Discussions without Limitations Are Vital

Mr. Wang, you helped establish the Innovation Center for ZEISS in Shanghai back in 2011. Why does the company need such an offshoot in China?
ZEISS is a global company. That’s why we can’t just be successful in Germany – we have to be proactive in other markets, too. This is what makes us so successful. We started out in 2011 with six members of staff. They were joined by five Chinese employees from Production in Suzhou. Today, there are over 80 of us.

Do these employees also come from Germany and China?
Only Chinese employees work at our site now. Sometimes, staff from Germany and other locations like the US and India visit us, too, and occasionally students from Germany stop by. I believe it’s important to promote young talent – I benefitted from this myself in the past. It also forces our employees to practice their English.

Is Chinese the lingua franca at the company?
Yes. Initially we made a point of encouraging our employees to speak English. But while many of our applicants are top candidates, their English skills leave a lot to be desired. We’d only put them off if we asked too much of them. That said, emails and reports are normally compiled in English.

So there are no problems when it comes to talking to colleagues working abroad?
No, the Chinese employees make a real effort to speak English. But even when our CEO Maximilian Foerst took part in our annual kick-off meeting, we conducted the session in Chinese and I was his interpreter. This demonstrates how much we trust our Chinese colleagues.

Are you trying to be a German company in China, or run a Chinese company with a German parent?
Definitely the first one. German companies and the quality they deliver are highly valued in China. ZEISS is well known in Asia, and our values are real assets.

An Innovation Center in China. People used to say that China and innovation don’t go together.
I went to school at a time when we had to learn everything by heart. I had to practice drawing the same Chinese character over and over again, and that’s why Chinese people believe practice makes perfect. Things are different now. Many Chinese people study abroad and know what it means to be innovative. A lot has changed in the digital arena. China has become a veritable global pioneer in mobile solutions, Fintech and artificial intelligence. Just like any other company, we’re under a lot of pressure. Chinese people are very open to new technologies – we’d do well if some of this openness and curiosity rubbed off on us here in Germany.

In China, decisions are often made from the top down. Is it even possible to be creative?
That’s why we’ve been focusing on a matrix structure for a while now: we’ve combined two leadership systems with program and project managers, some of whom work in different countries and time zones, and coordinate employees and projects across the globe. While this does work well, it’s quite a challenge.

So is it difficult for Germans, who are very direct, to communicate with Chinese people, who tend to be much less so?
It’s true that Chinese people are more reserved. In our first few meetings, it was difficult to get the Chinese colleagues to join in. When our German colleagues asked if there were any questions, the Chinese employees fell silent. It was unclear if they’d understood everything.