Haier

Zhang Ruimin Became One of CCTV's Top Ten Men Haier Group CEO Zhang Ruimin became one of the Top Ten Men of China's Economy 2001 in a survey, which was conducted and announced on January 2nd, 2002, by the CCTV, China Central Television Station, the country's sole national television network. Zhang was also a popular entrepreneur prize winner. The selection of the men of China's Economy 2001 was based on candidates' influence, farsighted vision and creativeness while the Popular Entrepreneur Prize was designed to select a candidate through voting by the public. Winning of such a prize signifies having the most admiration from and influence on the public. At the prize awarding ceremony, Mr. Zhang and the Haier Group were given good remarks by critics from all sides. He (Mr.Zhang) let China's entrepreneurs see the power of management; he let the Chinese consumers enjoy the merits of service; he let the Harvard's intellectuals have some knowledge about the Chinese culture, and most importantly, with his powerfulness in thinking and practicing, he would lead his company to achieve more after China's entry into the WTO, remarked a critic from the CCTV. After taking over the rewards, Zhang answered the questions raised by the anchor of the CCTV and the internet fans. Here are some excerptions: Anchor: On the wall of your office, I saw a calligraphy which said "it's just like standing on the edge of an abyss; it's just like walking on a thin ice". I was impressed by it very much. Why did you take these words as your motto? Zhang: In China, many companies failed. One of the reasons is fickleness and lack of imperturbability on the part of the companies' leadership. For Chinese enterprises to be successful, I think, one has to resist and withstand two things, one is loneliness and another is temptation. Otherwise, it's very difficult for you to do business successfully. Moreover, our own company is growing bigger and bigger. If we were overheated in our heads, or in other words, if we could not control and rein ourselves, we maybe would make big mistakes. Therefore, we bound ourselves to make every decision seriously, and do each decision perfect. Zhang Zhizhong (an internet fan from Beijing): A question for Mr. Zhang Ruimin, could the Haier's overseas industrial park be making losses or just making a fame? It's maybe impossible for making losses and making nothing in establishment of the overseas plants. (Do you know) why? Our industrial park in the US, for example, is independent in doing business. It is not affordable to make losses, and no one give you money for the losses. To have a fame, you have to make a profit first. You'll have a fame only if you have made a profit. Tong Zhiguang (left), president of the Chinese WTO Research Institute, is awarding the prize to Zhang Ruimin, CEO of Haier Group