Lenovo's "** Technique": Localized Operation and Universal Values

"In Lenovo, we do things in line with China's guidelines, advocate the spirit of making the greatest contribution, (staff) is full of incentives and passion, giving employees a truly efficient work."

“We have done a survey among the employees of Lenovo and IBM about the quality that both parties agree on. We all think that dedication and hard work are good qualities, but there is a quality that does not exist in IBM but exists in Lenovo, that is, entrepreneurs. Spirit, this company is fully equipped with this spirit."

Did this sound familiar? Sitting in the Lenovo office in the suburbs of Paris in Courbevoie, rather than in Lenovo Building in Beijing, it is hard to avoid the feeling of confusion. Catherine Ladousse, Executive Director of EMEA's (Europe, Middle East and Africa) Regional Communications Department, talks about how Lenovo (00992 HK) is different from her old club IBM. This French woman has been working for Lenovo for seven years. Her language is full of words of beauty. Her face and body movements are telling her about her enthusiasm and loyalty to this Chinese company, causing her to forget her race. With nationality.

Gianfranco Lanci, who also loves his Chinese team, carelessly uses his mobile phone to sit in the newly-cooled Lenovo Milan office.

Ranci is the former CEO of Acer Corporation and is now the president of Lenovo EMEA. He is not tall and has few hair, but his eyes are dizzy and have very typical Italian appearance.

Lenovo's Milan office had just moved from the city's close to the subway station two weeks ago to the small town of Segrate on the outskirts. Looking around, the sparsely populated area is obviously a new industrial area. The building is still surrounded by land and construction sites.

"Hey!" He saw us come in. He set aside his work, but his expression was not easy. It seemed that there were matters that needed to be hurriedly left. Many of the office areas here have not yet been activated. Apart from the walls, the doors and compartments are all made of glass. Ranci's office is hidden at the end of the corridor, where the furniture is simple and the colors are bright.

Ranci is Lenovo's 2012 star. According to the third quarterly report released by Lenovo Group in 2012, its share in the global PC market reached 15.6%, a record high. The biggest highlight is that Lanchi’s EMEA has achieved double-digit market share for the first time, making Lenovo the third largest personal computer manufacturer in the region.

In April 2012, when Randy was named president of the newly established EMEA region, Lenovo put down his rhetoric: Prior to 2013, Lenovo would bring the Lenovo to the top 3 in the EMEA market. Seven months later, he practiced his promise.

“The entire European market is not going well. Our company has a good momentum. This is because we have the right strategy, the right products, but the most fundamental reason is the right corporate culture. The employees are committed to fulfilling their own commitments. Every effort was made to achieve success," said Catherine Ladousse to China Entrepreneur.

Unlike Huawei, which mainly uses Chinese employees to perform “long-range strikes” on overseas markets, Lenovo prefers “localization operations”. More use of talents with local market experience, this is Lenovo's practice in international operations. However, with the continuous expansion of overseas markets, how to allow tens of thousands of employees with different nationalities, beliefs, and personalities to accept and master the values ​​of Lenovo and become a “associate person” has become a new issue.

Seven years ago, after Lenovo purchased the IBM PC business, it began to face and overcome cultural distress caused by the confusion, and formed a universal set of values ​​and codes of conduct, and constantly “brainwashing” overseas employees. Today, corporate culture has become a deep-seated reason for Lenovo's internationalization.

Establishing "Master Spirit" in "Allied Forces of Eight Countries"

Since the establishment of Lenovo's EMEA district was delayed, the top issue that Lanqi and other district leaders considered was how to expand their territory in a mature market.

Yang Yuanqing once expressed the fact that Lenovo's influence on the global brand is weak (China's Lenovo Sham Shui Po District) in the “Entrepreneur of China”. Outside China, Lenovo’s brand awareness is far below the market performance. This is also true in the EMEA market. The brand problem faced by Catherine’s team is how to make Lenovo’s name known in the shortest possible time. “We have invested money to do a lot of advertising on televisions and billboards across Europe and have spared no effort to put the Lenovo brand out. This is a big challenge because we have not entered the consumer market before, so we need to build Brand," Catherine explained to "Chinese entrepreneurs."

