Small editor's note: Legend Holdings officially announced that Liu Chuanzhi stepped down as chairman of Legend Holdings on the afternoon of the 18th. He will be succeeded by Ning Min, senior vice president, chief financial officer and executive director of Legend Holdings.
Source | Rancaijing (ID:rancaijing)
Author | dawn
Edit | Wei Jia
Liu Chuanzhi, 75, has finally ushered in the official retirement moment.
Ning Min, 50, joined Lenovo in 1991 and served as Liu Chuanzhi's assistant, assistant president and secretary of the board of directors, and is currently responsible for capital and investment at Legend Holdings. In 2012, Ning Min became a member of the Executive Committee of Lenovo, the highest management body of Legend Holdings and a "candidate pool" for successors.
In the past 35 years, Lenovo has belonged to the era of Liu Chuanzhi. At the age of 40, he co-founded Lenovo and single-handedly built the Fortune Global 500 company.
The outside world's evaluation of Lenovo is mixed and often extreme. Some people think that it is the representative of the national brand, and some people think that its lack of core technology is going down.
In any case, Liu Chuanzhi has participated in and witnessed most of the business history of Chinese technology and the Internet. This is a history of violent conflict between the old and new systems, the disintegration of the old order and the reconstruction of the new order. And Liu Chuanzhi is the one who has found a balance between the old and the new order.
Liu Chuanzhi is a realistic idealist. The history of Lenovo tells us what dreams and reality really look like. Liu Chuanzhi pointed out with actions how to build a bridge between dreams and reality.
Burning Finance has selected five key decisions that determine the fate of Lenovo in the 35 years of entrepreneurship of Liu Chuanzhi. These are five cross-sections of history that allow us to see why associations are what they are today.
01 The first decision: abandon the business
"Small companies do things, big companies do things." ——Liu Chuanzhi
In the autumn of 1984, in a small bungalow in Zhongguancun, Beijing, 11 middle-aged people from the Institute of Computing Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences held a "plenary meeting" to announce the official establishment of the Beijing Computer New Technology Development Company, which was the predecessor of Lenovo. The company's preparation process was fairly simple, with the communication room of the Computing Institute serving as an early conference room, with lime walls, cement floors, two benches, and three drawer tables.
Liu Chuanzhi, 40, is one of them, and it is the age of "people to middle age". In the eyes of most Chinese, Liu Chuanzhi has a fairly decent "iron rice bowl", boiling until he is in his early 40s, and he can no longer toss it.
At that time, doing business was not the first choice of many readers. But that same year, a document on economic restructuring was issued from Zhongnanhai, allowing some people to get rich first, reform became an "urgent need", and the pursuit of wealth began to become justified. The readers went to the sea and began to flow undercurrents.
In fact, this year is known as the "First Year of Chinese Entrepreneurs". Like Liu Chuanzhi, there are many people who have devoted themselves to the tide of entrepreneurship, such as Wang Shi, who founded Vanke with the first bucket of gold earned from selling corn, served as the director of Qingdao Daily Electrical Appliance Factory, and later achieved Zhang Ruimin of Haier. It was also in this year that Liu Chuanzhi made the most important choice in his life.
However, unlike the script of "Liu Chuanzhi led 10 scientific and technological personnel to resolutely found Lenovo" in Baidu Encyclopedia, at that time, within the computing institute, regardless of age, seniority and status, Liu Chuanzhi was not the highest - 45-year-old Wang Shuhe was the first general manager, and Liu Chuanzhi and Zhang Zuxiang served as deputy general managers respectively. In addition, the director of the Institute of Computing, Zeng Chaomao, holds the title of chairman.
More importantly, behind Lenovo stands the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Computing, which provide 200,000 yuan of start-up funds and resource support that cannot be measured in money. Liu Chuanzhi's early appointment at Lenovo was approved by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and his position was followed by a "deputy department" bracket. This parenthesis is meaningful, indicating that he is not out of the organization.
All indications show that Liu Chuanzhi did not "force up Liangshan", but followed the trend.
Liu Chuanzhi was born into a wealthy family. His father, Yanagiya Shu, joined the revolution in his early years and was one of the earliest intellectual property lawyers in China, and also had a lot of experience in the banking industry. Compared with those grassroots entrepreneurs who fight backwaters and give it a go, Liu Chuanzhi's trial and error costs are much lower. He once admitted that he had been guided by his father in some important choices in his life, including giving up his career and choosing to start a business.
On the two roads of doing scientific research and doing business, the development of Lenovo in the future proves that Liu Chuanzhi is obviously more suitable for the latter. He was loud, energetic, and infectious, and he was well aware of his lack of focus and passion in scientific research, and his ambition should be in the business world compared to a natural scientist like Ni Guangnan.
