coming home - midea

www.midea.com Advances Newsletter, June, 2013

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Vol. 3, #5, June 2013, No. 29

Coming Home

ADVANCES talks to two returning managers about their years posted

abroad in different countries, and how it changed them


2

ADVANCES Newsletter

Contents

Midea Advances Newsletter is published monthly

by the International Strategy Department of

Midea Group. We welcome all comments,

suggestions and contribution of articles, as well as

requests for subscription to our newsletter. You

can reach us by email at: [email protected]

Address:

ADVANCES, International Strategy Department

Midea HQ

No. 6 Midea Road

Beijiao, Shunde, Foshan, Guangdong

P.R.C. 528311

Tel: +86-757-2360 4714

Web: www.midea.com

Managing Editors:

Matthew Smith

Mandy Wang

Regular Correspondents:

Himani Joshi

Amber Liu

Crystal Lun

Blinda Li

Tony Miao

Peck Zhao

Sandra Sun

James Yu

Daniel Zhang

Sue Ou

NEWSLINE

Midea Carrier Argentina

Stands Out at the Retail 100

Exhibition PAGE 4

MDV4+ Wins at the Beira-Rio

Stadium PAGE 3

Six Sigma Training for RAC

Management PAGE 3

Midea Carrier Chile at Edifica

2013 PAGE 5

Miraco Launches New

Products at Tutankhamen

Hall in Cairo PAGE 5

Midea Carrier Brazil Holds Its

1st Annual Marathon Design

Competition PAGE 4

www.midea.com

¡Sobresaliente! Midea Takes

On New Languages PAGE 6

MID GM Coobie Zhang

Inaugurates New CMI Office

in Chandigarh PAGE 8

PAGE 17

Little Swan Sells 10,000 iAdd

Washers on May Day

Holiday PAGE 7

The University of Texas Visits

Midea HQ PAGE 9

FEATURE

PEOPLE

SNAPSHOT

Going Home PAGE 10


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MDV4+ Wins at the Beira-Rio Stadium

By James Yu

T he Beira-Rio stadium in Porto Alegre, Brazil, is one

of those slated to host the 2014 World Cup, and it recently an-

nounced the winning bid for their HVAC engineering. Midea

Commercial Air Conditioner‟s MDV4+ system came out on top

as the winning technology for supplying the stadium with their

HVAC needs, and the announcement remarked on Midea Carri-

er‟s recent win for the World Cup Stadium project as influential

in their consideration.

Porto Alegre is the economic and cultural center for the

three most southern states of Brazil, thus the Beira-Rio stadium

project attracted competing bids from many well-known multi-

national companies. After several rounds, the Midea VRF

MDV4+ bid was chosen for its high quality construction and

advanced cooling technology.

Beira-Rio stadium, the main stadium for Rio Grande do

Sul‟s major league football team, will be hosting six group

matches and two elimination matches for the 2014 World Cup.

In order to better welcome the World Cup, this stadium has

been undergoing renovations since 2012, representing an invest-

ment of $165 million. 80% of the principal construction work

had been finished

by this past May,

and the interior

decorating is esti-

mated to start by

September. After

renovations have

been completed, the

capacity of the sta-

dium will expand from 56,000 to 60,800 people.

Midea is one of the main brands offered by Midea Carrier

Brazil. Carrier, another main brand of the company, also suc-

cessfully bid for another stadium project in the same city earlier

on. Scoring two successful stadium bids in one year shows the

competitive strength of the company, and reflects on the ad-

vanced technology of its products.

When the Beira-Rio HVAC project is complete, Midea‟s

MDV4+ will provide cooling for the exhibition center, lounge,

VIP rooms, as well as the offices in the stadium.

NEWSLINE

Six Sigma Training for RAC Management By Crystal Lun

A s mentioned last month, Midea has launched a com-

pany-wide Six Sigma initiative in order for all departments and

divisions to de-

velop a familiari-

ty with the effi-

ciency-building

tools promoted

within the semi-

nars. This

month, a series

of Six Sigma sessions were held for the Residential Air Condi-

tioning Division (RAC), attended by over 400 managerial staff

and senior professionals.

Vice President of RAC, Li Guolin, expressed at the open-

ing seminar that the Six Sigma projects they would be taking on

would help to cultivate an attitude and process for excellence in

the managerial staff, enhancing overall performance in the divi-

sion. For this reason, the projects assigned to participants re-

quired everyone‟s focus and dedication, even alongside their

normal daily work. Rewards will be given to the teams with the

most excellent results.

In addition, a more sophisticated seminar, led by Chief

Consultant Dr. Gu Wenjiang from consulting firm IEG, was

given to the higher level managers, after the conclusion of the

regular seminars.