In addition to building a brand, Lanci has also recruited a local team of people from all corners of the globe to open up new territories in the European market. He divided EMEA into six regions. Among them, Gleb Mishin, who manages the Eastern European market, is Russian. Oliver Ebel, who manages the Middle East and Africa market, is German. Stefan Engel, who manages the Central European market, is also German. Filippo Pratico, which is the southern European market, is Italy. People; Marc Godin in the UK and Ireland market is French, and David Mcquarrie in the Nordic market is Austrian. This looks like the taste of the eight-nation coalition, the nationality of each person is not the same, may come from different cultures, come from different competitors, Ranci allows each area manager to have a good cover, while avoiding A very centralized management,

The question is: How do people from different cultures of the "8-nation coalition" come together to promote business? Ranci believes that each region has a different culture and there are many differences. It is important that you understand these differences and let employees do things locally according to local customs. In his opinion, all these different cultures should be understood and respected.

When Lenovo and IBM began to integrate, they found that the two companies' values ​​were basically the same, that is to serve customers and put customers first. Another point is to do things accurately and realistically, to do it, and to innovate in entrepreneurship. However, after a period of cooperation, it was found that Chinese and Western companies still have very different cultures. In developed countries abroad, everyone thinks that career is a profession and does not become a lifelong career. Lenovo hopes everyone will have a sense of ownership. In this context, Lenovo finally put forward the 4P culture: Plan - make clear promises, Perform - promises to be honored, Prioritize - company benefits first, Practice - every day, every day we are making progress.

Lenovo related person in charge told this publication that the 4P culture was discussed together by many parties. It combines the American and international standards and is influenced by Lenovo's founder's entrepreneurial spirit. The purpose is to enable the owner to take root in the company. Yang Yuanqing et al. Lenovo’s senior executives have repeatedly spoken overseas. At the beginning of 2012, Lenovo added 1P (pioneer) to the 4P culture. In translation, it is "Dare to be the first in the world." The previously proposed 4P culture mainly emphasizes execution power, and the added 5th priority is to encourage continuous innovation.

Lanci said that in order to succeed, it is necessary to innovate in products, but also to innovate in business operations, such as changing the workflow of Lenovo's EMEA, to make the work faster and more efficient. "In the past six months, We are already doing business process reorganization."

At present, this set of internal culture with universal value has been successfully accepted by more than EMEA3000 employees. According to Catherine Ladousse, every employee is given the possibility of success. All 23,000 employees keep in mind the principle of customization of the human resources department and actively participate in the work. “It’s all day and night.” Live, but also to ensure quality."

The integration of Ranci and Lenovo seemed effective and typical. It took only half a year, he seemed to have become a standard “associate”, fulfilled the promise of clear thinking, and adhered to Lenovo’s 5P guidelines. “This convinced me that there is another strong spirit in the company. Even in France, we think we are a member of the new company,” said Catherine Ladousse.

It's more than just acquisitions that won

How to make a company that has been acquired by a developed country "self-destructive"? Lenovo's acquisition of medion is a typical example.

At present, Lenovo has reached the first position in three countries in Europe. In Denmark in the Nordic region, Lenovo returned to the first place with a market share of 24%; the two most representative of the first came from Russia and Germany. . Lenovo occupied the first place in the German PC market, and it was medion. This was Lenovo's biggest acquisition since IBM.

Essen, which occupied an important position in the Second World War, is one of the core cities of the Ruhr, the old industrial region of Germany. At the same time, it is also the site of the famous military tycoon Krupp family. Krupp’s former residence Hugel Villa has become One of the famous tourist spots in Sen. The Medion headquarters in Essen is located on a site occupied by Nazis in Essen. There is no wire grid, there is no sentry guard, and the sign at the door clearly shows its current ownership: medion and lenovo. Medion announced to everyone without any disguise that we are a company owned by Lenovo.

