3 Things You can Learn from China

- 5 min read -

This summer, I had the privilege to visit the manufacturing capital of the world. I had the chance to stop at various cities, mostly on the southeast side of China. By having the opportunity to explore the many avenues, business structures and culture points opened me up to an experience that no article or university lecture ever could have.  

For one month, I accompanied a business travel study team from my university, where we had the chance to interview various business owners, tour factories, and delve into how each of them operated.

From car factories to global payment services, the Great Wall of China, to the world-renowned financial centre in Shanghai and everything in between – each visit offered something entirely different. Every day would vary. Tours and meetings ranged from sparkling clean, efficient-ran, world brands, to workstations that included processes and machines the average person would never think possible. Meals and transportation methods switched from city to city - and so did the ability of the taxi drivers’ behind the wheel.

Everyone can read the articles on Business Insider or listen to a news podcast, but having the opportunity to go and ENGAGE with the topics we always hear about in China, was one I recommend to everyone out there.

1. China's Focus is SHIFTING

Everyone knows China sits at the top of the podium for being the largest exporter across the globe. But if I were to ask people what their top 3 favourite Chinese brands were, I doubt most people could name one, let alone three. One Wall Street Journal contributor sheds light in an article that although China is the second largest economy, none of the companies rank in the top 100 global brands.

With growth rates slowing, other global cheap labor markets rising, and brand reputation lacking; China is now forced to look domestically in hopes of repositioning the response Made in China gives off. Low cost labor in the country is diminishing. One Forbes writer, Rapoza, goes on to highlight that Chinese workers are now demanding more compensation and manufacturers are moving to other countries such as Vietnam and Bangladesh to maintain margins, where wages have remained flat.

For a country that has always been on the tail end of the offshoring, it will definitely be difficult to slide over to the higher-quality side of the spectrum. However, with a rising middle class buying elsewhere and showing little faith for domestic brands, the switch is vital.

With China’s competitive advantage of a feasible labor market dissipating, companies that aren't anticipating the shift toward automation, lean thinking and outsourcing more strategically will fail. There is no mistake in assuming that change is coming. So much to extent that President Xi Jinping even made a point of addressing the problem when he included the word innovation64 times in the federal government’s annual work report.

• Where do you place your focus and priorities? How does your action plan or results reflect that?

2. Companies must know their bread and butter

The subject of focus was a reoccurring attribute in identifying the divide between companies that thrive and those that simply exist. It was evident to see that firms which capitalized on their core competency rather than always diversifying and building every part of their brand was fascinating.

One car factory we visited did just that. Their main focus was manufacturing motorcycle and automobile engines, but they spent so much idle time on other facets of their brand such as building schools, managing real estate and sponsoring soccer teams. When, in reality, they could have invested their efforts earning a higher ROI on delivering quality engines.

By investing into the bread and butter of their brand – what they do best – the successful companies we met with were able to outsource other processes, knowledge, and expertise to others, therefore freeing up more of their time, resources, and staffing to reinvest into their higher priority goals.

• How are you or your company leveraging your skills and ability to outperform those around you?

3. Adapt a Learning Mindset

In some of our premium factory tours and interviews with companies like Honda or Accurpress, one subject that continually surfaced was the integration of a learning mindset. Instead of simply producing time and time again, they invested their time and energy of why and how their team can most effectively execute WHAT they do.

One company I recall always loved to encourage their employees to dig into the 5 Why’s before running to solve the mistake. Instead of just slapping a band-aid on the problem, employees were empowered to critically think and analyze why that certain situation arose in the first place, take action to implement the changes needed to solve the problem and then follow up with help their teams at the end of the day to report the change.

Once company incorporated another principle called the 2 Second Lean Idea: devoting one hour a day to brainstorming ways personal or work-related tasks can be improved. No one was allowed to do any productive work for the 1st hour of work – instead that 1st hour was devoted to working on personal or work-related improvement ideas.

At 7 AM, everyone knew to buckle down, start brainstorming and think of possible changes that could be added to enhance their daily tasks. Then just before 8:00, they would break apart in teams, discuss their ideas and report their successes the following day. The underlying lesson is that when you sacrifice 1 hour that day, you are able to eliminate at least 2 seconds of that daily task for the rest of your life.

And for a whole team to commit to individually improving their daily task in a factory line – the ability to deliver excellence becomes routine.

• Does your team at work analyze problems they encounter seeking out methods of improvement or do they remain content with the status quo?

Thanks for taking the time to read the article! If you have any comments or questions, feel free to share below or email me at [email protected]

Joel is a BBA student in Greater Vancouver pursuing a specialization in Management and Finance. He works on the Student Association as the Director of Operations and has experience in marketing and management. He is hoping to pursue a career in the startup or social enterprise field following graduation and can be reached further on Twitter