GE : imagination at work
GE : imagination at work
GE : imagination at work
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领 导 力 连 线 Leaders’ ConnectionDare to Take on Challenges andExperience Life— An Exclusive Interview with Weiming Xiang, GeneralManager of <strong>GE</strong> Avi<strong>at</strong>ion Gre<strong>at</strong>er ChinaDuring the 1980s and 1990s in China, while everyone desper<strong>at</strong>elysought <strong>work</strong>, having a secure job seemed like the dream. Whenthey did find a secure job, few were willing to give up thosepositions in search of new opportunities. But Weiming Xiang,General Manager of <strong>GE</strong> Avi<strong>at</strong>ion Gre<strong>at</strong>er China, took a differentapproach in establishing his career th<strong>at</strong> has led to a life full ofsurprises.After gradu<strong>at</strong>ed from the Aero-Engine Design major of NorthwesternPolytechnic University in 1985, Weiming was assigned to former ResearchInstitute of MOA as a research engineer, l<strong>at</strong>er becoming a journalist for ChinaAvi<strong>at</strong>ion News where he interviewed a number of stars and innov<strong>at</strong>ors in theavi<strong>at</strong>ion field. Due to his performance record, he became the newspaper’s leader ofpublicity, and increased his department’s revenue from 10,000 RMB to 1 million RMB. At the heightof his newspaper career in 1992, Weiming quit his job and joined <strong>GE</strong>, bringing his passion and enthusiasm to the company, which <strong>at</strong>the time he knew little about.When Weiming started <strong>at</strong> <strong>GE</strong> Avi<strong>at</strong>ion, which was <strong>GE</strong> Aircraft Engines <strong>at</strong> th<strong>at</strong> time, the entire business division had no more than10 staff, only three of whom were Chinese. Weiming was put in charge of local marketing development and helped US based salesstaff collect inform<strong>at</strong>ion and m<strong>at</strong>erials from each airlines. Thanks to his outstanding performance, he was quickly promoted to SalesDirector in 1995, but never stopped learning best business practices to reap benefits for <strong>GE</strong>. In order to make a larger contributionto <strong>GE</strong>, Weiming knew he would need to further this educ<strong>at</strong>ion. In 1997, with his leader’s support, Weiming particip<strong>at</strong>ed in the GlobalMarketing & Sales Program held <strong>at</strong> <strong>GE</strong> Avi<strong>at</strong>ion’s headquarters in the United St<strong>at</strong>es. During three years of study in the United St<strong>at</strong>es,signed a long-term service agreement with a foreign enterprise. In2007, he was transferred to the GM role of Marketing & BusinessDevelopment due to the job requirement; he was responsiblefor ICFC and partnership in <strong>GE</strong> Transport<strong>at</strong>ion. With three yearsof tough negoti<strong>at</strong>ions, finally <strong>GE</strong> Transport<strong>at</strong>ion reached anagreement with CSR Qishuyan to set up the diesel locomotiveengine JV. Weiming said his five years <strong>at</strong> <strong>GE</strong> Transport<strong>at</strong>ion werehis biggest gains not only in terms of achievements throughchallenges tackled, but also for making a lot of like-mindedfriendsThe agreements signed with the Ministry of Railways are just aglimpse of Weiming’s accomplished track record. When he was <strong>at</strong><strong>GE</strong> Avi<strong>at</strong>ion, it was his selling skills and excellent leadership th<strong>at</strong>ensured the steady growth of the company’s performance. Hemanaged to introduce more CFM-56 engines produced by CFMIntern<strong>at</strong>ional (a 50/50 JV between <strong>GE</strong> and Snecma) to China, andequipped CFM56-5B engines on 13 Airbus A320s, the debut ofthis type of engine in China, marking a historical moment for CFMengines. Additionally, the hard <strong>work</strong> and efforts of Weiming andhis team led to <strong>GE</strong>’s CF34-10A engine being selected as the solepower for China’s first regional jet, the ARJ21, which also providedsupport for the cooper<strong>at</strong>ion between <strong>GE</strong>/CFM and COMAC on theC919 aircraft program.But Weiming has never let his accomplishments infl<strong>at</strong>e hisego, instead choosing to regard himself as but one memberof