In the showroom full of medion and Lenovo products, see the Deputy Executive Chairman of Medini, Christian Eigen. The ten-meter square exhibition hall showcases hundreds of kinds of medinion and Lenovo merchandise, ranging from PCs to star products that are said to be quite popular in Australia – field camcorders that specialize in capturing kangaroos. Eigen reached out and picked up a Lenovo yoga notebook and turned it over. Sixteen years ago, he stepped out of the German bank and set up the medium-sized company with executive chairman Gerd Brachmann. It took seven years to bring the company from 200 people. Expanded to 1,100 people, assets have increased from 300 million to 3 billion, and everything here can be counted on.

German companies always carry a strong sense of pride in "made in German" (Made in Germany). This sentiment makes Medion value the ownership when he chooses to take over. From the 2008 Olympics, Yang Yuanqing met with Gerd Brachmann and explored the possibility of cooperation. In 4 years, Lenovo was obviously good at this. "This is Lenovo's way. We don't know if you heard it. We have the right to make decisions and take responsibility for the decisions we make ourselves. They promise our ownership. Our production can be the same as it was when we first started. This is the reason why we say 'yes' at the time of the acquisition proposal. Combining these with Lenovo's engineering capabilities is perfect.” Eigen told Chinese entrepreneurs.

He sees the combination of medion and Lenovo as a marriage. "Medion is like a girl to be married. Lenovo didn't know who to choose before and then met it. The two loved each other and finally brought it into marriage." Eigen said. Lenovo made up for the medion’s lack of sales. “One million units sold a year and 35 million machines a year are two different things.” Eigen exclaimed with exaggerated gestures.

"That's why we would agree to join Lenovo's family. Because we felt from the very beginning that we are consistent with Lenovo's business philosophy. After a year and a half, it's still the same feeling. Before it was a feeling, it should have been said This is proved, this is the fact." Eigen concluded. Lenovo clearly respected this company, which is well versed in the markets of Germany and Western Europe. When it comes to cooperation with Lenovo, Eigen expressed this: "We have never been the one who is big or small. It is more like a partnership."

However, Eigen knows clearly where Medion's strengths are and what Lenovo needs. “Medion has a large user base and also has sales channels. We sell in 15 countries, deliver more than 200 products through established sales channels, and even ship to Australia and the Americas. Such channels give us and customers The direct link allows us to know what the customer really needs. So we produce products that meet their needs," Eigen told Chinese entrepreneurs.

Lenovo is 27 times larger than Medion in terms of staff size. "Associated with large scale, the brand is loud, but the weakness is Europe's logistics, market and after-sales service." As the German expert's "during the marriage", the "first task" of the "medium" is to "exchange information" and "we can provide European customers The taste was given to the engineers, and we sent our product managers to the business unit in Beijing to the team of engineers,” Eigen said frankly. This may be the main reason why Lenovo bought medion.

In the conversation with Eigen, he clearly felt his praise and favor for Lenovo. In his understanding, after the merger of IBM and Japan's NEC, Lenovo has long been a global company.

In addition to trusting the globalization of Lenovo, Medion itself is quite popular in China. “Before Lenovo acquired, we entered the Chinese market. We develop DVD and entertainment business in Hong Kong branch, and do PC and local business in Taipei branch. Eigen said. Even Medion’s entire company appeared more “China” than Lenovo’s European division. At least, from the perspective of employees, as a German medium-sized company, medion had Chinese employees before it merged with Lenovo. When we visited Medion, we met with Jeff Wu, their Chinese colleague in the design department. What is most impressive is that the name of Medion's design director, Bernhard Geisen, is printed on his name.

Medion is learning from Lenovo to learn more effective strategies, including working methods, learning modes and business models. “This has brought us closer to our Chinese partners. We must combine this strategy, product innovation, efficiency, and business model. Finally there is the spirit, "said Catherine Ladousse. In this M&A, Lenovo's attitude has earned them more than just medion.

Localization wins

In a chat with Panno, general manager of the Bank of China Paris branch, he said that in France, there are two Chinese companies that have not joined the China Investment Association. One is Haier and the other is Lenovo. "They are almost all local employees," said Pan. His other identity is the president of the Chinese-funded association.

