By Ma Yun

Why We Become Rich

By Ma Yun

R ecently I become very influential.Especially after we went public,everybody looks at me differently.All media stare at us.Everybody wonders why Alibaba develops so fast,and why Ma Yun is so successful.

As for me,September 6th 2014 was no different from the day before,and I did not feel anything changed.

In a general meeting,I said,Alibaba was a fast-developing small company with strong influence.We must be very clear in mind that we are still small and the way ahead of us is too long.If we regard it as a multinational or a very strong corporation,the road ahead of us will be narrowed down.

Near the day to stock market,I called together the staff and workers who had worked in the company over 5 years and asked them one question:There are so many millionaires in Alibaba.People admire our success.Why are we successful?Because we work harder than others?I do not think so.Although we are very diligent indeed,many people are more diligent than us.Then is it because we are cleverer than others?I do not think so,either.Some four or five years ago it was difficult to recruit workers, but now it is quite easy.We can employ everyone who can walk.We are neither more diligent nor smarter than the average.But we become rich.Why we become so rich now?It is because we are lucky and rather foolish.

About eight years ago a lot of peoplejoined Alibaba.Some clever men said the company gave fewer opportunities. Some went to other companies,and some left for their own business.Their salaries increased.Those who were not clever enough stayed,nobody wants to hunt us.Five years later,we became men of wealth.

We know who we are,and we are very clear of the reasons of our success. Firstly,thanks to the rapid development ofinternetandthenthehigh-speed growth of Chinese economy.Certainly, our team is an important factor too. Some people praised me for my capabilities.To be honest,those who should be praised are my staff.I took the entrance examination three times,and I never dreamed of being among the top three. When I was honored top 3,I felt unbelievable.But I have to tell the truth that I was never left over the 15th.I told my son:“You don’t have to be in the top 3. Middle is OK,not too poor.”This is my true opinion.Only by this can he have enough time to study other skills.

I believe most of the time one needs to hear the truth from others.I was once invited to be a judge of Winning in China.Some of the contestants were lovely, humorous,and even funny,but they should be through.The director wanted to keep them on for more audience.I answered if you wanted to choose“super girls”,you should invite judges from the art society.That was the moment I thought I should speak honestly.The aim of this show is to find the best start-ups,not a contest for funniest comedian.

You must focus when running a corporation.Set up no more than three strategic targets for your company.Both you and your staff will tend to forget anything more than three.

Why Alibaba has not eight but seven branches?One’s capability and capacity has a limit,managing 7 teams is one’s utmost limit.Anything above seven will be poorly managed.Some start-ups regret being unsuccessful after in operation for two years and failed to reach its KPI (Key Performance Indicator).Our suc-cess comes from persistence.We stared in electronic business 9 years ago.We have never attempted in other areas.At that time of period,for the sake of survival or get into the stock market earlier, we surely could try other fields,such as games.I dislike get up early and sleep too late.So I spoke to myself,I have hang on for 9 years already,why not another 90 years.We keep on walking forward unhesitatingly.

Sometimes one must know what to give up.Only by giving up one can make progress.In the past years,some of us set up businesses to catch up with the internet,but they failed.They surely knew that the internet was a rock,but still rushed on it.Human beings are different from animals.We should know how to walk around obstacles.

These years we recruit different kinds of menandwomeninAlibaba.The founder,alsothechairman,ofour branch company Alipay did not know what is Alipay,or what a bank system is before he came to us.He was a salesman.I sent him to Hanzhou to start our branch Alipay.Why did I choose such a layman?The answer is simple.I need someone familiar with customers and their needs.A leader does not have to know everything,but he should know how to utilize his staff.Choosing the right man as leader is the key step for success of a company.Experts can be assistance instead of leader.

The leader’s eyesight and generosity are both important.Alibaba has three indexes to assess leaders and the staff. They are strategy,team and result.The former is connected with destiny.It describes your aim,customers and services.

Leaders must set up values for your team.Many people run small companies into big ones,and they think that they are strong enough to do everything.I hope you remember that running a big company,you have to keep small company’s mind and big company’s vision.

Many bosses focus on result.They work to fulfill a sum of income.If so, your team will be very tired.Keeping the things you want to do by heart and do it carefully,you can get to your aim naturally.

Glaring at service instead of money is the rational way of managing a team. Strategy,team and result are all important in management.

(FromMa Yun’s Speeches to Staff and Workerspublished by the Red Flag Publishing House.Produced by CSBOOKY. Translation:Joseph Ma.Illustration:Zhu Chengping)