20 18.02.05

Liu is the chairman of Fast Retailing Group, the parent company of Uniqlo. In an interview with Nikkei News, he shared his entrepreneurial ideas, reading habits and management ideas.

In Liu's view, hard work has nothing to do with career success. "If your efforts are in the wrong direction, then you are unfortunate. There is no chance, you can only beat around the bush. " When Liu was young, he traveled to Europe and America many times and liked the local youth culture very much. These experiences made a lot of contributions to his later entrepreneurship. At that time, he heard that the sales of Victoria's Secret, an underwear brand, reached $9 billion in a short time, so Leslie Wechs, the chairman of the brand, became his most admired entrepreneur. He will also learn from Next, Britain's most profitable clothing brand, and visit its stores every quarter. Liu recalled that after seeing these successful European and American brands, he wanted to do the same thing in Japan and dreamed of doing his own business like these western giants. He once thought that he could run a brand with a maximum of 30 stores and an annual income of 3 billion yen. Now the total annual income of Fast Retailing Group in fiscal year 20 17 has reached1861900 million yen.

Liu likes reading biographies of legendary entrepreneurs and learning from them. For example, he likes reading biographies of Kōnosuke Matsushita, the founder of Panasonic, and Fukuichiro Honda. These books may not be business cases, but Liu has learned a lot from them. Until now, when he discusses a problem, he always says, "Wait, this seems to be similar to what those great entrepreneurs solved." He got his own management philosophy from reading: "It's like reading a book backwards, you know the conclusion first, and then you push backwards what you need to do to achieve this goal."

When talking about starting a business, Liu said: Be ambitious and be cautious. Liu said that many people don't understand that truly successful entrepreneurs are cautious, because "boldness will not be rewarded". For example, Bill Gates said that "you have to worry" and dare to dream is to find the megalomaniac in your heart. He introduced that the business philosophy of Fast Retailing Group is "change clothes, change common sense and change the world", which is an ambitious declaration and also the entrepreneurial spirit that Liu believes.

Hao Cheng said that in the American market, there are at least 40-60 companies engaged in 2B business and 2C business, if not 50-50 companies each. In the field of enterprise services, there are many companies with market value of hundreds of billions like Oracle Bone Inscriptions. In China, in terms of market value, the number of companies doing 2B business is less than one tenth of that of 2C company.

According to Hao Cheng's analysis, he thinks that the core reason is the explosive economic growth in China in the past, which brought huge demographic and traffic dividends to the 2C market. In this case, speed is more important than anything else, and enterprises have no time and motivation to do internal work. But today, the demographic dividend and traffic dividend have disappeared, and the cost of acquiring and retaining customers has come up. At the same time, once the pace of many enterprises that developed rapidly in the past slowed down, internal management problems began to appear. At this time, enterprises should do a good job in management and carry out refined operations. This is the value of enterprise service.

In addition, Hao Cheng believes that China will enter the era of enterprise services for the following reasons: First, the domestic labor cost is getting higher and higher, so in many cases, instead of hiring people, it is better to buy enterprise services directly. Second, enterprise services can help managers reduce costs. With the help of enterprise services, it is more in line with the modern enterprise spirit to outsource some non-core and standardized businesses as far as possible. For example, WhatsApp has only 50 people, but it has achieved a company of $6,543.8+0.9 billion. Third, the degree of enterprise informatization has gradually improved. With the development of IT technology, the data of all aspects of enterprises are more and more complete, and many external tools can come in handy.

To sum up, Hao Cheng believes that the era of domestic enterprise service has arrived.

There are many early modern science fiction novels in China.

The first book is called Moon Tribe, published on 1904, and the author is called Wild River Fishing, which is a pseudonym. I didn't find out who the real person was. Many modern technologies that had been invented at that time appeared in this novel, such as electric light, telephone, railway and photography. But it's interesting. Once you enter the realm of fantasy, it's like reading an old fairy tale.

For example, the balloon, the most important means of transportation in this novel, was written by the author as the magical power of walking on clouds. For another example, there is a famous doctor doing surgery on it, which gives you the feeling that Hua Tuo in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms is not a medical skill, but a magical skill. But anyway, this novel is considered as China's first science fiction novel.

