On a flight over the Pacific Ocean, the dusty Chinese gentleman sitting next to you may be on his way to New York or London to buy your company. From Hong Kong to Jakarta, these shrewd Chinese entrepreneurs have made a lot of money in recent years, and Southeast Asia can no longer accommodate them. In May 1987, Fortune magazine wrote.
The article specifically refers to Li Ka-shing, then 58, the "most ambitious acquirer" who bought Western companies in the mid-to-late '80s with $2 billion on his pocket.
Looking back 40 years later, the reason why Li Ka-shing's business empire has passed through the cycle is partly based on the growth of its overseas business. On the journey to overseas, Li Chaoren was surrounded by many famous generals, one of whom was Ma Shimin, the "foreign class" who led Hutchison Whampoa out of the dragon gate.
Li Ka-shing is good at using "guest strategists". As early as the 60s, he deliberately avoided the oriental, family-oriented business management and boldly hired foreigners. Internally, these foreign experts bring in the management experience of Western enterprises, and externally, they are the pioneers and guides in seeking targets and negotiating acquisitions.
Ma Shimin has been sitting in the position of "Hutchison Taipan" for 10 years. The former mercenary soldier came to Asia from the United Kingdom in 1966 and spent 14 years in the "king of foreign companies" Jardine Matheson. As soon as Ma Shimin joined Hutchison Whampoa in 1984, he made a lot of money for Li Ka-shing, and he assisted Li Ka-shing in acquiring Canada's Husky Oil and Hong Kong Electric Group, and single-handedly built the British telecommunications empire "Orange". Taking "Orange" as an example, in 1999, Hutchison successfully sold "Orange" and made a net profit of 100 billion Hong Kong dollars. During his tenure, Ma Shimin expanded Hutchison's profits and scale to five times that of Jardine Matheson.
He also played Li Zekai's "Taifu" intentionally or unintentionally, and Li Ka-shing deliberately arranged for his son to learn art from a foreign class. Once, Ma Shimin went to see Buffett through an introduction from his old friend Kissinger, and before leaving, Li Ka-shing asked him if he would like to bring Li Zekai with him. When Ma Shimin left Hutchison Whampoa, Li Zekai gave a Porsche as a farewell gift.
Not long ago, 83-year-old Ma Shimin came to Hong Kong, where he has been "another home" after 57 years in Asia. In addition to Li Ka-shing, Ma Shimin's friends in Asia include Guo Henian and Ren Zhengfei, who calls him "eternal teacher".
Today, his role has changed to that of an "intervening bystander", playing more of an advisory and director role. In an interview with CEIBS, the senior said his greatest pleasure now is a quiet two-hour walk in the countryside, where he reads annual reports, history books and Agatha Christie's books.
The willpower to "want to win".
Ma Shimin and Li Ka-shing hit it off at first sight. He joked that this kind of fate may be because "all belong to dragons", and Ma Shimin is 12 years younger than Li Ka-shing.
In the mid-80s, Li Ka-shing's interest in Hutchison Whampoa was concentrated in the real estate sector, leaving the rest to Ma Shimin, who always spoke his point of view straightforwardly, and won Li Ka-shing's trust. "We often have different perspectives on things, but he's a good listener and has a lot of respect even when he doesn't agree with me. He used to say to me, 'Simon, we will only do anything if we both agree to it.' ’”
In 1987, Li Ka-shing intended to enter the oil industry. Ma Shimin was instructed to negotiate the acquisition of Canada's Husky Oil Company. He flew back and forth between Hong Kong and Calgary, Canada, with endless meetings and 20 lawyers arguing around the negotiating table. Li Ka-shing told Ma that he would never pay more than $11 per share. Husky's team made it clear that it would not sell shares for less than $12 per share.
When it comes to the stalemate, the role of the chief negotiator is particularly important. In actual negotiations, how to compromise is often more important than refusing to compromise. "If you want to win a supporter for your cause," Lincoln once said, "just convince him that you are his friend." ”
In the end, on the ** issue, the two sides could no longer talk. Li Ka-shing called Ma Shimin in Hong Kong: Simon, 11 Canadian dollars per share, and he didn't give any more. If they can't accept it, you come back. That's it. ”
At this time, the negotiations had been going on for four months. Fok was the accountant at Hutchison Whampoa at the time and a statistician personally assigned by Li Ka-shing to ensure that Mr. Ma's bid was not overpriced. Huo Jianning looked exhausted, and said to Ma Shimin in a voice full of despair: "Okay Simon, let's go home." Ma Shimin asked Huo Jianning to go back first, and he stayed by himself to make a final effort in the form of drinking farewell wine.
