中文翻译：
以色列经理人播下成功的种子
农化领域的国企通过海外并购实现不断增长
谈到入乡随俗，人们会说：“在罗马，就要按照罗马人的方式做事。”那么为什么不把这句话用在中国呢？在中国，也应该按照中国人的方式做事。
以色列籍chen lichtenstein坐在北京一栋国企办公楼的老板办公室里，这正是他所思考的问题。他就职于国内一家领先的国企。
chen lichtenstein担任中国化工农化总公司（以下简称“中农化”）总裁（president）兼ceo。中农化是中国化工集团（以下简称“化工集团”）的战略业务板块之一。lichtenstein先生似乎完全适应了他所处的中国环境。
2011年，中农化完成对全球第七大植保产品公司——以色列马克西姆阿甘公司（以下简称“mai”）的收购合并，成为mai的控股股东。
lichtenstein毕业于斯坦福大学，获得商学院和法学院的双博士学位。他表示自己深受这个新使命的鼓舞：不仅要研究中农化国内下属企业，还要做出投资决策，为研发、分销、制造打下基础。
lichtenstein承认，如果十年前，哪怕是五年前，有人对他说未来的职位会是在现在这里，他一定不会相信，但是现在他充满干劲儿。随着个人思路逐渐成型、理解力不断提高以及信任度逐渐增加，加上农化公司管理层和同事的支持， lichtenstein表示下一步的主要任务就是要抓执行、提愿景。
“现在我所做的就是去了解，与每个人一对一谈话，和管理层及同事充分互动，帮助我加深对国企的理解，并和团队建立更好的关系，”他说道。
他低调的自信来自于过去一年半以来中农化与mai之间有序推进的整合工作，包括研究、设计及执行等方面。
最初lichtenstein作为mai副ceo代表mai领导整合，最近被任命到这个新职位。来到中国，他看到中国人与以色列人之间竟然如此相似。
他说中国人和犹太人之间有一点非常像，那就是两个民族都拥有注重和平的悠久历史和传统文化，以和为贵，思、慧为基。两个民族都希望尽可能通过沟通、对话、促成协议等和平的方式实现进展。
他也说到中国与犹太文化的另一个共同点就是尊重个人、重视家庭。建立在前两点的基础上，第三个共同点则体现在深思熟虑的领导力上。
“我不认为我所代表的文化在中国运作时与中国文化有任何冲突，”他说。
“犹太人基本上一直是少数族裔，因此总能找到与其他文化相处共事的方法。”
lichtenstein认为，中农化作为现代国企充满活力，以创新为基础建立了愿景，以人才的思想和动力作为核心价值观。
白手起家的成长历程就像以色列建国时的情形一样，没有多少土地、水、石油这样的国家资源。
lichtenstein加入mai前曾就职于高盛（伦敦）投行部门，任执行理事，多年在伦敦工作，将执行视为管理能力最重要的元素。
“现在，抓紧时间是重中之重，”他说，“要集中精力落实愿景规划。”
并购交割后，整合还将进一步推进，未来几年将在文化、体系、商业等多方面实现整合。
问到这种主要业务合并中会出现哪些难题，他说挑战总是存在的。但交割后出现的问题并不是中方或以方造成的。
“当人们开始共事时，需要选择一种共同的做事方式，并针对如何解决挑战做出决策。但最重要的是，人们需要公平、透明地做事，”他说。
“人们需要去直面挑战、解决问题，而不是回避或者忽视它们的存在。”
在他看来，化工集团和中农化的模式是独一无二的，因为并不是很多大型国际集团都能够适应并通过以合伙为基础的所有制结构实现蓬勃发展。
“化工集团内部并不是所有企业都是由集团全资控股。另外，化工集团在国内外都有良好的合作方。”他说。
在中国的确存在一些类似的合作关系，但其深度和广度并没有达到化工集团现在实现的水平。
“在很多其他尊龙凯时体育的合作伙伴关系中，别人看不到我在化工集团内部体会到的这样开放的思想，也很难看到像集团这样对国内外工作推进的承诺和能力，”他说。
“这里发生着很多事，”他说，“这里有很多权利下放，也有很多种思考和创造。以我的背景来看，这个工作环境非常好。”
面向那些希望建立跨文化联盟的公司，这位沉着镇定的ceo不愿给出建议，但同意分享一些见解。
从中方来看，似乎中国文化的内涵在于尽量不让对方感到尴尬，以避免双方意见不合，他说。
有时对话会因此而出现中止，因为除非一方陷入不利境地，否则双方很难再找到新的共同点。
他指出，“中方如果能先把坏消息或者不同意见表达出来，这样可能会更好。”
对于外方，他个人的观点是在中国要尽全力行动。在某种程度上，中国就像美国，对于跨国公司来说可不仅仅是“一个新增的市场”。
这位总裁说，外企需要完全融入中国市场，否则就完全不要涉足中国。
“不要把你最优秀的人才留在别的地方。如果想在中国有所成就，必须把最好的调研团队和管理团队放到中国来，并在这里打造领导力。这样才能逐渐从中国走向世界。”
lichtenstein对于中国市场充满热忱，这来自于他对中国高速发展的农业与生命科学板块的观察。
中国农业的关键作用反映在它对社会绝大部分人口的广泛影响上，反过来，这种影响促使中央及地方政府更加关注农民和农田，他说。
此外，中国植保农化产品分销渠道发展尚不充分，这也激起了lichtenstein对中国市场的兴趣。在相对发达的市场上， 主要公司通过与少数分销商达成半控制关系已经掌握了农民70%~80%的支出。
他指出，在中国即使前几大公司也仅控制了很少的市场份额，分销渠道很分散。
而中国领先国企这样的保护伞及强有力的战略支持带给了lichtenstein和他的团队明确的方向、相关的准入、多种联盟以及对中国市场的了解——如何打造商业价值，这是“建立领先国际企业”愿景中的第一步。
