James Zhonglei Wang is president of the Huayi Brothers Media Corporation, a Chinese entertainment and film production company that he co-founded in 1994. Huayi Brothers recently announced plans to set up a $130 million American subsidiary.
王中磊是华谊兄弟传媒集团的总裁。该集团是中国的一家娱乐和电影制作公司，是王中磊1994年联合创立的。华谊兄弟最近宣布计划出资1.3亿美元设立美国子公司。
Q. Do you remember the first time you became a manager?
问：你还记得自己第一次当经理时的情形吗？
A. I founded the company with my older brother, Wang Zhongjun, in 1994. I was only 24 and I have to admit I was totally unprepared. I didn’t have any experience in operations and management, but my brother asked me to take care of the daily operations of the company.
答：我是1994年和哥哥王中军一起创立这个公司的。当时我才24岁，必须得承认当时我毫无准备。我没有运营和管理方面的任何经验，但是哥哥让我负责公司的日常运营。

Q. That was quite young. How did you make it work?
问：那时你是很年轻。你是怎么做到的？
A. Well, when you start out as a young manager you need a lot of self-confidence [laughs]. But I don’t think age is really an issue, and I was often working with people as young as me. I think maybe I had some natural leadership skills in me because I’d always been looking at problems and finding solutions. But I never wanted to be a manager. I just wanted to be a free man. Even to this day. I deal with a lot of freelancers in my line of work, and I wouldn’t mind being a freelancer myself.
答：呃，如果你很年轻就当上经理，你需要很多自信（大笑）。但我并不觉得年龄是个很大的问题，当时我经常和跟我一样年轻的人一起工作。我想我也许天生有些领导才能，因为我总是盯住问题，寻找解决办法。但我从来都不想当经理。我只想做个自由的人。直到今天也是这样。我的工作要跟很多自由职业者打交道，我本人不介意做个自由职业者。
Q. How has your perspective on leadership changed over time?
问：随着时间推移，你对领导力的看法有哪些改变？
A. When I first became a manager I was involved in every single detail of the work. Now, I see my role as providing continuous support and vision to the team, but I don’t feel I need to be involved in everything.
答：我刚当经理时，参与工作的每个细节。现在，我觉得自己的角色是给团队提供持续不断的支持和视野，但我觉得自己不再需要参与所有的事情。
Q. What have you enjoyed most about leadership?
问：当领导最让你享受的是哪些方面？
A. For me it’s not about power, it’s about the working process and making links within the industry.
答：在我看来，当领导与权力无关，而是一个工作过程，在业内建立联系。
Q. What makes a great leader?
问：好领导需要哪些品质？
A. Three qualities: You need to be honest with your team, you need perseverance, and you need to be decisive. Beyond these, I also think you need to be passionate about what you do. That’s the way I feel about my own job and I do think passion is the secret to success — with also some luck.
答：需要三个品质：对团队诚实；不屈不挠；有决断力。除了这些，我觉得你还需要对工作充满热情。这是我对自己工作的感觉，我确实认为激情是成功的秘诀——也需要一些运气。
Q. Some would say you make your own luck.
问：有人会说，运气是你自己创造的。
A. No matter in which form it comes, it’s still luck.
答：不管运气是怎么来的，它都仍是运气。
Q. How do you resolve professional disagreements with your brother, who is chairman and chief executive of the company?
问：你哥哥是公司的主席和首席执行官，在工作中与哥哥有分歧时你怎么处理？
A. It’s something quite private. Maybe you won’t believe me, but we don’t really have very strong disagreements, which is why we’re able to work so well together. We trust each other, and when we have a slight disagreement we just discuss things and try to convince the other to our views. We both know we have the best interest of the corporation at heart.
答：这是个非常私人的问题。我说出来你可能不信，但我们几乎没有过很大的分歧，所以我们才能合作得这么好。我们彼此信任。我们略有分歧时，会讨论，会试图说服对方。我们都知道我们把公司的最大利益放在第一位。
We are quite different in terms of character. My brother tends to charge forward, even when there are obstacles. I think I do things differently to reach my objective, but we have a very close relationship and we complement each other well in terms of abilities. He is a decisive leader, very good at making strategic decisions; I’m very good at getting things executed and cementing the right team around us.
我们的性格很不同。我哥哥很有冲劲，哪怕有障碍也往前冲。我觉得我实现目标的方法跟他不同，但是我们的关系非常亲密，我们在能力上相得益彰。他是个果断的领导，非常擅于做战略决定；我擅于执行，把正确的团队凝聚在我们周围。
Q. What qualities do you look for in your senior management?
问：你希望自己的高级管理人员有哪些品质？
A. Loyalty is the most important factor for me. To some extent it’s more important than capabilities. Loyalty can have a more influential impact on the overall enterprise than capabilities. It doesn’t mean that the person must stay with you forever — they might only be working for you for a short period of time — but during that time they are completely committed to your company.