We really want to do this business," Ma Shimin said, "you want to do it too, and I know Li Ka-shing thinks so too." It's a pity that because of the difference of one Canadian dollar per share, we can't talk about it. You have an office on Pedder Street in Hong Kong, and Li Ka-shing's office is across the street from your office. If you fly to Hong Kong tonight, I think I can have one last meeting with Li Ka-shing, and maybe we can make a deal. ”
The other party agreed, and took a private jet to Hong Kong that night. Ma Shimin arrived early and immediately went to find Li Ka-shing. It can be seen that Li Ka-shing is disappointed, but he has forgotten about it. "Anyway, Simon, you've worked hard and done a great job in this matter. But we can't win this time. Say goodbye to Bob and Art on my behalf. ”
Ma Shimin showed the responsibility of a CEO and a moderate toughness in front of the boss at this time: "No, Jiacheng, I won't say goodbye to you, you have to see you off in person." They have an office across the street, which has flown over and is there now. I think they'll want to discuss this project with other people in Hong Kong. After all, after dealing with each other for so long, you should at least say goodbye to them. ”
Okay, okay! Let's go and say goodbye to them. Thirty minutes later, the transaction was completed at a price of 11$8 CAD. Ten minutes later, they returned to Mr. Li's office and celebrated with a drink. Looking back decades later, when the international oil price was only about $11 per barrel, Li Ka-shing invested HK$3.2 billion in Husky Energy and obtained a 52% stake, and has expanded its shares several times since then. It became one of Li Ka-shing's most celebrated investments, and he himself once described it as "one of the greatest investments of my life". In 2020, the Li Ka-shing family acquired 70% of Husky Energy's equity for about 13.5 billion yuan.
It turns out that too shrewd negotiators can hardly win big wins. Ma Shimin is well versed in making concessions in non-core areas, so as to establish a good negotiating position and reputation. In addition to this, negotiation requires willpower. In the book "Ma Shimin's War Diary - From Titan to Business Giant", he once concluded: "People are generally prone to collapse when they consume about 30% of their physical strength - but at this time, it is still far from death, and it is up to willpower to dominate." ”
When he was in Jardine Matheson, he even dared to grab orders from his wife, who was the general manager of Hongkong Land at the time, and Hongkong Land has a deep relationship with Jardine Matheson, which is no different from grabbing orders from the boss's wife. 'My job is to get a contract and that's my determination to win. Ma Shimin said.
Understand the rules of the game
Ma Shimin was born in a famous family, but two generations of his grandmother and father squandered the family wealth. Ma Shimin, who has turned from rich to poor and suffered greatly from World War II, often feels that "people are born free, but they are often limited".
In order to gain openness without being hindered by the environment, Ma Shimin embarked on an adventure at the age of 18. First, he failed to apply for seafaring, and he went to work as a small worker in the back kitchen of a multinational cruise ship, cutting tens of thousands of potatoes during a nine-month voyage across the high seas; At the age of 19, he joined the British Army but failed to do so, so he joined the French Foreign Legion and served in the Algerian army for 5 years, nine deaths. All the arduous experiences of jumping out of the box of fate have given Ma Shimin a long-term gift that will last a lifetime.
"During my five years in the Foreign Legion, I lived and interacted with 150 people of different nationalities, which gave me the ability to analyze people's personalities. Ma Shimin said.
After his service, Ma Shimin traveled to Thailand with his social skills and knowledge, joined Jardine Matheson, and soon established contacts with many American companies in Bangkok through one of Bangkok's most prestigious American lawyers, and integrated into a new circle of American friends. When asked how to make friends, his answer was: take the initiative, joke, be yourself, and be sincere.
Has he already shown some leadership qualities in the military? Ma Shimin replied: "Discipline and obedience to orders are the key rules in the army, and leadership is just 'condiment in the broth'. Before you can become a leader, you need to learn to comply. ”
In every "game field", Ma Shimin first understands the underlying rules of the game, and even changes the rules of the game after winning the respect of his opponents.
One of his key lessons at Jardine Matheson was how to be a "contractor", a position that connects the upper and lower levels, and Ma Shimin is adept at making sense of the maze of stakes.