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Midea Carrier Argentina Stands Out at the

Retail 100 Exhibition

M idea Carrier Argenti-

na attended the Retail 100 exhibi-

tion last month at the Hilton Ho-

tel in Mendoza, Argentina. The

Retail 100 is one of the largest and

most influential B2C exhibitions in

the HVAC market, aiming to pro-

mote the development of the

HVAC industry and strengthen

communication between suppliers

and buyers in the HVAC industry.

In attendance at the Retail 100

were 145 suppliers and 135 buyers

from commercial channels, repre-

senting 93 major companies from the HVAC industry in Argen-

tina.

Midea Carrier JV attended the

exhibition with its two major

brands: Midea and Carrier.

Midea Carrier signed an endorse-

ment contract last year with local

sports star Luciana Aymar, to

represent the Midea brand. At

Midea‟s exhibition booth, adver-

tising boards showing a life-sized

Luciana Aymar were represent-

ing the Midea brand with style,

and attracted much attention

from visitors. During the three

day exhibition, the Midea Carrier

booth attracted more than 800

professionals, interested in discussing potential business.

T his month, Midea Carrier Brazil hosted its first an-

nual Marathon Design competi-

tion, which featured the product

design work of students from the

design program at Unilasalle/

University of Canoas, with the

winning designs to be used by a

real client. What makes this com-

petition interesting is the time

constraint imposed on the partic-

ipants.

From 8pm on the night of

June 14th, until 11am the next

morning, teams of up to 6 stu-

dents each toiled over detailed

designs, artwork, illustrative text,

and references. The determination made by the judges will

Midea Carrier Brazil Holds Its 1st Annual

Marathon Design Competition By James Yu

NEWSLINE

By James Yu

focus mainly on product functionality, but also innovation and

creativity.

The initiative is not for profit;

instead, it is simply Midea Carri-

er‟s desire to foster talent within

the local community. The leader

of the winning group will be of-

fered an internship in product

development at Midea Carrier

Brazil. The other members will

receive Midea Carrier products

like an air conditioner rated at

5,000 BTU, 5 electric heaters, and

other prizes. The 2nd place group

will be given a Midea 45 liter re-

frigerator, and a Minute Grill

microwave, one of the most ad-

vanced in Midea‟s product lineup.

Midea Carrier booth representative showing a field hockey jersey autographed by Luciana Aymar.

Marathon Design students show their enthusiasm to win shortly before the start of the marathon.


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Midea Carrier Chile at Edifica 2013 By James Yu

W ith the aim of boosting the introduction of Midea

air conditioners in Chile, Midea Carrier Chile presented itself at

one of the most important fairs of

the construction industry in Chile,

Edifica, which took place from

May 8th to 11th in the Espacio

Riesco Convention Center. This

year, more than 350 companies

were in attendance, representing a

20% increase in the number of

visitors compared to the previous

year.

Among the products that were exhibited during the fair,

the V4 Plus S attracted much attention, along with the Midea

Modular Chiller. Another innovation presented by the company

was the Midea M-Thermal system which, based on heat pump

technology, offers a range of possibilities for satisfying heating,

cooling and hot water needs, using

heat recovery technology and the

option to be integrated with solar

panels.

There were several talks also being

given during the Edifica fair, and

Midea Carrier Chile participated

with its own presentations by Ri-

cardo Perez and Julio Troncoso,

Sales Managers of Carrier Midea

Chile, throughout which they thoroughly described the merits

of Midea Carrier air conditioning products.

Miraco Launches New Products at

Tutankhamen Hall in Cairo By Daniel Zhang

M iraco, Midea‟s JV in Egypt, recently has spent over

USD 70,000 to launch a new portfolio of Midea air conditioning

products this past April in the Tutankhamen Hall at the J.W.

Marriot 5-star hotel in the Heliopolis district of Cairo.

The exhibit pro-

moted Midea‟s

global slogan of

“Creating a Bet-

ter Life”, which

could be seen

throughout the

display, along-

side detailed

visuals of prod-

ucts features, a

presentation of

the Midea cor-

porate profile, the product roadmap, and sales information.

Among the products being presented, visitors were able to get a

good look at Midea‟s Super High Efficiency Split IC series DC

inverter, the High

Efficiency Split

11M series, the

free standing GA

series, and the

portable Tango

series.

Over 400

dealers and sub-

dealers were in

attendance, giving

a great amount of

exposure for Mira-

co to successfully establish the innovative image of the Midea

brand in the eyes of many. The new products presented at this

event are part of Midea‟s home appliance strategy in Egypt, with

additional new home appliances to be unveiled in this market

incrementally.

NEWSLINE

Giorgio Elia, Chairman of Miraco.

Amr Said, Sales Director of Miraco.


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¡Sobresaliente! Midea Takes

On New Languages By Sue Ou & Crystal Lun

M idea is a company that never stops growing, and as

it continues to grow into new markets, it encounters the various

languages of those countries and regions. Many Midea employ-

ees take advantage of company-provided training for English,

which can effectively be used as a bridge language around the

world, but Midea‟s people are quite ambitious and always look-

ing for an edge in business. This is why some of Midea‟s divi-

sions, such as RAC and CAC, now organize regular sessions to

train their employees in languages other than English. In addi-

tion to giving

Midea staff a

competitive

edge in com-

munication

outside of the

office, it also

helps them

interact with

the growing number of foreign experts who work alongside

them in China.

