Praying for Success in Shanghai

The head of SMIC is a born-again boss who mixes evangelical Christianity with business
This article was published in Buisiness week July 14/21st 2008:
by Bruce Einhorn and Chi-Chu Tschang

Shanghai - On a gray Sunday morning, some 800 people are crammed into Thanksgiving Church in Shanghai. Among the congregants is Wang Cuimei, a 21-year-old from a village in northern China. She just started working at Semiconductor Manufacturing International, whose headquarters are down the street. While Wang isn't a Christian, she decided to attend the service after hearing about it from the leader of her new-employee training program.

It didn't hurt that top SMIC executives had helped set up the church. "The leaders care about us," Wang says. "Apparently everyone is a Christian, so we wanted to take a look." Adds her friend Liang Shuihong, 21: "We have a responsibility and a duty as employees to go." So the pair made the five-minute walk to the church from their SMIC dorm. Following a sermon from the government-approved pastor and much singing of hymns (with Chinese lyrics projected onto giant screens suspended from the ceiling), Wang says she is impressed and plans to return. "There is a lot of kindness in this place," she says.

That's good news for Richard Chang, the Taiwanese-American chief executive of SMIC. Chang, who eschews the expensive suits, flashy watches, and other bling favored by China's new business class, says spreading the gospel is a key part of his work. He and his colleagues "were called to China to share God's love," Chang says. That sort of talk is rare in a country ruled by a Communist Party that is officially atheist and has a long history of hostility toward Christianity. Yet Chang, 60, feels no hesitation in describing the role his faith plays in his business life. "The Lord says, 'Do good things to those in need,'" he says.

Chang could use some help himself. He spent nearly three decades at Texas Instruments (TXN) and other semiconductor companies before launching SMIC in 2000. Since then, he has built the company into China's largest chipmaker, with operations in five cities, and the world's No. 3 foundry, or contract manufacturer of semiconductors. But even with a slew of A-list customers such as Qualcomm (QCOM), Toshiba (TOSBF), Broadcom (BRCM), and Freescale, Chang has struggled to make the company profitable. SMIC lost $19.5 million on sales of $1.5 billion last year, and its New York-traded American depositary receipts have dropped more than 80% since the company's initial public offering in 2004.

HELP FROM ABOVE?
Righting the ship is now Chang's biggest business challenge. In April, SMIC announced it had phased out memory chips, which once contributed a majority of the company's revenue, because it's so difficult to turn a profit in that cyclical business. Instead, SMIC is focusing more on higher-end chips. In December the company signed a deal to license advanced chip manufacturing technology from IBM (IBM). And SMIC says it's talking with potential strategic investors interested in taking a stake in the company to help fund new, multibillion-dollar chip plants. "We knew there would be challenges [in China], but we knew the Lord would help us to solve the difficulties," Chang says.

Chang's efforts are part of a growing focus on China by evangelical Christians from the West. Although Beijing requires all congregations to adhere to a one-size-fits-all Protestant church that doesn't differentiate among Methodists, Baptists, or others, there are signs that evangelicals are gaining popularity. Geoff Tunnicliffe, CEO of the World Evangelical Alliance, traveled to China in April, and Franklin Graham, Billy Graham's son and heir, gave a Sunday sermon in May to 12,000 people in the eastern city of Hangzhou.

Few mix the Bible and business as openly as Chang. He helped fund the church in Shanghai—which opened on Christmas Day 2005—and several others across the country. He emphasizes that the money is his own, not SMIC's, and says the company doesn't force anyone to attend services. "If they want to know more about Christianity," he says, "we encourage them." Pastor Shen Xuebin, associate general secretary of the Shanghai Christian Council, the government body that oversees official Protestant congregations in the city, stresses that it wasn't SMIC that built the Thanksgiving Church. "China's church," he says, "built this church."

CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP
Chang, who says he was born again as a teenager in Taiwan, has helped draw many other evangelicals to Shanghai. Matthew Szymanski, an evangelical Christian who joined SMIC in 2007 after working as a legislative aide on Capitol Hill for the Republican House leadership, estimates there are 1,000 Christians among the company's 12,000 employees, including "a substantial minority" of top managers. For instance David Lin, senior director of chip design services, became a Christian in 1993 while working for AT&T Bell Labs in Pennsylvania. Lin and his wife have been active in various churches since arriving in Shanghai in 2002. "Our decision to come to China was primarily because we hope to spread the Gospel," he says.

Pastor Shen says he's happy to get support from Chang and other SMIC executives. There's no conflict, he says, between the Party's goals and what the Christians are doing. "We are contributing to economic reforms," says Shen. Adds Chang: "The government realizes the value of good religion." Indeed, for a government that antagonizes the Vatican by appointing its own bishops, suppresses the indigenous Falun Gong religious movement, and vilifies the Dalai Lama, there might even be some propaganda benefits in courting Chang and his Christian community at SMIC.

