In the late autumn of October, the forests of Siming Mountain in Ningbo are dyed, and the green is flowing gold. In the depths of the mountains, Xu Wanmao, who has reached the age of antiquity, sits on a bamboo chair in front of the mountain gate of Malian Village and teases his grandson, not at all like a regular visitor on the Hurun rich list, but just an ordinary old man in the countryside.
In the unwritten "family rules" of the Xu family, every weekend, family members will put aside their work affairs and business identity in the city, and return to their hometown in the depths of Siming Mountain with their children.
The low-key and tranquil family in the above picture is the famous Xu family in Ningbo, which created today's Huamao Group. As a private enterprise that has gone through half a century, Huamao Group has diversified into international trade, new materials and other industries from the early R&D and production of educational learning tools and the establishment of schools...... For more than 50 years, Huamao has been telling the "story of Chinese education" to the world in business and education.
As the powerful family behind Huamao Group, the Xu family has not only smoothly completed the intergenerational inheritance of the family business, but also inherited the traditional Chinese cultural spirit of "respecting literature and education, cultivating and reading heirlooms", and adhered to the philosophy of "self-cultivation and morality, and helping the world", which can be said to be a family model of "family morality" in the new era.
Beginning: "Laying the foundation"
Over the past 40 years of reform and opening up, China's private economy has made great achievements from "0" to "56789". Behind the fact that most of China's private enterprises have grown from scratch and from weak to strong, they are inseparable from the hard work of the "helmsmen" of each family, and they will integrate the family's fine family style into the business philosophy of the enterprise, making it an important "password" for family harmony and enterprise longevity.
On the majestic Siming Mountain, the boundless bamboo sea ripples. When the mountain wind blows, the bamboo leaves make a "rustling" sound, which becomes a unique scenery of Siming Mountain. The tenacity of bamboo, which is "strong after thousands of blows, and the wind from east to west, north and south", is also the original intention of Xu Wanmao to abide by it all his life, and gradually infiltrated into the cultural genes of Huamao.
The original story of Huamao Group is to set sail from that continuous bamboo sea.
In 1971, the predecessor of Huamao Group, Yinxian Yunzhou Craft Bamboo Weaving Factory, was born in Siming Mountain, Xu Wanmao, who was born as a craftsman, quickly stood out and stepped into the position of factory director with his excellent weaving skills and market development ability, and opened the road of "counterattack" from farmers to entrepreneurs.
However, due to its location in the depths of Siming Mountain, Yunzhou Craft Bamboo Weaving Factory wants to lead to the "outside world", there is only one rural dirt road to walk, and it is not an exaggeration to describe it as "high mountain, road bend, and steep slope". Xu Wanmao still remembers: "When it snows in winter, cars can't pass on this road, and when the snow closes the mountain, they can only pick out the goods out of the mountain." ”
Although the road is long and obstructive, but Xu Wanmao with firm belief and tenacious perseverance, the Canton Fair alone, and actively explore overseas markets, foreign trade orders gradually flew to the small bamboo weaving factory in this mountain col, and the bamboo weaving products skillfully woven by the villagers also began to be exported to the United States, France, Britain, Germany, Japan, Italy and other countries from the deep mountains of Ningbo.
However, with the rapid expansion of business volume, the factory's own production capacity gradually became unsustainable, and Xu Wanmao urgently set up processing points in dozens of villages in Siming Mountain. However, due to the different quality inspection standards of the temporary outsourcing team, the result was a quality problem with a 100,000 yuan bamboo fruit basket of a Hong Kong businessman.
At the acceptance site, Xu Wanmao made an "amazing move", he gathered all the problematic products and burned them in front of all the processing farmers, factory employees and customers. And this fire not only won a follow-up order of 5 million yuan from the foreign party, but also burned the "golden signboard" of Yunzhou Bamboo Weaving Factory.
It is with small pieces of bamboo silk that Huamao weaves the "first legend of wealth creation". However, with the deepening of China's reform and opening up, after gaining insight into the development bottleneck of "low and small scattered" handmade bamboo weaving products and the saturation of the market, Xu Wanmao keenly changed the track and led the enterprise to shift from the production of bamboo handicrafts to educational tools, and since then it has formed an indissoluble bond with education.