Teacher Zhang Xiaoyu said that there is actually an evolutionary thread behind this. 1840 science came to China around the Opium War. Seeing western science and technology can naturally stimulate China people's scientific imagination. Therefore, if we really want to trace the origin of China's science fiction, there are actually two earlier books.

The first book is Biography of Eight Immortals, which was published around 1856- 1875 during the Tongzhi period. There, tripterygium wilfordii and Dian Mu chatted with a bunch of immortals, saying that many years later, Dian Mu would lend electricity to mortals, and he could take the Wan Li Road, upside down day and night. This is communication and electric light. Moreover, the immortals are very open to this matter, because electricity is not Dian Mu's private property, and she just has "the responsibility of management and the right to dominate".

You know, at that time, the telegraph had not been invented for many years, and Edison improved the light bulb after 1880. You see, this idea is too modern.

There is another novel, even earlier, written by Yu Wanchun around 1847. At the time of writing, just a few years after the Opium War. "Dangkou Zhi" is actually a fan work of Shuihu, telling the story of how Liangshan heroes killed 108 generals, which is just the opposite of the meaning of Shuihu.

Interestingly, the fighting style inside is very modern. For example, in the story, a Macau student named Bai Vaughan came to Liangshan, and was honored as Bai Junshi by Song Jiang. He robbed Wu Yong of his job and made a bunch of special weapons for Liangshan. Among them, there is a kind of door-running mine car, which is described as an armored vehicle with a "drop box", like a machine gun and a rocket launcher. There is also a "sunken ship" that can sail underwater, which is equivalent to our current submarine.

Bai Junshi is so powerful, how was he defeated by the protagonist in the novel? Liu Huiniang, a talented woman in China who is proficient in organ art, is good at creating "flying thunder" equivalent to mortars and shotguns. Look, isn't it science fiction?

This is the earliest science fiction novel in China. What's the difference between it and western science fiction? Let's compare it.

Verne, the acknowledged father of science fiction, wrote two Wan Li under the sea. This novel fantasizes about submarines.

Do you see the difference between this and China's earliest science fiction? The difference is that the power source is different.

In Verne's science fiction, the real power comes from knowledge. With this, a person can build a submarine and sail freely to the bottom of the sea to fight against the unjust world in his eyes.

But in China's science fiction, the real power comes from things other than people themselves, such as immortals and secular experts. What the author can hope is that ordinary people can get the gift of these forces to fight against all evil and injustice in this world.

For example, the moon tribe, the balloon is the result of a divine power, which is essentially the same as the magpie bridge built for the cowherd and the weaver girl. In the legend of the Eight Immortals, electricity is an internal force in the fairy tale world. These inventions, such as electric light and telegraph, are essentially the result of the gods authorizing people to use electricity, and have nothing to do with the progress of human knowledge.

On Dang Kouzhi, Bai Junshi and Liu Huiniang, their weapons have actually been processed by a kind of "strange skill and cunning". As for how they are made and what the internal principle is, neither the protagonist nor the author cares.

In fact, not only science fiction, but also detective novels also show this difference.

Western detective stories, from Sherlock Holmes to agatha christie's works, have gradually evolved into a theme of "primitive reasoning". In other words, the reader and the author stand on the same plane and have the same clue. It depends on who can find the real murderer through logical reasoning first. Authors and readers are competing fairly with intelligence.

China's detective novels, such as crime, crime, stone case and so on. There are elements of intellectual reasoning, but when the critical moment comes, it is often necessary to rely on some Jianghu heroes and monsters to advance the plot. You see, the source of strength is not man himself.

This is the difference at the bottom of the concept. We can't criticize China people's level of scientific thinking and logical thinking at that time, but it also illustrates a problem-we often mistakenly think that the world is made up of power, so having power is fundamental.

But in fact, the understanding of the source of power determines whether you can reach the world you want. The source of power is more important than power itself.

Don't think this is a cliche. We often make such mistakes when observing the power in the world.

For example, in business, everyone wants to get rich, but not everyone understands the source of commercial power. Today, many people still believe that the source of business power is capital, or the intelligence, ability and charm of an entrepreneur, in short, various resources. Just look at those financial novels and business war TV plays. That's what the words mean.

