If we go to work at 8 a.m. and go home at 5 p.m., this is not a high-tech company and Alibaba will never be successful. If we have that kind of 8-5 spirit, then we should just go and do something else.
Interpretation
Success requires dedication and a break from conventional work hours.
Jack Ma emphasizes that a true high-tech company necessitates more commitment than the traditional 8 to 5 work schedule. This quote reflects the idea that innovation and success demand a relentless pursuit of goals, often requiring flexibility and a willingness to go beyond standard working hours.
In practice
During a motivational speech in a corporate setting.
Hong Kong people say Hong Kong needs to preserve its uniqueness. I say Hong Kong's uniqueness is in its diversity, its tolerance of difference cultures... China does not want to see Hong Kong in decline. I have full confidence in its future.
If we are a good team and know what we want to do, one of us can defeat tons of them.
It's not that other countries steal jobs from you guys. It's your strategy. Distribute the money and things in a proper way.
Helping doing business easier, we choose the name Alibaba because it is a global company. It is founded in China, but it was created for the world.
In the beginning I just wanted to survive. For the first three years, we made zero revenue. I remember many times when I was trying to pay up, the restaurant owner would say, 'Your bill was paid.' And there would be a note saying, 'Mr. Ma, I'm your customer on the Alibaba platform. I made a lot of money, and I know you don't, so I paid the bill.'
Even if your competitor is still small in size or weak, you should take him seriously and treat him as a giant. Likewise, even if your competitor is massive in size, you shouldn't regard yourself as a weakling.
Confidence doesn't come out of nowhere. It's a result of something... hours and days and weeks and years of constant work and dedication.
There is always someone better than you. Whatever it is that you do for a living, chances are, you will run into a situation in which you are not as talented as the person next to you. That's when being a competitor can make a difference in your fortunes.
In short, you can't let the deadline define the mission. The mission has to define the duration.
If we each get on a treadmill right now, one of two things is going to happen... either you're going to get off first or I am going to die. Period.
It's okay to work for someone else; not everyone is cut out to own a business, and even so, working for someone else is a chance to learn how to both be an employee and an employer.
I don't know anything about luck, but that the harder I train, the luckier I get.
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