Leadership Psychology In Business: Jack Ma's Advice

Ma Yun, also known as Jack Ma, is a Chinese entrepreneur, the founder, and chairman of the board of directors of Alibaba Group. He was the first mainland Chinese businessman whose photo appeared on the cover of Forbes magazine. As of the beginning of 2023, Jack Ma’s fortune was estimated at $41.5 billion.

Jack Ma is a man who achieved success through his unwavering determination. He grew up during China’s Cultural Revolution, a challenging period in Chinese history. As a teenager, Jack Ma secretly visited a provincial hotel in Hangzhou, where he befriended tourists and learned English, which had fascinated him since childhood.

After several unsuccessful attempts to obtain a higher education, Ma became an English teacher at a local university and worked for a monthly salary of $12 for several years. The trade and export boom in China in the early 1990s allowed him to establish his own translation agency. In 1995, while on a business trip, he visited the United States and discovered the existence of the internet.

This discovery became Ma’s second passion. Upon returning to China, he founded China Pages, an analogue of the “Yellow Pages.” The first Chinese internet company turned out to be unwanted by both users and the government, which Ma tried to convince of the potential of the internet. It soon closed its doors.

Ma, ahead of his time, had to return to government service, and for the next four years, he worked at the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation. Afterward, he created the largest online trading platform, and the whole world came to know him. AdmiGram.com admires this remarkable individual and cites the greatest Chinese entrepreneur. These pieces of advice represent invaluable wisdom.

Leadership psychology in business: Jack Ma’s advice

Motivation, Professionalism, Dedication

In 2001, I made a mistake. I told my employees, with whom I co-founded the company, that the career ceiling in the company for them was the manager level. To hire top-level executives like vice-presidents and above, I thought I needed to find professionals from outside. Years later, none of those hired professionals were still working in the company, but those I had doubts about are performing excellently as vice-presidents and even higher.

I have a guiding principle: your attitude towards work and the decisions you make are more important than your abilities. You cannot make everyone think the same way, but you can make everyone believe in a common goal.

Don’t even try to make your employees think the same way; it’s impossible. One-third of the people working for you don’t believe in you. Don’t allow them to work ‘against the personality.’ Instead, unite them around a common goal. It’s much easier to bring people together around a common idea than around a single leader, no matter how incredible that leader may be.

How a Company Leader Differs from an Employee

The head of a company should never compare their technical skills with those of employees. Employees’ technical skills should always be better than yours. Otherwise, you’ve hired the wrong people.

So, what distinguishes a leader from an ordinary employee?

A company leader must have a vision for the company’s development many years ahead.
A leader must possess firmness of character and perseverance to endure what ordinary employees cannot.
They must have exceptional resilience to withstand the trials of fate and weather the inevitable failures.
Therefore, a good leader is characterized by vision, determination, and character.

Business and Politics Don’t Mix

Politics and money rarely go hand in hand. If you go into politics, forget about business. Conversely, when money meets politics, it’s like a match meeting dynamite – expect an explosion.

5 Theses for Modern Young People

What is a true failure? A true failure is giving up the fight.
What is flexibility? You’ll understand what flexibility is when you experience failures, tough life situations, and disappointments.
What are your responsibilities? Your responsibilities are to be more diligent, work harder, and have more ambition than others.
The wise speak with their hearts, not just their heads. Only fools use their mouths to speak.
We are here to live life to the fullest. I always tell myself that we are not born to work but to enjoy life. We are here to make other people’s lives better, not to spend all our time working.

If you spend all your time working, sooner or later, you will regret it.

About Competitors and Competition

Only fools treat competitors with aggression.
If you treat everyone around you as enemies, they will become your enemies.
When you compete with each other, avoid hatred; it will destroy you.
Competition is like a game of chess. If you lose, you can always play another round. There’s no need to fight.
A true entrepreneur has no enemies. Once you realize that, no one can stop you.

About Whining and Complaints

If you allow yourself to whine occasionally, there’s nothing wrong with that.

If you fall into depression regularly and often complain about life, it’s like alcoholism – the more you drink, the harder it is to stop. On your path to success, you’ll notice that successful people don’t complain.

The world doesn’t care about what you say; it cares about what you do.

Advice for Entrepreneurs

Real opportunities lie where no one else sees them.
Strive to make your employees come to work with joy.
Number one is customers. Number two is employees. And only then, at number three, shareholders.
Start adapting to new conditions before others notice them.
Forget about money and how you will earn it.
Instead of implementing small tricks and gimmicks, focus on stability and long-term plans.
Your attitude determines how far you will go.

About Entrepreneurship

It’s often the case that a good opportunity is difficult to explain clearly. What can be explained simply and easily is usually not a good opportunity.
As a partner, you should find someone who complements your skills. You don’t necessarily need someone successful.
Look for the right people, not necessarily the best people.
The most unreliable thing in this world is the relationship between people.
“Free” is a very expensive word.
Today will be tough, tomorrow will be even worse, but the day after tomorrow will be beautiful.

What Not to Do

The worst qualities for an entrepreneur are: being a snob, not being able to assess the situation adequately, setting a high pace without the ability to sustain it, and not having the ability to look ahead.
If you don’t know everything about your competitors, or if you underestimate them, or if you don’t see them as a threat, you will definitely lose.
If your competitor is smaller than you or too weak, you should still treat them as equals. Similarly, if your competitor is much larger than you, don’t be afraid of them.

About Your Business

When you start your own business, it means you’re giving up a stable income, sick days, and annual bonuses.
On the other hand, it means your income is unlimited, you’ll use your time more efficiently, and you won’t have to ask for permission from others.
If your decisions differ from those of your peers, your life will also differ, for better or worse.

image on top: LMA Vietnam / Flickr