“成为国内市场领先企业”的目标并不是说只追求规模做大，同时也要逐步创新，他说。他们也对全球发展充满期待。
“我们希望通过mai的网络、利用我们在中国开发的模式来提升国际地位，”他说，“目标是要结合各方面努力，在中国建立可在其他地区复制的企业。”
为实现该目标，lichtenstein表示第一步在于他们的个体客户——农民和分销商。
“其他国际公司认为受益方是农作物和植物，所以它们更注重植物抗病，但我们以人为本，关注客户，以客户为师，与客户共事，而且我们开发符合这种关系的相关模式，”他说。
“我们的方向是要更加符合国内消费者实际需求。在落实中我们会进行测试，”他说。
问答：
问：百忙之中你周末的时间是怎么安排的？
答：我尽量把时间留给家人，或者定向跑步，看电影，外出吃饭。周末对补充能量、整理思绪来说起很重要的作用。
你有什么兴趣爱好？
定向跑步，要徒步跨省，还要带着地图找方向。我也喜欢帆船和滑雪。
你最喜欢的一句话是什么？为什么？
我最喜欢斯坦福商学院的院训““改变生活。改变机构。改变世界” 。
你最近在看什么书？
于丹的《孔子》。
你怎样看待完美的幸福？
我认为这不存在。
你认为朋友最重要的是什么？
真实活出自我，诚恳而不做作，就像友情开始的时候那样一直走下去。
你最珍视的是什么？
我的妻子和孩子。小时候我失去了母亲，所以我认为家庭是最宝贵的。
中国有哪些地方让你印象深刻想去探索但还没有去过？
重庆武隆。
与初次见面的中国商界人士打破僵局、进行交流的最好方式是什么？
倾听。关心对方所讲，进行反射式谈话，立场不要太强硬。找到共同的经历或者价值观、文化观。如果可以的话一起吃饭交流。
请用三个词概括你对中国商界人士的印象。
全盘衡量，克制，耐心。
英文原文
soe agrochemical corp grows in fertile company of foreign merger
they say when in rome, do as the romans do. why not apply this saying in china and, when there, do as the chinese do?
that is certainly what israeli chen lichtenstein had in mind as he sat in his beijing office at the headquarters of one of the country's leading state-owned companies.
that is why lichtenstein, president and chief executive officer of china national agrochmical corp (cnac), a strategic business division of chemchina, also known as china national chemical corp, seems perfectly comfortable in the almost entirely chinese environment within which he operates.
in 2011, cnac completed a merger transaction with mai, israeli-headquartered makhteshim agan industries, the world's seventh largest crop-chemicals company, through which cnac became mai's controlling shareholder.
the stanford university doctoral degree holder of both the graduate school of business and the school of law, said he is inspired by his new mission, which includes the study of cnac's chinese subsidiaries, making investment decisions and building up research and development, distribution and manufacturing foundations.
lichtenstein admitted that 10 or even five years ago, if one were to predict his present position, he would not believe it. yet now, as his thinking has evolved and his level of understanding and trust increased, alongside the support received from cnac management and colleagues alike, he said the ability to execute jobs and the vision of what needs to be done motivates him enormously.
