Red Eagle & Blue Whale Training Camp | Rooted in Poetic Spirit, Forged by Professionalism — From Organizational Hidden Curves to Engineering Practical
July 22, 2025, 09:04:00
“With sincerity as the foundation, and unremitting effort as the craft, wise builders shape cities and fulfill missions.” As the original vow under the red wall still echoes, and Su Dongpo’s resilient philosophy of “facing mist and rain with a simple cape” lingers in the heart, participants of Jianjing Consulting’s Red Eagle & Blue Whale Training Camp stepped into the classroom. The courses led by Xiang Bing, General Manager of Jianjing Consulting, and Wang Xiaohong, Professor-level Senior Engineer, transformed these ideals and spirits into professional strength — bridging organizational management insights with engineering practice wisdom, this three-dimensional growth journey added depth to their professional development, grounding aspirations in actionable skills.
General Manager Xiang Bing opened the course with a metaphor: “Enterprises are living organisms.” He revealed the underlying logic of sustainable development: behind every visible growth curve (business scale, market share) lies a supporting “hidden curve” (organizational capabilities, cultural accumulation). Citing examples like Amazon and Microsoft, he illustrated the hidden curve’s value: when Amazon’s online bookstore business peaked, its AWS cloud computing emerged as a second growth engine; when Microsoft’s Windows growth slowed, its cloud services redefined the industry. “These enterprises thrived because their hidden curves — organizational capabilities — evolved ahead of market changes.”
For Jianjing Consulting, this hidden curve is equally evident. From a small team of dozens in 2003 to a multi-disciplinary consulting firm today, its organizational structure expanded from a simple “Finance + Administration” setup to include specialized departments like Human Resources, Digital Center, and Chief Engineer’s Office. From “focusing solely on execution” to establishing a system of six strategic pillars, mission, vision, and values, “every extension of this hidden curve marks a qualitative leap in organizational strength.”
In his lecture, General Manager Xiang Bing analyzed two growth strategies: “capital-driven rapid expansion” vs. “organization-driven steady growth.” He cited a Zhejiang consulting firm that expanded rapidly via capital, reaching peak scale but collapsing when capital withdrew — revenue fell 50%, and rankings plummeted — due to weak organizational capabilities and a lack of cultural foundation. “Capital is a double-edged sword. It fuels explosive growth but cannot replace an organization’s endogenous power.”
In contrast, Feihe Dairy’s success exemplified “slow is fast” long-termism: controlling milk source quality and establishing a breast milk research institute to refine nutritional formulas. Though initial investments were heavy and cycles long, this built irreplaceable competitiveness. “Jianjing’s benchmark projects — like Yiwu International Trade City and Hangzhou Metro — followed this model. From sporadic services to deep engagement, growth stemmed not from capital but from the team’s accumulated expertise and organizational credibility.” He emphasized: “In market fluctuations, the true winners are enterprises sustained by organizational resilience.”
Analyzing the hidden curve’s composition, General Manager Xiang Bing proposed a “trinity” framework for organizational building: “cultural leadership, talent advantages, and management mechanisms.”
Cultural Leadership
Citing Amazon’s “customer obsession” and Alibaba’s “New Six Values,” he noted that clear missions unify teams. Jianjing’s “craftsmanship culture,” honed through early projects, embodies its core value: “When employees embrace ‘creating unique value for clients and employees,’ they exceed duties — this is culture’s invisible power.”
Talent Advantages
Through a “talent inventory” system, Jianjing matches people to roles, evaluating not just hard metrics (e.g., certifications) but soft skills (structured thinking, client-centricity) demonstrated in projects. “Our internal course-sharing program — where department leads become lecturers — codifies experience and cultivates talent pipelines.”
Management Mechanisms
Large projects adopt a “leadership group + working group + headquarters” hierarchy, paired with “regular meetings + digital platforms,” to resolve cross-stakeholder coordination issues. “Mechanisms ensure efficiency even in complex scenarios.”
To nurture the hidden curve, General Manager Xiang Bing outlined four practical principles:
- Forward Planning: Lay groundwork for new businesses while the first growth curve is rising. Jianjing expanded beyond Taizhou in 2008 and established four strategies, preparing for scale expansion during stable operations.
- Balance Old and New: Avoid neglecting core businesses while pursuing innovation. Microsoft’s successful shift from Windows to cloud services — without abandoning its foundation — offers a model.
- Culture First: Cultural transformation precedes structural change. For outdated cultures, “prepare the soil” to align understanding before updating talent and mechanisms.
- Leadership as Catalyst: Organizational innovation begins at the top. Leaders must champion change.
General Manager Xiang Bing acknowledged common obstacles and solutions:
- Individual-Organization Gap: Use “mentorship programs” to integrate new employees, aligning personal goals with company strategy. “Our Anhui market breakthrough succeeded because the team shared the belief that ‘professionalism earns trust.’”
- Task-People Gap: Prioritize team growth alongside project delivery. After completing the Canal Museum project, Jianjing held debriefs to strengthen cohesion and codify management lessons.
- Department-Company Gap: Align departments via “goal co-creation.” Headquarters and branches share strategies to avoid “local interest prioritization.” Non-local branches integrate via knowledge-sharing systems.
- Present-Future Gap: Balance short-term performance with long-term 布局. Nokia failed by clinging to feature phones; Alibaba Cloud thrived by persisting through a decade of investment. “Jianjing’s digital consulting focus follows this logic.”
Concluding his lecture, General Manager Xiang Bing mapped a “three-stage growth model” for career development:
- Grassroots Employees: Build execution skills via “daily summaries and weekly reviews,” accumulate expertise, and aim for professional certifications.