Standing at the top of this business ladder is the project owner, that is, the employer. The management is responsible for appointing the architects, engineers, and project managers for the project, and then the contractor is decided. Usually there are 6 or more candidate contractors for a project, and only one will stand out. Once the contract is awarded, the contractor appoints subcontractors and may have to connect with some authorities (e.g. firefighting).
You need to convince a lot of people that your product is better than your competitors. Even if you are approved by architects, there are still many people who are looking for alternatives to your product because they want to show employers that they have an economic advantage. Ma Shimin said.
What exactly is understanding the rules or even changing the rules? Many times the business of ** business is like this, if you wait until the customer's needs and standards are formulated before intervening, you have lost the first hand. Masters often intervene at the stage of "drafting design specifications" to influence the customer's standard setting. Ma knows almost all of Thailand's major architects, and when they draft their design specifications, he preemptively convinces them that their products are a better match for their goals.
In addition to being well-versed in the rules, Ma Shimin also understands the demands and likes and dislikes of each key player, and his knack is to "find ways to find people who can make decisions, meet them often, and understand their positions and needs." For example, engineers have their own right to speak, and at the same time pay more attention to structure, fire protection and durability; The project manager has to think more, such as budget control, how to save money for the boss.
Many years later, the first thing Ma Shimin did after joining Hutchison Whampoa was also to understand the rules of the game. Hutchison Whampoa has various departments all over Hong Kong – the port business department is in the port, the ** department is in Central, the supermarket headquarters is in Kowloon, etc. In the first two weeks, Ma Shimin was busy in various departments. He went to meet with the heads of each department and spent a few days with everyone to learn about their business processes and details, statistics, find their problems, and meet with the team.
Sheniu's favor account
What kind of person can win the favor of Li Ka-shing? In the matter of choosing the "foreign class", Li Ka-shing is a reaper who wins by vision rather than a cultivator, and the former has a very low cost of trial and error and huge benefits.
In the 14 years at Jardine Matheson, plus the following 3 years of entrepreneurship, Ma Shimin has completed career shaping and resource accumulation. A noticeable turning point in his Jardine era was becoming an assistant to Deputy General Manager Jeremy Brown. This is a position where you can become the "king of connections". When all important clients come to Hong Kong, they have to go to Brown's office to meet him before attending a grand luncheon in Jardine Matheson.
Ma Shimin's job was to brief Brown on the visiting customers, explaining how Jardine Matheson should deal with their products, profits, problems and identify any potential "criticism" to ensure that Jardine maintains good relations with these large customers in order to continue working together.
This position allowed Ma Shimin to know many people, and they were all heavyweights of Jardine Matheson's company. "What's even better is that they all know me. We have operations all over Asia, and I fly around making friends and business acquaintances. ......In fact, everyone knows that in the long run, to be successful, it's not what you know or understand, but what you know. ”
Even in the dark years of the recession of the 70s, Ma Shimin insisted on being responsible for entertaining customers from Asia, regularly inviting them to drinks and dinners, and maintaining friendly cooperative relations. Among the people invited were Jardine Matheson's customers and heads of distribution companies, as well as politicians from all Asian countries, and anyone else who might be useful.
But for the account of kindness between people, drinking and eating can only be regarded as a small favorTo form a true good relationship, you have to make money or lose money together, win battles together, or experience defeats together. And trading is the best way to "get things done".Ma Shimin has gained a lot of heavy businessman-style friendships in complex transactions one after another.
After leaving Jardine Matheson, he founded a new company called Dawinham to continue to do **. He deliberately went to Japan to say goodbye to Yufu, the head of Mitsubishi Corporation. Many years ago, Jardine Matheson reached an agreement with Mitsubishi to sell Mitsubishi products in Hong Kong with a 5% commission. Yubu lamented that Mitsubishi has dealt with Jardine Matheson for so many years, and Ma Shimin is the only one who has really served them. He said to Ma Shimin very emotionally: "We have never forgotten your efforts for Mitsubishi's Hong Kong MRT project. ”
After lunch, Yufu and a subordinate whispered something on a piece of paper, and the two talked in Japanese the whole time. Finally, Yubu looked at Ma Shimin: "Simon, we have a proposal. We pay you $2 million as a retainer over 6 years, and on top of that, if you can get a deal for us, we'll pay you a commission. ”
As a result, the company that Ma Shimin had just founded had a business. It's not just a matter of money, being the leader of the Mitsubishi Group has greatly increased the credibility of this new company.