Still, religion is a sensitive subject, and Chang makes it clear that his good works aren't just church-related. He has, for instance, funded schools and set up training programs for young SMIC workers, and the company donated $140,000 to victims of the May earthquake in central China. He boasts that SMIC was one of the first Chinese companies to provide psychological counseling services for employees. And SMIC offers stock and options to every worker. "With the Lord's blessing, we believe that stock options may significantly benefit employees," he says. And if more of those employees drop by Thanksgiving Church on Sunday mornings, all the better.

Einhorn is Asia regional editor in BusinessWeek's Hong Kong bureau . Tschang is a correspondent in BusinessWeek's Beijing bureau.

Reaching Beyond Our Grasp

There is a difference between holding on to a principle and having a vision. A principle does not come from moral inspiration, but a vision does. People who are totally consumed with idealistic principles rarely do anything. A person’s own idea of God and His attributes may actually be used to justify and rationalize his deliberate neglect of his duty. Jonah tried to excuse his disobedience by saying to God, ". . . I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm" ( Jonah 4:2 ). I too may have the right idea of God and His attributes, but that may be the very reason why I do not do my duty. But wherever there is vision, there is also a life of honesty and integrity, because the vision gives me the moral incentive.

Our own idealistic principles may actually lull us into ruin. Examine yourself spiritually to see if you have vision, or only principles.

Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, Or what’s a heaven for?

"Where there is no revelation [or prophetic vision]. . . ." Once we lose sight of God, we begin to be reckless. We cast off certain restraints from activities we know are wrong. We set prayer aside as well and cease having God’s vision in the little things of life. We simply begin to act on our own initiative. If we are eating only out of our own hand, and doing things solely on our own initiative without expecting God to come in, we are on a downward path. We have lost the vision. Is our attitude today an attitude that flows from our vision of God? Are we expecting God to do greater things than He has ever done before? Is there a freshness and a vitality in our spiritual outlook?

This is an excerpt from Oswald Chambers My Utmost for His Highest www.rbc.org

Taking Risk

Next Pathfinders, May 1: Taking Risks In Our Careers and In the Marketplace

All business people are welcome to attend our next Pathfinders meeting on Thursday, May 1, at 7PM.

We've all heard the phrase, "Nothing ventured, nothing gained," and we probably also appreciate the idea that with risk comes reward. The marketplace certainly seems to run on this principle. But let's face it - taking risks is HARD! Can we mitigate our risk by "partnering" with God and putting to work Kingdom principles as we take on risk? The short answer is Yes. Please join us on May 1 to hear from C3M members who have taken big risks!

Become Legendary

It's not about the shoe; It's about knowing where you are going; It's not forgetting where you started; It's about having the courage to fail; It's about not breaking when you are broken; It's about taking everything you have been given and making something better; It's about work, before glory; and what's inside of you is doing what they say you can't. It's not about the shoes, its about what you do in them. It is about being who you were born to be.

The above monologue is from a voice over of Micheal Jordan in Nike's new campaign about the new Air Jordan sneakers. It shows some of the highest paid athletes prior to days of glory in their prime.



In this campaign one could easily imagine a shot of David tending after his father's sheep prior to becoming King of Israel. Jesus working as carpenter apprentice before entering into his ministry and changing the world.


Maybe we are all destined to become legendary and all we need to step into it.

When are you going to realize who it is you were born to be?

How Faith-Based Networking Can Aid Job Searches -WSJ article

By SARAH E. NEEDLEMAN
October 2, 2007; Page B4

When Amber Edwina Hampton began searching for her first post-college job last spring, in addition to praying, the recent convert to Islam took advantage of her new religious connections to network.

As a result, a classmate at an Islamic school told Ms. Hampton about a job opening at the NYU School of Medicine. The classmate, already an employee at the medical school, also agreed to hand Ms. Hampton's résumé to the hiring manager. Three weeks later, the 24-year-old was hired as a program associate.

If you're searching for work, consider reaching out to fellow congregants, spiritual leaders and others in your religious circle. These folks are often eager to help like-minded believers. What's more, many nonsecular institutions provide free job-search resources that are available to anyone.

Successful networkers say they often secure leads from their faith-based connections by bringing up their employment status in casual conversations about their lives. These conversations can take place after services, at holiday parties or at other religious gatherings, they say.

Mary Stutts, an associate pastor at Revival Center Ministries in Vallejo, Calif., says she regularly spreads the word about local job opportunities to worshipers before and after services. "In the last month, I've given out four job referrals," she says. Ms. Stutts even announces job opportunities from the pulpit when interesting ones open up locally. She learns of most openings from church members and through her work outside the church as a business-relationship consultant, she says.

Some religious groups use email and online forums to share job leads, facilitate networking and channel career advice. An example is the University of Washington's chapter of Hillel, a global foundation for Jewish students. It puts out a weekly email newsletter featuring ads for jobs and networking events in the Seattle area, says Josh Furman, a program coordinator for the group.

