Lesson #2: The Good Luck of Goals is Not Luck at All
Lesson #2: The Good Luck of Goals is Not Luck at All
It is those very goals that have taken Li to the heights of success where he comfortably sits atop his perch today. When Li established Cheung Kong Holdings and began venturing into real estate, Li set a goal. He made a public announcement that Cheung Kong was going to become bigger and more profitable than Jardine Matheson in real estate development. It was in setting that goal, and holding himself accountable to it, that Li moved one step closer to achieving it.
Jardines was first created in 1832 by William Jardine and James Matheson, two Scottish merchants who began importing opium from Bengal at rock-bottom prices, and selling it to local Chinese at sky-high prices. Eventually, after growing big enough and reinvesting its profits, the company went legitimate and turned to property investment instead. In little time, Jardines had played a large role in turning Hong Kong into a major international business centre. But, now, more than 100 years later, Li wanted a piece of the action. Just a few short years after announcing his goal, Li had indeed accomplished it. He had grown larger than Jardines and even won a highly coveted plot of land to develop in the region.
“Vision is perhaps our greatest strength,” says Li. “It has kept us alive to the power and continuity of thought through the centuries; it makes us peer into the future and lends shape to the unknown.” Li’s vision and goal setting was also responsible for his acquisition of Hutchison Whampoa. In the 1970s, Cheung Kong had established a solid foundation and Li began to turn his eyes in the direction of foreign-owned companies. “I had a clear intention of taking over one of these companies with underperforming assets and developing it into a multinational corporation,” says Li.
Purchasing Hutchison Whampoa was significant, but had it not been Hutchison, it would have been another foreign-owned conglomerate. Li was clear in his vision of the kind of company he wanted to created, and the kind of company he would need to acquire in order to do so. He had a well-defined goal, and if Hutchison had not worked out, Li would have moved on to another. No obstacle would have stood in his way.
Li says that those who want to believe the luck or the power of Fung Shui can do so if they want, “but ultimately people control their own fate.” To that end, Li emphasizes the importance of clearly defining what you want that fate to be. “Broaden your vision, and maintain stability while advancing forward. That is my philosophy.”
Lesson 2 The Good Luck of Goals is Not Luck at All
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There are many who see the vast fortune of Li Ka-shing and call him a lucky man. Indeed, some of his more superstitious Chinese peers have even suggested that Li owes his success to 1928 – the year he was born, the year of the dragon. But, Li laughs in the face of anyone who suggests his accomplishments have been the result of chance or accident. “I wasn’t lucky,” he says, “I worked hard to achieve the goals I set for myself.”
It is those very goals that have taken Li to the heights of success where he comfortably sits atop his perch today. When Li established Cheung Kong Holdings and began venturing into real estate, Li set a goal. He made a public announcement that Cheung Kong was going to become bigger and more profitable than Jardine Matheson in real estate development. It was in setting that goal, and holding himself accountable to it, that Li moved one step closer to achieving it.
Jardines was first created in 1832 by William Jardine and James Matheson, two Scottish merchants who began importing opium from Bengal at rock-bottom prices, and selling it to local Chinese at sky-high prices. Eventually, after growing big enough and reinvesting its profits, the company went legitimate and turned to property investment instead. In little time, Jardines had played a large role in turning Hong Kong into a major international business centre. But, now, more than 100 years later, Li wanted a piece of the action. Just a few short years after announcing his goal, Li had indeed accomplished it. He had grown larger than Jardines and even won a highly coveted plot of land to develop in the region.
“Vision is perhaps our greatest strength,” says Li. “It has kept us alive to the power and continuity of thought through the centuries; it makes us peer into the future and lends shape to the unknown.” Li’s vision and goal setting was also responsible for his acquisition of Hutchison Whampoa. In the 1970s, Cheung Kong had established a solid foundation and Li began to turn his eyes in the direction of foreign-owned companies. “I had a clear intention of taking over one of these companies with underperforming assets and developing it into a multinational corporation,” says Li.
Purchasing Hutchison Whampoa was significant, but had it not been Hutchison, it would have been another foreign-owned conglomerate. Li was clear in his vision of the kind of company he wanted to created, and the kind of company he would need to acquire in order to do so. He had a well-defined goal, and if Hutchison had not worked out, Li would have moved on to another. No obstacle would have stood in his way.
Li says that those who want to believe the luck or the power of Fung Shui can do so if they want, “but ultimately people control their own fate.” To that end, Li emphasizes the importance of clearly defining what you want that fate to be. “Broaden your vision, and maintain stability while advancing forward. That is my philosophy.”
Lesson 2 The Good Luck of Goals is Not Luck at All
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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Dianne CramptonDianne Crampton is an executive leadership coach, team culture consultant, author and president of TIGERS Success Series, Inc. Dianne has been helping CEO's and Executives connect their employees to their core values and goals for over 20 years using the trademarked TIGERS team culture process, which stands for trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk and success. To download a free white paper on behaviors that build strong teams and behaviors that will predictably tear them down go here. Dianne's contribution to the 2010 Pfeiffer Consulting Journal (an imprint of John Wiley and Sons Publishers) entitled TIGERS Hearted Teams is available in November 2009. Her new book TIGERS Among Us: 5 Winning Business Team Cultures And Why, Three Creeks Publishing will release in March 2010. To receive publishing discounts, subscribe to the free TigerTracks Newsletter here. - Visit Dianne Crampton's Website |
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