You know these days, Jack Ma is worshipped like he’s God. Every word he says now is as good as bible truth.
When we take a person’s words and think that it is the barometer of how a life should run simply because they own the most profitable or the largest enterprise in the world, we must then raise our antennas and take extra precaution. This is to safeguard ourselves from falling completely heads over heels about their ideas only to find out in the end it’s a marketing ploy. Ponzi schemes were “successful” because of such charisma.
But what if this time it came from Jack Ma? He’s charismatic, confident and seemingly fresh in appeal because he’s Asian, a Chinese to be exact, that have captured the imagination of the global citizens.
Would you believe what he said? Will you believe all that he said he will do?
My wife has just shared me a video from Jack Ma’s presentation in America. I believe it was made late last year or early this year. The presentation was captivating, and so was his rendition of how and why China will continue to be an economic powerhouse in the coming future.
Did I believe all he said? Well I must say I do understand what he was trying to convey and I can appreciate what he was trying to impart. On whether I believe or not, I reckon it’s better to frame our minds according to what Jack said about being cheated online, “What if you missed the opportunity?”
With that in mind, I have penned my thoughts about Jack Ma’s speech after hearing them all. I wrote this not because I was convinced 100% by him but more so because I wanted to be reminded that should this opportunity becomes a real one, I wouldn’t want to miss it.
So here they are, my 10 Immediate Thoughts after hearing Jack’s speech at Gateway 2017:
1. New way of doing business is in a big part online. As such we should get used to doing everything online.
2. We must begin to inculcate online habits with our children. We need to allow them the chance to conduct their activities online so they will be familiar with a life conducted online for work, learning, communicating and everything else.
3. To be online we must invest in online capable tools like mobile phones, tablets and apps. Only then will we be part of the online economy.
4. China is where the centre of global demand is and they will continue to consume good products and services from around the world. So long as we produce good stuff and know how to reach out to our target segment in China, we will be able to make our business thrive.
5. We must see opportunity in technological advancement. Artificial Intelligence or AI will be the next big thing and our children will be the ones working and using robots. AI will be as common in the future as mobile phones is today.
6. Because technology has become robust and much more powerful and usable than before, a lot of things hence can be done easily compared to many years ago. As such, we must begin to inculcate the habits of being innovative and creative in using technology. It may also include being innovative and creative to harness the power of both technology and humans together. Because like Alibaba today, delivery or logistics is still a human-led activity. By marrying Alibaba’s tech capabilities and efficient logistics by humans, the reality of placing an order to delivering on time can happen. This means success in terms of adopting technology for business.
7. For anyone with a mind to survive, the simplest formula today is look at China. Why? Because China is already the big engine today and will continue to be a growing economic engine in the next 30 years. But if you have a mind to be successful which is more than just to survive, then you must build a business model that allows your products and services to be so attractive that the Chinese consumers cannot live without. IPhone is one example the Chinese is still crazy about today.
8. Always exercise wisdom because even if the robots come to our lives in the future, being wise means we are superior in terms of exercising better analysis and decision making. We must harness this unique human capabilities and seek wisdom all the time. Wisdom will be the main difference between human beings because technology enables everyone to be equal peers regardless of qualifications and background.
9. China has adopted globalisation and a lot of other theoretical wisdom and practical standards the world has developed. From the time of Nixon and Chairman Mao signing the Agreement in 1972, China has already become a powerhouse today. In fact it was already powerful before the turn of the millennia. What does this mean? Learning and practising diligently for our adoption is the way to go. We must embrace knowledge and experience like a blank piece of paper or absorb like a sponge and be colourblind about it. The more open we are, the more we deposit into our minds about what can and cannot be done. This is another avenue of where wisdom can be “taught”.
10. Is the rest of the world at a losing end since China has now emerged as a leading economy? Just as we accepted that Europe was once the dominant continent and how the Americans have led the world in the Industrial Era at one time and even recognising and in fact accepting that Japan was untouchable in delivering precision and perfection, we must also embrace that the world order has allowed China to rise right now. The rest of the world will not fade away just as they didn’t when Europe, America and Japan reigned in their areas of expertise. China may lead but it still needs the brilliant products and services from product creators and service providers from the rest of the world. This is an ecosystem of the world; it will always have a symbiotic relationship between people, business and countries.
Godspeed to you in this brand new world!
Photo credit: World Economic Forum via VisualHunt.com / CC BY-NC-SA