Since the opening of the Tokyo Olympics, competitions across all sports have been in full swing. While watching these intense and thrilling matches, our staff member had a sudden thought: investment promotion officers not only uncover project leads and withstand the pressure of performance evaluations, but also serve as “walking maps” when out in the field. If investment promotion officers were to compete in the Olympics, which events would they excel at?
No. 1 Race Walking
Investment promotion professionals often provide all-around service across land, sea, and air. Holding meetings on the subway, rushing to catch flights in howling winds, and traveling to inspect projects by switching between subways, buses, and walking—all of this is perfectly normal for them… Even in the age of 5G connectivity, in-person visits remain the most traditional way of doing business. It’s truly a physically demanding job: visiting factories, walking through workshops, running to construction sites, and touring trade shows—such travel has long been second nature to them.
Every journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Year after year, day after day, they stand firm on the front lines of investment promotion—wherever there’s a project lead, they’re there. Investment promoters rely on their stamina; racking up tens of thousands of steps daily is par for the course, all to ensure they don’t miss a single viable project lead. With legs so well-trained, wouldn’t it be a shame not to enter a racewalking competition?
No. 2 Shooting
The more accurately a marksman aims, the closer the hit is to the center, and the higher the score. Investment promotion professionals often employ a “marksman’s” approach, targeting upstream and downstream sectors of industrial chains for precise investment attraction. By analyzing local industrial structures and strengths, and adhering to the principle of “attracting what is lacking and supplementing what is weak,” they drive forward industrial chain-based investment promotion.
Under these requirements, everyone becomes an investment promotion “sharpshooter,” always handling every step with precise judgment, intense focus, and a calm, composed mindset —ensuring every shot hits the bullseye and every attempt scores a perfect ten. If they were to actually compete in a shooting competition, their results would surely be impressive!
No. 3 Weightlifting
Weightlifters are often “strongmen” capable of lifting massive weights , able to hoist a barbell weighing over 100 pounds above their heads in a single motion. While investment promotion professionals may not possess such extraordinary physical strength, they face off daily on the front lines against various unicorns and “specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative” small giants. They withstand the pressure and prioritize responsibility and accountability above all else.
They participate in formulating cultivation and incentive schemes for unicorns and “Little Giant” enterprises, build a talent pool for business development, and provide comprehensive online and offline services—including policy guidance, training, technology matching, and management consulting—to help promising enterprises grow and expand more precisely and rapidly. To enable these companies to achieve leapfrog growth, investment promotion professionals have never let up. The strength forged through such “real-world” challenges is fully unleashed the moment they step onto the weightlifting platform.
No. 4 Relay Race
A relay race not only demands outstanding individual performance from competitors but also relies heavily on seamless teamwork among teammates—a dynamic that mirrors the daily work of investment promotion. Without close collaboration across departments, even the best investment projects would struggle to materialize.
The journey from initial contact to the successful implementation of a project is long and fraught with tension. Behind the transition from “piles of paperwork” and “endless procedures” to “resolving issues with a single written commitment” lies the collective effort of department heads stepping up to pool their strengths, leverage their respective advantages, and enhance coordination—all to ensure projects “bear fruit” as soon as possible. With this approach, when the starting gun fires, we are sure to take the lead.
No. 5 Table Tennis
The technical characteristics of table tennis are “speed, accuracy, power, and versatility” —just like investment promotion work. If we are even a split second too slow, major investors and high-quality projects will be snatched away by others, leaving us empty-handed.Therefore, investment promotion professionals must always maintain the relentless drive of a “workaholic,” embodying the spirit of “fighting, monitoring, and seizing.” They pursue investment opportunities with insatiable hunger, snatch projects with the ferocity of wolves and tigers, employ every possible means to bring projects online, and race against the clock to ensure their implementation.
They focus their efforts on resolving the challenges of project implementation. Wherever there are “bottlenecks,” “traffic jams,” or “stalls,” they tackle the issues head-on with flexible and swift solutions, laying a solid foundation for projects to break ground, commence construction, begin operations, and yield results as soon as possible. With such skills at their disposal, investment promotion professionals are sure to claim the top spot.
Conclusion
After reading the Strategist’s sudden inspiration, do you also find it quite reasonable? There is a saying: “After enduring countless hardships, speaking countless words, traversing countless mountains and rivers, and exhausting every possible means”—for us investment promoters, this is by no means an empty slogan, but rather the reality of our daily work.