A few months later, Singapore** announced the construction of a massive metro transit system. Mr. Ma went to Japan to see if his new company could replicate that success when he helped Mitsubishi become a project partner for the MTR when the Hong Kong subway project was being built a few years ago. In the end, together they won the contract for the Singapore MRT project, worth $3$500 million.
Three years after the establishment of Dawinham, Li Ka-shing approached Ma Shimin and said, "Simon, I will buy your company for $4 million (equivalent to $10 million now)." You tell them (the other shareholders) about it, and then you come to Hutchison Whampoa as Managing Director. Call them now, Simon, over there. ”
More than ten years later, Ma Shimin, who left Hutchison, established a ** company, GEMS, and the first investor is still Li Ka-shing. Jack Welch, then chairman of General Electric, was also one of the investors, and GM's financial company invested $25 million on the condition that they could follow GEMS. Ma Shimin asked Welch why he did this. Welch said, "Simon, GM is like a battleship in a harbor. You are a speedboat. Before we even got up in the morning, you were already running five laps around the port. You'll find some nice projects for us. ”
Ma Shimin often played the role of a scout.
Penetrate complex interests
Persuasiveness
In the interview, Ma Shimin repeatedly mentioned the word "persuasion", which he believes is the key to resolving differences and reaching consensus. "A person who can speak well, who is clear-headed, full of confidence, and who is able to see the good in the conversation, not the bad side. Ma Shimin describes the characteristics of persuasive people as "presenting the real situation, giving facts and figures, giving advice and giving conclusions, but letting people make their own decisions." Feel free to answer any queries that arise. ”
If one path doesn't persuade, it means that you need to work harder or use a different strategy. "Nothing is impossible, the problem is not opening the right door with the right key. Learn to gather advice from wiser and more knowledgeable people to find another way.
During his time at Matheson, one of his most memorable assignments was to solve the problems caused by the Bordeaux wine scandal to Jardine Matheson. The Bordeaux affair shook the world when it was noticed that Bordeaux wine was being sold far more than it was produced, and it was later discovered that Bordeaux merchants were increasing their wine production not by planting more grapes, but by adding Algerian red wine to their wines. The machinations were uncovered by the ex-wife of a wine merchant.
At that time, Jardine Matheson purchased and stored around £7 million of wine in the cellar of Cruise Wines, one of Bordeaux's largest wine merchants. In 1973, £7 million was a lot of money, and the £7 million wine volume was impressive.
Jardine Matheson fell into a panic and was at a loss for what to do. At the morning meeting, Ma Shimin received the task of going to Bordeaux to solve the problem, and the most important thing was to get the red wine back, and make sure that it was red wine made from pure Bordeaux grapes. He is probably the best fit because he speaks fluent French, knows his clients the Crews brothers well, and knows Algerian red wines very well.
His key task was to convince the Cruise brothers to take their wine out of the casks of the "Bordeaux" red wine, bottle it, and label it with the Jardine Matheson logo. In this way, even after Cruise went bankrupt, Jardine Matheson could avoid queuing up with many creditors to collect debts.
Ma Shimin met Henri Cruise in Bordeaux, who looked exhausted. Ma Shimin asked him to drink, but he refused, saying, "I never touch that thing, I prefer whiskey!" Henry suggested that Marshman visit their cellar to learn more about the issues involved in bottling wine. There are a number of large barrels in the cellar, some of which have labels, one of which seems to read "Assez Bien Pour Japon", which roughly translates to "good enough for the Japanese". Japan is the main wine sales market for Jardine Matheson.
After five hours of discussion, the brothers agreed to Ma Shimin's request. Regarding Ma Shimin's astonishing persuasiveness, Ren Zhengfei mentioned a "bizarre story of daring to think and do" in the preface to the book "Ma Shimin's War Diary - From Titan to Business Giant".
In 1990, China's Great Wall Corporation used a domestically produced Long March rocket to launch an American satellite, "Asia-1," which was single-handedly promoted by Ma Shimin. At that time, Chinese were generally hostile to the United States, and the United States did not trust China. Ma Shimin spent months in endless meetings with the U.S. Ministry, the Intelligence Agency, his friend Henry Kissinger, and people at the Hong Kong embassy, and finally persuaded the U.S. that the U.S. could sell more satellites if it focused on developing its ability to manufacture and sell satellites, and that lower-cost countries such as China would be responsible for launching satellites. France, as part of the Multilateral Export Control Coordination Committee, subsequently stepped in to express its opposition. Ma Shimin had to visit the French Consul General in Hong Kong several times to make representations. In the end, he persuaded China to have the U.S. Marine Corps escort the satellite into China throughout the process. The satellite was successfully launched.
