Huawei: Leadership, Culture, and Connectivity

by Tian Tao, David De Cremer, Wu Chunbo

The inspirational business story of how to go from start up to world leader in two decades… With over 170,000 employees in more than 170 countries and regions, serving more than one-third of the world′s population, how does entrepreneur Ren Zhengfei manage a telcoms giant called Huawei?  What is the secret to Huawei’s global success? In 1987, a 44-year-old man founded a telecom equipment-trading firm in Shenzhen, China, with start-up capital of $5,000.  In 29 years, it grew to become the largest telecoms company in the world.  This book goes behind the scenes to explore the story of what Ren Zhengfei did differently, how the company he started reached the top spot, and why Huawei is known as a "collective" and not a private 14 years of meticulous research and 136 senior management and employee interviews reveal how Huawei′s international business success lies in its ability to transform the intellectual elite into a band of soldiers with the same set of values and resolve, while at the same time preventing a culture of subservience. This fascinating story provides a unique glimpse into the machinations of one of the world’s most powerful companies.  "The company serves as an example for many Chinese entrepreneurs striving to go global, and also presents valuable lessons for Western companies striving to integrate Eastern and Western values and ways of looking at business." - Co-author David De Cremer, KPMG Professor of Management Studies at Cambridge Judge Business School

Genres: Business, Nonfiction

424 pages, Hardcover

Published June 21, 2018

Reviews

[Ines · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to have a view from the other side of the coin, someone inside Huawei. The book disappointed me in the sense that it could have been written in 100 pages instead of almost 400. The ideas are repeated all over the book; what a great person Ren is, how dedicated are Huawei employees, the values the company praises for and so on. I expected to have a more realistic overview of Huawei's history but the book is too biased to consider it as a good source.

[Guillermo Puyana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Huawei is not only the most internationalized and iconic Chinese company, but also represents the Western conflict for technological leadership that China has been acquiring. The book, despite its propagandistic tone in some parts that makes it repetitive and adds length without adding insight, shows well the evolution of the company since its founding in 1987. But above all it gives us useful information to understand that Huawei did not grow because of an alleged nexus with the Chinese Communist Party. There are facts I personally did not know: Its founder was rejected as a member of the communist youth, the company had to face government investigations when it made a massive employee layoff, its legal dispute with CISCO became a catalyst for its self-transformation, and its most important procedural design and management was contracted with IBM to which it paid a huge sum in consulting fees. Thus it is clearer that Huawei is an autonomous business development that has faced multiple challenges. If I were to pick one part of the book, the Appendix analysis at the end is brilliant and anticipates Chinese performance in global technology. Very interesting.

[Berrian Jaineck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Its a good read! Very interesting facts about the Industrial Internet, Industry 4.0 and China positioning itself to influence the world economy and technology. I also like how Huawei adopted the Western culture in order to compete with the giants in the Telecoms industry. Very fascinating!

[Tran Quyet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hiếm có tập đoàn nào như Huawei, ít có nhà lãnh đạo kỳ tài như ông Nhậm Chính Phi. Đây quả thực là xu hướng thời đại của các công ty công nghệ hàng đầu toàn cầu. Mong ông và các thành viên công ty vượt bão thành công!

[Héctor Espinoza]

Sadly this books tells nothing in a lot of words. It circles around and around the Huawei philosophy without telling anything. Is a boring text about a great company that -i'm sure- has a lot to offer.

[Timur · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just a never ending praise to huawei and it’s founder.

[Max Lapin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A non-standard book on a business success. Kind of a mix between Chinese philosophy mixed with Western business acumen.

[Joel 'Archie' · Rating 5 out of 5]

Helped me understand Tech world a whole lot, lots of work goes into this.

[Ariel Corgatelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excelente libro, derriba varios mitos no solo sobre Huawei, sino también sobre la cultura China en general. Me gustó mucho el cierre del mismo el cual está divido en tres partes en donde se realiza un completo resumen de la mirada China hacia el futuro. Muy interesante lectura.

[Jose Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una historia a seguir