate them with long-term, market-based compensation schemes; help develop their management skills; and advance their careers.
“when CEOs are chosen, evaluated, and compensated on their abilities to run commercial enterprises and their companies compete with the private sector without subsidies or special benefits.”
trust must be built slowly by better communication and successful cooperation.
