I recently read a book called China Disruptors by Edward Tse.
In this book, Mr. Tse talks about the different generations of Chinese entrepreneurs who are redefining the way that people perceive Chinese businesses. These entrepreneurs have different backgrounds but they share common traits. They all have pride, ambition and a common cultural heritage.
PRIDE
Chinese entrepreneurs want to make their fellow countrymen proud. They are proud of their upbringing. They are proud of being Chinese. They see themselves as Chinese ambassadors. They are very aware of the repercussions of each decision that they make on people’s perceptions of China.
AMBITION
The likes of Jack Ma (Ali baba), Pony Ma (Tencent), Zhang Ruimin (Haier), Ren Zhengfei (Huawei) and Lei Jun (Xiaomi) represent the elite class of Chinese entrepreneurs currently disrupting the established world order. These individuals are highly ambitious and rigorously innovative in their thinking process.
CULTURAL HERITAGE
Chinese entrepreneurs believe in control. They don’t adhere to the Western school of thought regarding free market policies. For them it’s about creating the appropriate framework to make people thrive. They believe in doing business for the greater good. The communism philosophy still exists and these entrepreneurs created their business with a strong purpose. For them, doing business isn’t only about the money. They have strong principles and willingly acknowledge that it’s their responsibility to make the Chinese society a better place to live.
What can we learn from these individuals?
How can we use our pride, ambition and shared cultural heritage to push the Mauritian society forward?
How is it possible that small countries like Estonia, Finland, Luxembourg, Iceland, Sweden and Switzerland all figure among the top 20 most innovative countries who are reshaping the way we do business and operate as a society?
If they can do it, so can we.
I believe that this can be done by investing in the quality of our higher education, research and the establishment of a ground breaking vision for the country.
We need our leaders in all areas of our society to create the appropriate framework for innovation.
We need them to make bold statements to inspire people to strive for greatness.
Good enough is not enough.
We need them to tell the story of how this will change our society for the greater good.