Meng Donghai: A man for whom time differences no longer exist…
Today,
we're talking about our very own "Phileas Fogg".
While he has lost count of how many countries he has visited,
his phone records show that,
he travels an astonishing 200,000 kilometers a year.
Chapter 1 Watching the world go round
"Mr. Meng, we've finished discussing the project. Please sign here…"
"The client's already here. Meeting room four at 10:30…"
"Here's a fax from Iraq for you…"
"We need to send two people to Pakistan…"
People are constantly popping their head round the door of the third-floor office of the Shanghai Electric Group building. In the corner sits a young man directing the activity with ease.
The desk on the phone rings again. The man answers the phone while gesturing to a young man who has just come through the door to wait.
"Got it. I'll send the plan to Panama right away…" As soon as he hangs up, another phone on the desk starts ringing. He smiles, picks it up and listens for a moment, before saying sternly, "Tell Dubai that we've got to do it according to China's rules…"
This calm, stable young leader is named Meng Donghai. As the Chief Economic Manager and the Business Department Head of Shanghai Electric Power Station Engineering Company, Meng is in charge of a team of more than 60 people, setting the strategy for the company in more than thirty countries.
When most people use their phones, their most common activity is checking social media, playing games or shopping online. But when Meng uses his phone, his most common activity is checking the world clock.
It is often the last thing he checks before going to sleep at night and the first thing he looks at after waking up in the morning.
Which countries are at work at the moment? Which ones have finished for the day? He needs to know who is working, since he is responsible for giving orders in thirty countries around the globe. Then, depending on what they report to him, he needs to provide feedback and further instruction.
"In my team, one half is working while the other half is asleep. We truly are a team working 24/7. That means my phone has to be at the ready 24 hours a day, every day of the year too," Meng laughs.
Chapter 2 An engineering graduate dives into the world of sales
Meng Donghai joined the Shanghai Turbine Works in 2004. At the time, he explicitly said that he wanted to work in the sales department rather than the technical section.
"Sales? You have to be technically competent if you want to be a salesman. Who joins and goes straight to sales?" The leader's eyes were clearly questioning. Later, after passing multiple interview stages, people discovered that there was something extraordinary about this young man. "So, I thought, let's give it a go," said the leader in a wait-and-see tone of voice.
As such, the sales department took on this confident, youthful man. Within a year, he had learned all the process and techniques for product sales. It was not long before he was "stolen" by a department higher up in the group.
Meng was still on his honeymoon in the fall of 2007 when the company sent him to Indonesia to act as the business manager of the Princess Port project. Everything was unfamiliar to him in this foreign land.
Before dawn each day, the call to prayer rang through the air outside his window. Everything here was a blank page. He had to start from scratch and do everything himself: cook dinner, rent an apartment, set up the office, and establish relationships with the local government agencies. He stayed up all night writing materials and carrying out negotiations. This work would get Shanghai Electric's first overseas EPC turnkey project off the ground.
People say that engineering sales is hard labor, and international sales is also hard labor, but in another language. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth.
Meng is a classic engineering graduate, but faced with all the different disciplines involved in an engineering project, he felt like his studies were just a drop in a vast ocean. He had to learn about construction, installation, project management, law, finance and religion, as well as the local culture and customs of where he was living.
Not to mention all the soft skills that were needed, like the ability to communicate with strangers. How do you win a stranger's trust in the shortest amount of time? How do you let people know about Shanghai Electric and get the project owner to recognize that the company offers the best goods at affordable prices? These are skills you can only learn on the job.
Meng worked as the project's assistant manager and business manager for three years. Over the years, he learned how to get used to the complexities of overseas projects and how to talk in a variety of business contexts. He was soaring like an eagle, with an ever-increasing wing span…
Chapter 3 Knocking on doors and making an impression
As Meng keenly observed, the launch of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor was an opportunity not to be missed. After careful analysis and screening, he finally settled on the Thar Coalfield Block-I Integrated Coal Power Project in Sindh, Pakistan.
By convention, the government hands such projects to central enterprises. Shanghai Electric had never carried out a project in this emerging market before. Meng spent days and nights thinking about how to play a part.