In the RAC division, six language training classes are of-

fered: Japanese, Korean and English for Chinese speakers, Ad-

vanced English for Chinese speakers, and Chinese for Japanese

and Korean speakers.

Over in CAC, Spanish was chosen as a primary language

to focus on,

to enhance

the ability

of staff in

the over-

seas sales

company to

communi-

cate with

customers.

According

to those in

CAC, their

Spanish

teacher is friendly and very patient, and people in the office

already enthusiastically use the Spanish they‟ve learned, such as

“Buenos días”, instead of “Good morning” or “Zao”.

Along with this article, there is a humorous anecdote from

the Spanish class; an instance where the students provided a

lesson of their own for the teacher. Homework is routinely

graded by the teacher and return to students, but the first time

students received their graded papers, there was a great shock:

Many of the papers had the letters “SB” written on the front. In

Spanish, “SB” is shorthand for sobresaliente (Excellent), but in

Chinese, “SB” represents an insult which cannot be politely

translated here! After considerable debate about the intentions

of their teacher, the students asked their instructor for further

explanation, after which the students explained their own inter-

pretation to the teacher, culminating with many red faces and

much laughter.

FEATURE

“Teacher... how could you grade my paper with „SB‟? Was it really that bad?”


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By Blinda Li

W ith the gradual increase in living standards across

China, consumers are more inclined to purchase high-end and

energy-efficient household appliances. In recent years, high-end

models like Little Swan‟s

iAdd machines, with

advanced features such

as automatic detergent

dispensing systems, have

been growing in popu-

larity for their superior

washing performance

and reduced usage of

water, detergent and

electricity. Data collect-

ed shows that over the

recent May Day holiday,

Little Swan‟s iAdd mod-

els enjoyed explosive

sales, with approximately

10,000 in total.

Alongside the

launching of innovative

products, Little Swan

also developed special

programs to promote its

brand, such as the recent

nationwide tour, exhibit-

ing across 23 major cit-

ies beginning this past

March. Wherever Little

Swan goes, its lasting

impression on consum-

ers is that of a technological pioneer in the industry. Little Swan

promotional campaigns have left consumers well-informed

about automatic detergent feeding technology, with many inter-

ested to try the seemingly magical feature.

As one of China‟s largest washing machine manufacturers,

Little Swan has been market- and consumer-oriented, dedicated

to meeting consumers‟ increasing demand for washing machine

performance. After an extensive study focused on consumer

needs, Little Swan devel-

oped and launched its

iAdd-enhanced washers

in December, 2010. Since

then, the iAdd feature

has become standard on

all of Little Swan‟s high-

end machines.

iAdd addresses the diffi-

cult problem that people

have with estimating the

proper amount of deter-

gent to use in their vari-

ous washes. Adding too

much detergent can re-

sult in the post-wash

presence of detergent

residue on clothing. And

adding too little deter-

gent obviously results in

clothes that aren‟t as

clean as they should be.

According to a technical

officer at Little Swan,

with the touch of a single

button, iAdd automati-

cally factors variables

such as the clothing

weight and ambient tem-

perature to calculate the amount of water and detergent needed

for each of the available washing programs. iAdd technology is

helpful not only in avoiding damage to clothing from excess

detergent, but also in avoiding harm to the user‟s health from

such excess of detergent left in the clothing.

FEATURE

Little Swan Sells 10,000 iAdd Washers on

May Day Holiday


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MID GM Coobie Zhang Inaugurates New

CMI Office in Chandigarh

By Himani Joshi

FEATURE

D uring his recent visit to India, Coobie Zhang, Gen-

eral Manager of Midea International Division (MID), presided

over the inauguration of Carrier Midea India‟s (CMI) new Chan-

digarh branch. The Chandigarh office is the northern-most

branch in CMI, and its territory covers a vast area including the

Union Territory

of Chandigarh,

the states of

Haryana and

Punjab, the

mountain state

of Himachal

Pradesh, and the

scenic states of

Jammu & Kash-

mir. These areas

represent seven

percent of

CMI‟s market

share.

This visit

was the first

ever by Zhang to a CMI branch

office. In a small ceremony to

commemorate the occasion, he

declared the branch operational

by cutting a red ribbon placed

across the entrance of the of-

fice. In his address to the em-

ployees and channel partners

present, he explained, “India is

a focus market for Midea, and

we have a long term commit-

ment. The Midea brand has

been recently launched and we

look forward to seeing it grow

steadily over the next couple of

years.”

