"Don't spend three months talking about it. One week to discuss, the next week to do the experiment. Everything revolves around speed!" Yu Feng, Honeywell's China president, told his staff bluntly that they were planning how the company would enter a new market segment.
"Don't spend three months talking about it. One week to discuss, the next week to do the experiment. Everything revolves around speed!" Yu Feng, Honeywell's China president, told his staff bluntly that they were planning how the company would enter a new market segment.
Eleven days earlier, Yu Feng Gang, 54, was named president of China, replacing Shen Bin, who took the post in May. Mr. Yu previously served as Vice President and general Manager, Asia Pacific, of Honeywell's Characteristic Materials and Technologies Group, one of the company's four segments. He will retain his position after the new appointment takes effect.
Yu Feng's appointment comes as the U.S.-based Fortune 500 faces challenges in China. In a Reuters story last month, Honeywell Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Eric Durrett said the company's growth in China this year was slower than expected, compared with the double-digit growth forecast at the start of the year, which is his biggest concern.
For Honeywell, China is the largest single market outside the United States. Yu Feng told Jiemian News on Nov. 26 that the company's revenue growth in China this year is expected to exceed the growth rate of domestic GDP. In the first three quarters of this year, China's GDP grew 6.7 per cent year on year.
This cautious statement confirms Du Ruizhe said above. Last year, Honeywell's revenue in China rose 25 percent from a year earlier to about $3 billion. This year, similar hypergrowth has not occurred.
Yu Feng explained that, like the Chinese economy, when the base of Honeywell's operating income becomes larger year by year, it is relatively more difficult to achieve high-speed growth.
He also acknowledges that Honeywell now needs to follow the example of the best local Chinese companies that move quickly and drive the business with faster decisions and actions. It also continues Honeywell's previously stated goal of becoming a Chinese competitor.
After becoming president of Honeywell China, Yu Feng set a goal for his tenure: to double or triple the growth rate of domestic GDP in China. More than 30 years of experience in the workplace had already taught him that in the end, everything had to be talked about by numbers.
On the first day of Yu Feng's tenure, Honeywell held a meeting of employees in China. In this meeting attended by more than 10,000 employees and more than 30 sub-venues, Yu Feng put forward the proposition of "One Honeywell".
In his view, despite years of roots in the Chinese market, there are cases where Honeywell operates according to individual business groups, rather than as a company. In doing so, the company may miss out on a large number of potential market opportunities. In addition to the Characteristic Materials and Technologies Group, Honeywell has three segments: Smart Buildings, aerospace, and safety and productivity solutions.
Through this change, Yu hopes to find more room for cooperation from the government, state-owned and private enterprises.
While introducing the policy agenda, Yu Feng also announced his micro signal at the staff meeting. He quickly received more than 100 applications from people who wanted to add him as a friend, all of whom were frontline Honeywell employees. Clearly, Yu Feng wants to get closer to employees and improve the company's management and decision-making system.
