The School Needs to Foster a Diversified Development Ecosystem in Pursuit of Excellence
To become an outstanding school, the presence of numerous "red flowers" is undoubtedly essential, but an abundance of excellent "green leaves" is equally indispensable. Without a strong foundation of outstanding "green leaves," "red flowers" are difficult to cultivate and cannot remain vibrant for long.
From the perspective of talent standards, "red flowers" refer to those who can address the most critical challenges. However, what qualifies as a "red flower" at the university level may differ from what is considered a "red flower" within the school. In fact, individuals regarded as "green leaves" by the university may well be "red flowers" in the context of the school. Moreover, the roles of "red flowers" and "green leaves" may shift with the evolution of their respective values. Their relationship is not one of hierarchy or subordination, but rather a dynamic and non-linear ecosystem where transformation between roles is possible. A school may achieve high KPI ratings by temporarily introducing a group of "red flowers," but only a school where "red flowers" and "green leaves" support each other and collectively create a thriving and upward-moving ecosystem—thus fostering the continuous growth and long-lasting vitality of various types of "red flowers"—can truly be called an excellent school.
Under the university’s current evaluation system, there are two main groups of people often regarded as “green leaves”: one consists of tenured associate professors who find it difficult to rise to the level of top-tier talent, and the other includes administrative support staff. In my view, whether the School of Management can become a truly excellent institution depends largely on how well we can harness the value of these “green leaves” and whether we can transform them into different types of “red flowers.”
Those who join the School as faculty members are, by the standards at the time of hiring, all excellent—at the very least, fully qualified. However, due to factors such as aging, individual strengths, evolving academic evaluation standards, and limited availability of higher academic titles, many faculty members in our School may ultimately remain at the associate professor level. This may also be the case for many of the newly recruited tenure-track faculty in the future. If we rely on a rigid standard that evaluates academic achievement solely by top journal publications, national research grants, and awards, these individuals may not be considered “red flowers.” Yet, they possess distinct strengths in areas such as teaching, student development, resource integration, and community engagement. When these strengths are fully utilized, they can significantly contribute to the School’s development. Just consider how many of our most popular faculty in MBA, EMBA, MEM, and industry-academia integration programs are associate professors—this alone illustrates the point. And if we imagine what the School would look like without those programs, the importance of these contributions becomes even more evident.
The same principle applies to our administrative support staff. Take leading business schools known for cultivating elite business talent as examples: at the National University of Singapore, the ratio of faculty to administrative staff is roughly 1:1; at Stanford University, about 1:2; and at Harvard Business School, around 1:3. It is precisely because of the presence of a large number of outstanding administrative professionals that top faculty can focus their energy on innovation and dedicate themselves to their areas of greatest expertise—even to the point of obsession. A movie where everyone is the main character is likely to be a mess, just as a team where everyone insists on being a star may end up losing the game. This is the power of organization. Unlike schools that rely on the exceptional performance of a few individuals or teams to showcase their strength, our School of Management must place greater emphasis on collectivism and the construction of a thriving ecosystem.
What we need to do is fully unlock and unleash the potential and value of these "green leaves" by providing diverse pathways for contribution and mechanisms of recognition, so that they, too, can become the School’s shining "red flowers." For the many associate professors, we must acknowledge their professional expertise and contributions. Why has the state emphasized breaking the “five-only” standards (i.e., valuing only papers, titles, academic ranks, degrees, and awards)? It is not because these five areas are unimportant—they are valid forms of value measurement, but they are not value itself. At our School, breaking the “five-only” standards must start with these individuals: those recognized by industry could be named Industry Distinguished Professors; those favored by MBA students could be recognized as Star Teachers; those successful in industry-academia integration projects could receive high financial rewards. Similarly, we must recognize the expertise and contributions of our administrative staff. We should establish clear professional tiers, define role contributions, and offer differentiated compensation, job classifications, and administrative authority. As long as someone has a unique skill that contributes to the development of the School, we must ensure they receive the recognition and reward they deserve. One of the key reasons for advancing the project-based organizational model at the School is precisely this.
As the old saying goes, “It takes three stakes to support a fence, and three helpers to make a hero.” "Red flowers" and "green leaves" are two sides of the same coin—how we classify them depends on the perspective we take. It is the harmonious interaction between the two that drives the development of the School. If too much attention and too many resources are concentrated on a particular type of "red flower," it creates an imbalance, and this imbalance can pose risks to the School’s development and hinder its growth.
Ultimately, we must strive for fairness in terms of opportunities, rights, and rules, and provide each member of the School with the space best suited for realizing their value. This will enable everyone to excel in their respective strengths and become a shining "red flower" in their own domain. Such fairness is, in fact, a form of true efficiency. A single blossom does not make a spring; only when a hundred flowers bloom together can the garden truly flourish. The School of Management should not operate by the law of the jungle.
