Dual-president system: dual-engine OR arm wrestling

Although the former vice president of Dell and president of Asia Pacific, Stephen J. Felice has made it clear that Dell China will no longer adopt a dual structure, but after McDavid moved to Lenovo, Dell once again hired two people to manage its business in China. Business operations management. The reason for this has made many people in the industry unable to figure it out.

After the collective job-hopping storm of Dell's executives gradually subsided, the "dual-president system" once again attracted people's attention.

Complementary Capabilities: Dual Presidents = Dual Engines

In a 1983 book by Intel co-founder Andy Grove, the rather unique decentralization of the "dual-president system" was first described structure.

The original intention of implementing the "dual president system" is that some large business units are too complicated to be effectively managed by one person. This system enables managers to support each other in a crisis by encouraging overlapping of responsibilities. If two people have different characteristics, the duo combination can also play a good complementary role. For example, complementary in technology and business, complementary in strategic vision and practical actions, complementary in local operation and external relations, etc. In addition, the "dual-president system" can also avoid and reduce decision-making mistakes to a certain extent. In the process of rapid decision-making, through mutual supervision and advice from both parties, loopholes caused by hasty will be avoided, and the purpose of "double insurance" will be achieved.

Intel and Goldman Sachs are the most successful companies using the "dual president system". In this model, the company's particularly onerous tasks are usually assigned to two or three people, which is called "two (three) in one." This makes many important positions in the company seem to be equipped with two or three powerful engines, which can continuously provide power for the entire system, greatly improving the working ability of the system.

Intel decided two years ago to implement its unique management model for emerging markets other than mature markets in Europe, the United States and Japan. Whether it is for the purpose of checking and balancing power or speeding up the training of new people, the innovation of this management model has unique significance. At present, many companies have begun to implement "two-in-one".

In China, companies that have a better "dual-president system" are usually "mom and pop shops". For example, SOHO of Pan Shiyi and Zhang Xin, Jindian Group of Zhang Baoquan and Wang Qiuyang, Dangdang.com of Li Guoqing and Yu Yu, etc.

A clear division of labor is the premise for the smooth operation of the "dual-president system", even for "mom and pop shops". Pan Shiyi once wrote in his blog: "Zhang Xin and I often had conflicts at the beginning of the company's establishment, but later we made a clear division of labor, she was in charge of building the house, I was in charge of selling the house, and everyone was in their own hands. Within the scope of the division of labor, I have the final say, and I just seek the opinions of the other party. My job is to constantly tell the story of my childhood in Tianshui, Gansu, to the people in the city, to the people of Beijing, and to the returnees. Zhang Xin's work It is to keep repeating internationalization and international standards to the migrant workers and management personnel of the construction site."

Dangdang is very similar to SOHO in this respect. Regarding how to handle the relationship between the two presidents, Dangdang Co-President Yu Yu shared her experience: "Dangdang should look at Yu Yu's face or the National Day's face. Dangdang has always tried to avoid this trend. In charge of the marketing department and Dangdang's procurement, all decisions related to the market and procurement should be asked on the National Day and discussed with him."

China's problem: one mountain cannot tolerate two tigers

August 23, Dell China was in Shanghai for Liu Junling and Min Yida. A new president held a media meeting. According to people familiar with the matter, the relationship between the two new bosses who appeared together in front of the media for the first time was delicate, and Min Yida's role was suspected of being a "supervisor". Dell China's implementation of the dual-president system once again has been doubted whether it can achieve the desired effect.

In fact, under China's unique cultural and institutional background, even a company like Intel with a tradition of dual leadership cannot effectively implement the dual general manager system.

In June 2006, Lai Yilong and Jian Anqi, the joint general managers of Intel China, both resigned from get out of class. Yang Xu, who had been promoted to Intel's global vice president and general manager of Asia Pacific, took over as the general manager of Intel China. General Manager Jiang Anbang is only responsible for the business in South China. Although Intel did not directly announce the cancellation of the "dual president system" in China, the power of this position has been concentrated in Yang Xu, which in fact means that Intel's "dual president system" experiment in China has come to an end.

