钟彬娴在清华学子时代论坛上的演讲.docx

钟彬娴在清华学子时代论坛上的演讲
andreajung
tsinghuauniversity-（beijing）oct.23rd
goodafternooneveryone.ican'ttellyouhowhonorediamtobeherewithyoutotalkaboutmythoughtsonleadershipandtosharemyexperiencesasoneofonlyahandfulofwomentodayrunningamajorglobalcorporation.
asilookoutatallofyou....someatthebeginningstagesofyourcareers....somewellalongtheroadtoyourfuture....whereveryouareonyourownpersonalpathicanpromiseyouaworldofopportunityandexcitement.anythingyouchoosetodoiswithinyourreach.howfaryougowilldependonhowhighyousetyourdreamsandhowhardyouworktoachievethem.butwhateverpathyoutake，thefoundationprovidedbyagoodeducationwillmakesuccesscomethatmucheasier，ipromiseyou.
ihavesharedmyexperiencesonleadershipwithmanydifferentgroupsofpeopleallovertheworld.butbeinghereinthecountrywheremyparentsandgrandparentswereborn-acountrytowhichicontinuetofeelstrongemotionalandintellectualties--isanenormousprivilegeandadreamcometrue.
iconsidermyselfarelativelyrecentmemberofanewgenerationofbusinessleadersfacedwithadizzyingpaceofchangeandaglobaleconomicandpoliticalenvironmentthatareredefinedbythedayinthistumultuous21stcentury.
iwasofferedthejobasceoofavonfouryearsago，andithascertainlybeenanexperienceofalifetimeformeeversince.we'vehadaspectacularsuccess，modernizingeverythingaboutthecompanyfromtoptobottom.
withsalesthatthisyearwilltop$6.7billionusdandastockpricewhichisatanall-timehigh，we'vecertainlyhadsomeincredibleresults.avonhasbeennamedoneoffortunemagazine'smostadmiredcompaniesandwe'vemadebusinessweek'slistoftheworld'smostvaluablebrandsforthreeyearsinarow.
youmaynotrealizethis，butavondoesbusinessin143countriesandwesellourproductsthroughmorethanfourmillionindependentsalesrepresentativesthroughournow-famousdirectsellingdistributionmodel.
ofallthecountrieswhereavondoesbusiness，chinaiswithoutdoubtourfastestgrowingmarket.avonenteredchinain1990，andwewerethefirstinternationaldirectsellingcompanytoopenourdoorshere.overtheyearswehaveadaptedoursellingtechniquestotheuniqueneedsofthechineseconsumer.today，wesellourproductsinavarietyofdifferentways，withbroaddistributionthrough5，000independentbeautyboutiques，ownedandoperatedbyentrepreneurswhoarebuildingsuccessfulavonbusinesses.
themajority-morethanthree-quarters--ofthesebeautyboutiqueownersarewomen，inkeepingwithavon'sfoundingprinciplesofprovidingbusinessandfinancialopportunitiesforwomen.thisisreallythecoreofourbusinessvisionanditisconsistentfrommarkettomarketallovertheworld.
today，avonisproudlyknownas"thecompanyforwomen"ineverycountryinwhichwedobusiness.andourabilitytoprovidewomenwithbothqualityproductsandasignificantearningsopportunityhasbecomeanimportantcompetitiveadvantage.
itisoneofthereasonsourbusinessinchinahasgrownsorapidlyrightfromthestart.overthepastfouryearswehaveexperiencedrobustsalesgrowthof30%annually.in2003，weexpecttoachievetotalsalesof$150millionto$200millionu.s.dollars.wehavebecomethenumberonebrandofskincareforchinesewomen，andwe'realsooneoftheirtopthreefavoritemakeupbrands.ourfacilitiesinclude74branchesin27provinces，plusa$41millionstate-of-the-artglobalmanufacturingfacilityinguangzhou.
goingforward，ourstrategyforavonrecognizeschinaasthenumberonemarketintheworldforfutureexpansion，reflectingourstrongcommitmenttobringnewbusinessopportunitiestoentrepreneurialwomenineverycornerofthisgreatcountry.
