---
title: "Success Comes from Seizing Opportunities, Not Solving Problems"
description: "Because many enterprises are facing operational difficulties, I have been receiving more questions recently, such as what to do if the industry declines, the economy is bad, products don't sell, or managing post-90s employees is difficult. Honestly, I cannot solve these specific problems, but I find broader issues easier to address. This reminds me of a quote by the famous American futurist John Naisbitt: Success comes not from solving problems, but from seizing opportunities. Seize the opportunity and you succeed; once successful, are there still problems?"
author: "刘春雄"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
telephone: "+8615854817671"
published: "2016-07-11"
language: "en"
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translation: "https://xinjignxiao.com/zh/articles/%E6%88%90%E5%8A%9F%E4%B8%8D%E6%98%AF%E5%9B%A0%E4%B8%BA%E8%A7%A3%E5%86%B3%E4%BA%86%E9%97%AE%E9%A2%98-%E8%80%8C%E6%98%AF%E5%9B%A0%E4%B8%BA%E6%8A%93%E4%BD%8F%E4%BA%86%E6%9C%BA%E4%BC%9A-9b95ecd8.md"
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# Success Comes from Seizing Opportunities, Not Solving Problems

> Because many enterprises are facing operational difficulties, I have been receiving more questions recently, such as what to do if the industry declines, the economy is bad, products don't sell, or managing post-90s employees is difficult. Honestly, I cannot solve these specific problems, but I find broader issues easier to address. This reminds me of a quote by the famous American futurist John Naisbitt: Success comes not from solving problems, but from seizing opportunities. Seize the opportunity and you succeed; once successful, are there still problems?

Because many enterprises are facing operational difficulties, I have been receiving more questions recently, such as what to do if the industry declines, the economy is bad, products don't sell, or managing post-90s employees is difficult.
Honestly, I cannot solve these specific problems, but I find broader issues easier to address.
This reminds me of a quote by the famous American futurist John Naisbitt: Success comes not from solving problems, but from seizing opportunities.
Seize the opportunity and you succeed; once successful, are there still problems?
This is a line from Naisbitt's book "Mind Set!", and it's the only line I remember from the entire book.
Naisbitt said that those who successfully campaign for the U.S. presidency are mostly those who discover opportunities; those who fail are mostly problem-solvers; and some are skilled at finding those who discover opportunities.
**Problems Are Solved by Opportunities**
Business success certainly involves solving fundamental issues. For fundamental issues, the best mindset is opportunity-oriented.
Solving problems only removes obstacles in operations. Removing obstacles doesn't guarantee business success, because such obstacles come one after another.
There was an era in China described as "amazing chaos, amazing success." Chaos didn't hinder success because opportunities were seized to solve fundamental operational issues.
An old saying goes: "In a big fire, there is no wet wood; in a big flood, there is no sinking sand." Wet wood alone won't burn—that's a problem. But in a big fire, it's not a problem; the "big fire" is the fundamental issue.
Do we solve the problem of wet wood "not burning" or the problem of the "big fire"? These are two different business mindsets.
I used to be puzzled about how to water crops in sandy fields in the northwest, as water seeps through the sand, wasting a lot. But when I saw farmers using flood irrigation, I realized seepage wasn't a problem at all. Of course, drip irrigation now saves more water.
Once, at a sales meeting for a company in Sanya, Hainan, they initially presented many problems that I couldn't solve, and neither could the boss. Later, I changed the meeting format and asked them three questions.
First: What market opportunities exist in your area? They all answered.
Second: How do you plan to seize these opportunities? They answered quickly.
Third: Any more problems? They said no.
By seizing opportunities, sales problems were solved, and the derivative problems from poor sales disappeared.
You see, I didn't give them solutions; I just showed them how to discover and seize opportunities. Seize the opportunity, sales improve, and problems are resolved.
The two executives observing the meeting said afterward that it was an eye-opener; they finally knew how to run meetings and how to manage work.
The logic of "problems are solved by opportunities" is: once you discover opportunities, performance won't be poor; when performance is good, problems diminish.