In discussion during the

following luncheon, Zhang

responded to queries from channel partners, reiterating that he

was confident of the joint venture, particularly with the

strengthening of the existing manufacturing facility, specifically

in terms of quality and after-market service. The Midea brand

was launched in India in December 2012, and since then, the

Chandigarh branch has grown to achieve the best sales perfor-

mance in Midea-brand products

against all other branches in

CMI, and has recently secured a

very large and prestigious order.

Zhang also visited CMI‟s largest

sales partner in northern India,

Pinky Radios, along with other

multi-brand outlets in the city.

This visit boosted the relation-

ships with the sales & service

team and the channel partners.

For his part, Zhang gained fur-

ther insight into the air condi-

tioning and home appliances

market dynamics specific to the

smaller cities of

India, which will

aid in developing

future strategies.

Coobie Zhang, GM of MID, cuts the ceremonial tape being held by Sanjay Mahajan, VP of Sales & Marketing at CMI.


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By Matthew Smith

J ust before publication of this month‟s issue, Midea

headquarters in Shunde was paid a visit by a group of MPA

(Master of Professional Accounting) students from the

University of Texas‟ McCombs School of Business, who were in

the midst of their summer exchange program with the Chinese

University of Hong Kong (CUHK).

Sophia Su, from the Midea‟s Department of International

Strategy, welcomed the group with a

tour through the company‟s Product

Experience Center, where everyone

was visibly and audibly amazed at the

wide range of products on display.

One student expressed out loud,

“Wow… you guys really do make

everything, don‟t you?”

After the product gallery, the

tour proceeded to the Historical

Museum, where Su introduced the company from its very

beginning as a bottle cap manufacturer in 1968, its move into

home appliances, the public listing of the company on the stock

market, and the especially rapid growth of the company through

the last 10 years.

Once the tour had finished, the group relocated to a

conference room where Su gave the students a comprehensive

overview of the company‟s global business outlook. After the

end of the presentation, the group was greeted by a surprise

visit from Kaiser Chen, the Deputy GM and Director of

Human Resources in the Midea International Division (MID).

Chen expressed his delight that this group of business students

from the renowned University of Texas was able to visit

Midea‟s headquarters, and explained to them Midea‟s vision for

becoming a truly multinational company through increased

recruitment amongst the international talent pool of

experienced professionals and well-educated graduates. The

reaction of the students was clearly one of enthusiasm, reflected

by the rush of questions that followed, asking about the

headquarters working environment, ideal qualifications for

different positions, and cultural integration in the office.

After much discussion and when the last of the questions

had finally been addressed, the visit wrapped up with the

representatives from CUHK and McCombs each presenting Su

and Chen with tokens of their appreciation, and the visit ended

with a group photo. Interestingly, everyone was directed by the

McCombs representative to hold their fingers out for the photo,

in a manner very similar to a Chinese style of photo posing,

except that this particular gesture represents the University of

Texas‟ famous Longhorns marque, pictured as the head and

horns of the Longhorn breed of cattle from Texas.

If there was one feeling shared at the end of this tour, it

was surely that this visit had provided a glimpse of the future at

Midea, a company of many faces and ideas, from all over the

world.

FEATURE

The University of Texas Visits Midea HQ

Kaiser Chen (1st from left in front row) and Sophia Su (4th from left in front row), posing with the visiting students.


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Coming Home

By Mandy Wang & Matthew Smith

Lau “Tony” Cai

Accounting Manager, MID

Finance Director, Miraco (formerly)

[email protected]

& Sean Zhou

CGM, UAE/Yemen/Qatar/Oman/Kuwait

CGM, Indonesia (formerly)

[email protected]

Last month, we spoke with Alex Lengler, a member

of the Finance Department from Midea-Carrier Brazil who

had been on assignment at Midea headquarters over the

past year. Before returning home, he shared his

experiences as a foreign Midea employee working and

living in China. This month, we speak with former

expatriate Midea employees who call China home: two

managers who have recently returned from their multi-

year postings abroad in Egypt and Indonesia.

ADV: Thanks for joining us, both you. We thought it

would be more dynamic and engaging to speak with you both at

once, as you‟ve already worked together in the

past and then went on to different locations

abroad, and now have both moved back in

China around the same time, as well. Would

each of you tell us a bit about your history at

Midea, up to the present?

Lau: I first joined Midea in 2005, and 3

years later, I moved to Singapore to be

responsible for establishing the company there.

This is a trading company, with no real sales.

The main function is for trading – transfers and

export sales for air conditioners to Singapore,

and for Singapore to issue the invoices to

customers. Additionally, it is a treasury center.

After this, I joined the Miraco team in August

of 2010. After roughly 2 years there, I finally

came back to the headquarters here, in China.