Alicia Post of New York says her rabbi regularly blasts emails about job opportunities in her area to current and past members of his synagogue who sign up for them. This past summer, an email describing an opening for an executive director at a Jewish nonprofit caught her eye. At the time, Ms. Post was in her seventh year at a similar organization and was craving a new and more challenging role. She expressed interest in the job to the rabbi, and he forwarded her résumé to the nonprofit's chief executive officer. The 29-year-old Ms. Post landed the job in July.

Between Jobs Ministry, a group started 15 years ago by a pastor at Northwest Bible Church in Spring, Texas, offers job-search assistance meetings weekly. The sessions are typically led by retired career experts and professionals, says Ed Bacon, a director at the ministry and a retired finance executive. The volunteers give talks on job-search topics, facilitate networking among members, critique résumés, organize mock interviews and provide emotional and spiritual support, he says.

Church membership and religious devotion aren't required, but attendees can expect the group to recite a Christian devotional during meetings, adds Mr. Bacon.

In 2006, Michael Schaffner joined the Between Jobs Ministry after being laid off from a position as chief information officer at an oil-field equipment company. A member introduced him to an executive recruiter who later got him an interview for a job as a director of information technology at a similar employer.

Ahead of the meeting, Mr. Schaffner was put in touch with a past member of the ministry who worked for the potential employer. This was helpful, he says, because he learned that the company uses Six Sigma, a business methodology he was familiar with. As a result, he added more details about his Six Sigma experience to his résumé and listed it higher on the page. Mr. Schaffner, 57 years old, landed the job in April.

While many job seekers may rely on prayer for support and success, career experts warn against discussing faith when meeting with hiring managers or executive recruiters. "You don't want to turn it into a religious conversation," says Kevin Zwetsch, a partner with the law firm Fowler White Boggs Banker in Tampa, Fla. "You're veering off the path of what you're there for."

An exception might be if your involvement in religion can promote your candidacy, adds Mr. Zwetsch. For example, if you mention that you are a deacon at a church during a job interview, "that demonstrates leadership and community involvement," he says.

But he warns that "if you go any further, employers will get skittish," because recruiters are prohibited by law from asking candidates questions about their religious beliefs unless they pertain to the job at hand. "[Religion] is one of those taboo topics," he says.

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Joseph's Vision and a Sevant's Heart

We may have a dream for our business or lifestyle that may seem to be taken longer than we would like. This is similar to Joseph who had a dream that took many years to became a reality. In fact, soon after Joseph told his dream his brothers, they sold him into slavery, the totally opposite of what he thought would happen. Often, circumstances occur in our lives that seem to side track us from the vision God has given us for our business. Our dreams may become derailed and we feel stuck in a place we can't escape.

Although the circumstances seemed dire, Joseph's servant's heart was the key to his both his happiness and his ultimate success. First he severed his father Jacob by tending to his flocks, this was probably not the most desirable job otherwise one of his older brothers would have requested it. Instead, this was likely the job that no one else wanted, but Joseph did it to sever his father.

Then after his brother's betrayed him, Joseph served Potipher. When Potpher's wife tempted Joseph, someone else in his shoes may have fallen to Potipher's wife's desires both because she was attractive and because it would have been a means for him to better himself. If he gave into her desires he could have kept himself in good standings with her and kept out of prison. To add insult to injury, rather than defending himself and accusing Potipher's wife, he choose to serve Potipher by being silent. If he had accused Potipher's wife this would have brought disgrace to Potipher, instead he choose to go quietly to prison. Often our business are faced with the choice between what is right for our clientele and what is right for our business, often these are one and the same, but when they are not, do we choose to put our clientele's needs over our own?

Even in prison, Joseph severed the guards, the people that kept him captive. It was during this time that Joseph's helped the cup-bearer by interpreting his dream, however this didn't immediately to Joseph's release from prison. Often in business we have to do things that are right even if we don't get the credit or worst, someone else gets the credit. God is just and doesn't forget the acts we commit. It took two year but when Pharaoh had a dream, the cup-bearer remembered Joseph and this led to his release and subsequent elevation to second in command. Even though Joseph probably didn't understand why it took so long for his dream to come to pass, it was during this time that God prepared Joseph by developing the characeristics for his success.

If our vision for our business seems off track, we have to believe that God's purpose is greater than any circumstance, or any mistake we may have made. I'm sure that Joseph wondered if it was a mistake to tell his brother's of his dream, or to have taken the job in Potipher's house, or maybe he should have negotiated a better exit strategy with the cup-bearer. But instead he trusted that God had a plan that is greater than any circumstance.

In business, it is our responsibility to have a vision like Joseph that is unwavering in our trust in God, but also to have Joseph's heart of a servant, willing to do whatever is right irregardless of circumstances. Then and only then will God deliver upon his promise to our business.