Dean's Message 院长之声丨Sleepless in ZIBS 这些不一致让我彻夜未眠

Sleepless in ZIBS

- The Inconsistencies That Keep Me Awake

这些不一致让我彻夜未眠

Dear family and friends of ZIBS,

Trust that you all have had a great Lunar New Year break. I have had more (than expected) sleepless nights over the holidays and have been pondering what has been keeping me awake at night. The answer I have found is: It is the numerous "inconsistencies" within ZIBS ecosystem that have been bothering me.

Inconsistencies over times

While ZIBS is not that old, we have been accumulating some good experiences over the nearly 5-year journey. But too many processes we have agreed to follow have not been followed, too many painful lessons we thought we had learned have been haunting us again and again, and too many best practices we have pioneered have been lost along the way... All in all, there have been too many inconsistencies over time and as an organization, we have not got the best out of the cumulative past experiences. In short, we have not been good learners from our own past.     

Inconsistencies across locations

ZIBS ecosystem is blessed with our teams in different locations, from Haining to Hangzhou to Shanghai and Beijing. However, similarly we are seeing too many inconsistencies across the teams, some of the best practices, policies and processes in one location should have been easily replicated across our entire ecosystem and become the standard operating procedures (SOP) in ALL our locations, both existent and future new locations. This is critical to scaling up our franchise as we set up more operations both at home and abroad. In short, we have not been good learners from our own peers.   

Inconsistencies among 

different teams

ZIBS has been growing rapidly; the number of degree programs has reached 7 and we are likely to add new programs in the future. While there are some differences between different programs, these programs are more similar than dissimilar, especially in terms of operational processes. The synergy opportunities among the programs and the divisions are yet to be fully tapped. Our family members are just sitting next to us, but we seem to have failed to ask them, to "bother" them. In short, we have not been good learners from our own family.

Inconsistencies between

 words & actions

There have been a lot of good words. We have made promises to ourselves, our colleagues, our students and our partners. But I am afraid that we have not lived up to our words on too many occasions. One of the few things I have learned from banking is the golden rule: my word is my bond. When we say something, we mean it; when we promise something, we are committed to it. While I like people to talk, I like it more if they take appropriate actions. Actions speak louder than (empty) words. 

Inconsistencies between our 

stated goals and actual results

From the very beginning, we have emphasized building a performance-driven culture and organization. To better reflect the dynamic nature of ZIBS ecosystem, last year we formally introduced OKR (Objectives & Key Results) system as a substitute for KPI (Key Performance Indicators) system, which is more suitable for a more mature institution. Notwithstanding what we have all accomplished, I see significant gaps between what we said we would deliver and what we actually delivered. These gaps, or inconsistencies, are opportunities for us to improve, if a more robust process about OKR setting and periodic performance reviews is in place.   

While the above-mentioned inconsistencies exist in almost all organizations in one shape or another, the seriousness, scale and scope of such inconsistencies set organizations apart from each other in terms of sustainability and the strength of their franchises. The fewer inconsistencies, the better. Great teams and organizations would see least such inconsistencies. Excessive inconsistencies in one form or another would tarnish the reputation, undermine the credibility, ultimately ruin the brand and erode the capacity of franchises to grow. I truly believe these are applicable to all of us at the personal, team, and ZIBS ecosystem levels.

As an educational organization, we must educate ourselves first to be better learners. As scholars at a practice-oriented business school, we must practice (and excel at) what we preach. As staff members of ZIBS, we must be at least as good, if not better than, as our industry peers in running, growing and innovating ZIBS as a highly efficient and effective platform. That is what we all have agreed as a key advantage and differentiator of ZIBS franchise. So, let us practice and prove it consistently throughout the organization and throughout time. 

Over the years as a business executive, I earned a (good or bad) reputation as being too demanding and this reputation has followed me to ZJU and ZIBS. I have promised (to myself) to change a few times, the most recent notable time was about 2 years ago. I was struggling to redefine my role as Dean. Should a Dean be more like a corporate CEO or Executive Chairman? I was also trying to reset my priorities: should I set aside more personal time? Should I try to be a more "personable" and popular leader? My effort to "retire from the CEO" role did not succeed, as I moved back to take charge again in May 2021 and started writing this monthly Message from Dean.

On the 4th anniversary of ZIBS in Nov 2022, I took a step back by focusing primarily on strategic issues and significantly reducing the level of my involvement in daily management issues. But my behaviors on many occasions since then have not helped improve my "too demanding boss" reputation. I have been trapped just as the Chinese saying: It is easier to change the rivers and mountains than a person’s nature (江山易改本性难移). But I will not give up, I will continue the effort, as part of my Lunar New Year’s resolutions. I hope that you will see a minimal inconsistency between what I have promised and will practice in this aspect.

My humble request to you: do your fair share to minimize the inconsistencies within ZIBS.

Warm regards,

Ben Shenglin

Editor｜LI Songjiao

Managing Editor｜CHENQI Lisha

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