In 1981, adhering to the spirit of hard work of Yunzhou Bamboo Weaving Factory, Yunzhou Cultural and Educational Science and Technology Equipment Factory was founded. After experiencing "eight years of losses" and "six in Beijing" to overcome difficulties, the cultural and educational factory tenaciously ushered in a transformation: its "Seven Colors Flower" learning tools were successfully used as labor and technical materials for the approval of teaching materials, filling the gap in domestic quality education, and won the UNESCO Gold Medal for Children's Intellectual Development.
The data show that at the peak of the output value of the cultural, educational, scientific and technological equipment factory, 100 million to 150 million sets of handmade materials for primary and secondary school students should be produced every year. This means that Huamao has occupied more than seventy percent of the market share in the country, and the "seven-colored flower" school tools have "flown into the homes of the people" and have been loaded into the schoolbags and classrooms of primary and secondary school students across the country.
It is precisely by relying on the vitality of tenacious struggle and the spirit of pioneering and innovation, as well as the "seven-colored flower" learning tools that were worth only two or three cents at that time, Huamao has accumulated a solid foundation every minute, and walked out of Siming Mountain and into the whole of China.
In 1989, Xu Wanmao officially moved the cultural and educational factory out of Dashan, and after several reorganizations, it was officially named Huamao Group Co., Ltd. Since then, Huamao has invested in the establishment of Ningbo Huamao Foreign Chinese School, built an education industry chain integrating "production, education and research", and gradually formed a comprehensive group with education as the main body and diversified development of international trade, new materials and other industries.
With the spring breeze of reform and opening up, Xu Wanmao fought several ups and downs in the business sea, experienced hardships and hardships, tasted the ups and downs, and explored and accumulated a unique set of business management and life philosophy: "It is more difficult to do than to speak, wisdom is more difficult than knowledge, and it is more difficult to keep a business than to start a business", "do not follow the trend, do not blush, do your own thing wholeheartedly", "drive economic benefits with social benefits"...... These philosophical proverbs not only infiltrate into every inch of the company's operation, but also imperceptibly moisten into the "Xu family style" and become a valuable wealth of family inheritance.
Xu Wanmao said that a good family style is the "foundation of life" of a family business and the "spirit" of the company's sustainable operation. "Huamao has gone through 50 years, and it is precisely because of this invisible shaping of 'spirit' that the development of the enterprise has a 'soul', and can burst out with strong vitality in the continuous market competition, and become a 'century-old store' that has been inherited vertically from generation to generation."
Tuoxin: "Newborn calves" create the second generation
It is true that after the older generation of entrepreneurs forged ahead and expanded their business territory, in addition to the tangible inheritance of family wealth, the intangible wisdom inheritance condensed by family motto and family style is a precious spiritual wealth that continues to nourish present and future generations.
"In the face of difficulties, my father and other older generation of Huamao people have always infected me with their perseverance and tenacity, and their practical actions are the best education for future generations." Xu Lixun sighed. The Xu family motto, which has become a trend, has also imperceptibly shaped his life and career.
In 2000, Xu Lixun, who was only 26 years old, began to "take over" the business created by his father. After taking over, Xu Lixun vigorously reformed the management system and invested in new economic growth points with the vigor of a "newborn calf", and constantly obtained a "vote of confidence" from his father and the group's veterans. In 2007, Xu Lixun adjusted the company's strategy, truly "took charge" of Huamao, and established the status of "second-generation leader".
Although the "father and son" work together to "ride the wind and waves" in the business sea, the difference between the actions of the two generations is still stark.
Xu Wanmao, a "post-40s" generation, often wears a Chinese-style cardigan shirt and a pair of retro black-framed glasses, which is kind and elegant; and Xu Lixun, who is "born in the 70s", likes to wear a white T-shirt and a casual dress outside, and the "Shanghai style" style is obvious; In addition, compared with his father, who has been deeply involved in the traditional field for decades, Xu Lixun, who has studied abroad, is more "long-sleeved and good at dancing" in the field of financial investment.
