時報專訪王中磊 成功的祕訣是激情和一些運氣
James Zhonglei Wang is president of the Huayi Brothers Media Corporation, a Chinese entertainment and film production company that he co-founded in 1994. Huayi Brothers recently announced plans to set up a $130 million American subsidiary.
王中磊是華誼兄弟傳媒集團的總裁。該集團是中國的一家娛樂和電影製作公司，是王中磊1994年聯合創立的。華誼兄弟最近宣佈計劃出資1.3億美元設立美國子公司。Q. Do you.remember the first time you became a manager?
問：你還記得自己第一次當經理時的情形嗎？A. I founded the company with my older brother, Wang Zhongjun, in 1994. I was only 24 and I have to admit I was totally unprepared. I didn’t have any experience in operations and management, but my brother asked me to take care of the daily operations of the company.
答：我是1994年和哥哥王中軍一起創立這個公司的。當時我才24歲，必須得承認當時我毫無準備。我沒有運營和管理方面的任何經驗，但是哥哥讓我負責公司的日常運營。
Q. That was quite young. How did you make it work?
問：那時你是很年輕。你是怎麼做到的？A. Well, when you start out as a young manager you need a lot of self-confidence [laughs]. But I don’t think age is really an issue, and I was often working with people as young as me. I think maybe I had some natural leadership skills in me because I’d always been looking at problems and finding solutions. But I never wanted to be a manager. I just wanted to be a free man. Even to this day. I deal with a lot of freelancers in my line of work, and I wouldn’t mind being a freelancer myself.
答：呃，如果你很年輕就當上經理，你需要很多自信（大笑）。但我並不覺得年齡是個很大的問題，當時我經常和跟我一樣年輕的人一起工作。我想我也許天生有些領導才能，因爲我總是盯住問題，尋找解決辦法。但我從來都不想當經理。我只想做個自由的人。直到今天也是這樣。我的工作要跟很多自由職業者打交道，我本人不介意做個自由職業者。Q. How has your perspective on leadership changed over time?
問：隨着時間推移，你對領導力的看法有哪些改變？A. When I first became a manager I was involved in every single detail of the work. Now, I see my role as providing continuous support and vision to the team, but I don’t feel I need to be involved in everything.
答：我剛當經理時，參與工作的每個細節。現在，我覺得自己的角色是給團隊提供持續不斷的支持和視野，但我覺得自己不再需要參與所有的事情。Q. What have you enjoyed most about leadership?
問：當領導最讓你享受的是哪些方面？A. For me it’s not about power, it’s about the working process and making links within the industry.
答：在我看來，當領導與權力無關，而是一個工作過程，在業內建立聯繫。Q. What makes a great leader?
問：好領導需要哪些品質？A. Three qualities: You need to be honest with your team, you need perseverance, and you need to be decisive. Beyond these, I also think you need to be passionate about what you do. That’s the way I feel about my own job and I do think passion is the secret to success — with also some luck.
答：需要三個品質：對團隊誠實；不屈不撓；有決斷力。除了這些，我覺得你還需要對工作充滿熱情。這是我對自己工作的感覺，我確實認爲激情是成功的祕訣——也需要一些運氣。Q. Some would say you make your own luck.
問：有人會說，運氣是你自己創造的。A. No matter in which form it comes, it’s still luck.
答：不管運氣是怎麼來的，它都仍是運氣。Q. How do you resolve professional disagreements with your brother, who is chairman and chief executive of the company?
問：你哥哥是公司的主席和首席執行官，在工作中與哥哥有分歧時你怎麼處理？A. It’s something quite private. Maybe you won’t believe me, but we don’t really have very strong disagreements, which is why we’re able to work so well together. We trust each other, and when we have a slight disagreement we just discuss things and try to convince the other to our views. We both know we have the best interest of the corporation at heart.
答：這是個非常私人的問題。我說出來你可能不信，但我們幾乎沒有過很大的分歧，所以我們才能合作得這麼好。我們彼此信任。我們略有分歧時，會討論，會試圖說服對方。我們都知道我們把公司的最大利益放在第一位。We are quite different in terms of character. My brother tends to charge forward, even when there are obstacles. I think I do things differently to reach my objective, but we have a very close relationship and we complement each other well in terms of abilities. He is a decisive leader, very good at making strategic decisions; I’m very good at getting things executed and cementing the right team around us.
我們的性格很不同。我哥哥很有衝勁，哪怕有障礙也往前衝。我覺得我實現目標的方法跟他不同，但是我們的關係非常親密，我們在能力上相得益彰。他是個果斷的領導，非常擅於做戰略決定；我擅於執行，把正確的團隊凝聚在我們周圍。Q. What qualities do you look for in your senior management?
