Peking University, Nov. 26, 2016: On the evening of November 17, 2016, Zhang Guoyou, director of School of Economics and Management, and professor of Guanghua School of Management, Peking University, was present at Cai Zhai Lecture Hall and gave a keynote speech entitled “the Strategic Thinking of Strategists—Our Future and its Management”. Liu Mingli, deputy dean of Graduate School, hosted the lecture.
First, Professor Zhang Guoyou drew forth the topic—“Strategy and Prediction”, by illustrating the U.S. Presidential Election, and analyzed the uncertainty of political prediction. Then he quoted the interpretation of “strategy” from Ciyuan, that the strategy of war is a decisive maneuver in fighting for frontiers and territories.
Proceeding from different means of acquiring electricity, Professor Zhang analyzed the global problem of electrical energy supply from a strategic perspective. He summarized the connotation of strategy: strategy is a fundamental intention and overall concept put forth by a decision maker based on long-term interests, via which he can make directional prediction, technology pre-selection, position preset, and relationship pre-expectation to form the next periodic development.
The Lecture
At last, Professor Zhang expounded six strategic thinking of strategists. First, strategists should reflect upon plans and objectives of the next period—how to elevate from a normal state to a good state, and to an excellent state ultimately. Second, strategists should estimate the future tendency and its crucial elements, of which three elements are principal: globalization and international competition, high technology and the Internet age, our existence and sustainable development. Third, strategists should ponder over the objective and path of future development. Fourth, strategists should learn to break down targets and carry out future management according to different phases and times. Fifth, strategists should categorize and sort the content of management on a result-oriental basis. Sixth, strategists should face to the future trends to bring the operating system into practice.
Zhang Guoyou
In the course of the lecture, Professor Zhang dwelt upon “strategy” from the perspective of the origin of wars, the tale of “Vision and Artillery” in 19th century among Prussian soldiers, and the theory of “Map-Relationship” of Swiss generals. Analyzing questions from military maneuvers to the socio-economic field, from the strategic thinking Professor Zhang elaborated the three projects of acquiring electricity, the sustainable development of enterprise, and social issues like garbage disposal, allowing the audience to form a clearer understanding of “strategy”.
Written by: Wei Yunqi
Edited by: Xiao Yunyun
