Quality Growth

My Insights and
Perspectives from
the World Economic
Forum, Dalian, 2011
Johan Bjrkstn

Chairman, Eastwei MSL, Beijing

Executive Report
September 2011

I attended the WEF Annual Meeting of the

New Champions 2011 in Dalian for the first
time this year, representing MSLGROUP.
It was an interesting and rewarding
experience, and since several clients have
asked me if it would be worthwhile for their
China executives to attend future sessions,
I have summarized some immediate
impressions. To me, this meeting was
worthwhile because it:
Focused my thinking: The Forum
is content-rich, with many parallel
presentations, seminars and workshops.
I dont necessarily feel I learned many
new things, but I felt the news flow of
the last year or so crystallize into a few
key themes. It gave clarity amidst the
daily clutter.
Provided perspective: I have never
attended a conference of such diversity
disciplines, nationalities and age
groups mixed freely through formal and
informal activities. Its been a long time
since I had so many truly stimulating
and interesting conversations in such a
short time.

Offered networking opportunities:

Getting to know other people is as
important as taking part in scheduled
activities; in any case, even with a backto-back agenda, it is only possible to
attend perhaps a fifth of the available
formal sessions. For the open, curious
business person, the Forum is a great
opportunity to make new business
connections, and also to interact with
leading scientists, senior politicians,
seasoned journalists and up-andcoming young entrepreneurs.
Dont come here expecting new insights
about China; the forum is about global
issues. But because it is held in China,
there are of course quite a few interesting
Chinese participants. Similarly, if you
take an overly transactional approach to
networking, you could be disappointed. I
found listening to a Chinese 20-something
ask a Fortune-100 CEO questions about
management to be equally rewarding.

Mastering Quality Growth a timely theme

Photo credit: World Economic Forum (www.weforum.org)/Adam Dean

The Forum discussed growth, because this is the

only thing that can save us from current economic
challenges and help new generations find
employment, but also quality because this is what
will help us deal with environmental challenges,
resource constraints, and rising inequality. In this
context, entrepreneurship was frequently discussed,
and sometimes from a fresh perspective: how
entrepreneurship in sustainability and social causes
can spur both quality and growth, and thus help
us meet the challenges ahead. There seems to be
an emerging consensus, among business leaders
as well as politicians, that there is a renewed role
for the state to play in setting the framework and
conditions for entrepreneurship in every sphere,
rather than the old libertarian mantra of getting out
of the way of business.
For global leaders, one obvious takeaway from the
forum must have been how dynamic, aggressive
and sophisticated developing market players are

becoming, and how close local companies are

competing on the world scene. Dozens of young
entrepreneurs from China and India plied visiting
CEOs with questions on how to succeed in more
developed markets, and how one could go about
disrupting inefficient established industries and
cozy market reserves. Venture capitalists gave
big organizations short shrift: they are useful
as a source of financing and access to markets,
but not for much else. Given the composition of
the audience, one somehow had the unnerving
impression that the same thing would soon be said
of developed countries.
Everyone, from Premier Wen Jiabao, who opened
the Forum, to economists and business leaders,
debunked the concept of decoupling: China,
India and other developing economies are still
dependent on the world economy; indeed, this
dependence is growing as globalization continues.

Wen Jiabaos opening speech

Photo credit: World Economic Forum (www.weforum.org)/Adam Dean

4

My impression of Wen Jiabaos opening address

was somewhat different from what I read in the
subsequent media reports. Of course, he more or
less had to say that China would come to the rescue
of European countries in trouble but he used the
expression of extending a helping hand, which
sounded if not condescending then at least quite
self-assured, and also emphasized that in return,
he would hope to see Europe recognizing Chinas
market economy status ahead of the planned
2015/6 date, suggesting that this would be a fine
gesture: This is how a good friend would treat
another good friend.
Political reform was mentioned once, but as usual,
without any specific references to what this might
entail. More interestingly, Wen mentioned the
need for dealing with monopolies, something
most Chinese listeners would interpret as state
monopolies, in order to create a more orderly and
transparent investment climate.
In his comments on China itself, he reiterated his
long-standing themes of building a harmonious
society and allowing all Chinese to enjoy the fruits
of development. He talked about the need for

China to educate truly innovative people going

from a large country in education to a strong
country in education. Sustainable development
and more inclusive social security systems were
other themes.
Perhaps the most impressive part was the Q&A
session. Wen answered every question in a
structured, logical and eloquent way. When asked
how China could more specifically support
developed countries in times of financial crisis,
he put local problems in context by differentiating
between the US, which needs to control debt,
reduce deficits and foster economic development
and growth; Europe, which has to control
sovereign debt and prevent contagion; and
developing countries, who are suffering from
inflation and currency fluctuations due to the
dollar. He expressed confidence in the US being
able to overcome its problems, and suggested that
Chinese investment in the real economy, in factories
and companies rather than just treasury bonds,
could be a strong support for economic growth,
thus pushing a Chinese investment agenda in a
persuasive and non-confrontational way.
Read the full speech..

