Chapter 19 18. Wang Shi: Looking for confidence in high school

Among Chinese entrepreneurs, Wang Shi climbed the highest.This honor first comes from his achievements in business management. In 1983, Wang Shi came to Shenzhen and worked for the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone Development Company; in 1984, he established the Shenzhen Modern Scientific and Educational Instrument Exhibition and Sales Center (the predecessor of Vanke Co., Ltd.) and served as the general manager; General Manager; resigned from the position of general manager of the company in 1999 and is currently the chairman of the company.Such a resume is very common, but the connotation behind it is extremely profound.Zhang Wuchang, a famous economist, commented on him as: "In the country with the fastest economic development, the largest industry - the top president of the most successful institution in real estate".In the eyes of peers, Wang Shi is also a "godfather" figure in China's real estate industry. Vanke under his leadership has continued to grow for 20 consecutive years.His concepts of "not making profits higher than 25%" and pursuing specialization have drawn a bright path for an industry in a gray area.

On the other hand, Wang Shi's height lies in his love to climb high, and he has achieved the highest pursuit of an earthling. In May 2003, as the oldest Chinese and the only entrepreneur, Wang Shi climbed Mount Everest at an altitude of 8848.13 meters. Since then, he has successively climbed the peaks of all continents. He is not so much an entrepreneur , it is more appropriate to say that he is a professional mountaineer. It was also during this process that Wang Shi, who had a smooth journey, experienced the wisdom of dealing with crises in life.During the mountaineering, Wang Shi faced the danger of death several times, but with his wise and firm will, all the dangers were saved, which gave him the greatest confidence in running a business.

In 2008, during the Wenchuan earthquake in Sichuan, Wang Shi encountered a huge crisis of trust due to his inappropriate remarks, and he finally passed it. At the end of 2008, Wang Shi put forward the "turning point theory" of real estate, and took the lead in setting off a wave of price cuts in various places. Amidst the condemnation of many customers and peers, Wang Shi withstood the pressure, and finally proved that his judgment was advanced and wise. This is a maverick Wang Shi, but also a wise entrepreneur. In mountaineering and business, the wisdom of life that Wang Shi explored is a fortune.

Viewpoint: Life can’t always be smooth sailing. I also thought about suicide. When I started my business in Shenzhen, I saw piles of corn that couldn’t be sold. People who have experienced life and death can often understand life, but not everyone can experience life and death, and when a crisis comes, it is more likely that life is worse than death.Wang Shi experienced several troughs during his rise, but he found the driving force for continuous upward movement in mountain climbing. background of the crisis In 1983, Wang Shi resold corn in Shenzhen. After doing several successful transactions, he encountered a big crisis: Hong Kong media suddenly reported that the chicken feed made from the corn Wang Shi sold contained toxins.For a while, Wang Shi, who was looking forward to a flood of money, was looking forward to a pile of corn hoarded like a hill.As a last resort, he had to sell the corn cheaply, and lost 1.1 million in the end.After the failure, Wang Shi made a gamble with his fate—he took a huge risk and ordered another batch of corn from Dalian, with a quantity of 15,000 tons.Wang Shi is convinced that the crisis will pass, and he is very confident in his own channels.The only thing that is uncertain: whether the crisis will be over before the arrival of the freighter.This is a bet against time. Wang Shi linked his fate with the corn. It is said that at the most tense moment, Wang Shi listened to Mozart's "Mass" day and night, and even thought about sinking the freighter and asking the insurance company to pay for it. The last trick.Fortunately, two days before the cargo ship entered Shenzhen Port, the Hong Kong media refuted the rumors: the report was wrong, and the chicken feed was non-toxic.For this gamble, Wang Shi made up for the lost money and made back more than 3 million at one time, because during that period of time, only Wang Shi had corn, and the other losers all escaped.

In the future, when Wang Shi summed up his path to success, he described four rules: The first is to have a practical vision, or goal, and it must be practical and not far-fetched.Second, you must have endurance and be able to endure hardships and stand hard work.Third, life cannot always be smooth sailing, you must have the psychological endurance to accept failure.Fourth, maybe the first, second, and third are all available, but still unsuccessful, it means that you still lack luck.When Wang Shi later recalled his career as a loser, he said: "When I started my business in Shenzhen, I saw piles of corn that could not be sold. I really wanted to get rid of it. But when I woke up the next morning, the sun came out, and I still had to live." Wang Shi said It is a pure understanding of life after being in a desperate situation. In fact, people often have potentials that burst out in a short period of time after they are in a desperate situation. During the mountaineering, Wang Shi faced the test of life and death several times. Wang Shi said: When the danger of death approached, he would feel extremely fearful. At that time, when the danger passed, the incredible snow mountain was behind him. All experiences have become the great value of life: only when death clearly appears in front of one's eyes, can a person really think about the value of life; Really need, the most valuable thing in your life.Wang Shi’s perception was the dream of an entrepreneur who seeks to transcend himself. Later, Shi Yuzhu, who also started his own business in Guangdong, also chose to climb the peak to understand life after the fall of the “Giant” group.

