“Success usually comes to those who are too busy looking for it.”
Jack Ma faced many ups and down and finally earn $20 billion, the market cap of $240 billion. A successful person not only achieves his goal but also shows others a path that leads to victory. Jack Ma is one of them who changed the conventional idea of commercial management and made an innovative philosophy. Today everyone knows the name of Jack Ma, the founder as well as CEO of Alibaba, but his journey towards success is a guideline for any small business-man or struggler.
How to manage the journey?
The journey of Jack Ma from an English teacher of Hangzhou to the “Crazy Ma” is something incredible. His unconventional thought and different management philosophy helped him to reach the goal. And now he has one of the most valuable companies. He uses the best eastern and western technology, unique management system in just 15 years. Ma’s management style changed the history of economic administration.
Jack Ma’s Crazy philosophy on management
Jack Ma is the richest man in China, and megalithic IPO in the USA. From small surrounding his company become the largest global technological enterprise. Ma’s company Alibaba promoted $250 billion, and the income was 7.9 billion in 2013. Alibaba associated with the electrical payments, an entertainment channel, supply-chain infrastructure and investment policy, and later expanded to global technological work. Have a look what is Jack Ma’s crazy, innovative philosophy:
- Act like Forrest Gump
Sometimes an excellent movie or a fantastic book inspires people like anything. There are lots of examples how an achiever gets motivation through a book or film which leads him to the victory. Jack Ma is one of them, who not only inspired by the movie Forest Gump but also become an inspiration for the whole world.
Ma can connect with the leading character’s innocence, struggle and his ups and down. He learnt that nothing is impossible if one could be able to stick to the point, follow his good principal and ethics, and never thinks to give up after endless hard-work even when he doesn’t get any instant result. The movie has an outstanding turning point but it all about keeping patience.
Like forest Gump Ma can always see the new possibility with innocence belief. He also trusts the life is a box of chocolate and technology can do the magic. Positive-minded entrepreneurs watch every possibilities and impossibilities, but they only see on positive sight. Jack Ma never allow an obstacle to get him down or discourage him anyway.
- Invention over invention
Ma has a clear idea that invention and innovation is not the same thing. From history, the concept becomes more prominent. For example, Bill Gates didn’t invent the computer, or Steve Jobs didn’t discover the digital music player. Ma constructed his emperor based on the previous foundation. It’s like innovate something new over an invention.
When the eBay already had ecommerce site, Ma started his Taobao. Ma used his brain correctly; he adapted a specific concept based on China, its culture, heritage, philosophy and history, which gives his activity the best luck. Ma makes China’s every single transaction very personal, the real-time-chat was available for customer and seller. Ma knows the importance of communication very well. Everytime pure invention is not mandatory for achieving the goal.
- Don’t fix any limitation
You never know about your limitation, so don’t set a limit at the beginning. You don’t know how far you can reach. Ma has always closely related with the executive, skilled, smart, capable people. Ma becomes determined about his goal. He hired foreign experts and executives to blend the East-West concept.
- Ma joined with Jerry Yang, who is the co-founder of Yahoo, and Japanese Softbank Company’s chairman Masayoshi Son, later these two people became the investor of Alibaba soon. The step genuinely helps the growth of the company.
- Intelligent founder allows other experts to control or to guide his company for his benefits. A unique businessman does what is right for their growth, and he doesn’t allow ego here.
- The proper balancing between professional and personal life
Every successful businessperson has to do lots of struggle, but that does not mean that they sacrifice their personal life. When you’re struggling to survive, probably want to be the fittest one you have to face lots of pressure, the obstacle which are reason of the depression. But depression doesn’t allow you to reach your goal.
Jack Ma had faced so many hard situations, but it doesn’t affect him as he is a fun-loving person individually. He has often participated in singing contest karaoke with his employees to make an easy-going atmosphere in the company. He does not always focus on the work, so he decided to keep 15,000 of the company’s income for employee’s entertainment. He was able to make an image like an inspirational guru to the employees. Ma’s charming personality is something to be followed by the Alibaba’s members.
Ma has studied western culture, the concept of management skill and how to do the business successfully, he took the point what is necessary and then he combined this knowledge with passion and understanding of Chinese lifestyle, habit, and culture. And this step helps him to become the founder of a unique global Chinese brand.
“East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall meet,” Rudyard Kipling wrote this line before. And then Ma took his innovative step that changed the whole idea, broke every boundary of East and West.
- Attitude is everything
Jack Ma values the attitude most. Ma often shares his journey from the very beginning to the present status; he points out his all mistakes that he has done before and then tries to show them their goal. He teaches his employees the technical skills.
