Company's boss Stanley Lau uses his vast experience to look over the horizon and anticipate changes in the industry
By the time he set up Renley Watch Group in 1983, Stanley Lau Chin-ho had learned enough in his 14 years with other firms to see that the essence of the managing director's role was to guide the process of corporate evolution.
On a day-to-day level he knows every company faces basically the same kind of problems. Personnel, financing, production and sales issues will always arise and vary only in terms of scale, urgency and associated expenditure. However, what ultimately makes the difference, allowing some enterprises to thrive while others stagnate or go under, is the ability to look over the horizon. This makes it possible to anticipate changes in technology, markets, competition and expectations, and alter the style of management accordingly.
'I don't have a crystal ball, but with the experience and knowledge I have, I can help the team understand the likely development of our industry and design the right models for our customers,' Mr Lau said.
Over the past 25 years the company has grown from 10 staff to having assembly plants in Hong Kong and Switzerland, component manufacturing in Dongguan in the mainland, its own brands, original equipment manufacture and an expanding retail presence. Before each significant step, Mr Lau has made a point of reviewing the major external factors and instigating internal change.
'You need a different style of management at different stages,' he said. 'And you can't use just one character for different situations. For example, when it is time to be tough, you must be tough, when you need to be generous, then be generous.' He added that it was vital to keep staff up to speed, especially when change was afoot. If they knew what was happening and why, it was much easier to switch production, implement new systems or react to competitive pressures, as circumstances required. 'I spend quite a lot of time explaining why we have to do something,' he said. 'I believe that is an important part of management. We should take care of our jobs but know each other's problems too.'