Seeing the Unseen

CHAPTER 2Strategy and Tactics of Chinese Tech Companies

Strategically we must despise all our enemies, but tactically we must take all of them very seriously.

—Mao Zedong, leader of the communist revolution, 1957

WITH ALL THE TAILWINDS and headwinds described in Chapter 1, you might think that the Chinese tech companies that became successful were incredibly lucky. The truth is, yes, they were lucky to have been at the right place at the right time, but their success was in no way guaranteed.

Because for each of the sectors and business models, you would have dozens, if not hundreds or even, in some cases, thousands, of companies competing for the same prize. Success, importantly, also depends on the entrepreneurs, their strategies, and how they execute those strategies.

In this chapter, we look at how many entrepreneurs are drawing from the thoughts of Mao Zedong, who led China's communist revolution, how copying becomes a key driver of innovation, and how to get people together to not only work effectively toward a dream, but also embrace constant changes and endure hardship.

These are the critical factors that you would see in each of the successes in China's tech sector.

CHAIRMAN MAO’S STARTUP PLAYBOOK

Interestingly, many successful or struggling entrepreneurs we personally know have been reading the five-volume Selected Works of Mao Zedong in recent years and drawing inspiration from the leader of the communist revolution. This is quite interesting because they are ...