Jack Ma: What I told my son about education

Late last month, Red Flag Publishing released a book called Jack Ma’s Internal Speeches: Trust in Tomorrow. Many of the speeches have never been shared publicly before, so I’m going to translate a few interesting excerpts from them. The first was about how Jack Ma sees his company’s success, this one from a few years ago is about education and what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur

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For what Alibaba has today, I must first thank the internet industry. Without this industry, we would not have been thinking about disruption, and the fast development speed of the industry has made us successful, Additionally, I want to thank China’s economy for its fast growth. I especially thank my team that worked for five years, continually trusting me and following me. It’s not that I’m very smart or capable; other people say I’m capable but actually I think it’s my team that’s capable.

I told my son: you don’t need to be in the top three in your class, being in the middle is fine, so long as your grades aren’t too bad. Only this kind of person [a middle-of-the-road student] has enough free time to learn other skills. I think, if China’s economy wants to develop, it needs a lot of SMEs and individually-run companies, and that requires a lot of entrepreneurs with values and drive.

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While it might not be Jack Ma’s most clearly-focused speech, what he’s saying about school is fascinating because it flies in the face of conventional wisdom in China: that students must strive to be the best and set aside virtually everything else in favor of excelling in the classroom. That attitude exists because it’s how China’s education system is tuned. Anyone who wants to go to a good college needs to study hard and score high on the gaokao exam. Any skills you might have developed outside of the classroom are irrelevant in terms of college admission, which means that from a student’s point of view, outside activities are just a waste of time if your goal is to get into a school

Support independent journalism. But Jack Ma is arguing that as China’s economy develops, what is being rewarded is individual drive and entrepreneurial spirit. As he has pointed out, Alibaba has become one of the world’s most successful companies despite the fact that he was not a particularly strong student (in fact, he failed the college entrance exam three times). And in fact with the exception of Baidu’s Robin Li, many of China’s top internet executives achieved their success despite not having been “top three”-type students.

Ma’s message, then: keep up with your schoolwork but don’t let it define you. Hone new skills and follow your passions in your free time. That might seem obvious to some, but in some Chinese educational circles, it’s a message that borders on revolutionary.