Zhong Jiyin, a researcher at the Institute of Economics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, believes that in the "Chinese culture" environment where one mountain cannot tolerate two tigers, the two-headed leadership system is indeed difficult to be understood by people, and accordingly it is difficult to be effectively implemented.

According to Tang Xuemei, president of Digital 100 Market Consulting Company, in addition to cultural factors, the current Chinese market is growing too fast and turbulent, which is also an important reason for the "dual president system" not running smoothly. She believes that in the case of too many opportunities and too many directions, it will become a serious problem whether the understanding of the direction of the enterprise is consistent, and whether the execution and efficiency of the enterprise can be guaranteed.

During the interview, many experts said that the successful operation of the "dual president system" in modern enterprises requires more internal and external factors and conditions than the usual level of corporate governance structure. Presidential system" environment.

Yan Jianping, deputy director of the Professional Manager Qualification Office of the China Federation of Enterprises, said that the "dual president system" first requires very mature professional managers. These professional managers must have good communication skills and excellent leadership skills, and both of them must be willing to enter a "dual-president system" for a period of time, be able to accept each other's weaknesses, trust each other, and be honest with each other. Judging from the current situation in China, the degree of professionalism of managers is generally not high, and it will be very difficult to find such a "best partner".

Zhong Jiyin believes that the "dual president system" rule is crucial. Convince the company's employees and key stakeholders from the start that this is a formal institutional arrangement for the company, rather than a stopgap or transitional arrangement, and make the division of responsibilities as clear as possible. The general rule is that the usual duties of the CEO, such as communicating with investors, developing corporate strategy, reporting to the board, etc., are performed by both CEOs. The company's internal business departments can be divided into two parts, each of which is in charge of the two CEOs.

Focus on their own: inherent embarrassment

In addition to Intel's initiative to choose the "dual president system", many companies have no choice but to balance the interests of both parties after major mergers and acquisitions. This passive institutional arrangement laid the root of the problem for the "dual president system" from the very beginning.

The merger of Citibank and Traveler Group was based on the mutual concession of the heads of both sides, but the joint CEO, the product of the compromise between the two sides, buried the hidden danger of power struggle from the beginning, John Lee The management philosophy and management style of De and Sandy Weir are almost completely opposite. Not only are the two sides unable to complement each other, but they are constantly in conflict, even reaching the point of "fighting".

In February 2005, Unilever announced that Frenchman Patrick Cesco, one of the company's two co-chairmen, would become the sole CEO, responsible for the day-to-day management of the company. Chairman Dutchman Anthony Bergmann will become non-executive chairman, leaving in 2007. This high-level restructuring plan officially announced the end of Unilever's 75-year co-chairman system.

Unilever was formed by the merger of British and Dutch companies. Since 1930, Unilever's corporate headquarters have been established in Rotterdam, the Netherlands and London, England, respectively. Both sides have a chief executive officer in charge of the company. In this company, although shareholders have the right to vote, they can only choose management candidates who represent the British and Dutch boards of directors. Unilever’s board of directors is held in turn in the two cities; Lianhualihua in the two countries even adopts different SAP systems, and this form of division and rule obviously increases the cost of communication. Under the weight of global competition, this management system has been blamed for inefficiency. The British Financial Times commented, "Unilever should put its complicated co-chairman system in the washing machine to clean it."

In fact, for multinational companies, the "dual president system" is still in practice. There are many advantages. For example, the configuration of one Chinese and one foreign can solve the two problems of internationalization and localization at the same time; it can also cultivate reserve talents in this way and avoid the business risks caused by the CEO's job-hopping. When Amelio left Dell, Dell once said that due to the dual-president strategy of Dell's Asia-Pacific region, Amelio's departure would not have much impact on Dell's operations in China. Perhaps it is precisely because it has tasted the sweetness in this regard, so after McDavid resigned, Dell continued to choose the "dual-president system" in China.