**Is the Business Environment Really Bad?**
"The overall environment is bad!" Many people have been complaining to me recently.
So, when was the business environment good? I actually did some research on this.
Some say five years ago, some say ten years ago, and some miss even earlier times. In short, there seems to be no unified standard; everyone has a different view.
Later, I found a pattern. Those who say the environment was good five years ago often started their businesses five years ago; those who miss ten years ago, when asked when they started, might say ten years ago.
When is the overall environment good? It's best when you start your business.
Why is it best when you start? Because you discovered an opportunity. When you discover an opportunity, the environment becomes good.
However, when you start your business and say the environment is good, it might be exactly when others are saying the environment is bad.
For example, during the current startup wave, those starting businesses say the environment is good, while traditional operators say it's bad. Whether the environment is good depends on whether you see opportunities or are full of problems.
Entrepreneurs face bigger problems than normal operators, but why do they stay positive? Because they discovered opportunities before starting.
I have a habit: solve problems when they arise, but when problems become overwhelming, I return to fundamentals and look for opportunities there. Some call this a "reset mindset"—reset your mind and rethink.
When you think from a problem perspective, the environment seems bad. When you think from an opportunity perspective, the environment is actually quite good. Look at today's entrepreneurs and the opportunities they've discovered.
Problem thinking looks inward; opportunity thinking looks outward.
**Strategic Opportunities Are Waited For,**
**Tactical Opportunities Are Sought**
Tactical opportunities always exist if you're willing to look. Major strategic opportunities require patience, as they are cyclical and need waiting.
Where are opportunities? Not inside the organization; they are external. Opportunities that belong to you are at the interface of internal and external. This tells us that to discover opportunities, we should step outside, go to the market, go to consumers, and even further afield.
Why do many knowledgeable people fail in business? Because knowledge and learning don't create value unless combined with external opportunities.
The big "windfalls" people talk about now are strategic opportunities. Years ago, I read in a magazine that Li Ka-shing said: "When a tornado comes, even pigs can fly." I often quoted this in speeches. Later, Lei Jun quoted it, and some even thought he coined it. Of course, Lei Jun also played it to death.
Actually, this saying was originally used to illustrate the importance of strategic opportunities.
Currently, the whole environment is in a period of strategic opportunity. When we finally have this strategic opportunity period, we still see only a bad environment. At this time, we must look beyond the enterprise to understand it.
Last year, I gave an internal speech to a company, asking executives to: "Look at China from the world, look at the industry from China, look at the enterprise from the industry." Conversely: "Look beyond the enterprise to see the industry, look beyond the industry to see the world." This is to avoid being bogged down by specific problems and focus on the bigger picture.
**Big Opportunities Behind Big Difficulties**
Personal problems may be problems; collective problems may become opportunities. Behind big difficulties, there must be big opportunities.
Behind difficulties are opportunities. This is not just chicken soup for the soul; it's logical and follows patterns.
Recently, I've been promoting that we are in the third wave of entrepreneurial opportunities since the reform and opening-up. Some find it strange: this is the most difficult time, how can it be the third wave?
Think back: the first wave after 1979's reform and opening-up was right after the economic collapse of the Cultural Revolution. The second wave after 1992 was also during the most difficult economic period.
Entrepreneurship is the process of discovering opportunities and commercializing them. The most important resource for entrepreneurship is not technology, talent, or capital, but opportunity.
Every major economic difficulty is accompanied by policy easing, new business model breakthroughs, or sometimes new technological breakthroughs. These are all major opportunities.
Entrepreneurial opportunity periods often occur when traditional development paths are blocked or capped, and new development paths are needed to solve development problems. So, the hardest times are often when entrepreneurial waves peak.
In the early 20th century, the U.S. had one economic crisis after another, but it was also a time of rapid economic growth.
"Opportunities should not belong only to entrepreneurs; they belong to all who are good at discovering them." Ren Zhengfei said, "This is a time of great opportunities, but we must not be opportunistic."
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