Idea labs
Perhaps some of the most interesting seminars at
the Forum are the so-called idea labs where all
participants are involved in interactive, small-group
sessions and then share outcomes with the bigger
seminar audience.

In one such session, Professor Ian Bogost

conducted a session on didactic computer games
such as Fatworld which addresses obesity in kids,
and training games where fast-food managers learn
how to optimize their staff and material use through
simulations based on real-life business processes
and costs. Games can provide context which is
difficult through traditional teaching, by directly and
simultaneously highlighting how different factors
in a simulation are linked to each other. Rather
than studying abstract theory, participants develop
a feel for how things work. The implications for
a developing and human-resource-scarce market
like China are obvious: one of the most challenging
areas is how to train sales reps and promoters, often
numbering in the thousands on this continent-sized
market.
In another idea lab, senior business leaders such
as PepsiCo CMO Salman Amin and Best Buy VP
Kuk Yi discussed the implications for companies
of connected and aware consumers. Though the

topics were familiar for me as a communications

professional, the outcome added an international
angle to my Chinese experience: highlighting the
importance of transparency in the supply chain (its
enough that a single guy with a webcam broadcasts
abuses from a factory for any abuse to instantly
escalate to a media crisis) as well as the importance
of authenticity and leveling with consumers; there
is nothing people hate as much online as being
talked down to.
Kuk Yi also emphasized how external transparency
forces companies to take a harder look at internal
and employee communications; this echoes my own
experience, where internal stakeholders are often
neglected during an external crisis, which leads to
serious disruptions in productivity and can in turn
influence the companys ability to deal with the
external pressure.
The consensus from business leaders was that this
really is a new world of transparency, where honesty
and proactivity are the only paths to competitive
advantage.

Management Mentor workshop

Photo credit: World Economic Forum (www.weforum.org)/Qilai Shen

Klaus Kleinfeld, formerly of Siemens, now CEO of

Alcoa, offered a new perspective on organizational
trust: whereas I have always felt trust is something
personal and time-based (people do not trust
companies, they trust individuals) his example of
the Navy Seals and the fact that any member of the
team can trust another member with his life, even
if they have never met before, holds lessons for my
favorite topic of Corporate Culture (in my opinion,
one of the few sustainable competitive advantages
in a globalized world).
He also castigated companies for using unpaid
interns we should be ashamed of ourselves for
treating young people in this way; there are limits
to what we can do for the bottom line something
that companies in China should think especially
hard about.

There were also some gems on management in

other seminars: for example ways of fostering
disruptive innovation in organizations through
a culture that encourages mistakes but tries to
shorten time to failure. The litmus test is how the
organization rewards mistakes that REALLY COST IT
MONEY, rather than just talking about encouraging
people to make mistakes.

Science

Some of the most interesting seminars were

presentations on popular science, as well as indepth debates about science and its influence on
policy and economy. The most important takeaway:
in most cases, we already know the answers to
the problems. The problem is not more research,
but finding the political will and concrete ways of
implementing the scientific findings. One example
is the concept of fish banks: by setting off marine
reserves in depleted areas, local fish stocks can
rebound by more than 400% in a decade; fishing
can resume outside the reserves and provide
sustainable incomes for communities whose fish
stocks had collapsed. Yet, only 1% of the oceans
are protected in this way, while research shows
that perhaps 15% would be needed for sustainable
fishing in the remaining waters. Communications
rather than science becomes key how can we
ensure that research results and best practices
are communicated and allowed to spread from
community to community and from country to
country?
The Forums unique mix of participants allowed
for some unusual applications of science, such
as KaBOOMs crowd sourcing of play deserts in
American cities. We know that children spend, on
average, 7.5 hours a day on electronic media; we

also know that child obesity is on the rise; and there

are strong indications that movement and physical
activity stimulate brain activity and learning. But
here, additional research is necessary to quantify
benefits and explore how city environments can
contribute to child development, but KaBOOM is
taking direct action by creating local communities
that lobby for and contribute to playgrounds in every
place where they are needed.
And of course the cosmology session, where we
learned about the difference between dark matter
and dark energy (each of which makes up a much
larger part of the universe than the stuff we can
see, feel and touch) was something I wouldnt have
missed. Dont ask me to summarize it for you but
it was really interesting and entertaining. I guess you
had to be there.

They think of everything!