Sean: Similar to Lau, I joined in Midea after graduating

in 2004. My first job here was in Sales for our OEM business,

but deep in my heart, I wanted to work towards making our

own brand stronger. I took every chance to participate in

training seminars to improve myself, and in 2009, I got to know

the VP of Asia Pacific, Steven Zhang. I approached him about

whether I could have the opportunity to be assigned abroad to

open our own brand-development office in a country. Because

the training I was participating in, he got to know me in more

detail, and he finally decided that maybe I could do something,

so he assign me to Singapore first, and this is where I first met

Lau, where we worked together for almost 8 months.

Lau: Yes, we worked with each other in Singapore, in the

same office, before he was sent to Indonesia.

Sean: During my time in Singapore, I helped Steven to

analyze the market, and whatever else we could do for the

regional office there. Eventually, my main job was to develop

the business in Indonesia, and I began to fly more frequently to

Indonesia to negotiate the formation of the joint venture from

its beginning. After everything was settled, I was assigned to be

the Vice GM for the resulting joint venture, and I stayed there

for almost 3 years. By the time I left, we had 8 branches, more

than 230 staff, 950 dealers, more than 200 service stations. Sales

this year will jump to around $30 million USD, so I think

everything is trending well. But actually, I think Lau and I have

the same reason for finally coming back. In fact, I didn‟t really

want to come back; I enjoyed both my life and work in

Indonesia very much… but my wife… [laughing] she doesn‟t

PEOPLE

Sean describes the challenge of balancing the demands of work and family abroad.


11

like Indonesia at all – at all! It‟s not that she merely disliked it…

or that there was anything there she might have liked a little bit

– she hated it. So, there was just no chance to convince her to

continue staying with me in Indonesia. For her, we had been

there a very long time, 3 years, and after my daughter turned 1

year old, and she calmly suggested to me, “OK. If you stay here,

no problem, but my daughter will start calling you Uncle, not

Dad! [laughing] With this, she found another way to stress me,

and so finally, I had no choice but to oblige her and return to

China.

Lau: [laughing] Yes, we have similar reasons for coming

back. We both enjoyed the work and the life in our locations,

and I can say my time in Egypt was a really wonderful

experience.

The life there

is very easy,

and… maybe

a little bit

different from

here

[laughing]. My

wife actually

likes Egypt

too, but we

have plans to

have children

soon, and we

just felt more

comfortable

to be back in

China for

that, so we

decided to

come back.

ADV: Our

next question

was going to

be about your reactions when approached about going

abroad… but in your case, Sean, since you actively pursued this

– so, what was your motivation?

Sean: Well, doing the OEM business, I have to admit,

was easy. It‟s because our company is already very strong in the

market. There‟s no need for much skill or persuasion to

convince customers, as the reputation is already there –

everyone knows Midea – and they will come to you, so the job

is quite easy. But deep in my heart, I wanted to be selling our

name, Midea, in these other countries. I didn‟t want to be

known only in

professional circles

– I want the whole

world to know

where I work, with

the Midea name as

an international

brand, so I can

show my daughter

when we go to

Indonesia, “See

these Midea

products? This is

because of me.”

ADV: You

wanted to make

Midea a

“household”

name, where everyone knows it, as opposed to only being

known by those in your industry.

Sean: It‟s from a career point of view also, because in the

OEM business, at most you can be a Sales Manager or Director,

but you will never handle a company by yourself. When I asked

to be assigned abroad, it was because I wanted to do more than

just sales.

ADV: Working abroad means your responsibilities are

much more comprehensive?

Sean: Very comprehensive! I have to know everything,

so that‟s the reason why I took every opportunity with the

Midea training system to improve myself. I was already planning

for a very long time back when I was in OEM sales, such that I

couldn‟t let my boss know! [laughing] At that time, 60% of my

preparation was at work, and 40% was by myself, with a lot of

books, reading news, market analysis, a lot of things. When my

chance finally came, I jumped.

ADV: As for you Lau, did you also have it in your mind

that you wanted to travel abroad, or were you approached about

doing this?

Lau: Actually, the first experience in Singapore, this was

PEOPLE

Coming Home


Lau “Tony” Cai

Sean Zhou


12

my own idea. I joined the Singapore office because I hoped to

get more overseas experience. The second time, for the Egypt

posting, I was approached about this. I didn‟t plan on this at all,

and when that position in Egypt opened up and I was

approached about being the replacement, I was excited, because

it‟s a good opportunity to get into such a different culture. But I

was also a bit afraid, because I didn‟t know anything about this

company. When I arrived there, I realized my team‟s average

age was 44 years old,

and I was 26 at the time!

So as you can imagine, it

was not easy.

Sean: Do you

know about his name?

He was only 26 years

old, but he pretends to

be a very old man, you

know? [laughing] He

calls himself “Lau Cai”!

Lau Cai, which means,

“Old Cai”!

ADV: Actually,

I‟m curious – who gave

you this nickname?

Because I‟ve always

heard people call you

Lau Cai, not Tony.

Sean: He calls himself this! [laughing]

Lau: No, but when I joined Midea, the other people

called me this!

Sean: No, no, you gave it yourself! Because everyone

knows your real name is Tony!

