On the morning of March 27, 2021, our company was honored to invite a senior executive from a renowned foreign-invested firm in the industry to share their experience with all EK employees. This session did not focus on a single theme; rather, the wide range of topics discussed were distilled from a collection of anonymous questions submitted by colleagues in advance. The company organizes such sharing sessions with the goal of fostering collective progress and grounded in practicality—far from being mere formalities.

First of all, we would like to extend our sincere thanks to President Xu for taking time out of his busy schedule to address everyone’s questions and concerns, as well as to all our colleagues for attending the meeting on time this past weekend.

At the outset of the meeting, General Manager Xu made a thought-provoking remark: “When I share with everyone, the greatest gain is actually mine.” As a speaker, this reflects not only his humility but also his approach to life and work. For listeners, while we can certainly learn from others’ experiences, our role is ultimately passive. By contrast, being a speaker requires a deep and comprehensive knowledge base on the topic at hand, which in turn demands that one meticulously organize and synthesize that knowledge. Moreover, during the sharing process, the speaker can use listeners’ questions and interactions to test the completeness, rigor, and practical applicability of the content. General Manager Xu is deeply passionate about studying ancient Chinese culture, and his view of sharing sessions can be summed up in four characters: “teaching and learning mutually reinforce each other.”

A total of 33 anonymous questions were collected during this sharing session. After careful sorting, General Manager Xu categorized them into six main groups: work, work and communication, communication, learning, family, and spiritual cultivation. His approach followed the principle of “teaching someone to fish is better than giving them a fish”: first analyzing the essence of each issue, then systematically discussing how to address it. From a Western theoretical perspective, this process can be broadly divided into five stages: first forming an idea (or concept), then adopting a method (or behavior), cultivating a habit, letting it shape one’s character, and ultimately transforming one’s destiny.

On the subject of communication, General Manager Xu emphasized that the key is to listen. As the second habit in “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” puts it: “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.” He even illustrated this point with a personal family example. Once, his daughter was venting to her mother about various aspects of a school teacher, and the mother immediately suggested, “Why don’t I write a complaint letter and send it to the school?” The daughter quickly shook her head, saying there was no need—she had already figured out how to handle the situation herself. In fact, the daughter’s real purpose in communicating was simply to let off a bit of steam and share her frustrations with her parents; she didn’t want them to step in on her behalf and escalate the issue, nor did she want them to lecture her or tell her exactly what she should do.

On the subject of work, General Manager Xu cautions everyone against jumping to conclusions or assuming things without first examining the facts. The more experience one has, the more likely it is to reach a quick conclusion—yet this very tendency can easily trap us in unconscious cognitive biases. He believes that Zhang Ruimin of Haier’s concept of “always questioning oneself” is an excellent guiding principle: we should never be self-righteous. When faced with any issue, it’s best to start from a clean slate, remain calm, and take the time to get to the heart of the matter.

On the subject of learning, President Xu emphasized that there is no single, one-size-fits-all approach; everyone should find a learning style that suits them, and the unity of knowledge and action is crucial. If someone can articulate a principle but fails to put it into practice, they have, in essence, never truly understood it.

When it comes to family, President Xu believes that the foundation for resolving all kinds of familial conflicts is effective communication and mutual respect. Yet precisely because our family members are those closest to us, we often tend to overlook this very principle. With our parents, we should strive to maintain a gentle and respectful demeanor; with our spouses, we must never forget to show genuine respect; and with our children, we should lead by example and engage in equal, open dialogue.

When it comes to spiritual cultivation, although Mr. Xu is erudite and has an exceptional memory, with deep expertise in a wide range of theories from both Eastern and Western traditions, his response to this question is nonetheless remarkably cautious. Indeed, society and the individual are both undergoing rapid change; what may be the right answer today for today’s society and for you today cannot possibly be guaranteed to remain so tomorrow. Perhaps the only thing we can do is to keep ourselves constantly renewed, adjusting our inner state in light of actual circumstances—and strive to cultivate the state of “being without attachment to external affairs, and having no affairs in the heart.”

Finally, I hope that, as President Xu emphasized during the meeting, we can all gradually find our own answers in life by “being broad in learning and diligent in inquiry, thinking carefully and discerning clearly, and putting knowledge into practice with steadfast commitment.”