---
title: "Huang Tieying: Eight Questions I Use to Select a General Manager"
description: "The foundation of enterprise development lies in people; selecting and using the right people is key. This article presents eight questions to help you identify a capable general manager, covering interview questions and selection criteria."
author: "黄铁鹰"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
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published: "2015-01-13"
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# Huang Tieying: Eight Questions I Use to Select a General Manager

> The foundation of enterprise development lies in people; selecting and using the right people is key. This article presents eight questions to help you identify a capable general manager, covering interview questions and selection criteria.

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The foundation of enterprise development lies in people; how to select the right people and use them well is the key to development. As the saying goes, "An army is easy to get, but a general is hard to find." Compared to ordinary employees, how is a general manager, who holds significant power in the enterprise, chosen? Through the eight questions in this article, you will develop a keen eye for selecting a general manager.

Almost every enterprise lacks capable managers, especially good general managers. The ideal way to select a general manager is through internal cultivation, but unfortunately, many enterprises cannot afford that luxury and often resort to hiring external talent through various means.

When I served at China Resources in Hong Kong, I recruited many such parachuted CEOs. Some were chosen correctly, and I still feel gratified thinking about them years later; others were wrong choices, and I still regret them.

Fortunately, after retiring from the business world, I began teaching at a business school. One benefit of teaching is that it allows for reflection and summarization, especially when discussing this topic with EMBA students who are also experienced executives. Gradually, I distilled the principles for selecting general managers.

Principles are not universal truths but summaries of specific practices by specific groups, so they inevitably have biases. That's why after hearing my principles, some EMBA students gave me 100 points, while others gave me zero.

Three narrative questions for the general manager interview:

1. During the interview, deliberately ask a vague question to see how the candidate responds.
Some candidates will answer based on their understanding; others will admit they didn't understand and ask for clarification, or repeat the question in their own words to confirm before answering.
When other conditions are equal, I always give the opportunity to the candidate who dares to say, "I didn't hear the question clearly."
Why? Because daring to say "I didn't hear clearly" in front of a potential future boss requires not just courage but a habit of listening! Such a person, once in the general manager position, will not easily let vague issues from subordinates pass. Isn't management about clarifying vague issues?

2. Also ask: "Can you tell me about the most difficult or memorable decision you made alone?"
A person with real management experience will, after a moment's thought, recount a difficult decision they made. As they narrate, if you also have management experience, you can judge the truth from the details. Novelists know plots can be fabricated, but details cannot be invented. For example, "When I received the notice of payment refusal, I felt cornered. I went to a sauna alone; usually I stay for ten minutes, but that day I stayed for half an hour without noticing!"
Why must a general manager have the ability to make decisions alone? Because no matter how democratic or team-oriented management is, business decisions always involve uncertainty, and some decisions must be made by one person! This experience of making the final call is a necessary condition for managerial maturity.
If a candidate keeps talking about "we" or "our company," it indicates they haven't experienced the pain of making decisions alone. Such a person is not yet ready to be a general manager, as general managers often make decisions alone.

3. Ask the candidate: "What is the biggest mistake you have made?"
I guarantee some will be stunned, perhaps because they've never thought about it. For such people, end the interview early!
A person with management experience has made judgments. As mentioned, business decisions involve uncertainty, which differs from risk in insurance; risk can be calculated, but uncertainty cannot. For example, the risk of a tsunami in Hainan Island each year can be estimated, but the probability of Lenovo successfully integrating IBM's PC division is incalculable.
So the more management experience, the more judgments, and the more mistakes. No one is a constant winner in business! I've interviewed many people with impressive executive resumes, but when faced with this question, they often evade and cannot articulate a specific mistake they made.
This indicates either: 1) they are senior subordinates who never made decisions alone, or 2) they made decisions but lack the habit of admitting mistakes. Either disqualifies them for the general manager role. A person who cannot laugh at their own mistakes is not confident, and confidence is essential for a general manager.

In addition to these three narrative questions, there are five multiple-choice questions:

1. Deduct points for attractive candidates; add points for unattractive ones!
Although selecting a general manager is not like choosing a TV announcer, good-looking people often have an advantage in career competition. A U.S. HR research report says that both men and women with above-average looks and height earn above-average incomes.
Whether scientific or not, it aligns with common sense. In interviews, people subconsciously favor good-looking candidates; if conditions are equal, the better-looking one wins.
But good looks have no necessary connection to management ability; in fact, good-looking people may have weaker management skills! Research shows a positive correlation between adversity in youth and later management ability. This means the harder the childhood, the more diligent the adult. It's common sense: compared to good-looking people, average or ugly people receive less attention during growth.
Therefore, to gain the same opportunities, they must work harder. Thus, average or ugly appearances help develop diligence and tenacity—essential managerial qualities!
Success in business is not about quick-witted intelligence like in "Win in China" but about persistent effort! So when an ugly person competes with a good-looking one for a general manager position, it indicates they have stronger potential!

