Hervé Sérieyx is one of those rare Frenchmen who were able, a quarter of a century ago, to persuade people in Europe that Japanese businesses had gained formidable competitive advantages by building up a much more efficient style of management of people and machinery through putting faith in quality and the hands-on knowledge of employees. In the gloomy economic context currently prevailing in Europe, he brings a different, encouraging message this time – one that comes from China. His article presents a series of ideas, inspired by Chinese managerial and political practices, on how we can take a different perspective on current problems and derive operational lessons from it.
In his view, four lines of thinking should be given priority: the establishment of a strong overall plan; proceeding by tests and experiments, which enable strategies to be refined; the development of constant learning; and, above all, the promotion and permanent maintenance of trust within and around the company. This is the only way, in Hervé Sérieyx’s view, to put an end to what he calls European – if not, indeed, national – egocentrism, which is doomed to fail in a globalized economy. Otherwise, neither society nor economy can expect to see sustained development.
