Combining Government, Education and Consulting

This is a preface I wrote for the Special Magazine for CCAFM, our international consulting partner, in advance of the January / 2011 trip.

 

 

Although Beijing is generally regarded as being the “center of government” for China, I believe it is equally important from an educational perspective. Within this dual theme of government and education, I am excited to have an opportunity to provide some introductory remarks for this special magazine issue of your company. Ever since we first began working with CCAFM, I have always admired that your founders originally worked for the Ministry of Finance but then later created a freestanding company. While not uncommon, even in the United States, for executives to leave governmental positions and then utilize those skills in the private sector, it is unique for a firm whose roots are in accounting, financial valuation and consulting, to regularly embrace education as much as you do. Each year, while I walk through your offices, I am continually impressed with the amount of books on each person’s bookshelves on a myriad of different business and financial topics. When I’ve asked these people why they have them, as those books are often far removed from their regular “day” jobs, they always reply that they’re “for education.”

人们普遍认为北京是中国政府的中心，但我认为在教育领域北京也同样举足轻重。关于政府和教育这样的双重主题，我很高兴能有这样的机会为贵公司这份特殊的杂志做卷首语。自从首次与中华财务合作，我便一直钦羡贵公司领导由奉事财政部转而创立公司这样的经历。在美国，行政人员放弃政府职位去建立私人企业其实并非罕见，但是一个以会计，评估和咨询为主业的企业如此重视和教育机构的合作却是非常难得的。每一年，当我在贵公司办公室穿行时，总是对于每个人书架上堆积的各类书籍而深深触动。当我问那些员工为什么要放这些和日常工作毫无关系的书时，他们总是回答我为了“教育”。

In this same vein, I am equally appreciative how much your firm has embraced education by beginning to work with Boston College seven years ago. In my mind, it’s an ideal partnership that allows your firm to combine consulting, governmental involvement and education, and from our students’ perspective, it’s a unique opportunity for them to do the same. Let me first address the potential benefits from your perspective and then from ours.

同样，我很感激贵公司七年来如此钟情教育，重视与波士顿学院的合作。在我看来，这是一种理想的合作关系。对于贵公司而言，贵公司可以将咨询，政府和教育相结合；对于波士顿学院的学生而言，这也是一个非常难得的机会。请允许我先从贵公司的角度，然后再从我们自己的角度分析潜在利益。

This year’s three projects, in my opinion, are perfectly aligned with these same three areas. Non-performing Loans, by definition, have a governmental component, as it’s an area the Chinese federal government is trying to tackle, in order to avoid succumbing to the dangerous pitfalls experienced by their European and American brethren. But, as this is an area relatively previously unknown to China given how strong the economy has been for the past several years, it requires an inordinate amount of education in order to properly understand the next set of required steps. The consulting need is certainly obvious. Economic Value Added (our second project), is, of course, a business concept, but has been mandated by the government as being an area publicly traded companies have to calculate. Consulting firms such as yours have a charge to educate your clients so that they understand the advantages and disadvantages of this technique. Our third project, International Mergers and Acquisitions, is yet another example of this government and educational combination, since the acquiring companies (i.e., your clients) have to educate themselves on the market, and then often work in conjunction with the government to purchase strategically important assets and firms.

今年的三个项目正是这三个领域的完美结合。不良资产，理论上需要政府的参与。为了避免重复欧美国家在处理不良资产上走过的弯路，中国政府正尝试着参与其中。但是与中国过去几年经济的飞速发展相比较，这个领域还存在着诸多不确定因素，因此需要大量的教育和引导来帮助企业明确下一步的需求，这个时候咨询的必要性就显而易见了。作为一种经营理念，EVA（我们的第二个项目），已经成为政府监管的重点，因此是上市公司不得不考虑的问题。而像中华咨询这样的咨询公司能够引导客户，帮助他们理解EVA的优势和不足。我们的第三个项目，跨国重组并购，是另一个政府监管与教育引导相结合的例子。这是因为，需要重组并购的公司，必须面向市场，然后与政府工作相结合，并站在战略的高度来收购资产或公司。

With respect to our students, while the projects each year are always challenging and provide outstanding educational opportunities, this year’s work is particularly unique, and exciting. When I was studying at Cornell University as an undergraduate, and then at Harvard Business School as an MBA student, I always admired professors who could fluently combine theory and practice.

对于我们的学生而言，每年的项目都极具挑战并能提供极好的学习机会，今年的工作尤其令人兴奋。当我在康奈尔大学读本科，后来又去哈佛商学院攻读MBA时，我就一直很钦佩那些能把理论和实践完美结合的教授。

Theory, while vitally important, in that it provides an educational backdrop, doesn’t necessarily address the equally important “how to” when trying to make a critical business decision.