Arrangements and logistics were of exceptionally
high quality. The Forum uses technology to
provide a better meeting experience: there is
a private area website and a fabulous iPad
app that gives you instant access to CVs and
organizational backgrounders of all participants,
provides an internal messaging platform for
setting up meetings, and allows you to keep track
of the sessions you want to attend. Service is
also superb: when I realized that I had forgotten
the charger for my iPad, I agonized for a couple
of hours before realizing that it wouldnt hurt to
ask a local functionary if they had a charger and
being directed to the IT Support booth where a
friendly techie quickly helped me get juiced up. The
assortment of chargers reminded me of what must
have been available in the Star Wars bar scene.
8

Most presentations and workshops can be

summarized as predictably exhilarating. Do,
however, also expect the unexpected. Because of
all the new, interdisciplinary connections, I had a
few minor epiphanies over three days of meetings.
For example, I suddenly realized that a couple of
distinctly underwhelming presentations had been as
important for focusing my thinking as the best ones:
a lecture on Confucianism simply highlighted how
easy it is for some westerners to wow an audience

by leveraging the exotic mysteries of China and

overextending their interpretations into almost
anything the author desires; similarly, a presentation
by a big-multinational CEO mentor on management
practices for global success exemplified how
important it is to complement general experience
and insights with specific examples if we are to
avoid vapid repetitions of hackneyed mantras. The
discussion on the emerging consumer, though, was
totally disjointed but what do you expect when you
put the Chairman of a Chinese state-owned bank on
a panel purporting to provide insight on consumer
preferences?

Recipe for success

Photo credit: World Economic Forum (www.weforum.org)/Nick Otto

The WEF in Dalian offers the opportunity of new,

or at least fresh, perspectives on key issues while
hobnobbing with interesting people from academics
and politicians to business people and local mayors.
The keys to success are planning for example,
taking the time to leverage the Forums excellent
attendance lists, programs and community apps
in order to set up meetings in advance an open
mind, and lots of energy.

For over 20 years, MSLGROUP Asia has counseled

global, regional and local clients, helping them to
establish, protect and expand their businesses in
Asia.
The largest PR and social media network in both
Greater China and India, MSLGROUP Asia is
headquartered in China and includes 30 owned
offices and 1250 staff across Shanghai, Beijing,
Guangzhou, Chengdu, Hong Kong, Taipei, Tokyo,
Seoul, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Mumbai,
Delhi, Ahmedabad, Pune, Bangalore, Chennai,
Hyderabad and Kolkata. A satellite network of

Johan Bjrkstn
Eastwei MSL,
Founder & Chairman

Born in 1964, Johan has spent more than 20 years

in China since his first visit in 1986. He is fluent
in Chinese and worked for eight years as a radio
and TV host, producing more than 500 of his
own weekly Chinese programs on Beijing TV and
Beijing Music Radio. He is a frequent guest and
commentator on China Central Television and has
hosted TV shows and events all over China. In the
course of his media career, he has built a strong
network with key Chinese broadcast and print
media and has deep expertise in how to creatively
engage with Chinese audiences.
In 1994, he founded Eastwei Relations, which grew
to Chinas leading local strategic PR consultancy
with over 100 employees in four cities. In 2009,
The Holmes Report awarded Eastwei Relations
the accolade of China PR Agency of the Year; one
year later, in 2010, the agency joined MSLGROUP
to become Eastwei MSL. The firm serves a number
of Fortune-500 clients including household names
such as P&G, IKEA, SONY, Puma, Volvo Cars,
ABSOLUT and Singapore Tourism Board.

staff reaches an additional 125 Indian cities and a

strong affiliate network of independent agencies
across the region adds another 23 Asian cities
to our reach. In the past two years, MSLGROUP
Asia has been recognized with more than 35
awards, including MSL Japans 2009 PR Lion in
the Travel and Tourism category at the Cannes
Lions International Festival of Creativity and PR
Consultancy of the Year for Hanmer MSL India,
20:20 MSL India, Eastwei MSL China, and ICL MSL
Taiwan from both international and local industry
groups.

The companys knowledge-driven

communications approach has received wide
industry attention and has been documented in the
local industry bestseller PR, Chinese Style. The
book has been printed in three editions and has
sold some 13,000 copies in China. Widely regarded
as a thought-leader, in addition to PR, Chinese
Style, Johan Bjrkstn has also written several
textbooks on China and the Chinese language and
writing system, as well as coauthoring Catching
Up Fast: PR and Marketing in a Web 2.0 China and
the general business handbook How to Manage a
Successful Business in China.
Johan is one of the best-known and most
respected Swedish businessmen in China. He is
one of the founders of the Swedish Chamber of
Commerce in China, which in 2010 granted him
lifetime honorary membership for his contributions
during his 12 years of service on the Chamber
Board. Johan is also a Director and Advisory Board
Member at East Capital, one of Europes largest
fund managers focusing on Eastern Europe,
Russia and China. In addition, he was Treasurer and
Director of the European Chamber of Commerce in
China for two years running.
Besides Chinese, Johan is fluent in English and his
native Swedish. He freely reads German, French
and Russian. He has a Masters degree in Physical
Chemistry from the University of Uppsala, Sweden.

Contact: johan@eastweimsl.com

mslgroup.com
asia.mslgroup.com