9/5/2026
I'm going to continue talking about the book I've been reading since 9/3, The Way of Huawei Learning by Deng Bin.
One of Huawei's important learning methods is benchmarking: identify the best performers in the field, study what makes them successful, and use their strengths as a reference for improvement.
Huawei does not look for one company to copy wholesale. Instead, it breaks a business into different modules and identifies the best reference for each. Ericsson might be the benchmark for carrier business, Apple for product design and R&D, and OPPO or vivo for consumer-market channels. Huawei studies these companies in great detail, learns their proven best practices, and then adapts and improves upon them.
This approach helped Huawei make some remarkable leaps. It began as a B2B company serving telecom operators, then expanded into consumer smartphones and eventually into global markets. Each transition brought new customers, products, channels, and competitive environments. Huawei could not rely solely on its own past experience. It needed to learn from those already successful in each field.
The author describes the principle this way: compare every part of your business with the best in the industry—and learn from them.
This reminds me of Peter Drucker's principle that effective managers should build on strengths—the strengths of themselves, their employees, and the people around them. The same applies to learning. When we study someone who is better than us, the goal is to absorb what they do well in order to become better ourselves.
That may be why Huawei has been able to repeatedly move into unfamiliar territory and make such successful transitions.
What we can learn from Huawei's benchmarking practice:
Find the best. Study them closely. Learn their strengths. Then make those strengths your own.
