Continuing to Strive for First Place | The 7th Annual Entrepreneur Principals' Festival

On September 9th and 10th, 2023, the 7th Annual Entrepreneur Principals' Day , co-hosted by Action Education and the Action Education Global Alumni Association , was held in Shanghai, China! Representatives of entrepreneur principals from all over the world gathered in Shanghai to celebrate their special day – Entrepreneur Principals' Day.

This festival welcomed representatives from the "Principal's EMBA" Global Alumni Association, class representatives, entrepreneur principals from various industries, and alumni representatives from numerous well-known companies, including: Miniso, Bosideng, Jinmailang, Zheng Yuanyuan, Zhonggang.com, Lidu Winery, Pinpinxiang, Rainbow Electric, Wuzizui, Boda Construction, Fuqing Home Furnishings, Modern Farming, Guangna Coal Industry, Huaxia Liangzi, Yuanfang Group, Kouweiwang, WOO, Menghu Group, Jixiangju, Changshu Switch, Xiaocaiyuan, Jutong Decoration, Shudaxia Catering, Mingtai Aluminum, Junzilan Coatings, Hongda Group, Huitong New Materials, Xilinmen, Baineng Home Furnishings, and Cixi. Mingaoya Health Checkup Group, Licheng Food, Qianrengang, Zhengkun Cultural Tourism, Guoguang Agricultural Chemicals, Laisier Dairy, Yunding Apparel, Grandma's Flavor, Yongming Project, Jingbao Group, Longteng Lighting, Luopuxin, Xinfengwei, Huading Winery, Yufan Food, Lizikar, CITIC Redwood, Chenlong Aircraft, Xiulihan, Bole Design, Zhongwang Fabrics, Pengshi Group, Gaotian Apparel, Sichuan International Bidding, Hainan Shiweiguan, Harbin Institute of Technology Hefei Intelligent Research Institute, Aobia Leather, Haizhizui Food, Wofubairui, Xindebao Machinery, Feilong Home Furnishings, Shangyuan Group, Aohua Group, Sanhe Technology, Noah Wealth, Children's Paradise Photography, etc.

The guest lineup also brought together world-class mentors, billion-dollar entrepreneurs, well-known listed companies, and many industry leaders, including Philip Kotler, the father of modern marketing; Song Zhiping, president of the China Association for Public Companies; Zhai Dongsheng, vice president of the China New Economy Society; and Li Jian, the creator of China's first management education stock. They delivered joint speeches from macro, meso, and micro perspectives on the theme of "Moving Towards Number One," helping companies to continuously move towards the top.

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A grand feast of brotherhood and friendship, hand in hand.

Principal's Day is a grand celebration of friendship and camaraderie, where everyone joins hands to achieve the best.

On September 8, on the eve of Principal's Day, representatives of alumni associations, classes, mentors, and principals gathered on a cruise ship on the beautiful Huangpu River in Shanghai for the annual Principal's Family Banquet.

This is a promise, a group of people, a lifetime, a lifelong bond. Even if they are scattered across the country, they will travel thousands of miles to be together, never forgetting their original aspirations, and joining hands to achieve first place. This is a bond of friendship, with all school principals under heaven as one family, and hearts linked together across the country.

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A Feast of Ideas Towards Number One

Principal's Day is a grand intellectual feast for those striving for excellence.

Professor Li Jian started by talking about how Pangu used an axe to create the world, and how modern humans defeated Neanderthals to become the global hegemon. He then extended this to outstanding global companies such as Amazon and Xiaomi, pointing out that striving to be number one requires creation, spirit, will, and strength.

Organizing Committee Chairman, Mr. Li Jian, delivered the opening speech.

Teacher Li Jian emphasized: "Striving for first place means that we must unite as one, unite all forces that can be united, be single-minded, persevere, and be as wide as one meter and as deep as a thousand meters. Striving for first place means that we must have the willpower to be number one, and that we must endlessly upgrade ourselves and constantly surpass ourselves."

Over the next two days, special guests from various perspectives gathered to launch a thought-provoking feast on the path to becoming number one, dissecting the journey to the top.