a gre<strong>at</strong> team. This humility has allowed him to gain a moreprofound understanding of wh<strong>at</strong> it takes to be an effectivesalesman. A qualified salesman, Weiming said, must be excellentboth internally and externally. “You have to first do the salesjob externally, keeping abreast with the changing market andmaintaining contact with clients to discover their needs. Butthese won’t be enough since, most importantly, you need to relyon your own judgment to provide corresponding solutions forclients to earn their trust. Second, you need to <strong>work</strong> on internalefforts or sales, by th<strong>at</strong> I mean, learning to communic<strong>at</strong>e yourideas and str<strong>at</strong>egy clearly inside the company, and convince <strong>GE</strong>global teams to gain support.”Most people may think a top-notch salesman must be extremelyserious. Weiming, however, takes a casual and cheerfulapproach, often incorpor<strong>at</strong>ing humor into his <strong>work</strong>. During theinterview, Weiming bursts out in laughter many times as he talksexcitedly about his life and <strong>work</strong>. As much as he loves <strong>work</strong>,Weiming also enjoys family time. From Monday to Friday he’sbusy in the Shanghai office, and visits customers in differentcities, but weekends are strictly reserved for his family in Beijing.It’s exhausting to maintain a life in this way, and for a manwho spends 250 days out of the last year on business trips, asingle phone call to his family is all the warmth he needs to staymotiv<strong>at</strong>ed and get the job done.Weiming loves sports, visiting the gym two or three times aweek to jog and swim. He has also downloaded special exercisesapps for his iPad to assist his morning routine while he’s onbusiness trips, since sports is a key ingredient for Weiming tokeep himself sharp and mentally fit. He also enjoys travelingand experiencing new things. A one-week trip to the Caribbeancruise was one of the most unforgettable travel experienceshe’s ever had. Since there was no net<strong>work</strong> signal on the cruise,he was completely disconnected from <strong>work</strong> and the rest of theworld, which disrupted his <strong>work</strong>ing habit of receiving and sendinge-mails everyday. It didn’t take long for Weiming to learn to enjoythis passion<strong>at</strong>e life, free of the annoyances of busy office life.Everyone needs downtime to recharge their energy, relax andprepare for <strong>work</strong> and life ahead.Weiming gained a clearer and deeper understanding about <strong>GE</strong> Avi<strong>at</strong>ion’s organiz<strong>at</strong>ion structure and business process. This experiencealso cultiv<strong>at</strong>ed his global thinking model, paving a solid found<strong>at</strong>ion for his future career development.Weiming’s transform<strong>at</strong>ion from an engineer to journalist, then to a sales person marked major shifts in careers. In 2005, he againmade a significant job leap by being placed in <strong>GE</strong> Transport<strong>at</strong>ion as General Manager of Sales. While an expert in avi<strong>at</strong>ion, Weiming’sbackground knowledge of locomotives was shallow <strong>at</strong> best. But Weiming was born to take on challenges. At <strong>GE</strong> Transport<strong>at</strong>ion, hevisited key accounts and kept close communic<strong>at</strong>ions with local departments and global leaders while continuously learning about thetransport<strong>at</strong>ion field. Eventually, he helped <strong>GE</strong> Transport<strong>at</strong>ion build a promising cooper<strong>at</strong>ive partnership with the Ministry of Railways,<strong>GE</strong> Transport<strong>at</strong>ion’s top customer. During his tenure, <strong>GE</strong> Transport<strong>at</strong>ion signed a contract with the Ministry of Railways for 300Evolution main line locomotives and also signed a 20-year QTR Locomotive service agreement, the first time the Ministry of Railways39 <strong>GE</strong> & MEWeiming’s keys to success:• Dare to tackle challenges• Never stop learning• Be passion<strong>at</strong>e about your jobFun facts about Weiming:• Born in Northeast China• Loves spicy food• Golf enthusiast• Exercises using special iPad apps to increase <strong>work</strong>out effectivenessduring business trips<strong>GE</strong> & ME 40