The founder of Mobile 2.0 talks about the necessary STEPS for Chinese entrepreneurs to succeed.

It’s been a month since the last update of my blog — actually it’s not because of my idleness. I have been busy preparing for the 3G summit which will be held in Kunshan (Jiangsu province) from October 20th to 22nd: inviting guests, setting up topics for discussion as well as the Internet applications and contents that will be presented during the summit. The summit will follow the typical style of a MOBILE 2.0 forum, and I believe it won’t let you down

These days I’ve got some new ideas on starting a business from all the preparations. On the one hand, I’ve been exposed to a multitude of stories involving success and failure from the contact with more entrepreneurs. On the other, I’ve done some analysis and research on some social phenomena and hypnotism. From all the information I draw the conclusion that we are only one step away from success!

So what kind of “step” is it that prevents us from achieving success? If you have already understood what I’m gonna say, you could stop here since I’m actually long-winded — And now I will continue.

This very STEP simply put, is confidence plus perseverance.

A myriad of people fail because they lack “confidence”, whether in terms of starting a business, wooing women or promoting a product. Some people are brilliant and smart, making great achievements as excellent professional managers or canny leaders of state-owned enterprise — these people can be called elites.  Others are ordinary and inexperienced, without any achievements in different positions — these people are mediocrities. The two kinds of people try to start a business for different reasons: the former for realizing their values in a new way and challenging themselves; the latter, for survival. Therefore, the elites are arguably more likely to succeed than the mediocrities; however, can anybody argue seriously that mediocrities are doomed to failure? Suppose you are the investor. When faced with two entrepreneurs respectively from the two groups, you would probably choose the former simply because of the low risk. That is the mindset of the entire society!

Based on this mindset, everybody follows the route of getting into a good university, applying for a decent job and thinking about starting a business or investment when he or she has already achieved a high status. However, the social balance tends to be broken by those who do not comply with traditions, which can be called “Destructive Innovation”. For most people who are busy studying and working conventionally, their destructive power has been dramatically worn down so that it is more appropriate for them to make “Sustaining Innovation”.

Therefore, the reason why elites are more likely to succeed when starting a business lies in his confidence rather than his rich store of knowledge, his interpersonal relationships or wealth power. The confidence originates from his dazzling experience, the acknowledgement from society and the encouragement or compliments from others. All this inner and outer encouragement adds to his confidence that he could succeed in the process. He himself cannot accept failure and therefore he will take pains to overcome hardship and setbacks. Consequently, the problems and hardships tend to be fixed and success is finally gained.

However, it is undeniable that there are many elites who have suffered failure and even continuous failures in their enterprise. Then why did they fail with all the confidence and endeavor and the fame of “ever-victorious”? Because he lacks perseverance.

Some people who have failed might regard themselves to be persistent, arguing that they have been persevering for EIGHT years. The point is, those successful professional managers never “battled to the death” in their enterprise. The elites, with their previous successful experience, could go back to work for others in the ninth year, while the mediocrities are forced to continue because they would not be accepted by any company. Thus the mediocrities have to do it at the cost of their own comfortable life, selling their houses, their blood or even borrowing money from loan sharks — they bet their lives on the enterprise.

By the way, what needs to be added is that the “successful enterprise” we are talking about here should be big enough to make more than one billion RMB for five consecutive years instead of a small company with an income of several million.

So how many “successful enterprises” are there in China? From what background are their initiators or spiritual leaders?

Mediocrities have no dazzling backgrounds or oversea experience, they cannot speak fluent English and they even have no idea about how to wear a tie. However, it is these small numbers of people who have launched a multitude of great enterprises such as Huawei and won honor for Chinese people.

You can find an avalanche of anecdotes on the Internet from the early days of Huawei. I would like to analyze the success of Ren Zhengfei from a brand new perspective. His success can be attributed to two reasons:

1. the fearlessness of the ignorant
2. the stubborn perserverance

Undeniably, he possesses such qualities as strategic insight and the ability to select personnel, yet Ren Zhengfei is typically a representative of mediocrity:

1. He came into the communications market without a deep knowledge of this market, which is the so-called “fearlessness of the ignorant”;
2. When he found out that he was in bad position, he chose to continue persistently, which is his “stubborness”.

If Ren Zhengfei had some knowledge about communication, he would not have stepped into the profession despite the encouragement of others, because the success ratio was only 1% when faced with strong opponents like Ericsson and Bell.

If Ren Zhengfei had switched to other fields after the struggle in the early days, the success of Huawei would be unimaginable.

If Ren Zhengfei lacked the mettle of gathering a group of talented personnel, the self-mockery of being “compelled to jump from a height by usury” would probably have become true.

If Ren Zhengfei had oversea experiences and was good at capital and media operation, Huawei would not be like the Huawei today (but better or worse?).

If Ren Zhengfei had options such as being a senior white-collar in some foreign company, he would probably have given up this attempt.

There are too many hypotheses, while the history leave no space for hypotheses!

As a matter of fact, the confidence of Ren Zhengfei comes from his own heart. During the early years of his enterprise, there was probably little encouragement for him from others. However, regardless of the outside comments, he kept his own confidence with his earliest followers — and that’s enough because as long as you have convictions, no objections or oppositions can block you. The firmest belief turns out to be “perseverance”, which unites the whole group and ultimately transforms into the impetus for the success of the company. Confidence needs to be in concert with perseverance, for few people can be firm enough to stand the test of time. You may believe that you can achieve success within ten years, and in the 11th year you are likely to waver, and finally to give up the original dream with no room to maneuver.

Therefore, the feedback of the outer world has a dramatic influence on the destiny of a company. If it receives positive feedback, the success ratio will be high; while negative feedback will be a great challenge to the entrepreneur’s confidence. And yet it turns out to be more powerful if it has withstood the test. A great dream can not be realized if the company has a buy out. On the contrary, success might only be achieved if there is no other way out.

A host of problems can be thought about dialectically. For example, great enterprise is not necessarily related to educational qualifications. Therefore, whether you are a graduate from elite schools or a mediocrity, you have your own opportunities for success after you step into society. The used-to-be mediocrity will no longer be a mediocrity when he achieves great success.

I admire those mediocrities with “confidence and perseverance”. I believe that they will in all likelihood make great achievements years later. Meanwhile, I would spend a longer time to observe those elites with “confidence and perseverance”, because I am afraid that perseverance is limited when faced with too many choices. He might be able to make money from a deal, but whether he could start a successful business remains open to question.

Apart from the foregoing observations, here is another important one: the elites tend to pursue perfection and try to strike a balance between family and career; while the mediocrities for the most part give up their family and bury themselves in the enterprise — they would not regret missing ordinary family life, because for them, the enterprise, and only enterprise is the meaning of their lives.

Whether an elite or a mediocrity, win and you are the king; lose and you are the outcast.