As distinguished guests, four world-class experts—Philip Kotler, Song Zhiping, Zhai Dongsheng, and Li Jian—joined forces from both East and West to provide in-depth analysis from four dimensions: marketing trends, fundamental management principles, national destiny, and achieving top-tier user success . They guided participants on the path to continuous improvement and becoming number one.

Philip Kotler, the "father of modern marketing," delivered a speech on the topic of "The Future of Marketing." He introduced important aspects such as new forces, new technologies, new objectives, new tools, new principles, new characteristics, and new changes in marketing, and answered questions from entrepreneurs one-on-one.

Mr. Philip Kotler called on global entrepreneurs to pay special attention to wealth creation, the planet, and human well-being, and offered an important piece of advice: If you are still doing business the same way in the next five years, you are not far from closing down!

Song Zhiping, President of the China Association for Public Companies and lead lecturer of the "Principal EMBA" - "Business Strategy" course at Action Education, delivered a speech on the theme: "The Hard Truths of Running a Business." Song Zhiping summarized these "hard truths" into six points: strengthening the core business, effective innovation, enhanced management, capital operation, a shared mechanism, and risk prevention , and elaborated on each of these six points.

Song Zhiping: "Running a business is actually about two things: people and business. Running a business means choosing the right people and the right business. I advocate four core elements for running a business: core business, core expertise, core market, and core customers."

Zhai Dongsheng, Vice President of the China New-Type Economic Entity Research Association, delivered a speech entitled: "National Destiny is Our Destiny—New Strategic Opportunities for Returning to the Center of the World Stage." Zhai shared his insights from four dimensions: the new era of opening up, the new logic of reform, new growth space, and the idea that national destiny is our destiny. He pointed out that the "China has peaked" theory is a very superficial view; the Chinese economy is far from peaking and is about to reach new heights.

Zhai Dongsheng stated: "The 'China has peaked' theory is a recent fallacy in American and European media, claiming that China's catch-up with the United States has reached its peak and that China's decline is evident. In my view, this is a very superficial view. The Chinese economy is far from peaking; our rise is currently only on the verge of reaching new heights, about to break through the clouds."

Li Jian, Chairman of Action Education, delivered a speech on the theme: "Achieving First-Class User Success." Mr. Li shared his "first-class user" mindset and provided a methodology for achieving this. He pointed out that top performers achieve their goals with a single decisive move, while users are the key to a company's ultimate success.

Li Jian: "The number one strategy and the number one product will ultimately come down to the user. Are you the number one user? If you are not the number one user, the number one strategy and the number one product will not be implemented, because ultimately all our revenue comes from the user."

Outstanding alumni representatives of Action Education, founders of four leading brands in the industry —MINISO, Bosideng, Jinmailang, and Zheng Yuanyuan— decode the path to "becoming number one" from a meso-level perspective, using their respective companies as models.

Among them, Ye Guofu, founder of Miniso, created China's first new consumer brand to go global; Gao Dekang, founder of Bosideng, created the world's number one down jacket brand; Fan Xianguo, chairman of Jinmailang, created a leading brand in China's food industry and launched many phenomenal blockbuster products in the industry; and Zheng Yuanyuan, founder of Yuanyuan Group, created a global leader in foot care brands.

Ye Guofu's speech theme: Towards a Global Super Brand. How to build a great company? In Ye Guofu's view, there are three methods: a super platform, super technology, and a super brand. Among them, 99% of companies use a super brand. How to build a super brand? At the Principals' Day event, Ye Guofu provided a detailed analysis based on his entrepreneurial experience with MINISO.

Gao Dekang's speech theme: "Standing at the Highest Standards, Moving Towards Global Leadership." In Gao Dekang's view, moving towards the top requires standing at the highest standards in five dimensions: brand, product, channel, talent, and digitalization. Especially regarding the brand, Gao Dekang said: "One of the most fundamental driving forces behind Bosideng's development today is that we have always stood at the highest standards, starting with the end in mind."

Fan Xianguo's speech topic: From Positioning to Positioning Ecosystem: Creating a Number One Phenomenal Bestseller. In Fan Xianguo's view, business competition has entered an era of high-dimensional competition. Now, running a business should not be about being a single point or a single line, but rather a holistic approach. This is reflected in positioning as a shift from a single point to a positioning ecosystem. How exactly to do this? Fan Xianguo combined his experience in action education with his own business management insights, providing a unique and detailed explanation.

