What a week in Hangzhou! Returning back to the spot in Alibaba, which we visited a year ago with ASEF. Now for the sixth time at Alibaba in one year. I start to like this place…

After spending 1 year at the core of Chinese startups, bigger companies and lived through the national startup push, 大众创业万众创新, I’ve come to understand Alibaba more from the inside. It’s so much more than what we have expected or thought. Yes, it makes super amazing, historical and gigantic sales, yes its the leading e-commerce platform in the world, yes they have more money than Davy Crockett…

But it’s about something so much more. It’s about China returning back to the position it has held for centuries and millennia, it’s the first massively succeeded company in the world that gets it inspiration from the Chinese culture, it’s about a group of 18 people with a big miracle in the late 1990s, who shared a common vision and ended up changing the world. About people who want to make an impact, who believe in cool and energetic working culture, who are true to themselves, who all the time want to openly learn more, who are curious about new things and who have a common mission.

In Alibaba people are not graded by their business value. That’s only one half of your value to the company. The other half comes from your values and your “Ali Wei” (阿里味儿) , how you are practicing Alibaba’s core values in your work. Alibaba key values are:

1 客户第一 Customer first

2 诚信 Integrity/honesty

3 拥抱变化 Embrace change

4 激情 Passion

5 敬业 Devotion

6 团队合作 Team co-operation

Your KPI, Key performance Indicator, is formed by your business scores and your values. I like. There’s also an interesting rule of 3-6-1, meaning the best 30% are able to get promoted, 60% are the majority, 10% is the under performers. If you end up the last 10% and don’t change your ways of doing things, you are kicked out. No-one who doesn’t respect the Alibaba values, can stay in the company. And those who do, are rewarded. Sounds good. We could learn a lot from it.

I have always met only great people at Alibaba. It’s truly amazing. Usually always everyone are super open, kind, clever, adaptable, positive and welcoming. It feels also that there’s something magic at their central campus in Hangzhou. The yard is not only super big, it’s also super beautiful and has elements from classical Chinese culture with its gardens inside. Alibaba is truly unique global company. It’s helping to bring China back to what it used to be: the first market-society in the world in Song Dynasty a millennia ago.

“Many people think that Alibaba is a global company, but I’d say we’re 85% Chinese”, says Liu Qiang from the Public relations bureau. So you’d might want to call yourself “glocal” company? “Yes, exactly, that’s a good expression.”

Alibaba is becoming one of the most interesting global companies in the world. Among its 36000 employees, only 500 are foreigner. And only around 200 of them work in Hangzhou China. But 500 will be 5000 in one year! Alibaba has 3 key focuses for this year, and one of them is internationalization or globalization. The goal is to get stuff out to the world through Aliexpress and through Tmall get stuff in. It has also 6 Ambassadors and a dozen global offices already everywhere in the world.

Alibaba works, because it is both Chinese and global at the same time. It embodies the best elements of the Chinese culture, but is openly integrating influences from across the seas. There are flavours from European and American startup culture, but all is done in a Chinese way. But it’s not rigidly Confucian either, nor doesn’t represent a Chinese classroom of the 1980s with a highly authoritarian system. It’s a global hybrid that doesn’t exist anywhere in the world.

It’s easy to support Alibaba and its global push. I’d welcome Alibaba with open arms everywhere in the world. Jack Ma and the 18-people-core are true visionaries, with a good heart and a mission to make this world a better place. Yes, the early startup has become a big institution, but they have kept their values and their heart in everything what they do. And it’s magically followed by 36000 disciplines, who spread the word forward.

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Alibaba is like a very strong form, but a one that allows a lot of personality, colour and creativity inside the form. It’s loyal to the way it is, and doesn’t change it – but allows people to be who they are. That combination creates a lot of great new ideas and visionary teams that continue to change the world.

I don’t know why, but always when I visit Alibaba Campus in Hangzhou I just feel so good, so pure, so natural and always meet amazing people. And always something mysterious and magical happens. 🙂

Like this time, which prolonged my 1-day visit into a 3-day tour de force in the Xixi campus.

I learnt great ideas how to develop cooperation with Alibaba, who are the key persons and decision makers, but also of the inside values, of how people work there, what kind of recreational and evening activities there are, how Alibaba came into being and how it developed, how Jack Ma, Wang Jian, Mike Evans and Jane Jiang lead people and what kind of example they show behind the scenes… So many things! And how does a regular worker think about the company, how they feel about Slush or Europe, or about the future of China.

I don’t wonder that the leaders talk about how awesome place Alibaba is: the style, the culture, the way how to do things, the mission, the social impact… But it’s sometimes even more telling, how the “lower” paid people, such as the cleaning lady, gate guard, canteen cook and so on reflect. The striking is that all of them appraised Alibaba and said that its a super good place to work in. And you could feel it. It felt that people are truly happy and satisfied to work there. Pretty amazing from a large company of 36 000 people.

Apparently something is done pretty well there.

I’d suggest to have a look if you ever visit Hangzhou – or take a train from Shanghai, takes less than 2 hours. Hangzhou is of course also one of the cultural and touristic pears of China, a Heaven on Earth, such as said by so many poets before. The romantic West Lake, the Tea Plantations, the historic streets… Have a look! If looking at the place, where the tradition and future crosses, that is Hangzhou. No wonder why the upcoming G20 in China is held there.

That’s about it, thanks Hangzhou, thanks Alibaba. Had a super awesome tour of visits there! And I have a feeling I’ll see you pretty soon again…

All the best and keep believing in the goodness of life, find the right people, right associations, right environments and keep pressing forward! We all have our mission in this world, and in our lives. An individual’s task is to find it and start doing it. Keep a close look on the heaven and earth at the same time and you’ll notice how strangely doors start opening to you. If you want to do good from the bottom of your heart, the universe does everything it can to blow good wind on your sails – and you’ll be wondering how amazing things start happening to you.

”All the world’s a stage, all the men and women merely players. We have our exits and our entrances. And one man in his times, plays many parts.“ That’s so true. And luckily the main show continues, even if one play ends. And the strip is set before you only when you pass on eternity. In Alibaba you realize that, you yourself, and the whole world is at the crossroads. Alibaba truly is a great place to start building a better tomorrow,

Best greetings,

love,

Lauri