問：你希望自己的高級管理人員有哪些品質？A. Loyalty is the most important factor for me. To some extent it’s more important than capabilities. Loyalty can have a more influential impact on the overall enterprise than capabilities. It doesn’t mean that the person must stay with you forever — they might only be working for you for a short period of time — but during that time they are completely committed to your company.
答：對我來說，忠誠是最重要的因素。從某種程度上講，它比能力更重要。忠誠對公司整體的影響比能力更大。這並不是說，他們必須永遠和我在一起，他們可能只爲我工作一小段時間，但是在這段時間裏，他們全心全意爲公司服務。Q. What management differences have you observed betweenChina and the United States?
問：你注意到中美在管理方面有哪些不同？A. There are significant differences even when companies are in the same field, in particular in the way they manage employees. In China, most companies are managed by their founders, led by an entrepreneurial spirit, while in the U.S. they are likely to be managed by career managers. That means you approach problems differently.
答：即使是同一個行業，中美的公司也有很大不同，特別是在管理員工的方法方面。在中國，大部分公司是由創始人管理，由創業家精神所引導，而在美國，公司很可能是由職業經理人管理。那意味着處理問題的方法會不同。For example, at Alibaba, Jack Ma, who is a friend, told me he used to try to employ career managers to manage each sector, but in the end he found it was more suitable to the Chinese market that he use the people closer to him that he founded the company with. At Huayi Brothers, we do the same. But I think that if we proceed in the U.S. market, we will be using career managers; we’ll need to employ someone there whose cultural background is similar to their U.S. counterparts.
阿里巴巴的馬雲是我的朋友。他跟我說過，他曾嘗試僱傭職業經理人管理每個部門，但是最後他發現還是用當初跟他一起創業的親近的人更適合中國市場。華誼兄弟也是這樣。但是我覺得如果我們進軍美國市場，我們會用職業經理人。我們需要僱傭一些與美國同行文化背景相似的當地人。Q. There is this notion that it’s very important to “give face” in China. Is that still true?
問：在中國，“給面子”很重要。現在還是這樣嗎？A. Well, I think Western C.E.O.s also need to be given face, it’s not just the Chinese ones [laughs]. It’s just a different understanding of the face issue. In China, “giving face” is an expression “to show respect to the other party,” and usually this implies mutual respect for each other. I believe that mutual respect is equally important in Western societies, though the way it is expressed may be different. “Giving face” tends to be a more external expression, where one pays attention to details and requires skills to appropriately express it.
答：呃，我覺得西方的首席執行官們也需要別人給他面子，不只是中國人需要（大笑）。只是對面子問題的理解有所不同。在中國，“給面子”的意思是“尊重對方”，通常這意味着相互尊重。我覺得相互尊重在西方社會也同樣重要，雖然它的表達方式可能不同。“給面子”是個更外在的表達方式，就是要留意細節，需要一些技巧來恰當表現。There is no right or wrong, good or bad; this is just a social and cultural difference between the East and the West. One may need to experience it for themselves in China to fully understand the concept.
這沒有對與錯，好與壞，只是東西方的社會和文化差別。你可能需要親自在中國體驗一下，才能完全理解這個概念。Q. What advice would you give to Western executives wanting to work in China?
問：對想在中國工作的西方執行官們你有哪些建議？A. Stick to your own way. Keep your differences. All you need to acquire is the trust of your boss. When a boss hires someone, what they are looking out for is results. Only by producing results can you build up your boss’s trust in you. So, when interacting with your boss, do not deliberately change your style or method, as long as it is effective for the job hired.
答：堅持你自己的方式。保持你的不同。你只是需要獲得老闆的信任。當老闆僱傭某個人時，他們要的是結果。只有實現結果，你才能獲得老闆的信任。所以在與老闆互動時，不要刻意改變你的風格或做法，只要它對工作有效。Of course, the basic respect and social etiquette are still necessary. When interacting with colleagues or subordinates, do pay attention to how you communicate with them. Do not distance yourself from others, as one’s popularity can create unexpected opportunities for a smooth career.
當然，基本的尊重和社交禮儀還是需要的。在與同事或下屬互動時，確實需要注意交流方式。不要疏遠其他人，因爲受人歡迎能創造意想不到的機會，幫助事業順利發展。Q. What advice would you give to your young self?
問：你對年輕時的自己有什麼建議？A. I’m still young — wrong question.
答：我還年輕——這個問題不對。Q. O.K., what would you tell someone starting a company?
問：好吧，對那些剛開公司的人你有什麼要說的嗎？A. You shouldn’t care too much about failure, but stick to your own path. I’m very glad to see the new generation of entrepreneurs. Those born in the 1990s have grown in self-confidence, because I think for a very long time the Chinese lacked confidence in themselves.
答：不要太在意失敗，但是要堅持走自己的路。我非常高興看到新一代企業家。90後已經有了自信，有很長一段時間我覺得中國人缺乏自信。
