Huawei CFO Sabrina Meng's Tsinghua University Speech: It is Young People Who are Changing the World

Dear students of Tsinghua University, thank you for joining me here today. It is a true honor to have the opportunity to speak with you all.

I have been very lucky to be able to grow alongside Huawei in this great era. You are even luckier, because this great era has only just begun. To borrow a phrase from Francis Bacon: "The golden age is before us, not behind us".

"A university is made great by its exceptional faculty, and an enterprise is made successful by its outstanding people".

Firstly, I would like to pay tribute to the faculty at Tsinghua University.

Former president of Tsinghua University Mei Yiqi noted that a university becomes great not because of its impressive buildings but because of its faculty. This is similar to the philosophy at Huawei. A university is made great by its exceptional faculty, and an enterprise is made successful by its outstanding people. The success of an enterprise is not determined by its revenue or by whether it ranks on the Fortune Global 500. Instead, it is determined by whether globally leading talent gather within that enterprise.

The motto at Tsinghua is "Self-Discipline and Social Commitment". Huawei is also dedicated to the values of "Inspiring Dedication" and "Integrity".

Courage isn't about not being afraid. It is having faith ingrained in your heart.

People often ask what has enabled Huawei to sustain its growth.

The first thing, and the most important, is "customer centricity". For 28 years, Huawei has remained dedicated to creating value for customers. This is the only reason for Huawei to exist. Customer centricity is something everyone says they are doing, but we have succeeded by refining that universal truth to an art.

Huawei didn't buckle under the pressure of the earthquakes in Japan and Nepal. You don't make money by abandoning customers, giving up on customers, or just coveting their wallets.

The second thing is maintaining a spirit of dedication. Max Weber once noted that an intangible spiritual force must exist behind all things.

In 2011, Japan experienced a 9.0-magnitude earthquake that resulted in the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. While other telecom vendors were evacuating from Japan, Huawei chose to remain. A week after the earthquake, I flew from Hong Kong to Japan. There were only two people including myself on that flight. During meetings at the Japan Rep Office, aftershocks drained the blood from our faces in the beginning, but we gradually got used to them. At the same time as all of this, Huawei engineers were in protective outfits attempting to repair the communications equipment near the island of Fukushima. Courage isn't about not being afraid. It is about having faith ingrained in your heart.

In an era of enormous opportunities, Huawei refuses to be opportunistic. The company has remained focused on its pipe strategy. Over the past 28 years, Huawei has resisted many enticements to "make quick money". Sustainable revenue isn't achieved by making quick money in the present.

Huawei never seeks to maximize its short-term profits, and focuses on future sustainable investment. People see our success in business, but don't see the efforts we have invested below the surface. In 2015, Huawei invested upwards of 58.6 billion yuan into R&D, a full 15% of its sales revenue. Over the past 10 years, Huawei has invested 240 billion yuan in total into R&D innovation, and 45% of the company's 170,000 employees are engaged in R&D work. Over the coming several years, each year Huawei will invest over 10 billion US dollars into R&D, of which 15%–30% will be invested into basic research and innovation. We are building tomorrow's capabilities with today's money.

As we pursue independent innovation, Huawei is also dedicated to open innovation. The company is collaborating with over 100 colleges, universities, and research institutions, and cooperates with 2 Nobel Prize winners, more than 100 Fellows, and several thousand other scholars.

Huawei follows the philosophy that "talent can be gathered when wealth is shared", and has wide-ranging mechanisms for profit sharing. Internally, company founder Mr. Ren Zhengfei has only retained 1.4% of company shares. The remainder has been shared with employees. Along the industry chain, a strategy of "Digging in and Widening Out" is employed to provide greater benefits to customers and suppliers. Looking to the future, Huawei wants to establish an open ICT ecosystem to make the industry pie bigger. Huawei itself will only look to hold 1% of the market share, with the remainder given to our many partners.

