This is what corporate culture change looks like: a chief executive camped out in the lobby of headquarters, wearing a “Hello, my name is…” sticker and shaking hands with employees as they walk through the door.
That’s what Yang Yuanqing, the head of personal-computer maker Lenovo Group Ltd., did in 1999, according to a new book by two Lenovo executives detailing the Beijing-based company’s transformation from a quintessentially Chinese firm into a global giant with operations in 60 countries.
Previously, employees were used to calling their boss “Chief Executive Officer Yang,” or Yang Zong in Mandarin, a common practice in the formal, hierarchical style of many Chinese companies. But YY, as he is now known within the company, believed such rigid traditions would inhibit Lenovo’s evolution from a Chinese to a global firm.
But just telling employees to change their habit wasn’t enough.
For more than a week, Mr. Yang and his senior leadership team greeted employees in the lobby, shaking hands and introducing themselves with their given names, not their titles. Still, afraid of sounding disrespectful or bad-mannered, many employees mumbled the new greetings or avoided addressing supervisors by name, said Gina Qiao, the company’s senior vice president of global human resources. To move the process along, leaders jokingly threatened to fine workers who clung to the old convention, she added. Eventually, it took.
As more Chinese companies prepare themselves for a broader global presence – e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. is likely to hold an initial public offering in September – they will face the same challenges Lenovo did: integrating the Eastern culture in which they emerged with the Western values of many of their customers and a growing portion of their employees.
Getting Lenovo workers do act less formally was “a hard sell,” write Qiao and Yolanda Conyers, chief diversity officer, authors of the new book “The Lenovo Way: Managing a Diverse Global Company for Optimal Performance.”
Read More: WSJ.com