12 Key Lessons from Alibaba Jack Ma

Chang-Jin Kim

01. The Success of Alibaba Started from my Philosophy

Lesson #01   [ Growth ]

Prepare for winter and put up with all the odds. 

“Your magnanimity will be bigger upon the resentment you've overcome and the bigger resentment will bring you the bigger growth in the future.  You will never die just because you failed once or twice.  What matters is Dream in your mind, not difficulties you're facing now.  It is essential to see and take tomorrow aggressively and to change yourself first.

Lesson #02   [ Patience ]

Today is hard, tomorrow will be worse, but the day after tomorrow will be sunshine. 

“The best principle for the success I realized is that never give up and go for it valorously.  Renovate and break through constantly.  Break through yourself until you find the direction.  What is the important is that our belief on the future came from sufferings we experienced previously.  Today is hard, tomorrow will be worse, but the day after tomorrow will be sunshine.  But most of the people do not wait until the Sun rises on the next day, but just give up.  So whatever you do, the patience is the most essential factor.

Lesson #03   [ Start your Business ]

A barefoot person does not care those who wear shoes.

“In order to start your own business, you should have dream for it first.  My dream was to set up my own e-commerce company.  Actually starting a business or managing the business is simple thing to do.   All what you have to do is to keep strong passion on it.  In other words, you should be very sure that you want to start or to change something!  Once it is decided, just go for it indomitably.

You should find someone who has complementary skills to start a company with.  You shouldn't necessary look for someone successful.  Find the right people, not the best people

Lesson #04   [ Opportunity ]

The real opportunity lies in the place where is uncertain.

“If there are over 90% of the crowd saying “Yes” to approving a proposal, I will surely dispose the proposal into the trash can.  The reason is simple: if there are so many people who think that the proposal is good, surely there will be many people who would have been working on it, and the opportunity no longer belongs to us.  Take a step back and closely look at it when it is of no luck.”

Lesson #05   [ Running the Business ]

The more profit models, the less opportunities to make money. 
“I strongly believe that we can make money with these profit models.

Like the Amazon is the widest river and the Himalayas are highest mountains in the world, Alibaba is the most valuable treasury house in the world.  We provide our services free now and we will keep up these services.   We might be paid for the new services in the future, but none will be charged if it could not provide any values to consumers.

Lesson #06   [ Leader ]

Don't equip a tractor with engine for an airplane.

“CEO stands for ‘Customer', ‘Employee' and ‘Owner' for me.  CEO exists only for two situations.  One is a situation for decision making, and the other is of failure.  CEO, you must say “this is my fault' when it failed.  You should not say that it failed because of members in the organization or because of the problem in the organization.  And you should say “this is our success” when it succeeded.

02. If You Stand on Your Hands, then the World Looks Different.

Lesson #07   [ Management ]
The size of stage depends on the size of responsibility.

“How you can know about the level of business competency of a person?  I think about “the size of stage depends on the size of responsibility”  You are a good person if you are responsible for one person.  You are a manager if you are responsible for five persons.  You are CEO if you are responsible for 200~300 persons.  And you will be general secretary of China if you want to be responsible for 1.3 billion.  The capabilities are different from the responsibilities.  How many people you want to be responsible for?  How many people you are able to be responsible for?  What matters is your sense of responsibility, not your capability.”

Lesson #08   [ Innovation ]

You can make money if you keep your passion long.

I think there are three types of the businessperson.  ‘Merchant' just makes money.  ‘Businessperson' differentiates the business to go from the business to stop.  ‘Entrepreneur' takes social responsibility.  An entrepreneur should build the environment for society.  An entrepreneur should have a creative spirit.  People made money with courage in 80s and depended on the relationships in 90s.

Now we should depend on knowledge and capability.”

Lesson #09   [ Competition ]

Business is art.
“I think the competition is similar to a game in the business.  But business itself is more similar to art.

You should learn from your competitor first.  Only a person who learns from competitor could make the progress.  And then it will be a problem if you feel tired in this progress.  You will feel better when the other is getting tired.  You can win when the other admits that he or she truly loses.  You should compete this way.

Lesson #10   [ Strategy ]

Do the right first, and do correctly later  

“You should do the right thing first to set up the correct strategy.  And then, you should do correctly.

If you do the right thing, you can make big achievements with less effort.  But if you do the wrong thing, you will fail more quickly as you focus on it more accurately.  CEO should do the right thing first, and do correctly later.  Be sure to put the cart before the hose.

Lesson #11   [ Investment ]

To make money, take it light first.
“For entrepreneur, earning money is a result, not a goal.  The most stupid person in the world is the one who believe oneself as smart person.  The more you want to make money, the more you can't make money.  

Lesson #12   [ Your Life ]

Don't bury yourself in the success of commonness.

“Somebody asks me what do I fear about, but I have no fear.  We are born to live and experience life.  No matter how great you are, your life is a journey of 36,000days at the best.  We didn't come here to make money, nor to do the business.  We came here to enjoy our lives.  The sufferings are also experience.  Actually pain and suffering are nothing at all.  You should keep no regrets when you leave at the end.  Enjoy all opportunities what the society let you do.

written by Jiangyen, translated by SH Kim, supervised by MH Hyun, Maeil Business Newspaper