Leapfrog Thinking and the BYD Lesson
Future Rise Newsletter #24 | July 22-2025
In the early 1990s, China had a problem. It saw that most rich
countries had built their wealth with strong automotive industries. So, it
invited foreign carmakers in but with strings attached. Each company
had to partner 50-50 with a local Chinese brand. The hope was simple:
learn from the best, then outgrow them. But it didn't work.
So they changed the question.
Instead of playing catch-up, China asked, what's next? The answer:
electric vehicles and renewable energy. Rather than trying to win an old
game, they decided to leverage a new one.
Fast-forward to 2018. Tesla is given the green light to build a wholly
owned factory in Shanghai. Within a year, Chinese EV makers had
front-row seats to global innovation. They already had the tech, world-
class batteries, software, and supply chains but they were still weak on
design. Their solution? They hired German car designers and closed the
gap fast.
By 2022, BYD – a Chinese company – wasn't just competing with
Tesla, they were winning!
The lessons?
1. Long-term vision beats short-term imitation.
2. Leapfrogging requires courage to abandon the old playbook.
3. Invest where others haven't looked yet.
4. Combine technical know-how with global talent.
5. Think systems, not silos.
Most companies are still trying to win a game that's already over. BYD
shows what happens when you decide to build the next one instead.
Actionable Insights
Step 1 |
• If you want to leapfrog in your career or business, ask yourself this
powerful question: what's next?
Write a list of 10 ideas.
Step 2 |
• Which idea from your list above excites you most? Use my list of 5
lessons from the BYD example, and figure out how you can implement
this idea.
Until next time...
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