The One Behind It All Chapter 73

Aiden explained: Customer values are obtained through statistics, induction, and analysis, and through communication with customers, the final confirmation results are obtained and become the direction of the company's efforts. Along this direction we will not make big mistakes or stumble. So now the company's product development direction and management goals are aimed at the best in the industry. The best in the industry now are Siemens, Alcatel, Ericsson, Nokia, Lucent, Bell Labs, etc. The products and management plans we formulate must be directed towards They are moving closer, and must follow them and surpass them. For example, in terms of intelligent network services and some new services and new functions, our switches are already ahead of Siemens, but in terms of product stability and reliability, we and Siemens still have a long way to go. gap. We can only survive if we aim to be the best in the industry.

The reason why we want to be the best in the industry is not only Huawei's corporate goal of "becoming a world-class leading enterprise", but also because after the IT bubble from 2000 to 2003, customers are more cautious and more cautious when choosing manufacturers. reason. Aiden believes that this rational state is beneficial rather than harmful to Huawei's development. The reason is that most operators are currently in poor operating conditions. Customers will pay more attention to the operating conditions of the supplier company when choosing a supplier, and use the company's ability to achieve follow-up maintenance as an important basis for establishing a partnership. Therefore, as the economic situation becomes increasingly difficult, users no longer choose products, but choose companies.

In response to this customer value, Huawei made corresponding adjustments in company resources in 2005. Aiden once told such an example:

Some employees always complain that Huawei built two beautiful buildings, which is a waste. When we do accounting for the production headquarters, we take down the glass curtain wall and give it to the marketing department. It is included in the market accounting and calculated as their operating costs. Why? Because this glass curtain wall was built for the marketing department. Because the customer came to take a look and said that this company is very beautiful and does not look like it is in ruins. Give it the contract! Therefore, this house was built with the client's money, not with our own money. This must be understood. We serve customers. If customers feel comfortable with it, we will build it for them. Therefore, at this stage, our idea is to make customers feel a sense of security about us. This time during our development process, we wanted to build a house in Shanghai. The marketing department was in the minority and they argued hard and finally convinced us, the majority. We built a base for the Shanghai Research Institute designed by the American company AMBOY, which of course also includes the offices and exhibition hall of the marketing department. There is a corridor inside, which is 22 meters wide, 35 meters high, and 650 meters long. I think five helicopters can take off and land in it, and a flight show can be held inside the house. The marketing department said that after five years, we will scare customers and shake them to give us contracts.

In terms of R&D and innovation, Aiden’s point of view is that to judge whether a product is good or not, customers must make the decision. Only when customers are satisfied is a good product. Otherwise, no matter how high the technical content is, it cannot be considered a good product if customers are not satisfied. As a result, a research and development perspective of "technology marketization, market technology" was established within Huawei.