There is also a wild side of his personality that dares to fight and dare to break through. This is also why in Lenovo's early "three-person core", in the end, he monopolized the power and led Lenovo to kill a blood road.
There is such a detail. In the early years, Lenovo planned to import microcomputers from Hong Kong, get them to the mainland to plug in Hanka and resell them, and remit the borrowed 3 million yuan to Shenzhen, and found that the money was abducted. Liu Chuanzhi went straight to Shenzhen without saying a word, and watched the door of the other party's house with red eyes for one night, "At that time, he had the heart to shoot him on the head with a brick", and the other party refunded the payment.
02 The second decision: to go overseas
"You can't lie to others yourself and you can't be deceived by others." ——Liu Chuanzhi
In January 1988, Zhang Zuxiang came to Hong Kong for the first time according to Liu Chuanzhi's instructions. He was unfamiliar with the capitalist land, he could not understand the Cantonese of the locals and could not speak English. But he has a mission — Liu Chuanzhi wants to launch the "Overseas Expansion Plan" here. ”
Liu Chuanzhi is ambitious. He plans to accomplish three things in Hong Kong within six years: one is to set up a trading company in the local area to form a trend of "internal and external cooperation"; the second is to expand production business and enter the personal computer integration industry; and the third is to list in Hong Kong. This plan was what he called the "strategic trilogy of marching overseas", and it was also what the Hong Kong media said at that time: "The mainland cousin has spoken big again".
Later, this strategy was really wise at the time, and it allowed Lenovo to quickly open up the situation and obtain enough profits. But the motivation behind it is far from far-sighted: selling goods through Hong Kong companies can save the middleman from making the difference and increase profits by 15%.
In the 1980s, production and import controls were extremely strict, and it was difficult to move without a permit. Core resources are monopolized, and established computer manufacturers can easily obtain "quasi-birth certificates", but it is not easy for companies outside the system to come in and share a piece of the pie.
This is somewhat unavoidable. Lenovo Hong Kong was established in 1988 with Liu Chuanzhi as its chairman. There are three shareholders of Hong Kong Lenovo: Beijing Lenovo, Hong Kong Daoyuan Company and China New Technology Transfer Company, each holding 33.3% of the shares. This opens a door for Lenovo overseas, but this door is to sell overseas products domestically, rather than entering overseas markets.
At that time, Lenovo's main business was to represent American AST computers in the mainland, while bundling and selling its self-developed Hanka. AST Microcomputer ushered in the golden age in the early 1990s, and Lenovo won the exclusive agency rights for its sales in the mainland. Hong Kong Lenovo and Beijing Lenovo should cooperate with each other, almost monopolizing the supply of AST computers in the mainland.
With its scale advantage, Lenovo has transformed itself from a trader to a company that integrates production and trade. With a huge loan from Apceron, Lenovo rose quickly and began to consider replacing AST. In the name of "cadre training class", Liu Chuanzhi called on his sales team to start selling his own products.
In any case, the establishment of Hong Kong Lenovo has become a good move to make Lenovo bigger. The long-term significance behind it is not only to improve profit margins, but also to let Lenovo contact the global market for the first time, which makes it distinguish it from domestic mixed agents and climbs to the top of China's IT industry. Since 1997, Lenovo has occupied the number one position in China's personal computer market share for eight consecutive years.
Along the line, Lenovo acquired IBM's personal computer business in 2005, Motorola Mobile from Google in 2014, and International Bank Luxembourg in 2018.
03 The third: "trade and industry" route
"You have to understand who you are." ——Liu Chuanzhi
Since 2004, the voices criticizing Lenovo have begun to increase. Most of the criticism focuses on: Lenovo has no core technology, does not attach importance to scientific research, and is too biased towards trade and investment. In contrast, Huawei has become a model for Chinese companies to attach importance to research and development and self-reliance. This is like a stain that lingers on Lenovo and becomes a stone that cannot fall in Liu Chuanzhi's heart.
Turning over the thick history of Lenovo, we will find that the determination of the "trade and industry technology" route is not accidental.
Lenovo once attached importance to independent research and development. Before the outbreak of the "Liu Ni Controversy", Liu Chuanzhi was responsible for marketing and operations, Ni Guangnan was responsible for technology and products, and the division of labor between the two clearly shared the same vendetta. The research and development process of Lenovo Hanka and the "286 microcomputer motherboard" is enough to prove Liu Chuanzhi's respect for technology. In the New Year of 1989, Liu Chuanzhi personally led a team to the airport to wait for Ni Guangnan, who returned from Hong Kong research and development.
But in terms of role, or in his bones, Liu Chuanzhi is more like a businessman than an engineer.
At the beginning of Lenovo's founding, Liu Chuanzhi's greatest desire was to find a way to make the technical solutions lying in the laboratory of the computing institute into products and sell them into real profits. In fact, when he first invited Ni Guangnan to join, the point that finally impressed Ni Guangnan was that he said, "I promise to turn all your research results into products." "The results lie on the award certificate", which is Ni Guangnan's biggest regret at that time.