2. Between a candidate with strong expression skills and one with weak expression skills, whom should we choose?
Common sense says the eloquent one, because communication is a key managerial task. Officials seem to be good talkers!
But according to biological functional compensation theory, this conclusion is questionable. Functional compensation means that when an organism's eyes are weak, its ears and nose become exceptionally sensitive. This is seen in disabled people: the blind have sharper hearing.
Does the reverse hold—that a good talker has weak action ability? It seems so; we often say, "He's all talk," implying he's not good at doing.
Managers do need strong communication, but the most important communication is through action, not words. For example, a personnel appointment or a special bonus announcement posted on the wall needs no explanation; employees immediately understand what the company encourages and discourages. Communication is complete without a word.
So when selecting managers, focus on their ability to do, not to talk; being articulate doesn't mean being capable. We've all met people with poor verbal skills but strong action ability, yet they are often overlooked for general manager roles. So be wary of eloquent candidates and consider those who are "dumplings in a teapot—can't pour out" (i.e., capable but not articulate).

3. Between a candidate with a prestigious education and one with a lesser education, whom should we choose?
Undoubtedly, a good education is favored. That's why people strive to enter top universities, especially in China, where getting into Peking University or Tsinghua makes one a "child of destiny," and even selling pork after graduation becomes news. These young people reach their life's peak through academics before truly engaging with society.
Once at the peak, the only way is down. Graduates from second- or third-tier universities haven't peaked academically; they still have a chip on their shoulder. So they must work harder to prove themselves after graduation. Moreover, the best opportunities go to top university graduates, leaving them to compete in lesser positions.
People are products of both DNA and experience. If such a person emerges and competes with top graduates, their explosive power and endurance may be stronger!
What about candidates without any degree? They are even stronger! Because they must put in more effort to gain the same opportunities. Management is ultimately the art of practice! Don't be superstitious about education, especially prestigious ones. A good education at best indicates strong study ability, but a general manager needs more emotional intelligence and endurance.

4. Between a candidate with excellent performance and one with average performance, whom should we choose?
Common sense says no one would choose the average performer.
But think: isn't everyone's success partly due to luck? If you remove luck, would the excellent candidate still be excellent? Not necessarily.
Successful managers have all made mistakes. They are most prone to mistakes when things are going well—at their peak performance. Why? Because after achieving results, people tend to lose their bearings and think they are truly capable. This is the internal-external attribution theory: we attribute others' success to luck and our own to ability.
So candidates who truly believe they are capable may over-rely on past success when promoted or taking over a new company, committing a major management taboo.
Managing a company is unlike heart surgery; a surgeon's past success rate predicts the next, but a successful general manager's past success doesn't guarantee future success. Why? Because a manager's success depends on a group of people, each unique to the company, and people's mindsets constantly change.
So successful managers must have a "reset" habit—discard past success and approach new positions with a beginner's mindset. But someone with excellent performance, especially recent, finds this hard. That's why stories of successful people stumbling are common in business.
A person without such outstanding performance lacks the capital for arrogance and will tread carefully in a new appointment. Isn't that exactly the attitude a manager needs?!
Moreover, promoting someone with unremarkable performance requires more thorough assessment of their managerial qualities and character, making selection more careful and objective, avoiding the crudeness of promoting based solely on performance.

5. Between a candidate born in the 1950s and one born in the 1960s, whom should we choose?
Following the principle of youthfulness, no one might favor the 1950s generation now.
But the average lifespan is over 75; if conditions allow, a 55-year-old can work healthily for at least another decade. More critically, management is the art of practice. What does that mean? The longer you work, the more refined your skills! For example, Jack Welch, Li Ka-shing, Wang Yongqing, and Liu Chuanzhi are the best representatives of management as practical art. Are they old? Physiologically, yes, but don't forget that in management, experience counts—"old ginger is spicier"!
In fact, every company has capable people in their 50s and 60s, but due to mandatory retirement habits, they can no longer be entrusted with major responsibilities. This is the biggest waste! They have just made enough mistakes, accumulated enough experience, reached an age of composure, and lost the mindset of quick success. For management, they are at their golden age! Not using them is the company's greatest loss!
You might say: you mentioned that more experienced people find it harder to reset. Indeed, older people naturally find it harder! That's why companies need to identify those who, despite age, still have bright eyes and pick them out!

In summary, I have outlined three narrative questions and five multiple-choice questions for selecting a general manager. Does following them guarantee choosing the right one? Of course not.
Selecting a general manager involves the greatest uncertainty. If anyone says, "I'm a good judge of people," it shows they don't know the depths. Look at the last chapter of Jack Welch's memoir: he said choosing GE's CEO was the hardest business decision of his life. Note: he didn't say "one of the hardest." And those three candidates had worked with Welch for over 15 years.
Consider Liu Chuanzhi: I believe his biggest deal was acquiring IBM's PC division. Yet within five years, he changed three CEOs. Why? Because he didn't choose accurately.
So my eight principles cannot guarantee the right choice either.
Why is selecting a general manager so hard? The difficulty lies in that selection and use are inseparable; choosing wrong is often linked to not using well. For example, you hire a general manager with a 3 million annual salary, but if he has no authority over a 30,000 expense or replacing a department manager, can he perform? When you find him hesitant, is it a wrong choice or wrong use?

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