A hero from a humble family - Ren Zhengfei's legendary life
I. Introduction
In the midst of China's reform and opening up, a young man from a poor family, with perseverance and foresight, founded a small technology company that later grew into the world's leading manufacturer of communications equipment. This person is Ren Zhengfei, the founder of Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
Ren Zhengfei was born in 1944 into a poor family, his father died young, and his mother raised him and six siblings alone. Despite the difficult life, Ren Zhengfei has shown an extraordinary spirit of diligence and studious since he was a child. He loved mathematics and excelled in secondary school, and was later admitted to a major university for further study. During his university years, he worked diligently and focused on his studies in radio engineering. After graduation, Ren Zhengfei entered the military and engaged in scientific research and engineering construction, making outstanding contributions to the country's communications industry.
II. Entrepreneurship is hard
In 1987, Ren Zhengfei resigned from the military with the dream of changing his fate and founded Huawei in Shenzhen. At that time, Huawei was only a small trading company, short of funds, and its development prospects were worrisome. However, Ren Zhengfei has a firm belief that communication technology will be the major trend in the future, and is determined to build Huawei into a first-class communications equipment manufacturer.
The road to entrepreneurship is not all easy. In the first few years, Huawei was in a deficit and its capital chain was in jeopardy. Ren Zhengfei and his employees endured hardships, living in modest dormitories and with meager salaries, but still persevering. Ren Zhengfei personally went into sales, visited customers everywhere, and sought cooperation opportunities. His dedication and determination eventually paid off, and Huawei began to get orders and was on the right track.
III. Three big bets to save Huawei
Huawei's development path has not been smooth sailing. At different critical moments, the company has fallen into an existential crisis three times, and Ren Zhengfei has made bold decisions to save Huawei in a "big gamble".
Crisis and response
In the early 90s of last century, Huawei faced a severe shortage of funds. At that time, Ren Zhengfei made a bold decision: to invest all the company's funds in the research and development of a program-controlled switch. This is an extremely risky bet, and if it fails, Huawei will fall into bankruptcy.
Fortunately, this switch has gained market recognition and brought considerable benefits to Huawei. This "big gamble" not only solved the company's financial crisis, but also established Huawei's position in the field of communication equipment and opened the company's road to take-off.
sub-crisis and decision-making
In the 21st century, Huawei faces another huge challenge: due to the lack of core patented technologies, the company's products are controlled by foreign manufacturers. Ren Zhengfei realized that in order to become bigger and stronger, Huawei must master its own intellectual property rights.
He made up his mind to invest almost all of the company's profits in research and development, and formed a strong scientific research team. This is an extremely expensive "big gamble", and the company's cash flow will be under great pressure in the short term. However, Ren Zhengfei has a firm belief that only by mastering core technologies can Huawei truly achieve independent innovation and occupy a place in the international market.
Sure enough, after several years of hard work, Huawei finally broke through a number of core technologies and developed products with independent intellectual property rights, which won wide acclaim in the international market. This "big gamble" won Huawei valuable time and established the company's leading position in the field of communications.
Crises and breakthroughs
In 2019, Huawei faced its biggest crisis ever: the U.S. government added Huawei to the "Entity List" for political reasons, prohibiting American companies from trading with Huawei. This move has had a huge impact on Huawei's survival and development.
In the face of this crisis, Ren Zhengfei once again made a bold decision: to comprehensively increase R&D investment, and strive to achieve independence and controllability in key areas such as chips and operating systems. He called on all employees to work together to tide over the difficulties.
After arduous efforts, Huawei has finally made breakthroughs in the fields of chips and operating systems, achieved autonomy and control, and got rid of its dependence on American technology. This "big gamble" once again saved Huawei from danger and allowed the company to regain its vitality in the face of adversity.
IV. Huawei takes off
After three life-and-death "big bets", Huawei has finally grown into a real tech giant. Today, Huawei is one of the world's largest communications equipment manufacturers, leading the way in cutting-edge fields such as 5G and artificial intelligence.
Ren Zhengfei's foresight and bold decision-making are the key to Huawei's ability to break through the encirclement. He dared to gamble all his belongings in times of crisis, and this kind of fearless courage is the fundamental reason why Huawei has been able to resolve crises again and again.
Ren Zhengfei has also integrated his fighting spirit into Huawei's corporate culture. At Huawei, every employee has a never-say-die spirit, has the courage to face challenges, and constantly pursues excellence. It is this spirit of unremitting self-improvement that has allowed Huawei to stand tall in the face of many difficulties and finally ascend to the throne of a technology giant.