Green Company Annual Meeting Live! Jack Ma Says: Killing the Landlord Doesn't Necessarily Make the Farmers Rich (Full Video Attached)

The Green Company Annual Meeting is considered one of the most influential business forums in China, an annual gathering organized by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs. Founded in 2006 by the China Entrepreneur Union, the club has 60 members, including 47 directors whose companies generate combined annual revenues exceeding 2 trillion RMB. The club is chaired by Liu Chuanzhi, with Ma Weihua as director-general, and executive directors including Jack Ma, Wang Jianlin, Liu Yonghao, Liu Huadong, Yu Minhong, and Guo Guangchang.

Jack Ma at the Scene: Full Video: Yesterday, Jack Ma spoke at the 2016 China Green Company Annual Meeting.

What does Jack Ma think the next decade will look like? At the 2016 China Green Company Annual Meeting held yesterday, Ma said that the BAT landscape would change within two to three years, and if he could do it over, he would definitely not choose to take his company public.

Clash with Jia Yueting: If You Were BAT, What Would You Do?

Before his speech, Ma had a heated exchange with Jia Yueting, founder, chairman, and CEO of Leshi Holdings, which ignited the audience.

"A few days ago, someone told me that at the Shenzhen Internet Conference, you said that BAT—Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent—monopolized the resources for internet entrepreneurship, making it hard for others. If the roles were reversed, and you were BAT, what do you think would be the best approach?" Ma said.

Jia Yueting quickly tried to smooth things over: "Every era has companies that monopolize societal resources, but that's not important because times are constantly changing. With each shift, new and greater companies emerge. So to break through the blockade or the mountain of the previous generation, you only need to do one thing: determine what the next era is, and formulate your strategy from the perspective of the next era, rather than innovating along their extension lines or relying on BAT's powerful resources."

On Competition: Competition Is Not About Eliminating Opponents

Later, Liu Chuanzhi posed a question to Ma: Enterprise competition actually drives social progress. But now internet companies seem to have a mentality that only one can survive, leading to a bloody, relentless struggle. Some companies even throw stones onto others' tracks, and this happens frequently. Does this theory exist? Is this the situation? What do you think should be done?

In response, Ma said that enterprises must have competition. Without competition, like a person's physical fitness, without exercise and antibodies, it won't work. But enterprises should spend more time competing with the future and with yesterday, creating a company that the era can be proud of. Moreover, competition is not about eliminating opponents; opponents cannot be eliminated entirely—how can you possibly defeat all your opponents in the world?

"I don't quite believe in the idea of one company dominating alone," Ma said. "Business is like a battlefield, but there is a huge difference: on the battlefield, you survive only when the enemy dies; in business, the enemy's death doesn't necessarily mean you survive. The purpose of competing with others is to increase enjoyment, to make yourself stronger, to better face the future, not to eliminate opponents. That's a fundamental difference." He added that if you feel miserable during competition while others don't, then you're definitely competing the wrong way. Competition should make you stronger, able to face future challenges, go further, do better, and bring enjoyment.

Ma said he opposes so-called vicious competition, which indicates a lack of vision and foresight. In the long run, within 20 or 30 years, entrepreneurs need to think about what they truly want and what they must give up. When entrepreneurs put small nails under others' seats today, employees will look down on you, customers will look down on you, and after employees leave, they may become your competitors and one day put something under your chair.

On the Future: Spending a Lot of Time Daydreaming

Ma revealed that he spends a lot of time daydreaming and has never felt that anything is unthinkable. Only by daring to think can there be a future. "When we first started Alibaba, a media outlet ran a big headline saying that if a company like Alibaba succeeded, it would be like lifting a 10,000-ton ship onto Mount Everest. Many colleagues asked me how I viewed this. I said, let's lift it up and see. (So for entrepreneurs) the most important thing is to believe in yourself; bluffing is when you don't believe but make others believe. Actually, people like us believe in ourselves; whether you believe or not doesn't matter."

He also advised entrepreneurs that in business, you must avoid expecting results the day after you start; there's no such thing as succeeding tomorrow just because you started today. "For any decision we make internally, I always ask: if we announce this today, will it succeed in 10 years? If it will succeed in 10 years, we do it. If we do something today and it might succeed next month, then it's not for us, because we don't have the money or resources, and we don't know when someone else might come along and take it." Ma said.

On BAT: We Walk on Thin Ice Every Day

Following Jia Yueting's mention of BAT, Ma also made a prediction. He believes that within three years, the BAT landscape will change.

"To overthrow the three mountains, killing the landlord doesn't necessarily make the farmers rich. Companies like Microsoft and IBM face huge challenges, and Alibaba is no different," Ma said. "Within ten years, BAT may not exist; perhaps within three years it might not. Which internet company today can truly stay popular for three years? It's very difficult. In human society, two industries always live long: religion and education. Importantly, they firmly believe in reverence and gratitude, the power of true faith and belief."

"Everyone thinks BAT is quite remarkable, but I estimate that within two or three years, the landscape will change; in four or five years, whether these companies will still exist is a big question. We walk on thin ice every day," Ma said. People in traditional industries think internet companies have it easy, but in reality, internet companies have a very tough time. The bigger the company, the harder it gets; small companies are easiest, but when they grow big, they all face difficulties. He feels that every day is like a year, and every year bears the pressure of fifteen years, making each day extremely difficult.

Ma said that if he could choose again, he would definitely not build such a large scale, would not create such influence, and would not take the company public.

On the Future: Spending a Lot of Time Daydreaming

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