The Brown and White
By Fazle Rabbi
Issue date: 3/27/09
Companies and people must be agile and build trust to deal with the economic realities of the world, computer company Lenovo's CEO Bill Amelio, '79, said during a lecture in Perella Auditorium Monday.
High trust organizations tolerate mistakes, share information openly, share credit abundantly and have more positive, creative and innovative people, Amelio said.
"As a leader, it is important not to add a brick to the people working, but to take one away," Amelio said.
Building trust in a business leads to increased efficiency and decreased cost, he said.
"Trust is a factor hard to build but easy to destroy," Amelio said. "If we don't trust, we can't buy, we can't sell and the underlying economy can't be built."
Banks might also refuse to lend money to an organization if it fails to build a certain level of trust with it, Amelio said.
Agility is also important and requires businesses to assume unpredictable and disruptive changes, act promptly when changes occur and decentralize knowledge expertise and decision-making responsibilities, he said.
Amelio said embracing change with passion can help the company flourish in business. He said giving and receiving feedback is important, even when it is difficult, because it allows people to identify mistakes and aim for a change.
Doing one's best with an unshaken confidence level aids the process.
"I never ask my son if he got an A or a B," Amelio said. "I ask him if he tried his best."
Amelio said some of his objectives for a better global economy are diverse global perspectives, the ability to serve anywhere and to operate in all time zones. He said it's important we achieve these goals as soon as possible.
Amelio said the population has been increasing and technology has made worldwide communication easier, reversing what would otherwise become a chaotic process.
Faster means of realization, replication and exchange of ideas have shielded today's world from being affected by the large population when it comes to management, he said.
For example, the introduction of cell phones to Indian fishermen has eliminated their need to travel between market places for the best price, Amelio said. Now, it's just a phone call away.
He said today's products should be labeled "made globally," since most products go through a variety of assembly processes in many different countries with the help of many different people.
Amelio said the best world economy ever seen can be achieved when the East and West come together.
Amelio has worked worldwide as a global leader for Lenovo and launched Caring for Cambodia, a charity organization promoting education for underprivileged children in Cambodia.
Last year, Amelio was the commencement speaker for the graduating class of 2008. In his speech, Amelio said a Lehigh education is one of the best tools to succeed in a fast-moving world.
He also said the secret to success is the ability to admit one's mistakes and learn from them.
By Fazle Rabbi
Issue date: 3/27/09
Companies and people must be agile and build trust to deal with the economic realities of the world, computer company Lenovo's CEO Bill Amelio, '79, said during a lecture in Perella Auditorium Monday.
High trust organizations tolerate mistakes, share information openly, share credit abundantly and have more positive, creative and innovative people, Amelio said.
"As a leader, it is important not to add a brick to the people working, but to take one away," Amelio said.
Building trust in a business leads to increased efficiency and decreased cost, he said.
"Trust is a factor hard to build but easy to destroy," Amelio said. "If we don't trust, we can't buy, we can't sell and the underlying economy can't be built."
Banks might also refuse to lend money to an organization if it fails to build a certain level of trust with it, Amelio said.
Agility is also important and requires businesses to assume unpredictable and disruptive changes, act promptly when changes occur and decentralize knowledge expertise and decision-making responsibilities, he said.
Amelio said embracing change with passion can help the company flourish in business. He said giving and receiving feedback is important, even when it is difficult, because it allows people to identify mistakes and aim for a change.
Doing one's best with an unshaken confidence level aids the process.
"I never ask my son if he got an A or a B," Amelio said. "I ask him if he tried his best."
Amelio said some of his objectives for a better global economy are diverse global perspectives, the ability to serve anywhere and to operate in all time zones. He said it's important we achieve these goals as soon as possible.
Amelio said the population has been increasing and technology has made worldwide communication easier, reversing what would otherwise become a chaotic process.
Faster means of realization, replication and exchange of ideas have shielded today's world from being affected by the large population when it comes to management, he said.
For example, the introduction of cell phones to Indian fishermen has eliminated their need to travel between market places for the best price, Amelio said. Now, it's just a phone call away.
He said today's products should be labeled "made globally," since most products go through a variety of assembly processes in many different countries with the help of many different people.
Amelio said the best world economy ever seen can be achieved when the East and West come together.
Amelio has worked worldwide as a global leader for Lenovo and launched Caring for Cambodia, a charity organization promoting education for underprivileged children in Cambodia.
Last year, Amelio was the commencement speaker for the graduating class of 2008. In his speech, Amelio said a Lehigh education is one of the best tools to succeed in a fast-moving world.
He also said the secret to success is the ability to admit one's mistakes and learn from them.
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