答：对我来说，忠诚是最重要的因素。从某种程度上讲，它比能力更重要。忠诚对公司整体的影响比能力更大。这并不是说，他们必须永远和我在一起，他们可能只为我工作一小段时间，但是在这段时间里，他们全心全意为公司服务。
Q. What management differences have you observed betweenChina and the United States?
问：你注意到中美在管理方面有哪些不同？
A. There are significant differences even when companies are in the same field, in particular in the way they manage employees. In China, most companies are managed by their founders, led by an entrepreneurial spirit, while in the U.S. they are likely to be managed by career managers. That means you approach problems differently.
答：即使是同一个行业，中美的公司也有很大不同，特别是在管理员工的方法方面。在中国，大部分公司是由创始人管理，由创业家精神所引导，而在美国，公司很可能是由职业经理人管理。那意味着处理问题的方法会不同。
For example, at Alibaba, Jack Ma, who is a friend, told me he used to try to employ career managers to manage each sector, but in the end he found it was more suitable to the Chinese market that he use the people closer to him that he founded the company with. At Huayi Brothers, we do the same. But I think that if we proceed in the U.S. market, we will be using career managers; we’ll need to employ someone there whose cultural background is similar to their U.S. counterparts.
阿里巴巴的马云是我的朋友。他跟我说过，他曾尝试雇佣职业经理人管理每个部门，但是最后他发现还是用当初跟他一起创业的亲近的人更适合中国市场。华谊兄弟也是这样。但是我觉得如果我们进军美国市场，我们会用职业经理人。我们需要雇佣一些与美国同行文化背景相似的当地人。
Q. There is this notion that it’s very important to “give face” in China. Is that still true?
问：在中国，“给面子”很重要。现在还是这样吗？
A. Well, I think Western C.E.O.s also need to be given face, it’s not just the Chinese ones [laughs]. It’s just a different understanding of the face issue. In China, “giving face” is an expression “to show respect to the other party,” and usually this implies mutual respect for each other. I believe that mutual respect is equally important in Western societies, though the way it is expressed may be different. “Giving face” tends to be a more external expression, where one pays attention to details and requires skills to appropriately express it.
答：呃，我觉得西方的首席执行官们也需要别人给他面子，不只是中国人需要（大笑）。只是对面子问题的理解有所不同。在中国，“给面子”的意思是“尊重对方”，通常这意味着相互尊重。我觉得相互尊重在西方社会也同样重要，虽然它的表达方式可能不同。“给面子”是个更外在的表达方式，就是要留意细节，需要一些技巧来恰当表现。
There is no right or wrong, good or bad; this is just a social and cultural difference between the East and the West. One may need to experience it for themselves in China to fully understand the concept.
这没有对与错，好与坏，只是东西方的社会和文化差别。你可能需要亲自在中国体验一下，才能完全理解这个概念。
Q. What advice would you give to Western executives wanting to work in China?
问：对想在中国工作的西方执行官们你有哪些建议？
A. Stick to your own way. Keep your differences. All you need to acquire is the trust of your boss. When a boss hires someone, what they are looking out for is results. Only by producing results can you build up your boss’s trust in you. So, when interacting with your boss, do not deliberately change your style or method, as long as it is effective for the job hired.
答：坚持你自己的方式。保持你的不同。你只是需要获得老板的信任。当老板雇佣某个人时，他们要的是结果。只有实现结果，你才能获得老板的信任。所以在与老板互动时，不要刻意改变你的风格或做法，只要它对工作有效。
Of course, the basic respect and social etiquette are still necessary. When interacting with colleagues or subordinates, do pay attention to how you communicate with them. Do not distance yourself from others, as one’s popularity can create unexpected opportunities for a smooth career.
当然，基本的尊重和社交礼仪还是需要的。在与同事或下属互动时，确实需要注意交流方式。不要疏远其他人，因为受人欢迎能创造意想不到的机会，帮助事业顺利发展。
Q. What advice would you give to your young self?
问：你对年轻时的自己有什么建议？
A. I’m still young — wrong question.
答：我还年轻——这个问题不对。
Q. O.K., what would you tell someone starting a company?
问：好吧，对那些刚开公司的人你有什么要说的吗？
A. You shouldn’t care too much about failure, but stick to your own path. I’m very glad to see the new generation of entrepreneurs. Those born in the 1990s have grown in self-confidence, because I think for a very long time the Chinese lacked confidence in themselves.
答：不要太在意失败，但是要坚持走自己的路。我非常高兴看到新一代企业家。90后已经有了自信，有很长一段时间我觉得中国人缺乏自信。