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asilookbacktoallthatwehaveaccomplishedoverthepastdecadeandparticularlyoverthepastfouryears，ithasbeenarealperiodofbreakoutsuccessforourcompany....breathtaking，butalsoexhausting.therollercoasterridehasopenedmyeyestomanythings....abouttheincreasinglycomplexdemandsofrunningabusinesstoday，aboutmyowncompetenciesandtheneedtoconstantlychallengeandrenewmyowncommitmenttobeingabetterleader.
ihadnoideaatthemomentibecameceothatiwouldexperiencesuchgreatfortuneandsuchgreatchallengebothatthesametime....andhowenormouslymylifewouldchangeasaresult.noideawhatprivilege，yetwhatresponsibilitycomeswithbeingthefirstwomantoleadthecompany，tobeconstantlyscrutinizedasoneoflessthanahandfulofwomenceostoday-whatitwouldbeliketobalancemychineseculturalbackground-whattheresponsibilitiesoftheofficewouldentailinthisunparalleledenvironment.andwhatitwouldmeantobeabusinessleaderthatcoulddistinguishhimorherselfintoday'sworldwherethegameischangingbytheminute.
asireflectonmyrapidrisetothetopasoneofthefewwomenrunningamajorglobalcorporation，ihavefoundmyselfthinkingagreatdealaboutmychineseheritageandhowenormouslyfortunateiamtohavebeengiventhisverypreciousgift.
iwasraisedinatraditionalchinesefamilywhereachievementwasnotdemanded，butexpected.myfather，borninhongkong，wasasuccessfularchitect.mymother，borninshanghai，wasthefirstfemalechemicalengineerinhergraduatingclassattheuniversityoftorontoincanada.theyarrivedinamericanotspeakingawordofenglishbutthroughhardwork，bothwereabletofulfilltheirfullpotential，andtheirsuccesshassetawonderfulexampleforme.
myparentswerealways，andcontinuetobetoday，thesinglebiggestinfluenceinmylife.theyraisedmybrotherandiwitharespectforthevaluesandtraditionsofourchineseheritage，yetalsowithanunwaveringcommitmenttobringusupwithalltheopportunitiesforhighereducationandadesiretoprepareustoadapttoamericansocietyandtosucceedinthisworldofgreatchange.
mybrotherandiweregivenalltheopportunitiesofouramericanfriends-thesameschools，thesametennislessons，thesamepianoteachers....butwehadthewonderfuladvantageinmymindofaculturalheritagethatwewerealwaystaughttobeproudof.momanddadalwayswantedustobeproudofbeingchinese-mybrotherandismiletodaywhenwereminisceongrowingupinourhouse.wegrewupbelievingthatbeingchinesewasthegreatestadvantageinlife;inourhouse，everythingimportantinlifecamefromchina，wasinventedinchina，owedalltothechinese.
wewentonelementaryschoolfieldtripstopulpplants，wheretheytaughtushowpaperwasmade.paperwasinventedinchina，momsaid，afterwerelayedtheprocessinawe.ourfavoriteneighborswereitalianandinvitedusoverforspaghetti.whenwecamehomeandraved，dadwouldremindusthatmarcopolobroughtpastahomefromchina.notitalian....chinese....andsoitwent.andhowwonderfultheyweretoinstillinusthesenseofprideinourheritagethatwehaveneverforgotten.
whenifirstbecameceo，afamousamericantelevisionjournalistinterviewedmydadandaskedhimifhealwaysknewiwouldbesuccessfulinbusiness.no，hesaid，quitetothecontrary，heworriedforyearsthatraisingmetobearespectfulchinesedaughterwouldhindermyabilitytocompeteinaworldwithwhatheconsideredtheaggressive，cutthroattraitsoftypicalamericaceo's.infact，hepassedonalettertomethatikeep，translatedfromchinesetoenglish，inmydeskdrawer.theletterreads：
"remember，therearedistinctivequalitiesthatsetapartthesuccessfulchinese....strivetoexcelinallyoudo;beasuperbparentwillingtocurtailyourownpleasureforthesakeofbetternurturingyourchildren;begenerous，fair，tolerant，eagertolearnfromothercultureswhilesharingyourown.butbeyondtheseattributes，remembertohaveanabsenceofarroganceandboastfulness;haveunfailingcourtesy，forbearance，sensitivityofothers'feelingsandaboveall，theabilitytodiffuseyourangerandgrievance，notbysurppressingthembutbytransformingthemintohelpful，positiveemotions.inanageandenvironmentofpretension，youhaveapreciouschineseculturalheritagewhichweareproudtopassdowntoyou....."