After the establishment of Hong Kong Lenovo, Lenovo cut into the production industry chain, but chose the most profitable motherboard production and assembly link, at the bottom of the entire profit chain. This is in line with Liu Chuanzhi's grand plan of the "Overseas Strategy Trilogy". In his eyes, the most core components of the central processing unit and the operating system, the American company has done a good job, Lenovo does not have any advantages. Instead of dying generously, it is better to grab a place in the market first.
He was inspired by the ancient wisdom of Horse Racing. Therefore, he decided to concentrate all his resources on where he was best at, and used his own "getting on the horse" to fight for the "dismount" of foreign companies. With the big sale of AST microcomputers, Lenovo became a successful trader. So for a certain period of time, the industry thought that Lenovo was an agent.
Liu Chuanzhi believes that Lenovo's greatest achievement lies in "turning technology into money", not in technology itself, although he has never denied Lenovo Hanka's hard work in lenovo's history.
The choice of route between trade and technology profoundly affects and determines the fate of Lenovo. In 1994, Liu Chuanzhi won the "Liu Ni Controversy", and Lenovo naturally embarked on the route of "trade and industry technology". Since 1995, Liu Chuanzhi has frequently mentioned "trade and industry technology" during meetings, and the "technology industry and trade" that was once preached has been abandoned.
Today, it is difficult to see the shadow of the past from Lenovo. Legend Holdings is an investment platform, which has lenovo stars, legend capital, Hony Investment, Lenovo Venture Capital, and Lenovo Group, which specializes in computer business, is just a piece of the puzzle of Legend Holdings.
Since the "trade and industry technology" was officially proposed, Lenovo has embarked on the road of "getting bigger" instead of "getting stronger".
04 The fourth decision: Lenovo restructuring
"Don't overestimate your strength." ——Liu Chuanzhi
In 1998, the computing institute was restructured, and more than 1,000 people were reduced to 100 people, most of whom were merged into lenovo Group. Lenovo Employee Stock Ownership (640 participants) was established and received a 35% dividend in this year, which can share in the net profit of the company's operations.
In 2001, Lenovo restructured again, and lenovo Employee Shareholding Association invested 230 million yuan to purchase 35% of Lenovo shares, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences held 65% of the shares. The move has made Lenovo employees shareholders as well.
In 2009, Lenovo once again carried out restructuring. The Chinese Academy of Sciences transferred 29% of Lenovo's equity to Oceanwide Holdings, downgrading it from an absolute controlling shareholder to the largest shareholder in relative control. Lenovo further removed the national mark on its body.
Through these three restructurings, Liu Chuanzhi has transformed Lenovo from a state-owned enterprise into a market-oriented private enterprise. It is precisely because of this series of "desperate and risky" restructuring that Lenovo can maintain its vigorous vitality to this day.
In china's business history, there are not many enterprises that have been established for 35 years and have survived to this day, and there are only a few enterprises that have successfully restructured from state-owned enterprises and gained market recognition. In the wave of market-oriented reforms that have crossed the river by feeling the stones, there are very few entrepreneurs who can mediate between the system and the market and retire after success.
Institutional reform is a double-edged sword, and it is often difficult to stand alone without hard work. In the process of removing the "red hat", many entrepreneurs have been labeled as the loss of state-owned assets. On the one hand, it is necessary to have an incentive mechanism for entrepreneurial teams, and at the same time, it is necessary to grasp the proportion of the system, which is the institutional difficulty of Chinese enterprises in a special period.
With his outstanding business skills and realistic philosophy in line with the national conditions, Liu Chuanzhi firmly controlled the direction of the company, so that he could walk on the tip of the knife and retreat. He decided to carry out institutional reform of Lenovo, perhaps earlier than in 1998, 1994 Hong Kong Lenovo listing is an important node, probably at that time, Liu Chuanzhi began to master the capital market play.
There is no doubt that Lenovo had a special relationship with the government in the early days, which is also the invisible advantage of Lenovo in the early days. But the computing institute has opened more than a dozen companies, only Lenovo has really done it, and the income of Lenovo alone has exceeded the sum of all the companies under the calculation institute. Clearly, a special relationship with the government is not the only condition for success.
Liu Chuanzhi knows in his heart that in the long run, to ensure the vitality of the enterprise, restructuring is the only way. Liu Chuanzhi's strength is that he knows how to grasp the measure.
In February 1995, zeng Maochao, the director of the 62-year-old computing institute, retired. He was a vital supporter of Liu Chuanzhi, and it was with his support that Lenovo was founded and grew. Liu Chuanzhi made a clever move, he persuaded the Chinese Academy of Sciences to let Zeng Maochao continue to serve as the chairman of Lenovo. To some extent, this provides a haven for Lenovo to restructure the wind and waves in the future.
