Others talk to me about science, but I believe in Feng Shui and am superstitious about it. Alibaba set up seven subsidiaries based on Feng Shui considerations. When we first rented an office in Hong Kong, I went in and said, "No, this office is too high up; the Feng Shui is bad. The company in front of us will definitely close down." I checked, and sure enough, six companies had closed down before us. So when you move your company, you should check whether the previous company had problems. Additionally, in any city, if you say you want to build the tallest building, that company is bound to face misfortune. I did some statistics, and found that if a company's building is the tallest, it is bound to be unlucky. The 9/11 attack in New York is a typical example. — Jack Ma, Alibaba Group
Jack Ma's Lakeview Garden
There was a popular WeChat post — "This Hangzhou neighborhood is amazing! Jack Ma, Wang Shi, and Song Weiping are all connected to it." The so-called magical neighborhood is the Lakeview Garden in the west of Hangzhou, which now seems like a very ordinary community. What is the place where Jack Ma and the “18 Arhats” started their business like now? Let’s take a look at this place that carried Jack Ma’s early years.
Building 16 of Fenghe Courtyard
This four-story white-walled house is hidden among the trees, with a total of 8 households. The south-facing windows of Room 202 have two air conditioners, one slightly larger, which was probably added later. The balcony on the third floor is filled with flowers and plants, with a playful string of green pothos hanging on the balcony of Room 202.
Room 202
The door of Room 202 looks very ordinary, with a vertical and three horizontal lines forming a "Feng" character. The door panel is not painted, and the wood grain is still visible, though it has become somewhat worn. It is said that Jack Ma and his partners once plotted their grand plans behind this door. Although Jack Ma left here more than ten years ago, the door has never been replaced.
Meeting at Lakeview Garden in 2000
Lakeview Garden has become a sacred place for Alibaba people.
Interior of Lakeview Garden Community
"Some say the Feng Shui here is good"
Mr. You from Building 17, whose hometown is Jiaxing, has a company in Shanghai and is in the carton business: “We bought the house here in 1998 when I was still in high school. Even though it’s so close, I only learned about Jack Ma later at Alibaba's 10th anniversary celebration.” He heard that a Feng Shui master had once visited their community and declared it a treasure land, “Here, two notable figures will emerge. One is Jack Ma, and another is a prominent Zhejiang businessman who is currently renovating a villa in the front…”
Jack Ma’s Alibaba Binjiang Park
Jack Ma’s office has a large wooden horse
Jack Ma’s statue
but why is it placed underground?
Yun Stone
The stone is engraved with Jack Ma’s famous quote: “Today is very cruel, tomorrow is even more cruel, but the day after tomorrow will be beautiful. Many people die on the night of tomorrow and never see the sun of the day after tomorrow.” “Entrepreneurs must understand that their left hand should warm their right hand.”
One side of the office is furnished with Western-style furniture, suitable for small meetings
The other side is furnished with Chinese-style furniture and traditional writing tools
Bookshelf
The bookshelf also functions as a partition and displays many photo frames. Jack Ma once said he had seen many successful companies and noticed that in the offices of successful CEOs, photos of their favorite people are always hung in front of their desks, and behind their chairs are photos of their team, friends, and supporters. The success of these entrepreneurs is because they are surrounded by smiles and happiness every day, and they have the most solid support for the growth of their companies. On the other hand, failed companies are often filled with the smell of money. Jack Ma believes that when a company leader’s mind is full of dollars and RMB, they will talk in Hong Kong dollars, and their company will not go far.
Jack Ma with Bill Clinton
Two photos on the bookshelf: the upper photo is a caricature of Jack Ma at APEC, and the lower photo is of Zhang Dejiang visiting Alibaba.
China’s richest man, Jack Ma, talks about Feng Shui
In 2005, Jack Ma clearly stated at a forum: “I believe in Feng Shui.”
He said: “I think Feng Shui is about adjusting the atmosphere.”
Everyone can look at our LOGO; I require our employees to be happy and smiling. This is very important. If you hire someone with a long face, they often fail. If they are not troubled, they still have a long face.
Feng Shui is like this: When you arrive at a place, you will know if the team has problems, and if performance is declining, you first need to analyze whether the problem is with the business or something else. Once you identify the problem, sometimes people say to change the Feng Shui. If people say the Feng Shui is bad, just adjust the office layout. Sometimes it's about the atmosphere, but of course, if the office design is unreasonable, that’s also wrong.
When we first rented an office in Hong Kong, I went in and said, "No, this Feng Shui is bad. The company in front of us will definitely close down." Sure enough, six companies had closed before us. So when you move your company, check if the previous company had problems.
Starting a business often means facing misfortune, mostly due to poor office location choices. “Many companies just starting out rent a large office in a high-end building. This makes new employees think that the company must be doing well and that they will achieve great things here.” Jack Ma analyzed, “This creates an unrealistic expectation for new employees. Starting companies face many difficulties, and new employees are attracted by the ‘good’ and ‘scale’ of the company, which makes them underestimate the difficulties. Over time, the company’s staff decreases and eventually cannot sustain itself.”
“When we were recruiting in Ningbo, a lady found a very remote, dark, and shabby residential building on the fifth floor and couldn’t believe that the famous branch company was on the seventh floor above, so she went downstairs and called her boyfriend, saying, ‘… If I don’t call you within half an hour, come and find me.’”
Jack Ma said that most of our branch offices are located in residential units. Why? We want all employees to know that we are here to grow, moving from a small unit to the most upscale office building in the area.