We are customer-centric, dedicated, and focused on strategic business. We maintain strategic investment, pursue open innovation, and advocate profit sharing. All of these elements will support Huawei's future sustainable growth.

We have no choice but to succeed!

ICT technology will drive the transition from a physical world to a digital world. As we transition toward an intelligent society, a digital market valued at 15 trillion US dollars will emerge for the ICT industry.

Transformation is forming a new world open to those with the courage to seize it!

Who will lead this new world?

Each generation has its criticisms of the generation that comes after them. An example is the Baby Boomer generation in the United States following World War II. This "boomer" generation changed the course of technological history! What figures are part of this generation? Bill Gates, Steve Jobs.

Today, there are Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk who are also changing the world.

Qian Xuesen was a world-renowned aerodynamics expert by the age of 28. Newton established his theory of calculus at the age of 22. Einstein proposed his Theory of Relativity at the age of just 28.

It is always the young who change the world!

Those born in the 1970s think that those born in the 1980s are "awkward and unreliable". Those born in the 1980s think that those born in the 1990s are "non-mainstream". Those born in the 1990s think that those born in the 2000s are "two-dimensional". Each generation has its own unique traits, and each generation has its own values and perspective. Huawei respects individual differences and does not seek uniformity of ideas. We only seek collective dedication toward common goals! We don't believe that those born in the 1990s are "non-mainstream". Rather, we view this generation as trend setters in their own right.

You are changing the world!

What sort of talent are we looking for?

Those with global ambitions: Willing to take on global issues and challenges. Able to expand one's horizons and ambitions while facing major hurdles and challenges. "The most talented people solve the most difficult problems". Truly talented people are not willing to let their lives pass them by in mediocrity, security, or in an undemanding environment.

Those who are resilient and down-to-earth: Not impulsive or impatient, willing to stride toward success one step at a time. Talented individuals hoping to make it big overnight won't find the right fit with us here. Impulsiveness can be very destructive within the ICT industry. We advocate a spirit of craftsmanship.

Those with insight and new knowledge: In an era of transformation, the only thing that is certain is uncertainty itself. Only by constantly learning, discovering, and understanding can we gain a successful foothold in this world.

From where heroes emerge isn't important. What matters is where they are gathering.

At Huawei, it doesn't matter where heroes emerge, and rewards always await those who contribute. However, I want to emphasize here today that "From where heroes emerge isn't important. What matters is where they are gathering"!

This is a famous phrase from Qing Dynasty writer Liang Tongshu. The point of the statement is that no matter how impressive your background is, you still need a place to gather together with like-minded individuals.

Talent creates value when it is gathered. Tsinghua University is an impressive gathering place for talent. Here, heroes are those with knowledge. Huawei is also a place where young talented people gather. This is because Huawei gives the best opportunities to young people, so long as they are willing to dedicate themselves to their work, take risks, and push forward courageously at critical moments when their effort is needed. We are looking for go-getters who are dedicated to success.

Huawei's philosophy regarding talent can be summarized as follows:

Number one: We have eliminated organizational boundaries by blowing the top off our talent pyramid. In traditional battles, there was a greater reliance on central command. But modern warfare is more about field leadership. Huawei's organizational structure is designed to meet the transformation needs that are being seen in modern business. We allow those closest to the action to call for resources needed in the field.

As Huawei continues to transform its organizational structure, leaders will be given more leeway and broader decision-making space in their work. They will also have more effective support from the company's functional departments.

Number two: Crossing professional fields through talent mobility. Future global innovation will increasingly occur at the edges of science. For this reason, we need to cultivate multidisciplinary talent. At Huawei, our approach to talent cultivation is to "break down boundaries between specialties" and to "break down boundaries between positions". Through well-planned mobility of talent and job rotations, we allow talent to grow through a zigzagging path, namely, through job rotations.

Number three: We break down development boundaries and focus on responsibilities and results during performance appraisals.