Liu Chuanzhi once used such a metaphor to describe his human qualities: "Some people are not pearls, they cannot shine like pearls, but they are a line that can string those pearls together and make a dazzling necklace." I think I'm that line. ”
05 Fifth decision: Determination of successor
"To run a company is to run a person." ——Liu Chuanzhi
Liu Chuanzhi has twice stepped down from Lenovo Group. In 2005, he stepped down as chairman of Lenovo Group, and Yang Yuanqing was sent by Shaozhuang to take over the baton. However, in 2009, Lenovo Group suffered losses for the first time, and Liu Chuanzhi served as the chairman of Lenovo Group again, and did not step down again until 2011.
But he has not stepped down as chairman of Legend Holdings. Legend Holdings, the parent company of Lenovo Group, went public in Hong Kong in 2014 under the impetus of Liu Chuanzhi. At that time, Liu Chuanzhi said that Legend Holdings was stable within two years after its listing, and he "drew the end". The truth is that Liu Chuanzhi's retirement time is three years later than expected.
Determining a successor is a serious matter. In a way, it will directly determine the future course of this big ship. The older generation, represented by Liu Chuanzhi and Zhu Linan, will announce their retirement in this adjustment, and the young management team headed by Ning Min will take over the key to the big ship from the older generation.
Liu Chuanzhi started his business at the age of 40, and he was 50 years old when Lenovo Company went public in Hong Kong in 1994. His prestige at Lenovo is unmatched, and to this day he has a firm grip on the company's course. Perhaps as early as 20 years ago, Liu Chuanzhi had already begun to look for a successor.
Sun Hongbin was the most promising successor. In 1989, Lenovo established the enterprise department, and Sun Hongbin quickly established 13 wholly-owned branches, with a turnover of 24 million yuan. In his 20s, he has begun to actually master the national sales network at Lenovo.
Although he graduated from Tsinghua University, Sun Hongbin could not change a mouthful of Shanxi accent. It is rumored in the industry that Liu Chuanzhi forced Sun Hongbin to tell a story every day in order to let Sun Hongbin exercise his eloquence. However, Sun Hongbin's enterprise department grew larger and larger, and even began to compete with Lenovo, and eventually Sun Hongbin was "sent" to prison.
Selecting young people is "the hardest project in the company".
Like Sun Hongbin, Guo Wei, who was expected to be selected for Liu Chuanzhi's "Succession Plan", took over Digital China, which was spun off from Lenovo, because of lenovo's internal conflict. In 2001, Lenovo was divided into two, one was Lenovo Group, headed by Yang Yuanqing, and the other was Digital China, which was under the name of Guo. Yang Yuanqing became the de facto successor of Lenovo Group.
Zhu Linan, 18 years younger than Liu Chuanzhi, was also one of the more vocal potential successors. He joined Lenovo in 1989 and started his own business in 1993, but returned to Lenovo in 1997 and rose all the way to one of the executive committee members of the original Lenovo Group's highest governing body, which is a candidate pool for successor.
In 2001, Lenovo Investment was established, and Zhu Linan served as president. In the process of Lenovo's shift to a large capital group, Zhu Linan acted as a vanguard. In 2009, some media asked Zhu Linan whether he was Liu Chuanzhi's successor, and Liu Chuanzhi said that it was possible that the guess was right or wrong. The truth is that he was promoted to president of Legend Holdings in 2012, but the chairman is still Liu Chuanzhi.
Ning Min
Compared with Zhu Linan, Yang Yuanqing, Guo Wei and other high-profile Lenovo elders, the 50-year-old Ning Min is much more low-key.
Ning Min's position is not the oldest, the education is not the highest, and even the entry time is not the longest. He started his career as an assistant to Liu Chuanzhi, assistant president and secretary of the board of directors, not from a business background. In 2012, Min Ning was appointed Senior Vice President and Member of the Executive Committee of Legend Holdings and entered the Succession Candidate Pool.
Subsequently, Ning Min was promoted all the way. Judging from public information, although Ning Min has less voice in the public, he occupies important positions in all the core positions of the Lenovo Department and holds real power. His stake in Legend Holdings is second only to That of Liu Chuanzhi and Zhu Linan.
Now, Liu Chuanzhi is finally about to retire, and a new generation of leadership team will also complete the intergenerational transition, and structural adjustment at the group level may be inevitable. No matter where Lenovo's big ship will sail in the future, the Lenovo era and Lenovo story with a strong willow legacy will never return.
The pictures in the text come from the Internet. Resources:
Lenovo, Ling Zhijun, 2005
"Lenovo bigger, Huawei stronger" Tao Yong 2016
"The Longest Restructuring" financial magazine Ming Shuliang Yu Ning 2009