As the global economy searches for new growth drivers amid turbulence and restructuring, the spotlight of the management world has once again turned to the East. On May 31, 2026, Dave Ulrich — widely recognized as the “Father of Modern Human Resources” and the founding architect of organizational capability theory — appeared in Shanghai as an international mentor for ACTION EDUCATION’s “Entrepreneurs EMBA” program. He delivered a thought-provoking masterclass titled Winning Through Organization to hundreds of entrepreneur participants and principals enrolled in the program. More than just a course, the event signaled China’s proactive effort at the microeconomic level to benchmark itself against world-class standards.
China’s Moment in a Global Context: Chinese Enterprises Elevate Organizational Capability
At a time when deglobalization trends intersect with technological revolution, the focus of international competition has shifted from the surface level of trade and technology to the deeper dimensions of organizational systems and management philosophy.
As the thought leader who defined the modern three-pillar HR model and influenced half of the Fortune 500 companies worldwide, Ulrich stated during the session:
“Strategies can be copied, and technologies can be overtaken. But an organizational system with high adaptability and strong learning capability is the ultimate competitive barrier that cannot easily be replicated.”
During the class, Ulrich systematically presented a comprehensive “organizational capability framework” developed through seven rounds of global longitudinal research spanning more than 30 years. Rather than a simple transplantation of Western theory, the framework represents a universal set of principles distilled from one of the world’s largest research samples on how enterprises can continuously create value amid uncertainty.
For Chinese entrepreneurs, engaging with and internalizing these principles signifies that, on the journey toward building “world-class enterprises,” Chinese companies are becoming pioneering explorers of future organizational models.
Dave Ulrich
Using “World-Leading” Standards to Address Corporate Weaknesses: The Essential Path Toward Management Modernization
For many years, Western management circles tended to attribute the success of Chinese enterprises primarily to “market dividends” and “demographic dividends.” However, the “Entrepreneurs EMBA” masterclass painted an entirely different picture: Chinese entrepreneurs are collectively transitioning toward a new stage centered on “building organizations.”
During the course, Ulrich not only explained how to build a talent supply chain and define corporate culture from the outside in, but also emphasized the role of “human competitiveness” as the micro-foundation of national industrial competitiveness.
In the subsequent practical transformation session, ACTION EDUCATION Chairman and CEO Li Jian pointed out that, in the new phase of globalization, Chinese enterprises must complete a cognitive revolution driven by capability-building. By introducing a world-class mentor like Ulrich, Chinese companies can reassess their organizational health through international standards and address the micro-level weaknesses constraining high-quality development.
This collision between “global top-tier think tanks” and “Chinese real-world business practice” is providing valuable “China samples” for the evolution of global management theory.
Li Jian
Connecting the World and Empowering the Future: A Collective March Toward Building World-Class Enterprises
Notably, the masterclass adopted an innovative model that combined “guidance from world-renowned experts” with “localized practical transformation.” After Ulrich established the global strategic perspective, Li Jian immediately followed with a localized implementation course tailored to Chinese business realities.
This two-way exchange transcends traditional business education. It demonstrates that, under the broader vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind, Chinese management education is taking on a new role in promoting mutual learning among civilizations — bringing in the world’s most advanced wisdom while transforming it into practical methodologies that serve the growth of the real economy.
As Ulrich concluded at the end of the session:
“Future competition will be competition between organizations, and ultimately, that competition will be reflected in competition between nations.”
As hundreds of influential entrepreneurs from various industries gathered in Shanghai to learn how to “win through organization,” the event represented not only a corporate capability-building initiative, but also a collective movement aimed at strengthening management soft power and advancing the goal of building world-class enterprises.
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