Essay07

topwayer

Describe a failure and how you dealt with it. (Discuss a non-academic personal failure. In what way were you disappointed in yourself? What did you learn from the experience? (Limit 500 words) Columbia)

PCG of MIB China lost US $400,000 on low-end PCs in a two-month period in early 1998, partly due to my erroneous forecasts. The mishap cost MIB a bundle, but I drew lessons from the failure and consequently saved the company from another potentially catastrophic price war.

1997 was a good year for MIB China as its share of China's PC market increased by 30%. It was also a good year for me personally. I won recognition, honor, new-found confidence as well as monetary reward. Unfortunately there was a downside to the success. I got carried away and became over-confident and insensitive. In my capacity as the chief of channel management, I was supposed to submit bi-monthly forecast to the product department, who would then order products from world-wide plants according to my estimates.

I failed to foresee the effect of dramatic changes in the PC market. Taking advantage of the fallen price of components and newly acquired technology and marketing know-how, local Chinese PC vendors began to compete with foreign vendors with unprecedented vigor, especially in low-end PC market. This caught us off guard. The government downsizing, which caused the demise of a third of the ministries, only made things worse, as many large accounts were eliminated.

My forecast of low-end PC sales for April was 25% higher than the actual demand.

It was this debacle that made me understand that a senior business manager should never be content with and confined with management skills and business savvy per se. He or she should have a broader vision over the macro business environment. In other words, he should be keenly aware of events beyond his control and be prepared for their effect on his line of business. Businessmen are like sailors who navigate ocean vessels. A little bit of caution always serves you well. Perils could be just lurking when you think you are on a Titanic in tranquil waters.

I now pay much more attention to statistical analyses of market changes. Meanwhile, I also watch closely for political and economic events that may pertain to our business. I collect the sales reports from several of my distributors every three days and analyze the demand curves, price trend and the competitor's moves. I have been spending significantly more time communicating with distributors and end users in my efforts to understand their needs and concerns. These efforts have paid off.

With accurate forecasts and forceful persuasion, I recently prevented PCG from engaging in a damaging price war with other major vendors. In May, some major players on China's PC market, including MIB, started a campaign to sell home computers with non-Intel CPUs. On the basis of market research, I sensed that the market was not ready yet for non-Intel CPUs, and such a campaign would be ill-fated. Accordingly, I lowered my forecast to the normal level for June. I was right. Soon, low demand triggered another price war, out of which MIB China emerged unscathed. Consequently, I received another achievement award in recognition of my sound judgment and contribution to the loss prevention. My colleagues jokingly termed this award the Fastest Recovery Award.


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