However, this is not the real source of commercial power. What is the real source?

It's collaboration. The success of an enterprise is not because of how powerful it is, but how many people and institutions are its allies and how many people expect its success.

For example, Apple, users who like Apple products all over the world, and its very strong supplier system are its strength foundation.

For another example, we often say that the sign of the success of this product is not how big the sales volume is and how high the company's valuation is, but whether the best knowledge service provider in this era is the alliance of this company and whether the most progressive person in this era is the user of this product. This is the source of strength.

You see, these two different understandings determine that our views on business are fundamentally different.

If the power of business comes from a certain resource, then the more successful the company is, the more it is beating others, and the more it is using this resource. As someone said, Ma Yun earned all the money of the pickpocket party. As long as most people still look at business in this way, this country will not establish a real commercial civilization.

However, if you understand that the power of business comes from effective organization and cooperation, then Ma Yun's source of wealth is what he himself said, "Let there be no difficult business in the world", which is a huge social cooperation network compiled by Alibaba. Then his relationship with society is benign interaction. We will have a respect for businessmen and an understanding of their wealth, and the construction of commercial civilization can really begin.

Let's go back to the topic of science fiction at the beginning and tell you a standard to distinguish good science fiction from bad science fiction. If you mainly imagine a powerful force, no matter how novel the imagination is, it is not the best science fiction.

If it is based on a new force, the author has the ability to imagine the evolution and game of human nature, system and civilization, it must be a science fiction novel worth seeing.

In the past, we thought there were two main ways: one was power and the other was compromise.

For example, in the eyes of many people, democratic politics is a way for the two factions to compromise and reach a consensus. Is that so?

Not necessarily.

For example, there is a well-received film called Dark Hours, which tells the story of Churchill's leadership in resisting Nazi aggression after he became British Prime Minister in World War II. There is a detail in this, which may not conform to history. What are the details?

In the film, Churchill is very determined politically, but he is uneasy and hesitant inside. It was not until he ran to the subway to listen to the voice of the people and knew that the people were firmly opposed to Hitler that he finally made up his mind to deliver that famous speech in the House of Representatives, which was the loyal opposition of the Nazis.

What is the real situation in history? Churchill's attitude was firm from beginning to end, and he didn't go to the grassroots for this matter. It was in the dark room that five people held a meeting for five days, convinced everyone and unanimously passed: fight!

Of course, it is understandable that movies make some fiction for dramatic effect. But because of this, I think this novel is worth mentioning.

Although at first glance it was very touching and politically correct, the politician listened to the voice of the people and finally made up his mind to make a choice. But think about it. If everyone he comes into contact with doesn't want to fight, won't we fight the Nazis?

Moreover, is it right that a politician who undertakes the destiny of the country and the nation at a critical moment is so easily influenced by the opinions of the people? You are elected by the people, which means that you should use all your courage, determination, faith and patience to maximize the interests of the people.

The film depicts Churchill as a politician who made up his mind because of the voice of the people. Isn't it a bit of a pass the buck?

In fact, Churchill in history is very axial, and he is a man who goes his own way and does whatever it takes to protect the interests of the British Empire. In that era of general war-weariness, he called for decades of toughness against the Nazis. He is a minority, but he doesn't need to reach an understanding with the majority, because he has absolute confidence in his own judgment.

At this point, I have to say. Many people I know have a misunderstanding of liberal democracy: that is, to talk about liberal democracy, we must discuss, compromise and reach an understanding.

In fact, in history, when the forces of freedom and democracy show strong fighting capacity, it is precisely when they are not so knowledgeable and when a charming person shines. For example, Churchill just mentioned.

Give another example of Britain. As we all know, there was a "glorious revolution" in Britain. What happened?

1688, a group of British people staged a non-violent coup and overthrew King James II. What if the king is gone? James II's son-in-law William III was invited to be the king of Holland.

Then why did you pick up such a cheap king for nothing Come on, accept some conditions-this is a bill of rights that restricts kingship. Since then, the king of England has "unified and died", and the state power has gradually shifted from the monarch to the parliament.