In Europe, Lenovo is indeed very special compared to more Chinese companies. It does not look like a traditionally recognized Chinese company. Before we met Ranci, we were repeatedly told. Lanci said that the English taste of Italy, and we thought to understand that we wonder if we can meet in Milan, Milan, Chinese and Italian employees as translators. After the inquiry, the other person's reply is: Maybe someone who can speak Italian and English can be found. And went through Germany, France and Italy. We heard English in various flavors. Christina Eigen is fluent in English with a strong German taste. Catherine Ladousse has a French-rich English language. Ranci, hey, he does speak Italian in English. People not only lamented that Lenovo has indeed made localization another realm.

Ranci apparently agrees with the combat capabilities of such a team: "When you go to a new place, you need to hire local people and local managers to operate. This is a global company that I think." Ranqi on "Chinese companies Home. According to IDC’s PC sales report for the second quarter of 2011 to the second quarter of 13 years, the southern European market has shrunk, and Lenovo has been conquering the trend; while the differences between Eastern European countries are relatively small, Lenovo will achieve the overtaking of Acer in the second quarter of 13 years. Jumped to second place; Lenovo’s share in the Middle East is the smallest in the entire EMEA, but it is still growing steadily; Lenovo’s market share in Central Europe has doubled, moving from fifth to second to HP; in the UK With the Irish region still unable to shake HP's boss position, Dell, Toshiba, Acer in this market are higher than Lenovo's share, but Lenovo is also gradually expanding the market; the Nordic overall market is severely shrinking, but Lenovo's market share has doubled . The fact that the faction is best played by the people most familiar with that place, to where he knows best.

In Ranci's view, when operating a PC consumer business, "you need to be localized because you need to be close to the end user. People who know the local customers can sell products to them." Ranci told the Journal, a global Chemical companies are people with different cultural backgrounds and people from different geographical areas. They represent the characteristics and culture of each place and can work together under the same values. In this regard, Lenovo’s top level is already an international team, which determines the depth and openness of its localization.

The answer from Lenovo’s headquarters was inconsistent with Ranci’s: This localized “energy accumulated for Lenovo is now showing up, and Lenovo’s recruitment and repatriation prior to launching the European offensive was exceptionally easy.” Walking into Lenovo’s office in Paris, Already I cannot see a Chinese person, all white employees. When she cast this question to Catherine, she asked herself and said to herself, “Do we have Chinese employees now? It does not seem to be the case. There is no one Chinese employee in the Paris office now.” She added immediately: “There are 2,700 EMEA members. Employees: 90% of them come from different countries. 10% of the employees are Chinese, but they still occasionally come for months or a year. We also send some employees to associate with China.”

In Milan, we met the only Chinese employee who was interviewed by Lenovo in Europe. Ranci’s special assistant Micheal Su, who had just arrived from Beijing, had frequent flights between Milan and Beijing in 2012. Su is excited about the opportunity to stay with Ranci: “Every day, you have a fresh MBA class. Is there anything more to learn than learning at a helm? Every case is a Fresh MBA case."

In the face of the European situation in 2013, Lenovo judged that the European economy may usher in a slow recovery. In the trend of consumerization, seizing the opportunity of economic recovery and expanding the European market has become a strategy for Lenovo's new year. Ranci is also sparing no effort to implement the PC+ strategy set by Yang Yuanqing and begin to promote Lenovo's smart phones in the EMEA market.

When we left Ranci’s office, we asked him how you defined entrepreneurship. He said: “Understanding business, understanding the company, doing things for the company, looking at the company like looking at the home.” Don't know the answer, Is it also in Lenovo corporate culture?

Lenovo’s opening up of the territory was apparently not yet terminated. On January 2 this year, Lenovo completed the exchange of 33,890,625 Hong Kong dollars and 779,139,375 Hong Kong dollars in cash for the three Brazilian companies Digiboard, Digibras Industria and Dual Mix Comercio. Acquisition. In Brazil, in 2013, will there be a Brazilian company that believes in the same way?