"what i am doing is learning, doing one-on-one interviews and interacting a lot with management and other colleagues, which helps me see and understand the soe (state-owned-enterprise) and better connect with my team," he said.
his understated confidence comes from the orderly integration process that cnac and mai ran in the past 18 months - a process that emerged from study to design and execution.
during this period, which resulted in his recent appointment, lichtenstein led the integration on behalf of mai, being mai's deputy ceo. he realized the surprising similarity between the people of china and israel.
he said one of the similarities between china and the israeli people is the long tradition and heritage based on thinking, wisdom and, to an extent, a peaceful way of achieving progress through communication, dialogue and the facilitation of agreement.
respecting individuals and family values serves as another connection between chinese and jewish cultures, he said. a third common point, which builds upon the others, is thoughtful leadership.
"i do not feel i am representing a culture that is conflicting with the chinese culture when operating in china," he said.
"the jewish people have almost always been a minority, and found ways to work with other cultures."
the fact that cnac is acting as a modern soe, with a vision based on innovation, and identifying as core values the thinking and energy of talented people, is very much alive, he said.
building something from basic foundations is similar to the creation of israel, which started things without much in the way of national resources such as land, water and oil.
the former executive director of investment banking at the goldman sachs group inc, who, before joining mai, worked for years in london, prioritizes execution over other elements of management.
"the focus now is not to lose time," he said. "it is centered on acting and implementing our vision and plan."
the integration will continue following the transaction. it will consist of their culture, systems, commercial and other aspects, in the coming years.
asked about difficulties faced in conducting major business transactions like this, he said there are always challenges. but such post-transaction issues are neither down to the chinese nor to the israelis.
"when people start working together, they need to choose one way of doing things and take decisions about how to address challenges. but most importantly, they need to do so in a fair and transparent way," he said.
"one needs to address the challenges, not avoid or disregard them."
in his view, chemchina and cnac are unique in their approach, because not many large global groups can accommodate and thrive through partnership-based ownership structures.
"not all entities within chemchina are wholly owned by the group. chemchina has well-established partners in china and globally," he said.
such partnerships sometimes exist in china, yet not on the scale and significance that chemchina succeeded in creating.
"in many cases, one doesn't see such open-mindedness, commitment and ability to progress things in china and globally as i found in this group," he said.
"a lot is going on here," he added. "there is much empowerment, thinking and creativity. with my background, it is a remarkable setting to operate in."
the composed ceo was reluctant to give advice but agreed to offer brief insights for the benefit of other companies who want to forge alliances between different cultures.
from the chinese side, it seems the chinese culture aims to save the other side from facing embarrassment, hence tends to avoid manifesting disagreement, he said.
later on the dialogue sometimes comes to a halt because there is no easy way of getting both sides to reach a new common ground without someone being placed in a less comfortable position.
"it may be better for the chinese side to aim to communicate bad news or disagreement early," he said.
for the non-chinese side, his personal view is that one needs to play one's best act in china. the country, to some extent like the us, cannot be regarded as "one additional market" for multinationals.
one either wants to get immersed in this market or prefer to stay out altogether, said the president.
"don't keep your best people elsewhere. if you want to play well in china, you have to play your best talent in terms of research and management - and create leadership - that can, over time, emanate from china and be brought out to the world," he said.
lichtenstein's passion for the chinese market comes as a result of his observation of the rapidly growing agriculture and life science sectors in the country.
the key role of agriculture in china is underlined by the sheer number of people it affects. that drives the significance attached to farmers and farms by central and local government, he said.
the underdeveloped crop-chemicals distribution channels also attract his interest. in the more developed markets, the top players already control 70 to 80 percent of farmer spending, via semi-captive relationships with a small number of distributors.
yet in china, even the leading players have a relatively small market share and distribution channels are fragmented, he said.
the strong strategic support of a leading chinese soe provides lichtenstein and his team direction, access and alliances, as well as knowledge about how to build business value in china, as a first step in the vision to develop a leading global enterprise.
the goal of being a leading player in the domestic market is not meant to be achieved only by size but also by gradually driving innovation, he said. they also have high expectations, globally.
"we aim to grow our position internationally through mai's network, using approaches we develop in china," he said. "the goal is to combine all the efforts and create something in china that can be projected elsewhere."
to achieve the goal, lichtenstein said the first task is to start with individual customers - the farmers and distributors themselves.
"unlike other global peers, who perceive the beneficiaries of their actions as crops and plants and their actions as fighting plant disease, an object to be taken care of, we focus on our customers as human beings in their vicinity, someone to learn from and work with. we develop approaches that fit such a relationship," he said.
"we aim to build something that is more consistent with the actual needs of customers in china. this is the direction. the test is in our execution of that plan."
