Next a surprise conversation starter, Eva Wong, CEO of Top Human, author of Power of Ren, top coach in China, shared her story of her meteoric rise to business success building a coaching empire in China with over 700 staff in 17 offices before being thrown in prison for two years. She learned about freedom while detained, “no one in this world is free until you free yourself”, and encouraged coaches to go to China. She shared with us the root of the Chinese culture: “The superior man concerns himself with the fundamentals. Once the fundamentals are established, the proper way (Tao) appears. When the proper way (Tao) appears, the proper behavior forms.”
I had first met Eva at the Executive Coaching Summit in 2006, because I remember that at that time, her book was just about to come out. We both serve on the Editorial Board for the IJCO (International Journal of Coaching in Organizations), and I remember being incredibly impressed by her drive, singularity of focus, and her business savvy.
The woman who arrived on the stage at CAM’10 was a transformed individual! She opened up the conversation by saying she’d like to share her perspective about China and coaching, and what she’d learned about China from the locals while in jail in Beijing for 2 years. She asked if anyone in the room had been to China, and many hands went up. Several stood up and shared their experiences and observations from their visits to China. Eva said she learned compassion about her own country while in the detention center.
CAM10 Conversation with Eva Wong from Suzi Pomerantz on Vimeo.
Eva was born in Hong Kong in 1956 and started her company in 1995. Prior to that, she was was a Commercial Officer working at the South China Trade Office of the Canadian Embassy in China between 1985 to 1991. She was on track to take her company public and wanted to do an IPO in 2008. In 2007 her company collapsed, shortly after she was arrested at an airport upon her return from a trip to India. Her husband, co-author, and business partner in Top Human, Lawrence Leung, remains imprisoned in China.
While in jail she learned about China’s complicated history over the last 5000 years. She was fascinated by a book that she translated to mean “Something About the Ming Dynasty”.
She is very proud of the economic boom that China has enjoyed even in the last two years while the US has been experiencing a recession.
There are now 200,000 Chinese students involved in a program she started called the Heart Chorus Program that teaches kids about communication and how to bring out their full potential.
She shared with us her Ren Coaching Model that balances the why, what, and how of Knowledge & Skills on one side and Beliefs & Attitudes on the other.
The Chinese symbol for CRISIS is the two words “danger” and “opportunity”
As the Legal Person responsible for her company, when an accounting system error was detected by the government that revealed Top Human had underpaid taxes in 2005 and 2006 by what equates to less than $15K USD, she received a two year sentence.
When I asked her later that night why she couldn’t have paid the money once the mistake was discovered, she explained that the justice system we enjoy here (innocent until proven guilty), is handled differently in China. There, once an investigation has begun, from that moment you are a considered a criminal. But Eva is a true star. She did what you’d expect China’s top coach to do…she coached people in prison.
Eva told us “I experienced freedom in jail. I don’t have to be a boss, I don’t have to be a wife.” She was in a detention center in a 35 square meter room with 12 neighbors and she said, “in such a small place I can experience freedom and pace myself”. She enjoyed watching the Beijing Olympics and had us laughing with her comment about never before having the time to watch television.
Then she shared her 9-Dot Leadership Tao Model with us. She showed us photos of China Then and Now and even showed her very first office…where it all began. She reiterated her love for China, and told us it’s a safe, booming, wonderful place to which we must all go.
“You can only be where you are.” ~ Eva Wong
Eva Wong at CAM10: You Can Only Be Where You Are from Suzi Pomerantz on Vimeo.
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Dolly Garlo
June 12, 2010 at 2:35 pm
Fabulous update. So glad to know all this for, about and from Eva. Wonderful. Such great, sage wisdom in her experiences and choices. Cheers, Dolly
Suzi Pomerantz, Community Instigator & Resident Networking Maven
June 14, 2010 at 8:54 pm
Isn’t she amazing?!
Simon
September 2, 2011 at 1:52 am
The fact is, basically both of Eva Wong & Lawrence Leung – founders of Tophuman are just Mythomania who wordship money so much, they were not only fabricate their own academic credentials but ripped off thousands of Chinese people’s money (apprx. billion dollars in CNY) during the period of 2001 till 2007 without paying tax to China Government accordingly and still owe so many kind supplier’s payment.
Plus there were more than 30 “students” committed suicide after their so called REN-COACHING shit, I was their coach for a short-period but left Tophuman after I witness one the incidents at sight. So don’t be naive and believe whatever Eva says, surely she loves China for its masively cash-flow and TH was their MILK-COW.
Anyhow, things happened for a reason, that’s why they both been arresed by the Government then.
Suzi Pomerantz, Community Instigator & Resident Networking Maven
September 2, 2011 at 9:03 am
Simon, I’d be interested in learning more about your experience as a Tophuman coach. I’m no expert on psychology, but it seems unlikely that a coaching model could directly cause 30 suicides.