Lau: Ah, but in my college, everyone often called me

this way, „Lau Cai‟, but in Singapore, my name was Tony, which

was easier for my colleagues there to remember, and it stuck.

But at Miraco, my boss‟s name was also Tony, so to avoid any

misunderstandings, I switched it back to Lau Cai.

Sean: That‟s why I got an email from him, officially

announcing, “Please don‟t call me „Tony‟ anymore. Call me „Lau

Cai‟.” [laughing] I got very confused!

Lau: Yes, even now, a bank from Singapore just emailed

me asking why my name isn‟t Tony anymore. [laughing]

ADV: Do either of you have any memorable stories

from the times when you were acclimatizing in Singapore,

Indonesia, or Egypt?

Sean: For me the most terrible thing in Indonesia is the

traffic… everywhere.

ADV: Worse than Beijing?

Sean: Worse.

Lau: I had that experience when I was visiting in Jakarta.

It‟s true - it‟s really awful.

Sean: When our

Chairman, Mr. He,

came to Indonesia, I

even hired two

policemen to escort his

car. Without this, he

would be stuck in

traffic for way too long.

But actually, he visited a

second time later on,

and that visit was

coordinated by the

Small Appliances team,

and they didn‟t prepare

for this aspect, so Mr.

He was in a big traffic

jam, and got very angry!

[laughing] That‟s the

worst story I can think of. Actually, everything in Indonesia is

quite similar to China: there‟s a lot of Chinese food, the habits

are similar, and the people are very friendly. The life was good

for me.

ADV: So not too much of an adjustment for you to

make. How about you in Egypt, Lau?

Lau: For me, in Egypt, because you know, Egypt is a

Muslim country, so it‟s different from here, and some things are

totally forbidden, like drinking alcohol or eating pork. One

awkward experience our Chinese team had was when some of

them were eating pork in the office there, and word of this

traveled to HR, and then the Managing Director contacted our

boss in China, the head of MID, saying, “the Chinese team is

eating pork here, and it‟s making the other employees very

uncomfortable! You have to respect the local culture and

religion! You cannot do this anymore!”

ADV: Since eating pork is generally forbidden there,

PEOPLE

“Actually, Lau, you really do look like an old man!”

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13

where did you get it? Did you bring it with you?

Lau: Well, actually, some people brought it from China,

dried pork, sealed and ready to eat. Additionally, there are still

places to buy pork in Egypt, but these places are very discreet.

Sean: The funny thing is that Indonesia is the biggest

Muslim country in the world, but over there, you can eat pork

and drink alcohol, anywhere, anytime. Even in clear view, in

public. There are many pubs for watching football in. It is often

a mix of non-Muslims drinking alcohol and Muslims drinking

non-alcohol, and it‟s very relaxed.

Lau: Anyway, aside from the misunderstanding we had

in the office in the beginning, I found living in Egypt to be a

wonderful experience. Another funny story: one time, I was

driving a Jeep in the desert, and I jumped over, um… well, the

Jeep broke. [laughing] I had forgotten to take my mobile with

me, and I was stuck, just waiting there, in the middle of the

desert. Very luckily, a large car finally came along, driven by an

Egyptian, and he was very helpful, and got my Jeep going again.

This was before the revolution. Before the revolution, security

was very nice, I could go anywhere, at any time, and there was

no risk, and the people were very friendly – even now, actually.

With the proper security, there are so many beautiful places to

visit and see there; it was really great.

ADV: Actually, that was a question we wanted to ask

you, since you were there for the revolution. What was that like,

as a foreigner living there? Everything being fairly stable, and

then suddenly…

Lau: Actually, some of my Chinese colleagues were

there, but I was back in China at this moment, for the Chinese

New Year holiday, visiting family. The others, 6 of them, they

stayed. They told me they were quite afraid, because the roads

were closed, the company was closed, and not far from our

homes, there was a prison. During the 2nd day of the

revolution, the prison was opened and 10,000 prisoners were

suddenly free. There was no security to speak of. The malls and

supermarkets were closed. Those Chinese colleagues only had

the food and water already stored in their homes. And at night,

they could hear guns being fired. So those two weeks were very

difficult for them.

ADV: Despite this, you went back.

Lau: Yes, one month after the beginning of the

revolution, I returned to Egypt. My colleagues, even the

Egyptians, were surprised, and asked, “Why are you coming

back? Every other foreigner is leaving, and you‟re the only one

coming back!” [laughing]

ADV: But by the time you got back, things were more

settled down, compared to what your Chinese colleagues

described to you?

Lau: Yes, everything had settled down, although 3 days

after I got back, President Mubarak resigned, so the situation

there was still pretty unstable.

Sean: Yes, actually, our two stations are categorized as

“high risk”, although in Indonesia, it‟s not political so much, but

rather risk of natural disaster – specifically, earthquakes.

ADV: Did you experience any earthquakes there?