Zheng Yuanyuan's speech theme: Activating the Team, Moving Towards Number One. " Behind growth, the most important thing is the team. A company's primary customer should be its employees ; we must create greater value for them and empower them." In Zheng Yuanyuan's view, the key to becoming number one is the team, and ultimately, people.

As representatives of entrepreneurial principals, the "Top Ten Principals" of Action Education in 2023 also took the stage one after another to speak out for the industry and advocate for principals. Based on practice, they spoke from a micro perspective about the path of "moving towards the first place".

Top Ten Principals of 2023:

• Li Yuanfang, Chairman of Yuanfang Group

• Ding Wenjun, Chairman of Jixiangju

• Xu Guojian, Chairman of Jutong Decoration Group

• Fan Yali, President of Jiufuyang

• Yang Hong, President of Anyi Property

• Tang Huaping, CHO of Lidu Winery

• Sun Wanwei, Chairman of Yangnai Family

• Zhao Yinan, President of Zhengkun Cultural Tourism

• Luo Huiping, Chairman of Sihoo Smart Home

• Yin Pingan, Chairman of Tiannong Foods

They were selected from more than 30 competition areas across the country after more than a month of fierce competition , through preliminary rounds and finals.

They represent every striving entrepreneur, industry pioneers from different sectors, scales, and stages, various industry tracks and sub-categories , and entrepreneur-principals whose core spirit is "mentors who help others succeed, messengers of business civilization, pioneers of economic power, and promoters of social progress."

They shared their practical experience with entrepreneurs worldwide, demonstrating how they went from 0 to 1, from 1 to 100, and from 100 to 10,000, how they broke through obstacles and forged ahead, and how they faced difficulties, choices, risks, and opportunities.

As representatives of the school, amidst a splendid intellectual feast, the three mentors of Action Education—Jiang Zhubing, Wang Baoqing, and Xiong Qiming—continued to decode "Striving for First Place" from three perspectives: performance, taxation and business acumen, and talent , bringing the Principal's Day to a climax.

Jiang Zhubing, the lead instructor of the "Performance Mechanism" course in Action Education's "Principal EMBA" program, shared the essential mindset for enterprises to become number one from a performance perspective: closed-loop management .

Wang Baoqing, the lead instructor of the "Tax Business Model" course in the Action Education "Principal EMBA" program, systematically explained from the perspective of tax business how to force enterprises to move towards the top through industrial restructuring .

Action Education's "Principal EMBA" - "Corporate University" lecturer Xiong Qiming interprets the most respected employer brand from a talent perspective, guiding companies to become number one by building the most respected employer brand.

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A glorious

Principal's Day is a glorious feast where win-win cooperation comes first.

During the two-day Principals' Day celebration, the honors reserved for entrepreneur principals and their recipients were announced. These included prestigious awards such as: Top Ten Principals of 2023, Best Employer Brand, Outstanding Alumni Association, Five-Star Class, and Best Alumni Association Organization .

Honored and crowned, achieving first-class success. They were created specifically to recognize and disseminate the new era entrepreneurial spirit of entrepreneurial principals, aiming to inspire and pass on this spirit— mentors who empower others, messengers of business civilization, pioneers in building a strong economic nation, promoters of social progress, and creators of a better life.

Finally, Mr. Huang Qiang, Executive Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the 7th Entrepreneur Principals' Festival, delivered the closing remarks. Huang Qiang: I am grateful to all the principal representatives who have come from all corners of the world. The Entrepreneur Principals' Festival is a grand event of honor, a chance to learn from and emulate role models; it is also a feast of thought, a platform for sharing personal experiences and inspiring stories of private enterprises striving for excellence, giving voice to the industry and representing the voices of principals.

Huang Qiang, Executive Chairman of the Organizing Committee, delivered the closing remarks.

Joining hands to achieve first place, striving for first place, and sharing the success of first place – amidst iterative understanding, intellectual exchange, abundant practical knowledge, and surrounded by glory, the 7th Entrepreneur Principals' Festival has successfully concluded. Let us look forward to the 8th Entrepreneur Principals' Festival on September 9-10, 2024.