理论虽然在提供知识背景方面至关重要，但是具体涉及某个重要的商业决策时，却并不一定能告诉我们应该怎么做。

However, practice is often essentially completed in a vacuum, unless those critical business decisions are balanced within a theoretical framework. Trying to emulate my own positive educational experiences, but then use this knowledge base, and experience, as a foray into teaching students about international consulting is one of the main reasons I created this International Consulting Project course eight years prior. It’s one thing to talk about international business issues in a four-walled classroom on a university campus, but quite another to involve students in the day-to-day details of these engagements, and then bring them into the field to present their work directly.

除非我们得出的这些批判性的商业决定能够与方法论框架相平衡，实践才能在一个相对封闭的环境中完成。尝试着用实践来检验自己积累的学习经验，然后以这些知识和经验为基础，找到突破口来教学生一些关于国际咨询的知识，是这8年来我做了这么多国际咨询项目的主要目的。我知道，在大学校园封闭的教室中谈国际商务是一回事，而使学生真正参与到所有细节中，让学生每天能够实战又是另外一回事。

The three projects this year are not only a perfect cross section of theory and practice, but, in my opinion, also provide our students with a valuable vantage point on how consulting, governmental interaction and education are utilized in China.

在我看来，今年的这三个项目不仅仅是理论和实践的完美结合，同时也为我们的学生了解咨询，政府和教育在中国如何融汇运用提供了一个优势视角。

I couldn’t have created on-my-own a better educational opportunity for these 18 future leaders, and am so appreciative of your trust and confidence in us to work with you and with your clients.

这是我至今为止为这18位未来领袖所能创造的最好的教育机会了。我非常感谢贵公司对我们的信任让我们共事，一起为公司客户服务。

 

For me personally, having an opportunity to combine the areas of consulting, government and education is a professional thrill. Most consulting projects are often uni-dimensional, in that they focus on a freestanding company, a single problem or a single country. What makes working with CCAFM so special, and gratifying, is that your three projects each year often regularly combine all three concepts concurrently (i.e., consulting, government and education).

就我个人而言，能在专业中有机会将咨询，政府和教育三个领域互相结合，也是一件令人激动的事情。大多数的咨询项目经常是单向度的，因为它们往往只关注某个公司，某个问题或者某个国家。和中华财务合作之所以让我感到特别满足是因为贵公司每年的三个项目总是能把以上三个领域有机结合。

Accordingly, it requires me to stay on-my-toes, and up-to-date on the relevant business and governmental issues, so I can better advise our students on how to research the different questions you and your clients pose to us, and to provide you all with the best recommendations as possible for everyone.

相应的，这也需要我在相关事务和政府问题上小心谨慎，如此我才能更好得指导学生如何去研究贵公司及贵公司客户提出的各类问题，从而给出我们最好的建议。

 

Last May, when I was traveling to Shanghai on another Boston College program I‘m involved with, I had the chance to enjoy a dinner with several of your company’s executives, who traveled to Shanghai just for this meeting.

It was an honor that they took time out of their busy schedules to fly from Beijing to Shanghai simply for a single dinner with me. After we ate, they asked me if I ever tired of bringing our students to China. As one of them inquired of me in Chinese: “How many times have you climbed the Great Wall? Aren’t you bored of it by now?” I laughed and told them it NEVER became boring, as watching the expressions on the face of the new students each year when they saw the Great Wall for the first time, in person, was priceless.

去年五月，当我为波士顿大学另一个项目前往上海时，我有幸与贵公司几位领导在上海共进晚餐。贵公司领导为了这次晚餐在百忙之中抽身从北京飞上海，让我倍感荣幸。饭后，他们问我我是否会厌倦带学生来中国，其中一位领导问我：“您去过几次长城了？您不感到厌倦吗？”我笑了，然后告诉他们我从来都不会感到厌倦。因为每年当我带着新学生去长城，看到他们第一次见到长城时候的表情，这一刻弥足珍贵。

 

So, too, is it truly priceless for me to have to re-create my own knowledge each year and learn three new industries, three new CCAFM clients and the requisite consulting work that is involved in each. But, since the CCAFM project managers and executives generally stay the same each year, it’s always the same as talking with “old friends,” and familiar, rather than ever being boring.

同样，对我来说，每年能够更新自己的知识体系，学习三门新行业，认识三个新客户对我来说也非常宝贵。不过，贵公司的项目经理和领导总是非常稳定，每一次做项目就如和熟悉的老友相聚，从不会感到无聊。

In conclusion, I look forward to watching the fruits of everyone’s labors (i.e., the CCAFM executives and our students), as these three projects further come-to-life and are presented at your clients’ offices. I hope that we can continue to follow the theme of combining consulting, government and education with many more projects in the years to come. Thank you again for your support and trust, but more importantly, your friendship and refreshing sense of humor!  Old friends are never something to take for granted…

总而言之，我期待能看到贵公司同事和我的学生们的劳动成果。希望我们还能继续传承这样的主题，将来在更多的项目中将咨询，政府和教育结合。再次感谢你们的支持和信任，更重要的是感谢你们的真挚友谊和幽默感。