Sean: Sure, you could even see in my apartment there,

there were many cracks in the walls.

ADV: But most earthquakes there should be fairly small,

right?

Sean: Yes. I was living in Jakarta, and Jakarta is not

PEOPLE

Lau describes the incredible challenges faced by his team at the Miraco office during the 2011 Egyptian revolution.

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subject to major tremors, not like other areas, such as Sumatra

Island, which always has many big earthquakes, or in the center

of Java Island, because of the volcano, which is still active. In

September of 2011, it erupted, also causing many tremors. Our

office in Bali, there‟s a KFC next to it, and this building

collapsed. The staff went out and took pictures to send to me.

Really shocking.

ADV: Now, there are other countries which are prone to

earthquakes, such as Japan, but they won‟t experience building

collapses so much.

Sean: Yes, they‟ve learned a lot from the Japanese about

earthquake-resistant

engineering in

Indonesia, and the

newer buildings can

withstand earthquakes

fairly well, but the

older buildings, not so

much.

ADV: It‟s

interesting that you

both encountered

significant hazards in

your respective

countries. One type,

you could expect before going in, and the other, in Egypt, was

pretty much unforeseen. In what way did you guys learn from

your time in those places?

Sean: Well, before we worked abroad, we were more

specific in our functions. But once we were working abroad,

both of us were much more involved in managing the overall

businesses, dealing with aspects there were previously outside

of our professional scope. We also had the chance to learn

more about the cultures of our newer overseas colleagues, and

this helps us to communicate more effectively with each other.

As an example, in Indonesia, they are very polite, to a fault: they

never say „no‟ to you. You assign someone a job, and he will

say, “OK, boss!” Even if he cannot do this job, he will not say

„no‟.

ADV: Actually, this is similar to what I‟ve heard about in

India – some consider it too disrespectful to say „no‟ to your

superior. If the answer must be „no‟, the response will be some

body language to indicate that there‟s some conflict with the

given instruction.

Sean: Yes, so I would say that gaining a greater

understanding about cross-cultural communications is a major

benefit to working abroad. Additionally, back to the opportunity

for working outside of your initial scope – it really gives you a

great perspective. Before I came to Indonesia, when I worked in

sales, I only cared about the most direct, most efficient way to

make greater sales. But in Indonesia, I suddenly had a brand to

nurture, which meant the easiest path to making sales wasn‟t

necessarily the best, anymore. I had to make the brand more

attractive and build a good reputation for it, better than other

Chinese brands. This

is why I had 950

dealers in Indonesia,

because I didn‟t want

to use a wholesaler

there, I don‟t want to

use a big distributor.

One reason is, they

cut into your profit,

and the other reason

is that they don‟t

really care about your

brand. But when I‟m

face-to-face with the

dealers in the retail, I can tell them, stress to them how the

displays and promotions need to be, like a proper brand should

be managed. It‟s a different perspective compared to the one I

had when I worked in sales. I also learned a lot of things I had

no idea about before, like finance. I only read some books

before, attended some training sessions, but when I started

working there, I had to work with the finance team to make the

financial statement, and analyze how we arrived at these

numbers.

ADV: Yes, you can start out unfamiliar with a subject,

but then suddenly finding yourself neck-deep in it will help you

to learn quickly.

Sean: Yes, and finance is just an example. I learned so

many things in that position which I had no experience with

before.

ADV: How about you, Lau?

Lau: For me, first of all, before I joined Egypt, I never

managed such a large team before, 64 people in finance. Finance

PEOPLE

Coming Home


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15

has so many different modules, such as Costing, Treasury,

Accounting, Financial Planning, even Sales Financing. Before

Egypt, I was very specialized in a single area of finance, without

a “big picture” view of financial management in a company.

This was also challenging because, starting as the Director of

Finance there, I was managing people who had more

experience and knowledge of their specific module of finance

than I did, and in the beginning, there was a feeling of

uneasiness about this, until I became more familiar

with each module. Also, in a similar way as Sean, I

often had discussions with the Managing Director

there, and the Sales Director. It‟s not only focusing on

finance. Another thing I learned from my time in

Egypt was how to manage a multinational team, which

was made up of Chinese and local Egyptians. Actually,

before I moved to Egypt, the Sales Director at Midea,

he told me, “Don‟t talk too much, because you don‟t

know too much about this company yet. Listen a lot.

Make sure that when you make a comment, it‟s useful

and correct. Don‟t speak unnecessarily.” This was

good advice. Another piece of advice he gave me, was

to remember that this company is a joint venture, and to not

come here imposing a Midea perspective or mindset onto

everyone. The people have their own way of doing things

already, and although Midea may be better in some ways, it‟s

best to consider that Midea may also have some things to learn

from others, as well. Midea is very efficient, good at cost

management, and flexible, but I feel like we still have so much

to learn about things like brand-building, cash flow, sales

channel development. So this was good advice, and I kept a

very open mind while I was there, and I learned a lot. Even

with all of these challenges, by the end of my 2 year stay in

Egypt, I feel like I had a very good relationship with my entire

team and everyone else there, and that we worked quite well

together.

