Embrace disagreement, transparency, respect, speaking up, and criticism.
By Assertive Way
Jack Ma is the 2nd richest man in China, and his wealth is entirely self-made. He is the man behind Alibaba, the world’s largest eCommerce business.
Jack Ma is not worried about what others think. He is more focused on his goals. Jack Ma has imperfect English to this day. He could have decided a long time ago that speaking English with poor accent and grammatical errors was too embarrassing to even try. But he didn’t.
Jack Ma has imperfect English to this day. He could have decided a long time ago that speaking English with poor accent and grammatical errors was too embarrassing to even try. But he didn’t.
Yet it does not stop him from speaking at the World Economic Forum and speaking to Obama, Elon Musk and Steve Forbes. His drive for learning and impact are a lot stronger than any concern about what others think of him.
He is also very curious. For many years, Jack Ma offered to be a free guide to foreign visitors in his hometown, so he could satisfy his curiosity about the western world. That strategy allowed him to learn English and learn new perspectives.
Jack Ma does not have a technical background and does not know how to code. And he still founded the largest eCommerce business in the world.
Even though he is a serious businessperson, he has a relaxed and quirky attitude. Sometimes he performs music and dance shows with unique attire.
Here are 10 important career lessons from Jack Ma, through his quotes.
- Embrace disagreement
- “If everybody agrees, then there is no opportunity.” – Jack Ma
- “It’s easier to win if you have people seeing things from different perspectives.” – Jack Ma
- Embrace criticism
- “If people criticize you, you have to think.” – Jack Ma
- “I spend a lot of my time listening to complaints.” – Jack Ma
- Don’t just accept a ‘no’
- “Of course, you are not happy when people say ‘no.’ Have a good sleep, wake up, try it again.” – Jack Ma
- “I love Forrest Gump” and “Simple, never give up.” – Jack Ma
- Focus on what matters not on what others think
- “I even don’t dare to watch our stock price, because this is what other people think who you are. I dare not watch it. I think, let the market take care of themselves, we should take care of the business.” – Jack Ma
- Be transparent
- “As a company, we have to be very transparent. We are in a business very related to finance, and I want this company to last long, and I want this company to be audited by everyone.” – Jack Ma
- Be caring and respectful
- “You give respect, trust, appreciation, and correct heartful advice.” – Jack Ma
- “I do everything to make sure my customer is happy, my employee is happy, society is healthy. I would focus on customers, I would focus on not making money, I would focus on making values.” – Jack Ma
- “Last century, people competed with muscle. This century, it’s not muscle, it’s wisdom. If a person wants to be successful, he should have a high EQ. If he doesn’t want to lose quickly, he should have a high IQ, but if he wants to be respected, he should have a high LQ, the Q of love.” – Jack Ma
- “Respect your competitors.” – Jack Ma
- Speak up
- “We are like a war room. We make decisions based on who’s voice is louder ” – Jack Ma
- “Making sure everybody speaks up.” – Jack Ma
- Embrace failure and rejection
- “There’s an examination for young people to go to university. I failed it three times. I failed a lot. So I applied to 30 different jobs and got rejected. I went for a job with the police; they said, ‘You’re no good.’ I even went to KFC when it came to my city. Twenty-four people went for the job. Twenty-three were accepted.” – Jack Ma
- “I applied for Harvard 10 times rejected.” – Jack Ma
- Don’t give up
- “If you don’t give up, you still have a chance. Giving up is the greatest failure.” – Jack Ma
- Embrace your uniqueness
- “Don’t hire the most qualified, hire the craziest.” – Jack Ma
- “They called me crazy Jack. I think crazy is good.” – Jack Ma
A large part of Jack Ma’s success comes from being assertive.
A large part of Jack Ma’s success comes from being assertive. He embodied and ran his business with similar values: embracing disagreement, transparency, respect, speaking up, and criticism.
At 55, Jack Ma decided to retire after spending 20 years running Alibaba. He knows what he wants at this stage of his life: “I’m coming to this world not to work. I want to come to this world to enjoy my life. I don’t want to die in my office. I want to die on the beaches.”
SUMMARY
Jack Ma is not concerned about what others think of his imperfections, he cultivates curiosity and speaks publicly about what he believes in.
He embraces disagreement, criticism, failure and rejection and his own personal uniqueness. He encourages not just accepting a no, not giving up, and speaking up. He believes in transparency, respect, and caring attitude. He focuses on what matters not on what others think.
“Of course, you are not happy when people say ‘no.’ Have a good sleep, wake up, try it again.” – Jack Ma