I think everyone probably knows Jack Ma and ‘Alibaba’ is the company that he started. He is well known as a wise man and a leader. It took him much time to reach the top position without experiencing hardship at all.
Behind the story has such elements as numerous challenges, rejections, and failures. However, all those challenges were mutual to face but how Jack Ma tackled them, made him unique. Instead of repeating the same energy, he gave them to move up. He did not give emphasis on the failure in the first view but observed them in the third view where he tried to gain view of events and circumstances. Now, let’s analyze Jack Ma’s journey, in order to get the picture of him, who in time became the leader of this world giant and make it interesting.
The College Entrance Exam – The First Failure
Jack Ma’s story begins in the classroom, where he faced his first major failure; the ‘Gaokao’ Chinese college entrance examination. It was not for the first time Ma had failed but the second time as well. The disappointment could have easily knocked others off their feet and made many to quit but not Jack Ma. Instead, he learned an important lesson that the process does not stop when there is failure.
Early rejection greatly influenced his attitude and behavior later in his life that taught him the importance of persistence. Most importantly, he attempted to give the exam for the third time and he succeeded!
Step 2: KFC – A Tough Job Market and The Second Failure
On completing his course, Jack Ma stepped into the job market with a hopeful dream. Of the 24 applicants including Jack Ma sent to KFC, one of the most famous companies in the world, he was the only one to be refused. So, the 23 applicants were accepted but he was the 24th and just for the number of ‘3’ he left to be refused.
Just think how that must have been for them especially having watched others get that job over and over again. How will you feel?
Yet, instead of bowing out quickly, Ma saw this rejection as yet another time to get back into the classroom. He didn’t take it personally. Still, he did not end up doing it because he was able to see it as just another event in the big scheme of things.
Step 3: Alibaba – The Struggle for Investment and The Historical Failure leaded him to be winner
Before he got his success, three major failures were in the record of Jack Ma. His first business experience, the ‘Hangzhou Haibo Translation Agency’ remained rather unimpressive, yet it familiarized him with the possibilities of the Internet.
In 1995, he founded ‘China Pages’ to provide web hosting services for Chinese firms. However, there were revenues though, the service failed to expand and generate much revenue against competition forcing Ma to exit in 1998 then he set up ‘Alibaba’ with little workforce and little working capital.
At first, Alibaba had some doubts and low growth rate, but within a span of ‘3’ years everything has been changed, $25 million in foreign investment Ma declined eBay’s acquisition offer and entered into a partnership agreement with Yahoo for $1 billion. This bold decision made Alibaba an international e-commerce company and proved that Ma never made a failure but got prepared to reach the success from the failure.
The number of ‘3’ has impacted his life amazingly. Now, people can recognize Jack Ma as one of the most successful business tycoons in the globe. However, he was not successful because he never practiced failure but rather, he deliberately practiced it. His “Third Person View” helped him to look at the obstacles from above, not to notice them and stay constant until the end. He was not one to allow personal disappointments to give a negative definitive answer to his destiny. However, he sharpened his strategies every time that he was fired and he was narrowing down his dreams.
Jack Ma’s life is an excellent example that failure is not a finish line, it is only a step in the path. Through understanding that ants are big, avoiding failure and keeping the eye on the ball, Jack Ma emerged as the visionary of a global business entity. This is a humbling example of what everyone learns in life that success is not about not getting rejected, but about how one bounces back from rejection.
And lastly, ‘Never give up, Today is hard, tomorrow will be worse, but the day after tomorrow will be sunshine.”- Jack Ma.
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Writer,
Jemi Sailuk
Intern, Content Writing Department,
YSSE.