After completing the "spire baton", Xu Lixun, who is good at "chasing" the capital rivers and lakes, adheres to his father's education career on the one hand, carries new vitality and business models on the other, actively lays out in the pan-financial industry, and makes equity investments in the fields of new materials, big health, biomedicine, and mobile Internet. After taking over the "scepter" from his father for more than 20 years, Xu Lixun has played a series of beautiful "combination punches" and opened up a diversified development path.
Xu Lixun once said: "I never think of myself as a 'rich second generation', I am standing on my father's shoulders to start a business, I hope to be called the 'second generation', can strive to achieve the simultaneous development of enterprise inheritance and transformation and upgrading." ”
In 2012, Xu Lixun, who is active in the business arena, served as the first president of the Ningbo "Second Generation" Friendship Association, and was entrusted with the important task of "building a new generation of entrepreneurs with a wide vision, new thinking and full of energy". For the brutal 30% success rate of the "second-generation succession" of the enterprise, Xu Lixun, who has gone through the "handover period" of the enterprise like a "textbook", has become a representative figure among the "new generation" entrepreneurs in Ningbo.
Although the development paths are different, when it comes to education, Xu Lixun and Xu Wanmao have the same path, and they are involved in the emotional bonds of two generations.
Xu Wanmao, in the eyes of the outside world, can be said to be an "education madman". At the end of the 20th century, during the dividend period of the rapid development of real estate, Xu Wanmao decided to set up a school on 600 acres of land in the urban area with 500 million yuan. He has said firmly many times: "I don't care about profits, I just want to run a good school, and the money I earn is taken from education and used for education." ”
Undoubtedly, for Huamao, "education" is the most eye-catching "background". Because of his father's love for education and his sincerity, for Xu Lixun, the word "education" is also deeply rooted in his DNA. After the official "succession", Xu Lixun also insisted on working hard in the field of education.
In 2014, Xu Lixun once again reorganized Huamao's strategy and proposed to build three industrial chains: long-term, medium-term and short-term. Among them, he locked the long-term in Huamao School, believing that school education, as a social public undertaking, should be persistently planned and built to create a positive and benign social influence, and it should be cultivated for a long time.
"Once, at my father's insistence, for seven or eight years, Huamao kept non-profitable or even loss-making teaching aids. This is a choice that people who can't stick to unless they have big dreams. Today, Huamao is still committed to the ideal of education, and as a successor, I will definitely base myself on the foundation of education and take over the dream of '100 years of Huamao'. ”
Undoubtedly, as a family business, Huamao's corporate culture is also an extension of "family culture", and the family culture and values passed down from generation to generation are integrated into corporate governance and internalized into a "heart lamp" to promote the long-term development of the enterprise.
Nowadays, the market economy is booming, and many emerging enterprises have sprung up like "mushrooms after a rain", but many enterprises are only "short-lived". Xu Lixun lamented that in addition to operating "hard core power", enterprises that lack the foundation of family style are like "castles in the air". If an enterprise wants to develop stably for a long time, it must not ignore the construction of its own family culture, otherwise it will be like "wood without soil and water without water", and adhering to good family style is the inevitable policy for the long-term development of the enterprise.
Qi Family: Family Agreement "Centennial Promise"
It is true that good family style is a subtle, gentle and drizzly type of education, and the aftertaste is fragrant. However, in addition to the "invisible spirit", the Xu family style also builds a "physical muscle" in the form of a family agreement, which makes the family style refreshing, but it is also three points into the bones. As early as August 10, 2008, all members of the Xu family jointly signed the "Xu Family Joint Agreement", the core idea of which is that the members of the Xu family "divide the family without dividing the property", and its content is mainly about the division and ownership of "Xu's family property" and "Huamao enterprise property", "family inheritance right" and "business management right".
Specifically, the agreement determined that Xu Wanmao accounted for nearly 80% of Huamao's equity, and Xu Lixun, his three sisters, and other family members each accounted for only about 10%, and according to the principle of "separation of family without division of property" in the agreement, family members have the right to distribute dividends.
