Haier - Insights, Learnings and Experiences (Post 3 - Preview of the Haier ZeroDX Awards)
Mirko Kleiner - As a Thought Leader in Lean-Agile Procurement and a Registered Scrum@Scale Trainer, my personal mission is to unite various movements—Agile Leadership, Extreme Manufacturing, Scaling Agile, Lean-Agile Procurement, and more—to push the boundaries of Business Agility across organizations.
One company that stands out, and perhaps the only one of its kind globally, is Haier. With over 50 years of history as a white goods manufacturer, Haier has undergone its sixth major transformation, evolving into a network of over 4,700 Micro Enterprises (ME), all interconnected within Ecosystem Micro Communities (EMC).
Each ME operates with its own balance sheet, its own people, and collaborates closely with partners who share in the ECM’s success. This win-win philosophy, implemented on such a massive scale, is truly unprecedented and sets Haier apart as a pioneer in organizational and management innovation.
For over two years, the LAP Alliance has partnered with the Haier Model Institute (HMI), itself a Micro Enterprise within the Haier Group. Its mission is to spread the word about Haier’s New Economic Engine, or RenDanHeYi, which serves as the foundation of Haier's management model. For those unfamiliar with Haier, it is arguably the most disruptive and successful organization in the world, operating with virtually no bureaucracy and achieving an impressive annual growth rate of 20% over the last decade.
In this series of blog posts, I’ll be sharing key insights, learnings, and experiences from my visits to Haier, and why I believe the future of business lies in a New Economic Engine driven by AI and Business Ecosystems.
Post 3 - Preview of the Haier Zero Distance Excellence Awards & our Nominees
In less than a week, the Haier Zero Distance Excellence Awards 2024 will once again take place in Qingdao, China. In this post, I’d like to give you a sneak peek of what to expect, some behind-the-scenes insights, and introduce you to our four outstanding nominees—each of whom has already implemented a New Economic Engine.
Stay tuned for an inside look at their remarkable journeys and how they are transforming their industries with innovative, user-centric ecosystems.
image source: HMI
Review - How it all started
During one of our regular calls, the Haier Model Institute (HMI) surprised me with the exciting news that I had been appointed as an HMI Expert and Partner—an unexpected and humbling honor. As part of this new role, I was invited to support the Haier ZeroDX Awards 2024, which I gladly accepted. The international judging panel was tasked with nominating leading individuals, organizations, or cases that have developed a New Economic Engine similar to Haier’s groundbreaking model.
image source: HMI
The ZeroDX Awards are one of the ways the Haier Model Institute (HMI) spreads inspiration about the New Economic Engine worldwide. I was deeply honored to be part of this mission and immediately began reaching out to my global network and clients. Soon after, we convened for the first time as the judging board.
Historically, the Haier Awards primarily celebrated Haier’s own success stories. However, with the inclusion of the international judging board, our goal is to broaden the scope—opening up the Haier ZeroDX Awards to recognize anyone who has applied similar principles of the New Economic Engine, regardless of industry or affiliation.
image source: HMI
Our Assessment
At the core of our assessment was RenDanHeYi and its foundational values and principles. These served as the guiding criteria for evaluating nominees, ensuring that each individual or organization exemplified the spirit of innovation, empowerment, and user-centricity that defines Haier’s New Economic Engine.
image source: HMI
The Haier Model Institute provided us with a comprehensive assessment framework designed to distinguish the good from the truly exceptional individuals, organizations, and cases. As an experienced coach, I’ve encountered many maturity models, but this one offered a fresh perspective, pushing the boundaries of what I had seen before.
Here are a few selected example questions from different domains of the assessment:
Level of Organizational Autonomy - Leadership
image source: HMI
image source: HMI
Level of Organizational Autonomy - Organizational Structure
image source: HMI
image source: HMI
Level of User Value - Ecosystem
image source: HMI
When my colleagues from the Haier Model Institute refer to the New Economic Engine, they are talking about the integration of the AI Economy with an Intelligent and Interactive Ecosystem. At its core is the Zero Distance Organization, where entrepreneurship and the principles of RenDanHeYi form the foundation for a thriving Ecosystem Economy. This combination enables seamless interaction between businesses and users, driving innovation and growth in a dynamic, user-centered environment.
image source: HMI
Our Nominees
We are proud to announce our nominees to the Haier ZeroDX Awards 2024. Four leading examples with the New Economic Engine:
SINA (Social Innovation Academy) 🇺🇬 w/ Etienne Salborn -> their Ecosystem Case Study
eRevo AG 🇨🇭 energy Revolution w/ Gregor Zust -> their Ecosystem Case Study
Miles AS 🇳🇴 The value-based IT Company w/ Camilla Amundsen -> their Ecosystem Case Study
NET Engineering 🇮🇹 Engineering Agility w/ Silvia Furlan -> their Ecosystem Case Study
We’ll be sharing more details about their submissions in separate upcoming post of this series, so stay tuned!
The nominees were evaluated based on the comprehensive values and principles of the Haier Management Model (RenDanHeYi)—the driving force behind success, rapid growth, and win-win outcomes within a partner ecosystem.
image source: HMI
Let’s keep our fingers crossed and wish the four nominees the best of luck at the upcoming awards! Regardless of the outcome, they are already shining examples for their employees, users, and ecosystem partners, showcasing the power of innovation and collaboration.
Big thank you to Bjarte Bogsnes, Paolo Sammicheli, my colleagues on the judging board panel Junhui (Sylvia) Guan Alidad Hamidi David Witney Emanuele Quintarelli Joost Minnaar Ross MacIntyre Saar Ben-Attar William Malek and the whole Haier Model Institute.
Conclusions
I’m always amazed when talking to like-minded leaders; regardless of the industry, region, culture, or size of the organization, they all reach the same conclusions. The connection between a strong Economic Engine, business success, and the positive impact on people / society, and the environment never fails to fascinate me. It makes me wonder—why isn’t this the standard ways-of-working everywhere?
The Haier ZeroDX Awards and the remarkable examples set by its nominees will hopefully inspire more people to adopt this mindset. After all, don’t we all prefer environments built on a win-win philosophy?
I’m really looking forward to meeting my esteemed colleagues from the judging panel, the Haier Model Institute, and all the like-minded leaders from all the nominated organizations.
Next Post - Learnings from the Haier ZeroDX Awards
Stay tuned for the upcoming posts in this series!
All Posts of this Series
Post 1 - Visiting Haier in Qingdao China
Post 2 - The New Economic Engine
Post 3 - Preview of the Haier ZeroDX Awards
Post 4 - The Haier ZeroDX Awards 2024