Lesson #3: Knowledge is Your Most Important Capital

“Times were really tough in the beginning,” recalls Li Ka-shing. “When I started my business in 1950, I only had HK$50,000, so I was in a tight spot financially. I already had some work experience, but I had an advantage in competing with other companies – I was willing to learn the latest industry trends.”

Li has been able to rise to the top of his game by recognizing that he is operating in a knowledge economy. For Li, knowledge and economic development are inseparable. Indeed, he says, “businessmen must move with the times…the correlation between knowledge and business as the key to success is closer than ever.”

Li’s father – and every generation before him – had taken education very seriously. Li had always wanted to return to school, after the death of his father forced him to drop out and begin working to support his family. But, while he might have been out of school, Li never quenched his thirst for learning. He continues to be a voracious reader to this day, something that he believes has helped put him ahead of the pack.

Li keeps up with the news – both international and industry-specific – on a religious basis. It was this characteristic that gave him the insight to be able to start his company in the first place. While working at the plastics factory, Li became aware of the great potential for plastics. “I was already keeping an eye on the political developments within China, and I also had a firm grasp on economics, industry, management and the latest development and productions of the plastics industry,” he says. “Not many people in Hong Kong at that time were aware of the potential. It was still quite new.

Keeping up to date with current events and industry trends gave Li the edge in founding his company, and continues to do so today. Li engrosses himself in reading as much as possible about whatever business he’s in – from the technological basics to the external conditions. While he favours books on philosophy, history, and technology, he will also read anything from trade to engineering journals in order to not get left behind by the times. “You must know and understand your business like the back of your hand,” he says. “Otherwise, your company would be here today, gone tomorrow.”

Li might never have received a university degree, but he always understood that knowledge was not just about schools and textbooks. Rather, he took it to be a combination of life experience, culture, and current affairs. It was only in utilizing those knowledge sources that Li believed he could keep his company competitive. The number of honorary degrees that have since been bestowed upon him, by the likes of Cambridge University, seem to be evidence enough of the success he has had in teaching himself everything he needed to know to reach the top.

Despite waking up every morning at 6 am, exercising, and completing his busy work day, Li still finds the time to read before bed each night, a habit which has kept his company running at full speed even as he sleeps.



Lesson #3: Knowledge is Your Most Important Capital

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