Zhang Yiming’s Last Speech: Part II

Last year, when we faced challenges and crises, I always told everyone to "stay calm, be patient". And overall, we did that. This is really the biggest gain from our past challenges: you can't control the outcome 100% of the time, so stay calm as much as possible, make the right decisions, don't rush to make decisions, don't panic, and of

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Some media want to add drama when they report on startups and people's stories, either by making the experience seem legendary or by dramatizing people’s characters. When I used to be interviewed, people also wanted me to share twists and turns. I often said it was nothing special. In fact, most things, in my opinion, have reasons and justific

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One thing I do look back on fondly was how incredibly focused we were. Resources and time were so tight that you could feel the weight of all the things you weren’t working on. You had real conviction that the thing you were doing was the most important thing.

To pick a somewhat trivial example, at fireside chats with Mark (the predecessor to the co... See more

What I Wish Someone Had Told Me

1. Optimism, obsession, self-belief, raw horsepower and personal connections are how things get started.


2. Cohesive teams, the right combination of calmness and urgency, and unreasonable commitment are how things get finished. Long-term orientation is in short supply; try not to worry about what people think in the short t

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