July 7, 2016
“Most companies bear the imprint of their founders, but few more than Alibaba. Jack Ma’s outsize influence stems from his passion for teaching. Although he left the profession two decades ago, Jack has never really stopped being an educator. He used to joke that in his case CEO stood for “Chief Education Officer.” Fourteen years after founding the company Jack relinquished the title to become chairman. But the switch served only to heighten his authority. His chosen successor as CEO lasted barely two years in the job.”
July 7, 2016
“So, Jack doesn’t look the part of a corporate chieftain. He possesses all the trappings, including luxury homes around the world and a Gulfstream jet, but otherwise Jack doesn’t really act the part, either. ”
July 7, 2016
“Where other business moguls like to talk up their connections or academic credentials, Jack enjoys talking down his own: “I don’t have a rich or powerful father, not even a powerful uncle.” Having never studied abroad, he likes to describe himself as “one hundred percent Made in China.” He stands out as a tech company founder with no background in technology. At Stanford University in 2013 he confessed, “Even today, I still don’t understand what coding is all about, I still don’t understand the technology behind the Internet.”
Jack has made a career out of being underestimated: “I am a very simple guy, I am not smart. Everyone thinks that Jack Ma is a very smart guy. I might have a smart face but I’ve got very stupid brains.”
July 7, 2016
“On the first day of trading of Alibaba’s shares, Jack was interviewed by CNBC live on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. When he was asked which person had most inspired him, Jack replied without hesitation, “Forrest Gump.” His interviewer paused, then said, “You know he’s a fictional character?”
July 7, 2016
“Jack’s ability to charm and cajole has played an important role in attracting talent and capital to the company, as well as building his own fame. Jack has a unique Chinese combination of blarney and chutzpah. One of his earliest foreign employees3 summed up for me his qualities in two words: “Jack Magic.”
July 7, 2016
“Central to Jack’s own distortion field are his skills as a communicator. Jack’s speaking style is so effective because his message is so easy to agree with, remember, and digest. ”
July 7, 2016
“Jack always speaks without notes. His oratorical skills are so effective because his repertoire is so narrow. Jack can dispense with notes because he already knows much of his material: a well-honed stable of stock stories”
July 7, 2016
“ I have turned around to look at the faces of the audience, trying to understand what explains his enduring appeal.”
July 7, 2016
“Humor is a big part of it. As a quick look at any of the hundreds of videos available on YouTube of his most popular speeches will reveal, Jack is very funny.”
July 14, 2016
“After giving a talk to a group of students in South Korea, Jack himself appeared to be consumed by emotion when asked about his biggest regrets in life, replying that he regretted not spending more time with his family. After composing himself, he added, “Normally I make other people cry.”
July 14, 2016
“ An American colleague once asked Jack about his references to Mao in his speeches in China. Jack explained, “For me to motivate you I would talk about George Washington and the cherry tree.”
July 14, 2016
“Perhaps the most famous lesson of Jack the teacher is known by heart by every Alibaba employee: “Customers first, employees second, and shareholders third.” Jack describes this as Alibaba’s philosophy.”
July 14, 2016
“Jack doesn’t sugar coat the challenges to his employees. One of his favorite messages to them, and a “bit” in his comedy routine, is “Today is brutal, tomorrow is more brutal, but the day after tomorrow is beautiful.”
July 14, 2016
“The goal for Alibaba to survive for 102 years might seem weird to outsiders but not to his employees, especially the Aliren (the “Ali People”)—those with more than three years of service—for whom it is an accepted part of the Alibaba culture.”
July 14, 2016
“ In public, Jack likes to make fun of his shareholders and investors, a means to burnish his credentials as a maverick with his employees and the general public. When the share price of Alibaba’s first business, alibaba.com, languished on the stock market in 2009, Jack cried out at the rock concert–style gathering for the company’s employees, “Let the Wall Street investors curse us if they wish!” Not exactly standard behavior for the senior executive of a publicly listed company.”
July 14, 2016
“When asked by President Obama in Manila what spurred his interest in the environment, Jack told the story of a lake in which he had last swam when he was twelve years old. “I went to swim in a lake and almost died in the lake because the water was so deep, much deeper than I thought. Five years ago I went to the lake, the total lake was dry.”
July 14, 2016
“The bicycles at Alibaba are orange and include tandems: the two seats illustrating the company’s emphasis on teamwork above individual achievement.”
July 14, 2016
“A more tangible benefit for the couples and other Alibaba employees is the interest-free loan of up to $50,000 offered to finance the down payment on a new apartment, an increasingly valued perk for staff members working in high-cost cities like Hangzhou and Beijing. Thousands of employees have taken advantage of the loans, amounting to several hundred millions dollars today.”
July 14, 2016
“Employees are discouraged from ever complaining—a pet peeve of Jack’s—and encouraged instead to shoulder personal responsibility, carrying out or delegating tasks rather than waiting for orders from on high”
July 14, 2016
“Customer first” is reflected in the power given to Taobao’s xiaoer referees and in the composition of Alibaba’s workforce. Most of Alibaba employees work in sales, a much higher proportion than the more technical bent of competitors like Tencent and Baidu. Face-to-face visits are a key part of Alibaba’s sales methods.”
July 14, 2016
“The call to “embrace change” is reflected in Alibaba’s frequent rotation of its employees, switching them regularly between various new products or between regions of the country, regardless of performance.”
July 14, 2016
“Whatever the inspiration for regular rotation, Alibaba devolves a lot of autonomy to its business units, an effort to maintain a relatively flat management hierarchy and minimize the temptation to shame and blame.”
July 14, 2016
“Jack doled out much more equity, and at an earlier stage, than many of his Internet founder peers. But he has kept a firm control on the company through his gift for communicating and his lofty ambitions. A modern-day Don Quixote, Jack relishes tilting at windmills, from retail to finance, to entertainment, health care, and beyond.”
Notes From: Duncan Clark. “Alibaba: The House That Jack Ma Built.” iBooks.
