A successful leader.doc

A successful leader Li Ka-shing In China, almost everybody knows about Mr. Li Ka-shing, who built a fast-growing business and an excellent reputation through his determination and his ability to become one of Hong Kongs most famous entrepreneurs within a few decades. However, appreciate more his outlook on life. He once said, “We are all climbing the same mountain; that is to say, we are faced with the same environment. In a hundred or a thousand years, it will be the same mountain or environment, but the people will be different. If we bear in mind that life is only a short journey, we will want to spend a little more time and do a little more, hoping to sow good seeds in this world.” Mr. Lis philosophy is his greatest capital for successful business ventures.1. The biography of Li Ka-shing Seventy years ago in Chaozhou, Guangdong, Mr. Li was born into a well-educated family which instilled in him early on a respect for education and a wish to gain more knowledge. In 1940, when he was 12 years old, his father Mr. Li Yunjing decided to move the whole family to Hong Kong. Though by doing so they could avoid the wartime turbulence in the mainland, the senior Mr. Li, in poor health, found it difficult to settle in a new place and passed away in 1943. This meant that when Mr Li Ka-shing was only 15, he had to shoulder the responsibility of supporting his mother and younger siblings. He first worked for a firm manufacturing watchstrap, then became a salesman of plastic products. Because of his hard work, he was soon promoted to manager and, later, general manager. In 1950, with his own savings, he set up a plastics factory named “Cheung Kong” on Hong Kong Island, thus beginning his illustrious career in the business world. In 1957, accurately foreseeing a growth in demand, he established Cheung Kong Industrial Company Limited, specializing in plastic flowers and toys. In the following year, he made his first venture into the real estate business and, by the age of 30, had made a name for himself in Hong Kong as a successful businessman. Today, Mr. Li controls four publicly listed companies, namely, Cheung Kong (Holdings) Limited, Hutchison Whampoa Limited, Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings Limited, and Hongkong Electric Holdings Limited, with a combined market capitalization of approximately HK$450 billion. Based in Hong Kong, the Group has major investments and operations in over 24 countries around the world, including the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany and France. Businesses encompass such diverse areas as property development and investment holdings, estate management and real estate agency, securities investment, hotels, container terminals, retail, manufacturing, telecommunications, infrastructure projects and materials, transportation and energy. 2. the qualifications of Li Ka-shing Mr. Li is truly one of the foremost leaders in the world of business. There are some qualifications and achievement make him a successful leader. First, he is a hard working man, his constant striving to better himself, his grasp of opportunities, and his clear understanding of the latest situation. Second, Mr. Lis career in business started at the grass-roots level. He first worked in a watch company and, two years later, moved to a hardware and plastic products manufacturer as a salesman, becoming its general manager after two years. In 1950, at the age of 22, he set up his own business, Cheung Kong Plastics Company. Within a short period of seven years, Mr. Li rose to become the owner of a manufacturing company. Apart from his endurance and innovative spirit, his intelligence and wisdom had played an important role in his success. Even though he could not continue his formal education, he had never given up his quest for new knowledge. He managed to find time for self-study. He said, Although I was a humble person at that time, I had confidence in myself. I knew I could do things better than other people because I had not given up my studies. Today, at over 70 years of age, Mr. Li has not put away his books. He continues to learn new things every day. He has a broad range of interests, reading books on, for example, information technology, economics, philosophy and history. He feels he must allow some time for studying before going to bed, and has often fallen asleep with his books. I am sure our graduates here have shared this experience. Mr. Li made time in his busy schedule to continue learning, to gain more knowledge and wisdom. Third, Mr. Li is a fine example for anyone with great aspiration, and has given heart to anyone persevering in the long journey to realize his vision. Fourth, Mr. Li has a huge public-spirited character. To young people aspiring to great heights, Mr. Li is an excellent role model.3. the challenges of Li Ka-shing overcame In 1997, Asian financial crisis happened. Though bruised by the Asian financial crisis, Lis companies have avoided critical wounds. As he tells it, We were always prepared for the worst. Having diversified into infrastructure and utilities overseas, Li argues that his total portfolio