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andso，withmyparentsdefinitionofdistinguishedleadershipinmydraweratalltimes，ihavepushedforwardtoredefineaggressiveasassertive，yethopefullyneverabrasive，toinsurethati'mtoughenoughtomaketheharddecisions，butneverunfairly，alwaystreatingpeoplewell...remindingmyselfatalltimestohavethehumilityandsensitivitywhichisexpectedinthechineseculture，adaptedtotheneedsofthepressingbusinessenvironmentwhichrequiresahealthydoseofoutwardlyexpressedconfidenceandcourage.
inaway，myownexperiencesreflectthoseofmanywomeninthebusinessarenawhostruggletoretainthebestofwhotheyarewhilecarvingoutasuccessfulmanagementcareer.duringmyvisithere，ihavemetandtalkedwithsomanywomen，andiamtrulyheartenedthatthedoorsofopportunityarebeginningtoopenforwomenineveryfield.butialsoknowthatrealchangeisaslowprocess，soiamhopefulthatmyownexperiencesasawomanandasaleaderwillprovideavaluableperspective.
asthecompanyforwomen，avon'scommitmenttoprovidingdevelopmentalopportunitiesforwomenissecondtonone.asyoumightexpect，avonhasasolidrepresentationofwomeninseniormanagement.infact，thiswasoneofthereasonsijoinedthecompanyadecadeago，workingmywayuptheranksthroughareasofincreasingresponsibility.
butinterestingly，ithasonlybeeninrecentyearsthat"thecompanyforwomen"hasalsoemergedasthecompanyforwomeninseniorleadershippositions.untilthelastdecade，womenwerenotwellrepresentedintheexecutivesuite.withfewexceptions，middlemanagementwasaboutasfarastheycouldgo.herewasacompanywithvirtually100%womencustomersandsalesrepresentatives，yetcapablewomensimplycouldnotgettothetop.
thisnotonlyprovedunfair，italsoprovedtobeapoorbusinessdecision.thelackofwomeninmanagementcametohurtavon.between1975and1985，morethantwelveandahalfmillionwomenenteredtheunitedstatesworkforce.theseworkingwomenhadtobeservedinnewways.but，atthattime，avon'sleadershipteamwasstillmadeupentirelyofmen.women'svoicesweren'theardasweplannedourmarketingstrategyandasaresult，salesinourlargestmarketsuffered.
fortunately，avonlearnedtochange.menandwomennowworktogetherasequalbusinesspartners.theylearnfromeachotherandrespecteachother.westillofferourmaleexecutivesanoutstandingcareeropportunity，butnowwomenhaveanequalchancetosucceed.
today，sixoutofelevenofavon'sboardofdirectorsarewomen.mynumbertwoexecutiveisawoman.almosthalfofourmanagementstaffaroundtheworldarewomen.andimportantly，wehaveputinplacespecialprogramstodevelopthenextgenerationofwomenwhoarebeingtrainedandpreparedtobecomegeneralmanagersinmarketsallovertheworld.
iamequallyexcitedaboutourprogresswiththedevelopmentofthenextgenerationofavon'swomenleadersinchina.womennowaccountfor78%ofourtotalworkforcehere.evenmoreimpressive，75%ofourmanagersandsupervisorsarewomen，and30%ofourmostseniorexecutivearewomen.
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withavon'sreputationforpromotingwomenandmyowncareersuccess，iamoftenaskedforadviceonhowpeoplecanpreparethemselvestobetheleadersoftomorrow.infact，overmycareer，ihavecometobelievethatthereareindeedsomeveryspecialqualitiesthatdistinguishallleaders-andhelpthemstandoutintoday'scompetitivearena.
firstispassion.youhavetolovetheworkyoudo.youhavetobeexcitedtocometoworkeveryday.theytaughtusthefourprinciplesofmarketingwheniwenttoschool：product，price，place，promotion.buttheydidn'tteachusthefifth，mostcriticalprinciplewhichasfarasi'mconcernedispassion，thekeytobeingtrulysuccessfulasaleaderoverthelongrun.
nomatterwhatcareerpathyouchoose，ibelieveyouhavetolovewhatyoudo.myownpersonalexperienceprovesthispoint.therewasatimeinmyavoncareerwheniwaspassedoverforapromotiontobetheceo.ihadajoboffertobetheheadofanothercompany，butawomanirespectedgavemesomegoodadvice.shetoldmealwaystofollowmyheart，notmyhead.soifollowedmyheartandstayedatavon.intheend，igotthepromotion，butmostimportant，ihavealwayslovedmywork，andthathasmadeallthedifference.
thenextdistinguishingqualityofleadershipiscompassion-caringaboutpeople.inmyfouryearsasceoatavon，i'vehadtomakesometoughdecisionsanddifficultcalls-eliminatingjobsandclosingfactories.actionsthataffectgoodpeople.thehorriblepartofthejob.butibelievewedemonstratecompassionandtreatpeoplefairly，withrespectanddignityduringthosetoughdecisions.anditistheresponsibilityforthoseofuswantingtheprivilegeofbeingtomorrow'scorporateleaderstohonorthecommitmenttocompassionandtheprotectionofthehumanspirit，inspiteofthepressuresanddemandsofbusinesstoday.
