GET THE BOOK, ALABA'S WORLD

 Alibaba's world by Porter Erisman (2015)

Summary:

Simply shouting “Open sesame!” won’t gain you access to the land of successful business. But the gates can be opened – and can be kept that way. Why not take a few tips from someone with some less familiar magic words?

In this book, the author introduces valuable insights furnished by the true story of the Chinese e-commerce company, Alibaba. He tells how its founder, Jack Ma, launched his ideas, gaining traction for Alibaba in a market that hardly existed, and how the company eventually became the largest of its kind in China.

In this book, you’ll discover

- which dirty tricks Yahoo! deployed in the name of competition;

- how offering a service for free can kick-start an economically sustainable business; and

- why being an enthusiastic, entrepreneurial person is more important than being the brightest boy in class.

The key message in this book:

Anyone can start a business and succeed, provided they have enough determination and the right attitude. As the story of Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba reveals, even a small start-up from a developing country can compete with Western giants if they set their minds to it.

Actionable advice:

Choose a goal that seems too big to achieve.

When setting your goals for your personal and professional life, don’t be afraid to dream too big. Your goals shouldn’t create artificial limitations; rather, they should toy with the idea of what’s possible. Even if you don’t know how you’ll achieve your goals, the important thing is that you can at least imagine achieving them in the future.