On the one hand, this mechanism ensures the food and clothing of family members for several generations, and on the other hand, it also fundamentally solves the problem of disputes over the inheritance of family property, as well as the problem of loss of control due to excessive dispersion of equity after several generations of inheritance. In addition, the agreement also establishes the system of primogeniture and eldest grandson, and even covers the distribution of the remaining assets in the event of risk or bankruptcy of the enterprise.
This agreement is the first of its kind in China, taking into account multiple aspects such as legal, civil and traditional perspectives. Among them, the agreement on "dividing the family without dividing the property", the declaration that Huamao's wealth belongs to the society, and the Xu family is only the custodian and operator of the wealth, but also the "centennial commitment" solemnly signed by an educational entrepreneur after thinking about enterprise development and family responsibility.
Talking about the original intention of the agreement, Xu Wanmao said that since Huamao is positioned as a family business and is moving towards the goal of "100 years of Huamao", it is necessary to solve the ideological problems of the family first. "When I am a hundred years later, Huamao cannot be 'divided', and the family and the business must form a joint force."
"Huamao's goal is to build a 'century-old enterprise', and if a family business wants to achieve a century-old inheritance, it cannot just be a simple inheritance of wealth, on the contrary, improper inheritance of wealth will also lead to all aspects of 'sequelae'. I don't want to be 'confused ancestors', the agreement can be managed for generations. In Xu Wanmao's view, the formulation of family agreements can break the dependence of future generations, and second, it can reduce disputes within the family.
It is true that Huamao, which once came out of the depths of Siming Mountain, has experienced decades of development and growth, and has long ceased to be the "small family workshop" business model.
Years later, when recalling the "controversial" agreement, Xu Wanmao couldn't help but sigh: "The more things created by the previous generation, the heavier the responsibility of the younger generation." It is said that 'it is more difficult to keep a business than to start a business', I think it should not be 'descendants thank me', but 'I thank them', because I have handed over the heavy burden to the next generation, and it is they who will pass on the Huamao spirit from generation to generation and carry forward and grow. It's not easy to break through under pressure. ”
From an inward point of view, the "Xu Family Joint Agreement" is a "symbol" that unites the centripetal force of the family and a "family rule" at the level of "small family"; So radiating outward, the "Xu Family Joint Agreement" is still the Xu family's common watch for "benefiting the world and benefiting the people, education-oriented", and it is the way of "accumulating good for everyone" of "benefiting everyone in one body, and seeking benefits in the world".
A very important point in the agreement is that if the enterprise encounters force majeure, the Xu family will transfer all the remaining assets after liquidation to Ningbo Huamao Foreign Chinese School, including more than 1,000 pieces of calligraphy and painting from Xu Wanmao's private collection, and make it clear that their ownership belongs to Huawai School.
Xu Wanmao said: "Huamao's wealth ultimately belongs to the society, and the responsibility of Huamao people is to keep it, operate it well, and inherit it, which is Huamao's 'centennial commitment' and the decision made by the founder of Huamao for the development of Huamao's education." Education is not something that can be inherited by a single person, but needs a group of people who agree with and respect Huamao's educational philosophy to do it together. ”
As the "second-generation inheritor" of the family business, Xu Lixun also inherited his father's will, in his view, the enterprise does not belong to "who", but to the society. "I often say to myself, don't think that Huamao is surnamed 'Xu', I am just a social 'worker' on this enterprise platform, and I can help employment, create taxes, and promote consumption as much as possible with my own ability.
Undoubtedly, in order for family businesses to grow healthily, the "governance gears" of enterprises and families need to operate together and complement each other, which is not only of great significance for family enterprises to build a century-old foundation, but also has important value for the development of the entire social economy.
The so-called "teaching with words is the training, and the teaching without words is the wind". Looking at many famous family mottos in Chinese history, such as Zhuge Liang's "Book of Commandments", "Zeng Guofan's Family Book", "Yan's Family Motto" and "Xie's Family Motto", they have shaded their respective family fame and entrusted the simple family style of self-cultivation and morality. Similarly, the "Xu Family Motto" uses the "Xu Family Joint Agreement" as the carrier to cultivate family beliefs and feelings for the family and country, so as to inspire more corporate "successors" to forge ahead.