馬雲闖美股 "瘋狂傑克"的中國夢

I spoke with Alibaba’s founder, Jack Ma, at a private luncheon on Friday, just an hour after his company had gone public. Mr. Ma is unlike any Chinese leader I have ever met. He is emerging as the face of the new China: a free enterprise entrepreneur working within the confines of a rigid government.

上週五，在私人午宴上，我與阿里巴巴的創始人馬雲(Jack Ma)進行了交談。就在一個小時前，他的公司剛剛上市。馬雲不同於我見過的任何一位中國領導者。他正在成爲代表“全新中國”的一張面孔：一名自由的企業家，在僵化政府的限制下開展活動。

Alibaba’s stock had just started trading on Friday, and it immediately jumped in value. It ended the day up 38 percent, at $93.89, giving the company a market value of $231 billion. The company set the record for the largest initial public offering in history. Yet Mr. Ma was humble, preferring to talk about building a great company that helps its customers, creates jobs and serves society. “They call me ‘Crazy Jack,’” he said. “I hope to stay crazy for the next 30 years.”

上週五，阿里巴巴的股票一經交易，就大幅跳漲。當天上漲38%，報收93.89美元（約合576元人民幣），令公司市值達到2310億美元。阿里巴巴刷新了史上規模最大的首次公開募股的紀錄。然而馬雲本人很謙虛，他更願意談的事情是建立卓越的公司，從而爲客戶提供幫助、創造就業機會，並且服務於社會。“他們把我稱作‘瘋狂的傑克’，”他說。“我希望在未來30年中一直這麼瘋狂。”

China’s large and growing economy has made it an increasing economic force over the last two decades, but it had not produced global companies. Chinese businesses focused domestically and mass-produced products for international companies. Mr. Ma is taking a different approach. Alibaba has initially concentrated on China’s enormous markets, but he understands the Internet is a worldwide phenomenon that knows no borders. He believes that Alibaba can compete internationally and across sectors, and intends to serve the American, European and emerging markets. But he said he won’t stop there. He has plans to disrupt China’s commercial banking and insurance sectors as well.

由於中國經濟體量十分龐大，而且還在不斷增長，在過去二十年中，它已經成爲了一支越來越強大的經濟勢力，但這裏並沒有孕育出全球性的公司。中國企業的側重點，主要放在國內市場，再就是爲跨國公司提供大規模生產的產品。馬雲則另闢蹊徑。阿里巴巴最初的着眼點是中國巨大的市場，但馬雲明白，互聯網是無國界的、全球性的。他堅信阿里巴巴可以在國際上進行跨部門競爭，而且他也有意爲美國、歐洲和新興市場提供服務。不過馬雲表示，他不會止步於此。他還打算顛覆中國的商業銀行和保險業。

Asked about his success, Mr. Ma shares his life story. He was raised in humble origins in Hangzhou in the 1980s, just as China was opening up to the West. Growing up, he overcame one obstacle after another. He was rejected at virtually every school he applied to, even grade schools, because he didn’t test well in math.

當被問及他的成功時，馬雲分享了自己的人生經歷。20世紀80年代，他在杭州的草根家庭長大，當時中國剛剛向西方打開國門。在成長的過程中，馬雲克服了一道道難關。他想去的幾乎每一所學校都拒絕了他，就連小學也是如此，因爲他的數學考分不高。

He persevered. From age 12 to 20, he rode his bicycle for 40 minutes to a hotel where he could practice his English. “China was opening up, and a lot of foreign tourists went there,” he said. “I showed them around as a free guide. Those eight years deeply changed me. I became more globalized than most Chinese. What foreign visitors told us was different from what I learned from my teachers and books.” As a young man, he applied for jobs at 30 companies and was rejected every time. At Kentucky Fried Chicken, 24 people applied, 23 got jobs; only Mr. Ma was rejected. So he became an English teacher at Hangzhou Electronics Technology College. In 1999, he visited America. “I got my dream from America,” he said. “When I visited Silicon Valley, I saw in the evening the road was full of cars, all the buildings with lights. That’s the passion. My role model is Forrest Gump.”