Your background and who you know is not important. What matters is what you can contribute and what you can do. There are no hard rules regarding the age or qualifications for a manager. The only criteria is how you have fulfilled your responsibilities and contributed to the company.

Gold doesn't always glitter. Our choices, rather than our innate talent, is what matters.

Do you know when the saying "gold always glitters" first appeared? Some people say Nietzsche coined the phrase. If this is true, then the world has been partaking of this Chicken Soup for the Soul for over a century.

But gold doesn't always glitter. If you place gold in a dark room, where is its glitter? You here at Tsinghua University are all the best of the best. You are all the top students amongst the top. As you look toward graduation and come to a fork in the road, the choice you make about where to go is going to be more important than any innate talent you might have.

How does Huawei help gold to shine?

First, at Huawei we can give you a global perspective. In the past three years, approximately 700 globally leading scientists have joined Huawei's ranks. By joining Huawei, you will work and think from the perspective of the company's global platform. You will be working with highly talented people who will bring your skills to the next level!

Huawei hones talent through its global platform, giving gold a greater chance to catch the sun and shine.

At Huawei, we do not promote people solely based on age, time at the company, or qualifications. Young people can also become generals. At Huawei today, 60% of department managers were born after 1985, and 41% of country general managers were born after 1980. We also have regional presidents who were born after 1980. At Huawei, moving from a regular employee to a general within 3 years isn't unheard of.

Leaders rise from amongst the regular ranks of our team. Huawei promotes talent from amongst those who have hands-on experience, and cultivates talent through a combination of training and practice. Heroes within Huawei have gotten their hands dirty and worked hard in real business situations. We do not promote people solely based on age, time at the company, or qualifications. This is why Huawei has so many heroes, as we provide opportunities for them to emerge in great numbers!

The most talented people at Huawei help cultivate even more talented people. Huawei has a very robust training system that operates like an army training camp.

New employee orientation training will help you understand the company and integrate quickly. Outstanding employees also receive Strategic Reserve training to accumulate professional capabilities through mobility. Junior and middle managers engage in manager development programs, which help them transition into the role of a manager. Senior managers participate in workshops to hone their perspectives, understand company strategy, and practice the company's core values.

Salaries are based on the value you create. There is no ceiling on salaries for exceptionally talented people.

Huawei's aim during student recruitment is not to hire "apprentices", but to hire the most outstanding students available.

We are not simply looking to fill empty seats. Instead, we are hiring strategic reserve talent who have limitless potential, to work with us to face future uncertainties.

In the past we determined salaries based on educational backgrounds. Beginning this year, Huawei will be basing salaries on value. We will be giving full consideration to the potential value that outstanding students will deliver. In particular, there is no ceiling on salaries for exceptionally talented people. Simply speaking, your salary will depend on how much ambition you have, what you can do, and how much potential we see in you.

At Huawei, the longer you remain dedicated, the more money you will make. You will start to view your salary as just your pocket money. Huawei salaries are higher than the industry average. In addition to salary and bonuses, we also have a long-term incentive plan. As your responsibilities and contributions increase, these incentives will account for an increasingly large proportion of your annual income.

You won't become rich overnight at Huawei, but so long as you remain down-to-earth and grow alongside Huawei, then sharing in the gains of that growth isn't hard.

Huawei believes strongly in the value of knowledge. Knowledge is money. In the past, capital employed talent, but now talent employs capital!

In order to succeed, young people must remain dedicated and create value!

At Huawei, everyone is a partner. At Huawei, you are not just working for the company. You are creating value for yourself.

The past 30 years of development at Huawei have been a symphonic interplay between "individual heroes" and "collective heroism". During the course of our collective value creation and collective dedication, we share the success and profits with individual contributors.

In order to succeed, you must remain dedicated and create value! Welcome to Huawei, and welcome to join us in our exciting and ambitious endeavors.