Dissipative Structure Theory: Enterprises hold the way of innovation
In today's fast-changing business environment, companies must always be open-minded and proactive in embracing change if they want to innovate and stay dynamic. Ren Zhengfei drew on the theory of "dissipative structure" in physics to provide theoretical guidance for Huawei's development, which has become the theoretical basis for Huawei's open strategy, which is the key to Huawei's innovation and success.
The core connotation of dissipative structure theory
Dissipative structure theory originated from a physics concept in the 60s of the 20th century to describe an open system that can spontaneously form an ordered structure when it is far from equilibrium. According to this theory, there is a natural tendency for any system to move from order to disorder, and the entropy value is constantly increasing. In order to maintain the vitality and orderliness of the system, it is necessary to form a "dissipative structure" and achieve "entropy reduction" by opening up and exchanging matter and energy.
This process of "entropy reduction" is actually the system to obtain new vitality by exchanging matter and energy with the outside world, and at the same time actively eliminate obsolete structures and components, so as to avoid rigidity and maintain the orderliness and innovation vitality of the system. This process of dynamic equilibrium allows the system to continue to evolve and avoid being eliminated by changes in the external environment.
Ren Zhengfei skillfully applied this theory to enterprise management. He believes that as an open system, enterprises also have a natural tendency to move from order to disorder. If the enterprise is closed and rigid and does not communicate with the outside world, it will lose its innovation vitality and will eventually be eliminated by the external environment. Enterprises must always maintain an open attitude, take the initiative to embrace change, obtain new vitality through open communication, and eliminate outdated thinking patterns and organizational structures, so as to achieve "entropy reduction" and maintain the ability of enterprises to innovate.
The implementation of Huawei's open strategy
Based on the theory of dissipative structure, Ren Zhengfei formulated a series of open strategies for Huawei, and implemented this concept into all aspects of enterprise development. The core of Huawei's openness strategy is to gain new vitality through opening up to the outside world, communicating and cooperating with external forces, and at the same time continuously changing internally and eliminating outdated thinking patterns and organizational structures, so as to achieve "entropy reduction" and maintain the company's ability to innovate.
Huawei's open strategy is implemented at several levels:
Open collaboration. Huawei actively cooperates with global partners in technologies, products, and solutions at multiple levels, and achieves win-win results through complementary advantages. For example, Huawei has established in-depth cooperative relations with chip manufacturers such as Intel and Qualcomm. It also has extensive technical exchanges and cooperation with Ericsson, Nokia and other communication equipment manufacturers. Through open cooperation, Huawei is able to absorb advanced technologies and ideas from outside and continuously update its own knowledge base.
Open source community. Huawei is an active participant and contributor to the open source community, and has invested a lot of resources in the open source field. For example, Huawei is a platinum member of the Linux Foundation and contributes a lot of code to the Linux kernel. It has also launched a number of open source projects, such as OpenStack, Kubernetes, etc., to promote the development of open source technology with developers around the world. By participating in the open source community, Huawei is able to communicate and cooperate with top talents from around the world, absorb advanced ideas, and contribute its own innovations to the community.
Open supply chains. Huawei has established an open, transparent, and sustainable global supply chain system, and works closely with thousands of partners around the world. This open supply chain model ensures the high quality and reliability of Huawei's products. On the other hand, it has also absorbed innovative ideas and technologies from around the world for Huawei, and has continuously updated its knowledge base.
In addition to opening up to the outside world, Huawei is also constantly changing internally, taking the initiative to eliminate outdated mindsets and organizational structures. Ren Zhengfei has repeatedly stressed that Huawei should establish an "entropy reduction" mechanism to achieve "entropy increase" through "entropy reduction", that is, to gain new vitality by actively eliminating old things.
For example, Huawei has established a strict employee evaluation and promotion system to conduct strict employee evaluations and eliminate those who are stagnant and lack innovation capabilities in a timely manner. Huawei is also constantly optimizing its organizational structure, breaking down rigid hierarchies, establishing a flat organizational structure, giving employees greater autonomy, and stimulating innovation.
Huawei's openness strategy implements the core concept of dissipative structure theory, which is the key to Huawei's success, which attracts new vitality through opening up to the outside world, and continuously changes and eliminates outdated structures internally, achieving "entropy reduction" and maintaining the company's ability to sustain innovation.
Innovation brought about by the strategy of openness
It is based on the open strategy that Huawei has been able to continue to innovate and occupy a leading position in the global technology field. Through open cooperation, participation in open source communities, and the establishment of an open supply chain, Huawei continues to absorb advanced technology concepts and talents from around the world to inject new vitality into itself. Huawei's internal entropy reduction mechanism ensures that enterprises can eliminate outdated thinking patterns and organizational structures in a timely manner, avoid rigidity, and maintain innovation vitality.
This dynamic balance of "entropy reduction" and "entropy increase" enables Huawei to keep pace with the times and continue to innovate. In recent years, Huawei has made major breakthroughs in cutting-edge technologies such as 5G, artificial intelligence, and cloud computing, largely due to the innovation vitality brought about by the open strategy.
For example, in the field of 5G, Huawei is the world's largest 5G patent holder and has the most advanced 5G technology. This is due to Huawei's long-term investment in open cooperation and open source communities, and the absorption of top talents and advanced ideas from around the world. Huawei's internal entropy reduction mechanism ensures that the company can eliminate outdated technology routes in a timely manner and focus on the research and development of cutting-edge technologies such as 5G.
In the field of artificial intelligence, Huawei has become one of the world's leading AI companies with its Ascend series AI chips and full-stack, all-scenario AI solutions. This is also inseparable from Huawei's long-term investment in the open source community and open cooperation with global partners. Through its open strategy, Huawei has attracted top talents and the latest ideas in the global AI field, injecting strong impetus into its AI development.
It is the innovation brought about by the open strategy that has enabled Huawei to stand tall in today's technology wave and become a global leader in the technology field. Openness is Huawei's fundamental policy, and it is also the key to Huawei's innovation and success.
Ren Zhengfei borrowed from the "dissipative structure" theory in physics to provide theoretical guidance for Huawei's development and became the theoretical basis for Huawei's open strategy. Through the open strategy, Huawei has achieved "entropy reduction" and maintained the company's ability to innovate, which is the key to Huawei's success.
Dissipative structure theory reveals the secret of system viability: open communication and active change. As an open system, enterprises must always keep an open mind, take the initiative to embrace change, obtain new vitality through open communication, and eliminate outdated thinking patterns and organizational structures, so as to achieve "entropy reduction", avoid rigidity, and maintain the ability to innovate.
Huawei's ability to survive today's technology wave is largely due to the innovation vitality brought about by its open strategy. Through open cooperation, participation in open source communities, and the establishment of an open supply chain, Huawei continues to absorb advanced technology concepts and talents from around the world. At the same time, the internal "entropy reduction" mechanism ensures that enterprises can eliminate outdated thinking patterns and organizational structures in a timely manner, keep pace with the times and maintain innovation.
Huawei's open strategy is the key to Huawei's success and the only way for enterprises to innovate. In today's fast-changing business environment, if enterprises want to survive and thrive, they must always keep an open mind, take the initiative to embrace change, and achieve "entropy increase" through "entropy reduction" to maintain innovation capabilities, which is the king of enterprise development.