- Middle Managers: Develop “structured thinking” to decompose goals and drive team collaboration.
- Senior Decision-Makers: Cultivate “strategic vision” to navigate complex variables — a core skill for leading organizational evolution.
He closed with a reminder: “The greater the ambition, the longer the journey. Organizational strength ultimately reflects the collective power of its members. When our founding ideals and poetic resilience merge with organizational professionalism, Jianjing gains the confidence to endure cycles and thrive long-term.” This lecture deepened participants’ understanding: professional skills grow from organizational roots, and organizational growth depends on each member’s commitment — a truth at the heart of management philosophy and three-dimensional growth.
Next, Wang Xiaohong, Professor-level Senior Engineer — a veteran of national projects like Lupu Bridge, Pudong Airport Third Runway, and Hongqiao Comprehensive Transportation Hub — shared decades of frontline experience in Large Airport Engineering Project Management. His lecture, bridging technical execution and management excellence, added a critical layer to participants’ professional growth.
Senior Engineer Wang opened with a provocative statement: “A successful project ≠ successful project management.” He unpacked large-scale project management via four landmark projects he led:
The Lupu Bridge, the world’s first steel arch bridge, achieved a “zero fatalities” milestone through technical and management rigor. Rejecting full welding, it adopted a “welding + bolt connection” hybrid approach, using bolts for the final critical structure to reduce risks. A “weekly engineering meetings + quality council” mechanism oversaw 100+ construction details. “On-site operations require approved plans — this is the safety baseline.”
The Pudong Airport Third Runway project exemplified adaptive decision-making. Facing a 3-meter-thick high-quality sand foundation, it abandoned traditional dynamic compaction to avoid damage, cutting construction time by six months and saving tens of millions. “I inspected daily to ensure the customized plan was followed. Large project management balances theory with on-site realities.”
The Hongqiao Comprehensive Transportation Hub — integrating 7 transport modes (aviation, high-speed rail, maglev) with 1.1 million daily passenger capacity — achieved “seamless connectivity” via coordination. Early on, 23 stakeholders (high-speed rail, subway, customs) collaborated through a “leading group (led by the municipal deputy secretary-general) + working group + headquarters” structure, supported by “regular meetings + information platforms.” This saved 8 square kilometers of land and 2 billion yuan in supporting investments, setting a global benchmark.
Pudong Airport Satellite Hall, the world’s largest standalone satellite terminal, uses an “I-shaped” design and 90 new boarding bridges to boost aircraft bridge usage from 50% to over 90%. This required meticulous scope management: WBS (Work Breakdown Structure) mapped the entire process, ensuring compatibility with T1/T2 terminals and future expansion. Simultaneous progress on 8 supporting projects (energy corridors, sewage systems) guaranteed “water, electricity, heating, and cooling” readiness at launch.
Senior Engineer Wang distilled decades of experience into 12 core management modules. He emphasized scope management as the foundation: “Scope, investment, and schedule are interdependent.” Hongqiao Hub’s success stemmed from distinguishing “essential functions” from “flexible space” via stakeholder discussions, optimizing land and resource use.
His “3+3+3” staffing model — one-third experienced engineering managers, one-third young operations managers, one-third new graduates — addressed talent shortages and ensured construction-operation continuity.
“Hierarchical management” was another key: classifying projects as “critical,” “constrained,” “supporting,” or “auxiliary.” Pudong Satellite Hall prioritized the terminal and rail system, with energy and underpass projects as constraints, avoiding chaos in 3D cross-construction. Dynamic schedule adjustments — every 6–12 months — balanced rigor with realism, critical during the Hongqiao Hub’s World Expo rush.
“Operation-oriented design” guided all stages: inviting operators (airports, airlines) to participate from design to acceptance. Pudong Satellite Hall’s signage and passenger flows were optimized via pre-opening simulations.
Innovation and digitalization were recurring themes. Hongqiao Hub’s planning innovations saved 8 square kilometers and 14 million yuan in energy costs; shield tunneling under the airport reduced track length by 2 km. “Innovation solves problems, not shows off.” BIM technology enabled “visualization”: pre-identifying design conflicts and tracking weekly progress, making complex projects “transparent and traceable.”
In the Q&A, participants raised pressing issues: consulting firms’ role in operation and maintenance, schedule delays’ impact on operations, contract models for cost control, rapid team formation, emergency management, design-construction coordination, and bidder qualification assessment.
Drawing on experience, Senior Engineer Wang offered pragmatic answers: Consulting firms should expand to full-lifecycle services, adding value via operation system design. Schedules need dynamic alignment with operation plans. Large projects benefit from “EPC + specialized subcontracting” to balance efficiency and risk. He shared a “frontline team + backend expert support” staffing model and resolved disputes via clear interfaces and standardized processes — insights blending theory and practice.
Torches pass, lamps endure; wisdom lasts, journeys continue. As Organizational Strength’s philosophy resonated and Large Airport Project Management’s wisdom settled in, the Red Eagle & Blue Whale Training Camp courses concluded. This three-dimensional journey — from ideals to practice, spirit to expertise — formed a complete circle:
-
+86-021-52991256
5th Floor, Building 1, Lane 99, Jiajie Road, Qingpu District, Shanghai
+86-571-87173586
5th Floor, Jialianhua Mingzuo, 586 North Jianguo Road, Hangzhou
Gem.skype
@yjx@jjtz.cn
@fengyu@jjtz.cn
Contact Us
EN