Name: Alibaba's World
ISBN: 9781250069870

Porter Erisman

A former VP at Alibaba Group, and creator of a documentary about its origins, offers an inside glimpse at the behemoth that's poised to transform the ecommerce world

How a Remarkable Chinese Company is Changing the Face of Global Business

Alibaba's World

garima mamgain

It's ironic that I read a book on Jack Ma when Jack Ma would famously never read a book on any company to ensure he never lets their strategies seep in !!
That apart I loved the book. It's a fast read and full of insights on a company which I personally knew very little about. However, this isn't a neutral view - criticism of Jack Ma is almost missing in the book. 
A must read for anyone intrigued by the Global Chinese firm.

Chris Raastad

Easy Read, Great Story, Jack Ma is one of kind, Not so much usable knowledge

Jack Ma was English Teacher who started off making $20 a month. He and his team of founders started the company in an apartment in Ghounzouh China. His greatest asset was his incompetency in technology, “any Alibaba feature must pass the Jack Ma test”. The man had a dream, to build company 102 years, to bring China to the internet, and to inspire a new generation of Chinese entrepreneurship. Despite all odds, an unlikely man with a quirky personality succeeded. It wasn’t smooth sailing, but by 2015 Alibaba group had the largest IPO in history. “An IPO is just filling up at the gas station for the long journey ahead.” He’s just getting started.

Alibaba’s World is told from the eyes of Porter Erisman, the PR turned Vice President of Alibaba. He was the only one of “experienced managers” hired in Hong Kong to really understand the Chinese culture and stay with the company for 8 years. A recurring motif is the constant attempt of Western Companies to dump money into establishing in China while failing to understand the Chinese Market, which is completely different. Alibaba did more than build for its customers, it defined the market. Alibaba was so long in Western obscurity and this book shows how after years in the shadows it jumped into the spotlight. Success highlights include the battle and triumph over ebay, the awkward meeting with Googlers, the $1B partnership with Yahoo, the IPO of Alibaba.com, and the IPO of Alibaba group. The challenges include getting off the group, dealing with the China Government, premature venture to Silicon Valley, round of layoffs, and a series of criminal mismanagement incidents after the company got bigger and outside managers creeped in.

Highlights of the Alibaba and the Forty Lessons
* Dream Big - Really Big
* Remember: the bigger the problem, the greater the opportunity
* Today is tough, but the day after tomorrow is beautiful
* It’s more important to be the best than to be the first
* Buy an umbrella when it’s not raining
* Find an opportunity in crisis
* Put yourself in position for luck
* Entrepreneurs don’t complain about problems, they solve them
* Don’t disregard the “Tech Dummies"
* Gather the entire team once a year (sounds really familiar...)
* Spread the wealth (options)
* Don’t judge a growing company by a snapshot — look at overall trends
* Allow for sabbaticals
* Be sure to hire the right people at the right time
* Honor and respect the work of people that came before you
* Move first, ask for forgiveness later
* Love the government, but don’t marry it
* The most important relationship is your customer

Alibaba's World How a Remarkable Chinese Company is Changing the Face of Global Business

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