ADV: How do these experiences benefit you now that

you‟re back in China?

Sean: We came back with everything we‟ve learned, and

the lessons learned in one country can apply to others, like with

brand-building. I‟m now managing the UAE market, I can also

share what I learned and experienced before with my new

colleagues.

Lau: For me, I feel I‟ve changed a lot since the last time

I lived here. Egypt was a great learning experience for me, and

now that I‟m back here, I am still growing. I am now working

on accounting and treasury modules in relation with our

companies in Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Egypt and India, and

those in Southeast Asia, as well. My scope has increased

significantly. As far as what I brought back with me, in fact, I

had become so accustomed to our own methods in Egypt that I

was still in this habit after moving back here. Back in Egypt, I

can communicate more directly, but here, communication is not

straight-forward. There are many divisions, many bosses here,

and I have to communicate with everyone in a very special way.

So since arriving back here, I‟ve had to readjust back to the

working environment here.

Sean: Because you learned western-style ways there, and

now you come back here, and you have to change back to the

Chinese ways, it‟s a little bit confusing [laughing].

Lau: When I got back, my boss said, „Lau, it seems like

you‟re more Egyptian or Carrier now.‟ [laughing] For instance,

my style of discussion in meetings had changed from my time

outside of China, it was more open and direct, and for the

working environment here in China, this was not appropriate

for some [laughing]. So there‟s cultural adaptation both when

you move abroad, and when you move back here, too, even

though it‟s your own culture.

ADV: Do you either of you figure you‟d like to live

abroad again, or are you ready to settle down more back here

Sean: I have to say, for the short-term, not really.

Lau: Yeah, for the next 2 years, probably not, until my

baby has grown up a bit more.

PEOPLE

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ADV: But later on… any countries in mind, perhaps?

Sean: Well, because both of us would have our families

in tow next time, we both probably agree that we would be

partial to more-developed countries, if the company believes

that we‟re qualified to do something for Midea there. But for

now, we both want to stay here, while our kids are very young.

ADV: Do you have any advice for other Midea people

who are thinking about working abroad, or preparing to move

abroad soon?

Lau: I think they have to prepare properly. First of all,

they have to improve their English. This language is a primary

tool, it‟s very important. When I first joined the office in

Singapore, my English was very bad, but I was lucky, because

some people there could speak Chinese with me. It doesn‟t

matter how good you are, your abilities in anything - if you can‟t

communicate with the people in the other offices, it means

nothing. Secondly, when you go abroad, you have to make a life

for yourself there. You have to embrace the environment

outside of your home and office and make some friends, or else

it will feel very lonely for you there. The last suggestion is, if

you really want to make the most of your stay in any given

country, I would recommend staying for at least 2 years. A lot

of people want to go abroad, and if you ask them why, they‟ll

tell you that they want to have a new experience. Actually, many

will want to return to China after just 1 year, and I think it‟s

impossible to really gain a firm understanding of the country

and its culture, and of the company and the market there, after

only 1 year. The first 6 months alone are required for general

orientation and building familiarity with the business and its

operations. 2 years should be the minimum.

Sean: For me, I would agree. You know, many Chinese

companies are now acquiring famous companies abroad, and

why can they not create a success out of these acquisitions?

Because of the attitude. They always insist on managing the

company in a Chinese way. They think, „We bought you because

we‟re more successful than you, and we‟re more successful

because our way is better than yours.‟

But actually, it‟s different when you

run a business in another country. So,

preparing to adopt an open attitude

when you‟re abroad is important.

You can go to another country‟s

office and act like you‟re the king,

sure, you can do that, but will you be

a good king or not? You have to

really lead the team in order to be

successful. Also, as Lau said, you

have to prepare your knowledge of

what you will be doing there. Book knowledge comes first, and

then at least you have something to start from. “Soft skills” are

just as important, such as communication and cross-cultural

management. Specific training can help with this, and you have

to practice, engage in group discussion. The last advice I would

give is about your family. Anyone who wants to go abroad has

to consider this. Any good man or good girl will care about their

family, and will face the same problem: will they be happy with

this? Whether they go with you, or they stay behind in China, it

can be difficult either way, and you have to evaluate this.

Otherwise, you can do something and then later, family issues

can arise. Midea is not a charity, sending people abroad for the

sole purpose of giving its employees a fun experience. You have

to really understand the commitment you are making to a

position abroad, and whether this will conflict with your

obligations to your family.

ADV: Yes, otherwise you‟ll find yourself with an

unhappy wife and a child calling you “uncle”! [laughing] I think

both of you offer very good points to consider for those

looking to take the leap into a role overseas, and overall, very

insightful accounts about your experiences. I have no doubt

everyone will enjoy reading about these.

PEOPLE

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