of businesses will yield stable income no matter how bad the economy gets in Hong Kong. In Lis empire, most securities analysts are just as high on its growth prospects. Cheung Kong, Lis flagship property developer, owns half of Hutchison Whampoa, a conglomerate that runs all those port operations, mobile-phone services around the world, toll roads and bridges in mainland China, and much more. Goldman Sachs terms Hutchison Lis juggernaut for creating value and the most liquid company in Hong Kong (with an estimated $5 billion in cash). Li is also known for his conservative accounting: Hutchison has a debt-to-equity ratio of only 30%. Clearly, Li has taken a personal hit. Since the middle of 1997 the stocks of his companies have fallen about 20%. Like other Asians, the value of my assets has dropped, says he, but the most important thing is to have a quality company and a good business. Li, in fact, has invested $167 million of his own money in shares of Cheung Kong since October 1997 and now owns about 35% of it. His estimated personal net worth totals at least $6 billion. I never calculate my wealth deliberately, but you can say that all my investments have been extremely conservative, Li explains. I do not have any personal debt. Thats why I sleep so well. 4. Li Ka-shing s leadership style Li Ka-shing is the worlds most successful Chinese entrepreneur. As a most successful leader, there are lots of success experiences about his leadership. But I think apart from other leadership style, the transformation style is most important. On the different stage of his companys growing, his innovation is widespread. He always change the old way although it seems health and success. Nothing can stop him from innovation and change the old rules. Mr. Li entered business as a teenager, selling plastic goods, until at twenty-two, he started his own plastics company, Cheung Kong, specializing in plastic flowers. He entered the real estate market in the 1960s, and, by 1979, only the colonial government owned more real estate in Hong Kong than Mr. Li. What makes Li distinctive, though, is that he has plowed returns from Hong Kong real estate into international businesses. Those long-term investments, started around a decade ago, are reaching the payback stage. As he puts it, The coming three to four years are very important for Hutchison because many projects outside Hong Kong are nearly mature. He means they are reaching a critical mass, not a stately mature growth rate. Big as Hutchison is in Hong Kong, already about 30% of its profits come from elsewhere. Most of the companys growth in the next few years will come from offshore activities. He eventually built a conglomerate encompassing Canada, Britain, parts of the US, and South America, extending into media, hotels, shipping, oil, and grocery stores. Under his continuous innovation and expansion of his business, the empire had become one of the ten richest people in the world. Having weathered the Asian financial storm, Li does not intend to sit back and relax. Instead hes sharply transforming his focus on his global businesses. Says he: My change at Hutchison will not be reduced. 5. The lessons learned from Li Ka-shing: Become A Change Leader(1) Successful leaders are emotionally and intellectually oriented to the future-not wedded to the past. They have a hunger to take responsibility, to innovate, and to initiate. They are not content with merely taking care of whats already there. They want to move forward to create something new. Li Ka-shing is he embrace change. He might be disappointed, but he never gives up. He maintains his innovation without stop. He faces the challenges bravely and overcome it. He wish to have work that is different from what he is currently doing, he did make a change, a great change. Mr Lis career in business started at the grass-roots level. He first worked in a watch company and, two years later, moved to a hardware and plastic products manufacturer as a salesman, becoming its general manager after two years. In 1950, at the age of 22, he set up his own business, Cheung Kong Plastics Company. Within a short period of seven years, Mr Li rose to become the owner of a manufacturing company. Apart from his endurance, intelligence and wisdom, his innovative spirit had played an important role in his success. (2) Learning never stops. Even though Mr. Li could not continue his formal education, he had never given up his quest for new knowledge. He managed to find time for self-study. He said, Although I was a humble person at that time, I had confidence in myself. I knew I could do things better than other people because I had not given up my studi es. Today, at over 70 years of age, Mr Li has not put away his books. He continues to learn new things every day. He has a broad range of interests, reading books on, for example, information technology, economics, philosophy and history. He feels he must allow some time for studying before going to bed, and has often fallen asleep with his books. I am sure our graduates here have shared this experience. Mr. Li made time in his busy schedule to continue learning, to gain