By Enid Chen

　　Name: Peter Jianto

　　Position: General Manager， （Toyota） Xiamen Summit Motors Service

　　Nationality: Indonesian

　　从一名汽车设计师，到一名出色的职业经理人，他就是厦门中达丰田汽车服务有限公司的总经理余国超先生。“一个‘超级’团队，需要一个‘超人’领导，”他如是说。为了当个“超人”领导，建设一支“超级”团队，他近乎成为了一个“工作狂”。而这一切，都是为了做到更好。

　　Q: Could you tell me about your career and how it began﹖

　　A: I was born and educated in Indonesia. After graduation from high school, I went to study in Taiwan for my degree, majoring in industrial design. Straight after graduation, I worked as a teaching assistant for a year in National Chenggong University. Later, I went back to Indonesia where I joined Astra International, which was one of the biggest car companies in Indonesia. The project that I was involved with was developing the first totally Indonesian car, which was very challenging. I was the father of that very first car. Unfortunately, the Asian Economic Crisis hit us in 1997 and our project was halted, even though the full-size prototype of the car had already been produced. This huge project was never continued because of the crisis. Later, I joined Toyota and came to China, where I have worked in Chengdu and Nanning.

　　Q: It is said that you are a workaholic.

　　A: Once I am working, I will concentrate on my work. I won't go home until all the work is done. Therefore, I often work overtime. I’m not the kind of person who leaves work until tomorrow. Sometimes, I play golf at the weekend, but not that often. My friends say my life is uninteresting. But I feel work is an important part of my life and I don’t regard it as uninteresting or boring. When you are successful at work, it brings you great satisfaction.

　　Superman vs. super team

　　Q: What qualities are most important for being a successful top manager in China﹖

　　A: In my view, attitude is the most important thing. China is developing so fast that some young people might think money comes very easily and that they don’t have to work hard. I keep telling my team that even if they aren't academically or technically brilliant, as long as they have the right attitude and work hard, they are already half way to success. I've seen people who are so brilliant they think that work is a piece of cake, and they become lazy and take things for granted. Those are the ones who will have problems.

　　Secondly, cooperation is vital. Chinese people are very smart. There are very successful Chinese people all over the world. Some people may even feel as though they are a superman. However, in a company, what we need is a super team, not a superman. You need to cooperate with your colleagues to reach your targets.

　　Therefore, the right attitude and team spirit are the most basic and important keys to success. As long as you have the right attitude, you can learn the skills. Then with these skills, you cooperate with others to reach success.

　　Q: I couldn＇t agree more. But do you also think that we need a superman to lead the super team﹖

　　A: That’s true. In a company, we do need a superman to lead the super team. But it is based on good management of your people as well. If it is only the leader that is a superman, it makes no difference. We need the support of our staff and employees. Without the support, we are nothing.

　　Manager vs. designer

　　Q: You studied industrial design at university， but your first car design never went into production. Do you still wish to create your own designs in future﹖

　　A: I still love design very much, even though I don't work as a designer any more. I would still love to create a design of my own in future, to replace the one that was lost in the Asian Economic Crisis in the late 1990s.

　　A doctor deals with the worst aspects of human bodies, while a designer deals with the best aspects by designing and inventing nice products. That’s what I like about design. Even though I’m not working as a designer now, my educational background and design experience are of great use to me as a general manager. A designer needs to know about art, materials, engineering, production, cost control and marketing. So does a general manager. The only thing different is that a general manager needs to know about management of people, which is not an easy job. However, no matter whether you are a designer or a manager, you always need to be creative.

　　Q: What is your plan for the future﹖

　　A: I hope I can be a CEO, or have my own company. But right now I am enjoying working in this company. Over the past five years, the company has been developing very healthily. Sales keep increasing and our market share is getting bigger and bigger. Our team is also growing, with over a hundred people now. Working with these young people in my company is very exciting. Every day, we face new challenges. It is also our responsibility to teach young people and to provide a good environment for them to learn in. In all companies, people come and go. But during the time they work in the company, I hope they can learn things that will be useful for them and that they will improve themselves. I’m happy that my staff is growing with the company.