In the post-pandemic era, how can management adapt and stimulate vitality? In the face of ever-changing market conditions, how can companies clarify strategies, determine directions, optimize teams, and give full play to the individual capabilities of employees? Confronted with operational pressures, should they promptly adjust their strategy or persist against the odds?

In response to these common challenges and puzzles in enterprise management and development, a three-month-long corporate executive training camp was opened on August 12 at the Students Activity Center of Xi’an Eurasia University. The 23 participants of this training camp include entrepreneurs, senior executives, and investors. However, they share a common identity: all are alumni who graduated from Xi’an Eurasia University many years ago.

In the training camp, industry experts openly shared their full experience, practical case studies were demonstrated comprehensively, channel resources were shared within the community, and business studies were applied precisely. The Xi’an Eurasia Mini MBA Alumni Enterprise Training Camp offers a multi-module course on strategic management and organizational culture, as well as activities such as visits to leading companies, desert trekking challenges, etc., which help alumni to gain insights into industry trends, share their secrets for growth, rebuild their own “competitive barriers,” and cultivate a new generation of excellent managers.

How Do I succeed? Chairman Hu Jianbo Discusses Organizational Strategies with Alumni

To leaders, strategy is the real test of leadership. The first lecture at the camp opening on August 12 focused on “Strategic Management and Planning.” In a relaxed, active three-hour lecture, Professor Hu Jianbo, founder and chairman of Xi’an Eurasia University, made an in-depth exposition of the essence of organizations, the importance of strategies to organizations, and how to form values. He detailed answers to practical problems like “How to choose and enter new segments; how to transform or sustain growth; how to integrate strategic management into business operations; how to implement key strategic control points,” providing guidance for alumni entrepreneurs to see around corners and control the course in their future management practices.

“Ask me not how to succeed, but ask me how to contribute.” When talking about the shaping of organizational mission, vision, and values, Hu Jianbo drew upon over 30 years of management experience, combined with advanced domestic and international management ideas, and used the 28-year development history of Xi’an Eurasia University as an example. He pointed out that contribution is about putting customer needs first and creating more value, describing it as a long-term, challenging practice and control. From the four aspects of adaptive, compliance, strategic, and competitive qualities, combined with the analysis of many well-known corporate management cases, he explained the fundamental angles and methods for enhancing organizational core competitiveness, helping alumni understand how an organizational team can quickly transition from “amateur” to “professional.”

After the course, Hu Jianbo sat with the participants and started a discussion based on the topic of “Three Hypotheses of the Business Theory Based on Your Company.” He further clarified that Xi’an Eurasia University will always support open education, advocate lifelong learning, and uphold the principle of keeping knowledge updated. The university will also continue to cultivate more outstanding management talents for society and provide more practical assistance for the growth and development of over 140,000 alumni.

“The chairman’s ‘Corporate Strategic Management’ course highlighted the keen insight into market trends and the rational allocation of resources. It is crucial to formulate a clear long-term vision and set explicit goals in a competitive business environment. Many success cases and practical tips provided me with valuable guidance,” said Zhang Shinan, General Manager of Shaanxi Yukong Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. and alumnus from the class of 2017. He further remarked that this learning experience reinforced his determination to pursue excellence in the business field.

Corporate Management, Brand Marketing, Data Analysis... Bigwigs Provide Guidance

The courses throughout August 13 were filled with highlights, including case analyses of brand building and marketing innovation, innovative management practices, and extraction of scientific value from data for business applications.

Innovation is always the winning weapon for enterprise development. Chen Weijing, a researcher from the Quality Management Institute at Xi’an Eurasia University, and Ma Jun, a teacher from the School of Business Administration, combined prominent domestic and international cases to analyze innovative ideas from multiple dimensions such as strategy, organization, resources, culture, etc. These analyses provided a lucid and understandable explanation of practical approaches to organizational innovation management in aspects of products, processes, services, and business models, enabling the participating alumni entrepreneurs to forge ahead boldly.

Suo Qiang from the School of Business Administration gave a lecture on “Branding and Marketing Innovation — Decoding Brand Building,” in which he systematically presented content about brand value, brand assets, and the implementation of corporate brand construction. The detailed elaboration from brand diagnosis to maintenance and enhancement provided solid theoretical support for the building of alumni enterprises’ brands.

How to move from data to value? Associate Professor Wu Rui, Executive Dean of the School of Business Administration, shared insights into data science in business with the participating alumni. Through interactive games, Wu Rui led the participants to experience and understand the practical application of data, to analyze and study data scientifically, and to use data to serve and support business scenarios, ultimately achieving greater growth.

Taking “The Six Boxes of Organizational Governance” as the topic, Heng Xi, a teacher from the School of Business Administration, drew a “knowledge tree” of corporate organizational management in the digital age for the alumni, helping them further explore the essence of corporate management and grasp the fundamental methods and thinking of corporate operation. During the class, Hu Jianbo, who was also learning with the alumni, stood up to share more cases of organizational management, sparking a fervor among the participants to share their management experiences and insights.