At the time, all China-Pakistan Economic Corridor projects were BOT (build-operate-transfer) projects. The principal asked the company to be both project developer and investor (i.e. to act as the general contractor and purchaser).
To win the project, Meng led his team on a learning journey. The team made repeated visits to government departments in both countries, collected information on government policies, and met technology experts to gain firsthand knowledge. They also discussed legal and tax issues with lawyers and accountants. To learn about successful case studies, Meng even paid visits to competitors.
After that, Meng paid another visit to the government officials in China and Pakistan to impress upon them Shanghai Electric's professionalism, confidence and sincerity.
Most things are easier said than done, and some things are much easier said than done. There was the time, for instance, when Meng was paying a visit to a Pakistani official. During each of the previous dozens of visits, the official had found a way to avoid meeting. What could he do? Since he could not meet his intended interlocutor, instead, he talked to the official's assistant, secretary, colleague and even the office clerk to won himself widespread support. After ten days, the official was finally convinced of Meng's sincerity and agreed to meet him in person. Later, the official said, "I was impressed by the perseverance that you show as Chinese people."
Work is always difficult and full of setbacks. But eventually, it leads to success, bringing with it joy and encouragement. On April 20, 2015, Chairman Xi Jinping visited Pakistan, and, alongside the then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, witnessed Shanghai Electric signing the project agreement with the principal.
Chapter 4 How to make friends and influence policy
In 2016, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor was picking up steam, buoyed by the Belt and Road Initiative. Chinese general contractors were popping up in Pakistan like bamboo shoots after the rain. Even so, US competitors were advising Pakistan's energy authorities that China's power equipment wasn't suitable for Pakistan's coal.
To get the local power plants to use their products, they also suggested that the government provide big subsidies. At that time, this was even written into Pakistan's national energy policy documents. Most of the local energy customers were private businesses who were eying up the easily-obtainable government subsidies with excitement. This left Shanghai Electric with very little room to maneuver.
"How can we break into the Pakistan market?" Meng kept asking himself during this difficult time. But just when he was at his wit's end, Shanghai Electric's value-for-money offer turned the head of a large Pakistani company. To get the contract signed, Meng specially invited the company's executives to Karachi for the final negotiations.
With the sign-off done, the two sides shook hands for the camera and decided the date of the official signing ceremony. Everything was going smoothly. Then, just a few hours later, the principal reneged on the deal. When the message came through, everyone was shocked. The thing that "killed" it was nothing else than the government subsidies.
Early the next day, Meng skipped breakfast and called everyone together to review the situation. It was agreed that unless the subsidies failed, Shanghai Electric had no way back into the game.
"So, let the subsidies fail," Meng laughed. After that, the team changed their market strategy. They focused on two things: creating a positive brand image for Shanghai Electric, and making as many friends as possible by using every opportunity to promote the company. Technical officials in Pakistan were to be won over one by one. The irrational subsidy policy was to be criticized at every step.
Once, during a meeting with the Pakistan Prime Minister, Meng directly and frankly challenged the discriminative nature of the energy subsidy and noted how it ran contrary to China and Pakistan's historical friendship. After the meeting, one of the officers in the Prime Minister's office smiled at Meng and said, "Meng, thanks to your talent for PR, we're bound to end up fans of Shanghai Electric".
The opportunity finally came at the start of 2017. Pakistan announced that it was to update its national energy policy and that it would hold a series of consultations. Shanghai Electric was invited to take part as one of the top Chinese energy companies recognized by the Pakistan government. "It was the beginning of the turnaround," said Meng. Everyone was happy.
Meng and a few of his colleagues shut themselves in their hotel, deployed all the resources they had, and began to hammer away at their task. After three days and nights of work, they had written an English language letter of advice to be delivered to the Pakistani government.
On July 27, 2017, Pakistan announced its new national energy policy. The new policy not only abolished the huge special subsidies for US businesses, but also incorporated the energy development recommendations submitted by Meng's team. What was more, a dozen parts of the policy directly quoted the original letter of advice. The roll-out of the new policy enables Shanghai Electric to access new markets in Pakistan and build a solid foundation for the Belt and Road Initiative.
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