Why do British people feel "glorious"? Because the revolution changed without bloodshed. Many scholars say that the glorious revolution is good, and bloodless is a kind of wisdom to acquire knowledge, which embodies the spirit of free and democratic consultation.

Sorry, this statement is wrong.

First of all, we must understand that the cause of the glorious revolution is not a general political dispute, but a religious dispute. There were two major religions in western Europe at that time: Catholicism and Protestantism.

Catholicism, with the Pope, is mainly supported by the French. And Protestantism, the Pope's sworn enemy. Its main supporters are the Netherlands, Denmark and later parts of Germany. The situation in Britain is a bit special. There is a self-created Sect, the Anglican Church. In this way, there are three religious forces in Britain.

This king of James II, he believes in Catholicism. At that time, most members of the British Parliament believed in the national religion or Protestantism. What do you think this is, people trust each other? No, this is a big political issue.

The first issue is the issue of national sovereignty. You see, the king believes in Catholicism, so according to Catholic doctrine, all Catholics should listen to the Pope. Then who is the master of England?

The second issue is the issue of state relations. At that time, the most powerful Catholic circle was Louis XIV, the king of France and the king of the sun. Britain and France are feuds, and there are many realistic contradictions in overseas colonies.

In the eyes of the Anglican and Protestants in Parliament, why do we British people get involved with France? This is not in the national interest of Britain. So he overthrew the Catholic James II and replaced him with his daughter and son-in-law Protestant William III.

There are seven people leading this matter in the parliament. They are heroes of the glorious revolution and are known as the immortal seven gentlemen in history.

But is this the end? No. When William III and Dutch troops landed in Britain, James II fled overnight and went to France for reinforcements. They are Catholics.

At that time, French King Louis XIV was also very powerful and proud, and lent James II 6,000 soldiers and horses. James II, the father-in-law, and William III, his son-in-law, fought a battle in Ireland on 1690. James II was defeated, so it was a winner and a loser.

The British Parliament is not at ease. It was not until 170 1 that the law of succession to the throne was promulgated, which excluded all descendants of English kings who believed in Catholicism from the right of succession to the throne. This completely solved the problem.

Let's take a quick look at the complete history of the "glorious revolution", and you will find that it didn't bleed, but it didn't bleed at that time. The next year, the two sides fought a battle to solve the problem.

More importantly, it is also wrong to say that the "glorious revolution" embodies the spirit of consultation. What understanding has been reached between the Anglican Church and Catholicism? It completely wiped out Catholic schools.

Today we told two stories about Britain. One is Churchill and the other is the glorious revolution. But the truth I want to say in essence is how * * * knowledge is realized?

Back to what we said at the beginning, can power overwhelm others with violence and achieve * * * knowledge? Of course not. I obey you. That doesn't mean I have your knowledge.

Can compromise make knowledge? No, democracy is a decision-making means based on the majority principle. There are many of you, so I can only listen to you, but I may not be able to reach an understanding with you. Just because I have the opportunity to go on stage in the future, everyone will not be forced to use violence.

Of course, compromise is often useful. However, it is usually a trivial matter, or a person who has no prejudice on this matter, in order to achieve * * * knowledge. If we are talking about right and wrong today, such as whether to resist the Nazis and what religion we believe in, then compromise is completely useless.

So how can we reach a * * * understanding of important issues among large-scale people?

From the two stories we tell today, you can see that there is only one effective way in history, and that is to influence all people with firm beliefs. If there is no influence, then rule out those who can't reach the knowledge of * * *.

This sounds a bit politically incorrect, but you can understand it by thinking about a scene.

As a startup company, we need knowledgeable people to work together. We don't need pig teammates, do we? So what should we do?

Bring some people in and tame them with discipline? Or, convince them or accommodate them with training and heart-to-heart talk?

None of them are right, and the efficiency is too low.

The only effective way is to strictly control recruitment and exclude people who have no knowledge of * * * from the company. This is the fastest way to acquire knowledge. In his column "The Road to Bovan Day", Mr. Wu Bofan said that the management concept of being the number one in the world is very simple, that is, "no asshole", no asshole.

Yes, never underestimate the stubbornness of human nature and never overestimate the power of compromise. In most cases, * * * knowledge is the final result of our will and choosing a partner.