alongwithcompassioncomeshumility.manypeoplearesurprisedtolearnthisisoneofavon'scorevalues.noneofushasalltheanswers.andallofusmustlistentoeachother，becauselisteningmakesusstronger.oneofthethingsi'velearnedaboutmyselfisthatitendtobeimpatientinsolvingproblems.insteadoflisteningtotheopinionsofothers，itryrightawaytofindsolutions.ihavehadtolearnthatotherpeoplecangivemevaluableinputandthatlisteningmakesmeabetterleader.
tobeabetterlistener，inowbringemployeesfromallovertheworld-includingchina-tonewyorkcityfourtimesayeartoheartheirsuggestionsforhowtoimproveourbusiness.imeetwiththemforafulldayandspendmostofmytimelistening.thisisoneofthemostimportantthingsido.
balanceisanotheressentialleadershipqualityintoday'scomplexworld，andit'saqualitythatisespeciallycriticalforwomenwhoarejugglingmanyandsometimescompetingroles.asaworkingmotherwithtwochildren--mydaughterlaurenis14andmysomejamieis6--iconstantlystrugglewiththeissueofbalance.peoplealwaysaskmehowidoit，andmyansweris....it'snevereasytobalanceworkandfamily.
i'llgiveyouanexample.ibelongtoanexecutivecommitteeofceosfromthebusinessworld.recentlywewereinvitedtowashingtonforameetingwiththepresidentoftheunitedstates.thiswasveryexcitingtome.whatanincredibleopportunity.theonlyproblemwas，themeetingoccurredatthesametimeasmydaughter'sfirstbigtripawayfromhome.itwasabigmomentforherandherfriends-togoonamultipledaytrip-andmydaughterneededmetobethere.
whatshouldido.therewasneveradoubtinmymind.thepresidentwouldn'tknowifiwasthereornot.butmydaughterwould.soiwenttothebuswithherandineverlookedback.itdidn'taffectavonthatididn'tgotothewhitehouse.butialsotellwomenthatitisevenallrightifyourjobdoessometimescomesecondtoyourpersonalpriorities.sometimesthejobismoreimportant..butsometimesyourfamilyhastobemoreimportant.
therearetwofinalqualitiesofdistinguishedleadershipthatiwanttosharewithyoutoday.thesemaybethemostimportantqualitiesofallandhowluckywearethatbothareafundamentalpartofourchineseculture-somethingwealllearnfromourparentsvirtuallyfromthedayweareborn.
firstisperseverance.i'mtalkingaboutsimplehardworkandacommitmenttostaythecourseevenwhentimesaretough.intoday'sfast-pacebusinessenvironment，unexpectedchallengescomeatyoufromalldirections，withnoendinsight.sometimesireadarticlesaboutmyselfandmycareerpathanditmakesitsoundsoeasy.butbelieveme，ithasn'tbeeneasyforasingleday.iworkfarhardernowthanieverhaveinmylife.i'vehadtoembraceconstantchange，andeverytimeithinki'vefinallymasteredthesituationanewchallengecomesalongihadn'tanticipated.
therewillbemanydayswhenthechallengeseachofyouconfrontwillseemoverwhelming.weallhavethosedays;theygowiththeterritorywhenyouaretryingtoachievesomethinggreat.
perseveranceandhardworkwillseeyouthroughthetoughtimes.myparentsinstilledthesequalitiesinmeandithasmadeallthedifference.sometimesiwatchyoungamericansquitwhenthingsaredifficult，andialwaysadvisethemtotryagain....andagain....andagain.nevergiveupuntilyouachieveyourgoal.that'swhatdistinguishesthosewhomakeittothetopfromthosewhodon't.
hardworkisessential.....butallthehardworkintheworldwon'ttakeyouanywhereunlessyouknowwhereitisyouwanttogo.
that'swhyit'ssoimportanttohaveadream.thisisthefinalimportantqualityofleadership.everythinggreatthathaseverhappenedinthisworldbeganwithadream.
avonhasbigdreams.infactourcompanythemethisyearis"dreambigger."wewanttobenumberoneinbeautyworldwideandnumberoneinsatisfyingourcustomersandsalesrepresentatives.wewanttobethebestplacetowork.wewanttobetheleaderinphilanthropy