There’s a Chinese saying that goes, “上有天堂，下有苏杭”, which literally translates into “Above there is heaven; below there is Suzhou and Hangzhou.” The latter is not only well-known for its scenic wonders, but also for a thriving and popular digital hub — the Alibaba Group, an e-commerce phenomenon that has grown rapidly over the past decade and would make any geek’s heart race!

I was enrolled into a programme specially designed to dive into the depths of China’s digital eco-system that also encouraged meaningful discussions with founders and co-founders of small- to medium-sized businesses disrupting the digital economy, propelling this country’s vast population of 1.42 billion’s economic landscape to what it has become today. This initiative championed by Jack Ma was his wish to inspire and empower 1,000 entrepreneurs around the world to bring positive changes to their respective countries.

Fun fact: Within the Alibaba Group, employees across the board i.e. all hierarchical levels address each other as “同学” a.k.a. classmates. This was to actively promote the culture of learning from one another within the group, and why shouldn’t we either? As “classmates”, we should set aside our differences, discuss our business landscape and challenges as well as provide constructive best practices to overcome them. With this spirit in mind, I hope to share the key learning points and highlights from this great initiative pioneered by Jack Ma via speaking engagements, articles (such as this one!), radio broadcasts or even social media channels.

China’s massive population have encouraged innovation and competition at a much faster rate which allowed them to be where they are today. Within Southeast Asia, Malaysia right now have much room for growth and learning. The program was delivered through experiential learning with a mix of blended modules including field trips, lectures, group discussions and business hackathons. My initial expectations was to learn the challenges faced and best practices implemented by these digital enablers during their journey e.g. Hema (new retail concept), Cainiao (smart logistics and warehousing), Eleme (food delivery services) and Alipay (mobile e-wallet).There was a lot of in depth introspection when the Alibaba respective industry leaders shared their journey with honest reflection of their pain points in the beginning phase of their businesses and the solutions they adopted to resolve it accordingly.

While the schedule was packed and grueling, a lecture delivered by Yu Yan, a partner of the Alibaba Group and ex-President of Taobao had a profound impact on me. I sincerely believe every entrepreneur embarks on their journey with the genuine hope to leave their legacy behind, making an impact in their respective trade/discipline. Yu Yan asked each of us to reflect our own company’s Vision, Mission and Values (VMV).  Yu Yan attest that Alibaba Group success due to its VMV. Yu Yan reiterated that VMVs are not something that one writes on a piece of paper and to be forgotten later. It has to be meaningful, remembered by heart and constantly imprinted across the organisation as everyone’s common goal. VMV goes beyond being just a marketing gimmick for corporate identity but it acts as a bind to create a symbiotic relationship between the old guard and the new blood. True VMV can empower and makes delegation easier once the business starts to scale. I was personally humbled and awed by this simple but memorable lesson

And so the real journey begins with me writing this series of lessons that I believe all SMEs, private or public sectors can draw on for an equally amazing learning experience that I’ve had, except without having to fly to Hangzhou. Nonetheless, this will be the beginning of something far better than you could ever imagine.  Some of the topics I hope to cover in the next few articles includes:

1. Stop dreaming and start making it happen!
2. How to transform traditional manufacturing to new manufacturing!
3. Footprint of a Digital City
4. Platform mindset and inclusive ecosystem
5. The pillars of business – Vision, Mission and Values.