On 27 August 2022, Business China organised a Youth Series event featuring Mr Sam Hua, Director of Shanghai H&H Marketing Consulting Co., Ltd (H&H) and the author of “Sun Tzu’s Art of War: A Modern Exposition”. Titled “Conversation with Sam Hua: Read Sun Tzu’s Art of War and Open the Door to Wisdom”., the Mandarin event conducted at the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre saw 60 attendees.
Classic Teachings from Ancient to Modern
Mr Hua shared the 13 strategic principles in Sun Tzu’s Book of War, citing personal anecdotes and historical episodes to demonstrate how these principles could be applied to our day-to-day lives and business exchanges.
He summed up the essence of this classic in four statements:
- The best victory is the one that can be achieved without a fight.
- Avoiding defeat is more vital than succeeding.
- Instead of winning with less, the goal is to win with more.
- Only engage in a battle when you are confident that you will prevail.
Application of Classic to Business Management in Modern Times
The Q&A session was moderated by Mr Zhai Zihan, a Politics and Economics undergraduate at the National University of Singapore and a member of the Business China Youth Chapter. Some of the questions discussed pertained to business management advice, decision-making and assessment skills, as well as H&H’s choice to establish their regional office in Singapore.
When asked why H&H decided to establish a regional office in Singapore, Mr Hua shared that more Chinese businesses are venturing into overseas markets, and his clients are no exception. By expanding into the Singapore market, H&H can serve the clients with a market presence here, and also demonstrate the company’s ability to serve both the Chinese and Southeast Asian markets, which in turn attracts more prospective clients.
His decision to make Singapore the first stop for the company’s internationalisation strategy was due to Singapore’s focus on bilingualism and its talent pool. Mr Hua also noted that finding a client is often easier than finding the ideal business partner because the company’s business will thrive if it does its job well and builds a brand reputation through its good track record.
On the question of how to maintain a high-quality team at work, Mr Hua shared four factors: attractive remuneration packages, good learning opportunities, development prospects and work culture. To be considered a good company, a business must win over customers, employees, business partners and the society.