“There are many takeaways in the two-day course that need to be comprehended gradually in practice.” As night fell, the lights in the training room remained bright. The participants were still engaging in heated discussions about the content of the training with the instructors, reviewing their learnings, and exchanging their gains and losses in practice.

In Ice-Breaking Activities Laced with Xi’an Eurasia Elements, Alumni Revisit Youthful Memories of Their Alma Mater

The ice-breaking activities on the morning of August 12, which include “Eurasian Puzzle of Pluralitas-in-Unitatem,” “Da Vinci Codes,” and “60-second Race,” helped the alumni quickly integrate into the team in a joyful and relaxed atmosphere and enhanced their teamwork, judgment, and cohesion.

Xu Jiabiao, General Manager of Shaanxi Jiaxiaobao Information Technology Co, Ltd. and alumnus from the class of 2011, was taken back to his first days on campus by the university-related elements infused into the activities—the ponds, trees, and cicadas of the bungalows; the steamed bun and tasty dishes at the staff canteen; the meadow of Lover’s Slope... Wherever the gaze falls, it lands on remembrances. “Before I know it, my alma mater has grown and expanded, and my youthful days are no more. I am fortunate to be able to return here for self-improvement and learning again,” he said. Through two days of study, Xu Jiabiao acquired a comprehensive understanding of the aspects that govern businesses known as “the three upper paths”: mission, values, and vision, which serve to consolidate collective thinking, and “the three lower paths”: organization, talent, and KPI. Furthermore, he explored a plethora of tools and actual case studies in data science that, combined with his ongoing Douyin local life project, furnished him with insights into the key and independent factors of red and blue data, the intricate comparisons involving exposure and viewing data, as well as the diverse techniques of sampling.

The participants shared that they have gained lifelong benefits from the professional capabilities, lifelong learning abilities, and critical thinking acquired at Xi’an Eurasia University. The school motto of “Pluralitas in unitatem” has been etched into their hearts, enabling them to maintain independence and inclusiveness in their thinking. They felt the continuity in personal, enterprise, and alma mater’s development and hope to continue learning and sharing good resources, ideas, concepts, and philosophies in the rapidly changing environment of the university.

As a higher education institution specialized in business education, Xi’an Eurasia University continues to contribute values and assist enterprises founded by alumni to grow and develop. The Mini MBA Alumni Enterprise Training Camp hopes to be the starting point for the career development of the alumni, helping more alumni enterprises to connect and generate endless wisdom and strategies on this platform, thus advancing toward the fast lane of development and upgrade.

It is understood that from August 20 to October 22, the camp will also arrange human resources management courses, visits to leading companies, a desert trekking challenge, and so forth. Please stay tuned!

Alumni Testimonials

Xia Weiwei, General Manager of Xi’an Niulian Business Operations Management Co., Ltd. and 2010 alumnus: Running a business is a systematic process, which includes brand operation, human resources management, product competitiveness, continuous innovation, technology upgrades, and many more. Any mistake in any of these aspects can lead to failure. Therefore, it is crucial to have a long-term vision and mindset, and use professional methods to avoid investment risks.

Pan Wenzhen, General Manager of Shaanxi Jilai’en Industry Co., Ltd. and 2004 alumna: Regardless of the company’s size, it’s crucial to establish a streamlined process. Only then can you discover the optimal protocols that align with your unique business needs in an ever-evolving landscape. This framework can also pave the way towards cost reduction and efficiency enhancement. When making a decision, it helps to visualize the facts rather than relying on instinct or sheer chance. I’m grateful that I learned about the more profound roles and value of data at the beginning of setting up my business.

Luo Youzhi, Director of Shaanxi Xingyuhuan Enterprise Management Consulting Co., Ltd. and 2017 alumnus: Brand, IP, innovation management, organizational culture, data value... This course gave me a more comprehensive and systematic understanding of those things, along with the mission, vision, and values of a company. I found myself in a top-down, systematic training course. Suddenly, I grasped the essence of the words “integration” and “completeness”. If you want to do well, you must first elevate your own inner thinking, then integrate and implement it, and carry an intangible sense of mission while serving society.

Ma Yuanfu, General Manager of Shaanxi Ruitai Kitchen Co., Ltd. and 2019 alumnus: Through the course study, I gradually understood how to overtake on curves in a homogeneous competitive scenario, how to empower managers to find the right direction amid chaos and compromises, and how to design good processes so as to reduce unnecessary high-cost work and spend more time considering the company’s development direction.

Han Rong, Design Director of Shaanxi Xincai Architectural Engineering Co., Ltd. and 2015 alumnus: Rather than blindly pursuing high-speed growth and hiring more staff, it is worth establishing specialized small teams, continuously learning and improving integrated capabilities such as design, construction management, cost control, quality assurance, soft outfit and art planning, and continuously serving customers. It’s about setting up quality standards and a process management system... I am grateful to my teachers and fellow alumni for patiently addressing my doubts one by one. I eagerly anticipate the next edition of the Mini MBA program.”