Foresight
Ma has the foresight and he believes that every skilled manager should have the foresight. His attempt is always staying one step ahead in the competitive market. Here anticipation is the main thing.
Have a look for more details: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/237881
What a good manager does?
- Team unity
Being an excellent manager, Ma always focused on smarter people than him, and by using his skill, he made it sure that they would work together. He never compromises with the quality when he hires the employee, and the teamwork are the most important thing for him. He never allows personal ego among the employees and tries to build good team unity. A good manager has a clear idea about the weakness and strengths of the employees, and how to bring out the best performance from each one. A manager is one who always guides the people, motivates them for betterment.
- Psychological Safety
The secret of a successful company is a great team. You need to build the trust first, as the trust-issue is the vital thing for teamwork as well as for the company. Psychological safety comes here. So what is psychological safety? According to Ma there should be a friendly atmosphere in a team where any member can take the risk, they can share a new idea with each-other, or can ask if they have any quarries without hesitation. Non-embarrassment should not be there in a team.
- Hear other’s voice
According to Jack Ma, an intelligent manager knows that he has so many things to learn from others, so listening to the other member’s ideas and experiences could be beneficial for the company. A manager should listen others statement, it can also give an idea about employee’s weakness and strength and helps to build a good relationship.
- Cognitive empathy
Empathy is sometimes needed in office when everyone is going through lots of stress and struggle. Showing empathy also helps to release other’s stress. Emotional empathy also deals with other feelings and builds a bonding. Ma’s new philosophy always focuses on how to make a good relationship between employees.
- Set an example
A good manager or team leader should set a mind-blowing example so that other members of the company can get motivation from him. When a good manager sets an example in front of others, he not only achieves the respect from others but also many people started following him. Ma also set an extraordinary example for the whole world.
- Authenticity is a criteria
A manager should be an authentic person in order to gain employee’s trust. No one is perfect in the world, so one should show what he is. Authenticity doesn’t mean that you have to share everything about your own business; it means to be stick to your principle and ethics.
- Need to be transparent
A manager should say his vision, ideas, intention and strategy clearly to every member of the company; his statement provides necessary information for their best work. A manager should be a transparent person.
- Disagree and commit
Disagree and commit is a significant term on the management style. According to the term disagree and commit, sometimes you should obey the team’s decision even when you’re not convinced with their idea, but you have to trust on their guts. Then team can go for a new experiment, new growth, and new possibilities and they will gain confidence.
- The right time to give praise or criticism
The research of Harvard Business Review shows that there is always a perfect time to provide positive or negative feedback. A good management is all about improving the performances. A good manager should appreciate a member’s good job as soon as possible; or he should note down the thing to say it later without forgetting it. Balanced feedback is needed for the employees. The negative feedback should be constructive. Any mistake done by the member must be informed immediately for an instant result; it also helps to prevent further mistake.
- Be straight and specific
A good manager should know how to be straight forward to his job. His point should be specific like when he points out something, it must be clear and it does not make any sense if there are lots of irrelevant things in his statement.
- Hiring and improving the right people
Why is Jack Ma so successful in his career? The key point is he knows very well, who is the smartest one for his company? Who can serve him the best? Like Ma every successful CEO is very choosy about their employees. After the selection part, the grooming is very vital. Whether one is fresher or experienced in the field, everyone needs a training period to have a clear idea about his task as well as the current company’s policy. A unique company’s founder does not show a conventional path to his members but tries to teach to go through a new innovative way.
- Communication
Last but not least is the communication power, which is the essential requirement for good management skill. A skilled manager must know how and when to communicate with the employees. The excellent communication ability makes a happy and healthy atmosphere in the company, which is necessary for the company’s growth. A manager’s righteous communication gives a great impression to others from the company.
- Emotional intelligence
Emotional intelligence plays a vital role in business management. Emotional intelligence does not mean to play with the emotion; it merely means to understand other’s feeling through their behaviour and attitude. If you are aware of others emotion, you can make the excellent decision about performance, facilities supplies, you can help to improve the weak zone of the members. The contemporary management style is very different than the conventional method.
In 21century, a well-educated manager has trained well of how to use the emotional intelligence properly, how to research each employee’s emotions, how to show them respect. One needs the standard integrity and excellent communication skills to become an effectual team leader. A good manager should be more active in work than words. Emotional intelligence will definitely contribute a lot to the business field in future.
Author Profile:
Youngme Moon is a Professor at Harvard Business School. She received her B.A. from Yale University, M.A. from Stanford University, and Ph.D. from Stanford University. At Harvard Business School, she has launched a number of strategic innovations, including the MBA FIELD curriculum and the Harvard Business Online learning platform. For more information about her, please click here.