In addition to being adept at figuring out the intricate stakes like a labyrinth, reputational assets are the blessing of his years of walking in business.
He realized early on that the essential ingredient for success is trust. "When others believe in you, they will naturally believe in the product you represent. When something goes wrong, you want to be there. When the product is delayed or the other person's expectations are disappointed, you must stand close enough for them to grab you by the neck. You always have to stick your neck out for them to grab. Everyone's back is protected by you, and if the sky falls, you must carry it. But trust can give you tremendous energy. ......They trust me more than the products I sell, and they are more interested in me than those products. This made me realize that trust and reputation are more important than everything else in the business world. ”
It's not a "good stubble".
In addition to trust and reputation, Ma Shimin's possessions also have a sense of humor. Many people underestimate the importance of a sense of humor, and Ma Shimin's second book, titled "Nobody Will Shoot You If You Make Them Laugh", stems from an experience in which he was taken hostage by local militants in Botswana while on a trip to Africa with friends, and was pointed at four guns at the same time. After three hours of stalemate, he slowly stepped forward and performed a magic trick on the leader of the militants and his wife, and finally saved the day.
This story also shows that Ma Shimin is by no means a "good stubble". While in Algeria, one night a soldier accidentally got stuck in a grenade safety pin and accidentally took off his equipment**. Ma Shimin's eyes seemed to be a painting of hell. The bodies were scattered everywhere, 4 of the 10 people in the tent were killed instantly, and the others were hovering between life and death. He sighed: "How sudden the reversal of life came. When times go well, I'll remember tonight. In "Ma Shimin's War Diary", he describes many similar scenes, an experience that either completely destroys a person, or completely builds a person, and Ma Shimin succeeds in being created.
This off-the-track military experience made him a free and strong man. The source is a super-high self-confidence – he knows that he can cope with the punishment of any fate, and the resilience that he has already cultivated. This self-confidence allows him to face the ups and downs of his business life and survive in high-level office politics.
After Li Ka-shing spent a lot of money to invite Ma Shimin to Hutchison Whampoa, at the first board meeting, several directors looked like they had "just fallen from the roof of a 60-story building" — neither knowing that he was coming, nor seeming to welcome him. Later that day, several directors went over to shake his hand, welcome and congratulate him, and then the room was empty. He sat in an empty conference room and left the company 15 minutes later.
The next morning, when he arrived at the office on the top floor of the Hutchison Whampoa Building, the people at the front desk still didn't know who he was. Several executives were not in the office, and Ma Shimin had to wait at the front desk. Finally, the HR director put his hands in his pockets and came slowly. After listening to Ma Shimin's self-introduction, he hurriedly said that he didn't know anything about it. Ma Shimin said: "You'd better get the office up as soon as possible. Most importantly, within an hour, give me a ready**, an annual report, and a list of all departments and department heads and their ** numbers. This is how he began his journey to "Hutchison Taipan".
"The boys at Cheung Kong were jealous that I didn't form a clique with anyone, and that I had a close relationship with Li Ka-shing. They don't miss a single opportunity to weaken the relationship. Ma Shimin said.
The immediate trigger for his departure from Hutchison Whampoa was his disdain for Li Ka-shing's confidant George Magnus. One day, all the directors were ready to attend the farewell ceremony of Li Ka-shing's mother, which was scheduled to start at 3 p.m., and Ma Shimin, Huo Jianning, and Magnus were having a budget meeting that morning, when a secretary walked in and told Magnus that he was looking for **, and five minutes later he grabbed the document and rushed out of the conference room "like a person who is going to be late for an audience with the emperor." And at two o'clock in the afternoon, Ma Shimin was sitting at the desk in the office, and Huo Jianning walked in, his face was gloomy, and he said in a very bad mood: "The feng shui master advanced the ceremony to half past 12 noon. They called Magnus to tell him about it, but he deliberately didn't tell us. ”
That was the first time Ma Shimin said "I'm resigning" to Hutchison. Li Ka-shing had struggled to keep him, but an impulse to find freedom once again pushed Ma Shimin to find the next exit. "One finds one way", this is Ma Shimin's life motto, and it is also a declaration of freedom.
The picture comes from the Internet, and it will be deleted if it is invaded.