他堅持了下來。從12歲到20歲，他經常騎40分鐘的自行車前往一家酒店，到那裏練習英語。“中國開放後，吸引了很多外國遊客，”他說。“我充當免費導遊，帶他們四處觀光。這八年的經歷深深改變了我。我變得比大多數中國人都更加全球化。外國遊客告訴我的事情，跟我從老師和書本上學到的東西不一樣。”年紀輕輕的他申請了30家公司的工作，但每次都遭到拒絕。有一次，他和另外23人同時申請肯德基(Kentucky Fried Chicken)的崗位，那23人都被錄用；只有他被刷了下來。於是他成爲了一名英語教師，在杭州電子工學院教書。1999年，他前往美國。“我的夢想受到了美國的啓發，”他說。“我參觀硅谷的時候，看到傍晚路上滿是車，所有建築物內都有燈光。這就是激情。我把阿甘(Forrest Gump)當作榜樣。”

Returning to Hangzhou, he and Joe Tsai, now Alibaba’s executive vice chairman, founded the company in Mr. Ma’s modest apartment. They called the company Alibaba because it is “easy to spell, and people everywhere associate that with ‘Open, Sesame,’ the command Ali Baba used to open doors to hidden treasures in ‘One Thousand and One Nights.’”

回到杭州，馬雲和蔡崇信(Joe Tsai)，即阿里巴巴現在的董事局執行副主席，在他不起眼的公寓裏創辦了阿里巴巴。他們之所以用這個名字，因爲它“容易拼寫，而且世界各地的人們都會聯想到‘芝麻開門’，也就是《一千零一夜》(One Thousand and One Nights)中阿里巴巴用來打開寶藏大門的咒語”。

Mr. Ma focused on applying his team’s ideas to help businesses and consumers find hidden treasures of their own. Yet he was unable to raise even $2 million from venture capitalists in America. Once again, Mr. Ma persevered. Eventually he raised $5 million through Goldman Sachs. Later, Masayoshi Son of Japan’s SoftBank invested $20 million, making it Alibaba’s largest shareholder. That stake is now worth about $75 billion. Today, the Alibaba companies serve 600 million customers in 240 countries.

馬雲工作的重心是，運用阿里巴巴團隊的想法，幫助企業和消費者找到他們自己的寶藏。然而，就連200萬美元的資金，他也無法從美國的風險投資人那裏拉到。馬雲再一次堅持了下來。最後，他通過高盛(Goldman Sachs) 籌集到500萬美元。後來，日本軟銀(SoftBank)的孫正義(Masayoshi Son)投資了2000萬美元，成爲了公司的最大股東。這部分股份的價值目前已升至約750億美元。如今，阿里巴巴集團爲240個國家和地區的6億客戶提供服務。

With Friday’s I.P.O., Mr. Ma became China’s wealthiest citizen, worth more than $18 billion. Yet when he asked his wife several years ago whether it was more important to be wealthy or to have respect from business people, he said they agreed on respect. Mr. Ma talks about building the Alibaba ecosystem to help people, a philosophy that is baked into the DNA of the company. At the founding of the company, Mr. Ma issued generous stock option packages to early employees because he wanted to enrich the lives of all involved in his venture. He insisted that Alibaba’s six values — customer first, teamwork, embrace change, integrity, passion and commitment — be placed on the pillars of the New York Stock Exchange the day of the I.P.O.

隨着阿里巴巴於週五上市，馬雲成爲了中國首富，身價超過180億美元。然而，他幾年前問過妻子，成爲富豪和獲得商屆同仁的尊重，哪個更重要？他表示兩人一致認爲是後者。馬雲談到了打造阿里巴巴生態系統以幫助衆人的計劃，而這種理念已經融入公司DNA中。創建公司時，他給予早期員工大量股票期權，因爲他希望使所有參與者的生活都變得富裕起來。馬雲堅持要求紐約證券交易所(New York Stock Exchange)於上市當天在其立柱上展示阿里巴巴的六大價值觀——客戶第一、團隊合作、擁抱變化、誠信、激情、敬業。

For all his success, Mr. Ma has retained his authenticity. He recognizes that leadership is character, and he is focused on building his team. His role model is a well-oiled soccer team where 11 players work together for the success of the team. He would rather hire entrepreneurs than seasoned business executives, who are always looking over their shoulders, trying to please their bosses rather than their customers.

儘管取得了巨大成功，馬雲仍舊保持了本真。馬雲承認性格決定領導力，而他注重的是建設自己的團隊。他將齊心協力的足球隊當做榜樣，希望做到11名隊員爲了團隊的勝利共同努力。他寧願聘用創業者，而不是經驗豐富的高管，因爲後者總是關心自己的安危，設法取悅老闆，而不是客戶。

His own commitment to a cause larger than himself has propelled him onward. “My vision is to build an e-commerce ecosystem that allows consumers and businesses to do all aspects of business online. I want to create one million jobs, change China’s social and economic environment and make it the largest Internet market in the world.”

