Kaifu Lee Quotes: "High-paying" jobs may not necessarily offer the most learning
"Kaifu, do you want to spend your entire life writing piles of academic papers that are like waste paper? Or do you want to change the world with products?" This was the invitation extended by Dave Nagel, then Vice President of Apple, as he held up a glass of his own bright homemade wine and invited him to join. It was this sentence that ignited the long-held dream in Li Kaifu's heart - "the world is different because of you." He gave up pursuing the position of a tenured professor and made the first important choice in his career. This choice also laid the foundation for his future path, leading him later to join world-class companies like Microsoft and Google. Because he believed that behind every choice lay a new world.
He once had the dream of establishing a top private university in China, but it did not come true due to various reasons. Eventually, however, he realized it in another way. After resigning from his position as President of Google Greater China, he founded Innovation Works, providing angel investments for young entrepreneurs. How do we define success? Is it about having money and fame? In Li Kaifu's eyes, your value does not lie in how much you own, but rather in how much you leave behind. This time, let us revisit Li Kaifu's classic quotes and feel the passion and wisdom of this mentor for the youth.
Below is a partial compilation of Li Kaifu's classic quotes:
1. Regarding high-tech entrepreneurship for graduates, my suggestions: 1) Entrepreneurship requires understanding trends, gathering elites, and practical experience; therefore, after university graduation, one should not lead a startup but only participate in one. 2) It is best to seek internship opportunities in startups far before graduation (even unpaid), because perhaps entrepreneurship isn't suitable for you or as you imagine. 3) If you want to learn about entrepreneurship at graduation, it's best to go to a startup company. Learning in a large company can teach technology but lacks specificity.
2. Graduates should consider multiple aspects when choosing a job: 1) Are you interested and talented in this work? 2) Do you recognize and respect the corporate culture? 3) Do you respect your leader and believe you can learn a lot from him? 4) Does the company provide training, and is what you learn what you most want and need? (For example, learning entrepreneurship in a big company is not as good as joining a startup company). 5) Is your job part of the company's core business? 6) Consider salary, company brand, etc.
3. Many graduates choose jobs solely based on salary levels, comparing with classmates and succumbing to parental pressure. However, the most "popular" choice may not be suitable for you. The highest-paying job may not necessarily offer the most learning. If Jobs "followed the crowd," he might have become a salesperson at HP. If Bill Gates "listened to his parents," he might have become a lawyer. If Zuckerberg "focused on money," he might have become an engineer at Google.
4. What position is the best "preparatory course" for becoming a CEO in the future? My answer is: Product Manager, because the product manager plays a core role in product, technology, market, customer, operation, and design. I suggest that those who intend to become CEOs consider taking the path of a product manager if they start working first (whether in a large company or a startup company).
5. Opportunities never disappear because the ones you miss are picked up by others.
6. In my eyes, the spirit of Jobs: 1) Doing the right thing at the right time, 2) Focusing on perfection, almost obsessively, 3) Perfect integration of art and technology, 4) Courage to break conventional thinking and think differently.
7. Jobs could: 1) Predict industry trends, 2) Boldly use the most advanced technology, 3) Create new business models, 4) Gather top talents, 5) Anticipate user needs that users themselves are not yet aware of, 6) Continuously surpass oneself, 7) Design products where every detail is nearly perfect, 8) Persuade users to love his products irresistibly. Generally, mastering two or three of these points could lead to success, but Jobs achieved all eight.
8. Everyone has a different Jobs in their eyes. In my eyes, Jobs: 1) Charismatic, articulate, skilled at presentations and speeches, 2) Unique foresight and influence, seeing the essence of problems at a glance, 3) Valuing talent, despising fools, 4) Unparalleled passion, 5) After repeated failures, knowing how to change or suppress bad habits, able to rise from failure.
9. Some netizens asked me why I oppose the study of success. My response: 1) Some authors haven't done anything practical other than write books; their success studies are mere talk without any reference value, 2) Books written by people who have done something practical, if they teach you to replicate their success, that is also not advisable because each person should walk their own path, and success is usually not replicable, 3) I recommend reading autobiographies of famous people, but don't have a mindset of replication; learn what is worth learning and what you can actually learn.
10. I share a few points about marital harmony: 1) Contractual spirit: negotiate big and small matters (such as when to take a shower) before marriage, 2) Equality between husband and wife: listen to the husband when opinions are the same, listen to the wife when opinions differ, 3) Moving memories: remember a particularly touching event for the other person, and think more about it when angry, 4) Language of love: understand that everyone expresses love differently; some say it aloud, while others express it through care, cooking, etc.
11. A smart person knows how to speak, a wise person knows when to speak.
12. Thinkers think; doers act. When thinkers start acting, or doers start thinking, world-changing events happen!
13. You can fail often, but only when you give up do you become a failure.
14. Everyone has two time machines: going back to the past is called "memory," and going to the future is called "dream."
15. After fifty, there are five things not to do: 1) Don't wait: for wishes and dreams, don't "wait until retirement," by then you might not be able to do them; go ahead and realize them, 2) Don't control: once children enter university, let them be; they need to toughen up on their own, 3) Don't give too much: let children be independent; the less you give them, the wiser they become. 4) Don't fuss: over annoying things, look away sometimes; being too calculating only causes self-inflicted suffering, 5) Don't overdo: don't do what you can't; know when to stop and act within your limits. (All the above quotes are excerpted from Li Kaifu's personal Weibo account.)