馬雲不侷限於自身，致力於追求更宏大的使命。這促使他不斷前進。“我的設想是建立一個電子商務生態系統，使得客戶和企業能夠在網上做各種生意。我希望創造100萬個就業崗位，改變中國的社會及經濟環境，使中國成爲世界上最大的網絡市場。”

American tech leaders like Steven P. Jobs, Larry Page, and Mark Zuckerberg have emphasized technology and product above everything. Not Mr. Ma. “I’m not a tech guy,” he said. “I’m looking at technology with the eyes of my customers, normal people’s eyes.”

史蒂芬·P·喬布斯(Steven P. Jobs)、拉里·佩奇(Larry Page)和馬克·扎克伯格(Mark Zuckerberg)等美國科技行業的翹楚強調技術與產品高過一切。馬雲並非如此。“我不懂技術，”他說。“我以客戶和普通人的視角看待科技發展。”

Mr. Ma said this Was not just about making money. “I’m just a purist. I don’t spend 15 minutes thinking about making money,” he said. “What is important in my life is influencing many people as well as China’s development. When I am myself, I am relaxed and happy and have a good result.”

馬雲表示，他不僅僅爲了賺錢。“我很純粹，從來沒花過15分鐘來考慮怎麼賺錢，”他說。“我生命中重要的事情是影響其他人，推動中國的發展。當我保持自我的時候，我會很放鬆，很開心，就會有一個好的結果。”

His lighthearted nature has helped create a unique culture and fun atmosphere at Alibaba where employees are given cans of Silly String, encouraged to do handstands to bolster their energy during breaks, and participate in an annual talent show where Mr. Ma sings pop songs. He practices tai chi and uses the nickname “Feng Qingyang,” a reference to a Chinese kung fu guru who trained an apprentice into a hero. Mr. Ma called martial arts “the most down-to-earth way of explaining Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism,” adding, “They cherish brotherhood, morality, courage, emotion and conscience.”

馬雲這種無憂無慮的天性幫助創造了阿里巴巴獨特的文化和歡樂的氣氛。公司給員工們發放彩條噴罐、鼓勵他們在休息期間做倒立來增加活力，還有參與一年一度的才藝展示。馬雲會在演出中唱流行歌曲。馬雲打太極拳，自稱“風清揚”——中國的武俠高手，訓練出了一名武功蓋世的徒弟。馬雲稱武俠是“解讀儒家、佛教及道教思想最實在的途徑”，他還表示，“武俠講究義氣、道德、勇氣、感情和良心。”

He said he worried that China lost an entire generation when Mao Zedong phased out Confucianism and other forms of spirituality. But he said he hoped to restore that sense of values and purpose to the next generation. “It’s not policies that we need, but genuine people,” he said. Asked about corruption in China, he said, “I would rather shut down my company than pay a bribe.”

馬雲說，他擔心毛澤東逐步掃除儒家思想等精神信仰的舉措讓整整一代人陷入迷茫。但他表示，他希望下一代人能夠重拾價值觀和決心。他說，“我們需要的不是政策，而是真實的人。”當被問及中國的腐敗問題時，他說，“我寧願讓公司關門，也不會行賄。”

He listed three worries: continuing to create genuine value for his customers, working cooperatively with the government and building his team of global leaders. What will he do with his fortune? His big dream is to found a university for entrepreneurs that can create the new generation of Chinese entrepreneurs.

他列出了三個難題：繼續爲客戶創造真正的價值、與政府開展合作，以及建立自己的全球性領袖團隊。他將如何利用自己的財富呢？他有一個遠大的夢想，那就是創建一所創業者大學，培養新一代的中國創業人才。

Jack Ma is a force of nature. He may become the role model for the new generation of global leaders, not only in China, but also throughout the world. “Our challenge,” he said, “is to help more people to make sustainable money that is not only good for themselves but also good for society. That’s the transformation we are aiming to make.”

馬雲就像是一股來自大自然的力量。他或許會成爲新一代全球性領袖的榜樣，不僅僅在中國，而是在全世界範圍內。“我們的挑戰，”他說，“是幫助更多人持續盈利，而且這種盈利不僅有利於他們本身，也有利於社會發展。這就是我們打算實現的轉變。”