When a person encounters a crisis, go climbing a mountain. This is the answer given by Wang Shi.Because everyone will fall into anxiety, self-doubt and lack of confidence in a crisis, but mountaineering can make people face themselves and see clearly the neglected part of human nature, and the bigger advantage is that it makes you understand gains and losses.Wang Shi said: "Mountain climbing is not about taking risks, but knowing how to cherish and take every step steadily, because danger is everywhere. No matter the length of life, we will leave, but the meaning of life lies in the quality, when you are alive, how you live better."

This attitude of Wang Shi was injected into the business operation and turned into an interesting trajectory. In the 1980s and 1990s when opportunities abounded, Vanke's business was diverse. By the end of 1991, all of Vanke's businesses included 13 major categories.However, Wang Shi's understanding of enterprises has gradually become "quality" and "subtraction".Wang Shi gradually understood that, from the perspective of an enterprise, it is quite difficult to guarantee a good performance in one industry, and it is almost impossible to be able to do well in two industries at the same time.Even General Electric used to be involved in more than 100 industries, but with the passage of time and changes in the economic environment, it has been reduced to more than a dozen industries now. His diversification is the diversification of subtraction, and the direction is toward specialization. of.Therefore, starting from the 1990s, Vanke gradually reduced its business. In 2001, Vanke sold Wanjia. At that time, Vanke was already one of the top 5 local department stores in China, but Wang Shi still resolutely sold it. Focus on real estate.In 1999, Wang Shi himself gave up his position as the general manager of Vanke and started a full-time mountaineering journey.

It is precisely because of so many abandonments that Wang Shi and his Vanke survived various crises safely.Wang Shi said: "Today, the state's macro-control has no effect on Vanke. Even when most companies feel that the market is in a downturn, when you go to Vanke, you will find that there is an upward, positive and optimistic attitude. , cheerful, transparent atmosphere." Opinion: Managing a company is the same as climbing a mountain, both require tenacious will and unremitting spirit.Mountaineering is like life. Although the result cannot be predicted, as long as you persist, you will succeed.Mountaineering is the condensation of life.We always need to climb the peak of our hearts.

When the business encounters difficulties or is in a state of stalemate, Wang Shi will think: the snow mountains have been up and down again, let's see who can survive the other!In fact, what Wang Shi said was only superficial. In his heart, he wanted to survive another self. background of the crisis In 1995, Wang Shi fell ill and was hospitalized. During the physical examination, the doctor found a hemangioma in the 4th to 5th lumbar vertebrae of Wang Shi. Because the tumor continued to expand, it compressed the nerves and caused the disease. But what frightened him even more was that, If the tumor continues to expand, it may lead to paralysis of Wang Shi's lower limbs. This news made Wang Shi shrouded in fear. He decided to realize some long-cherished wishes before he arrived in the worst possible situation. He thought of traveling and wandering around the world, but never thought of it. Because of this decision, his The disease gradually improved.

In 1997, Wang Shi met a man named Jin Junxi in the base camp of Mount Everest. He was the captain of the Chinese mountaineering team.At that time, Jin Junxi had just come down from Meili Snow Mountain, where he lost 17 comrades in arms. Because of the avalanche, all 17 members of the Sino-Japanese joint mountaineering team were killed in Meili Snow Mountain. Withdrew from the mountain that day, so Jin Junxi brushed past the god of death, but his 17 comrades were taken away by the god of death.Under such circumstances, Wang Shi met Jin Junxi, who came to the base camp of Mt. Everest from Meili Snow Mountain lonely, ready to climb the mountain again.Wang Shi was very surprised and asked him: Why do you still want to climb the mountain?Jin Junxi said to Wang Shi in a very plain and calm tone: the dead are already dead, and the living have to face it and finish the journey they haven't walked.Later, Jin Junxi told Wang Shi that you can also climb mountains, so Wang Shi gave up his position as general manager and started his mountaineering journey.

Wang Shi's decision, in many people's eyes, is a show, at most it is a hard show, because Wang Shi has always been a celebrity and the most successful entrepreneur in China.If you don't play golf, don't live in a villa, and enter the realm of ascetic monks alone, you are not doing a show or doing your job properly.But Wang Shi seems to have learned the true meaning of running a business from mountain climbing.Wang Shi said: "Mountain climbing is a kind of danger, but this kind of danger is faced directly. You have to consider all the life problems that you usually avoid. At that time, I would think: I have been up and down the snow-capped mountains, and see who can survive the other." The danger Wang Shi mentioned is a sense of despair that all climbers will experience. When he climbed the mountain for the first time, just after passing 2,000 meters above sea level, Wang Shi began to cry unconsciously and became dizzy; after reaching 4,000 meters, he was already in high fever. , coma, and vomiting and diarrhea.At that time, he and his companions were staying at a checkpoint. The pain was extreme that night, but there was nothing they could do, only a little bit of suffering.However, after going through the dark and gloomy days, Wang Shi became sober and started his new experience, which he later called: harsh environment, tenacious survival, and healthy life. It is precisely because of so many experiences in the extreme state that Wang Shi summed up some mountaineering experiences that are not unrelated to business management. In May 2003, Wang Shi climbed Mount Everest, the highest peak in the world, thereby achieving the " The highest level”, his experience of this special journey is: die.This is a question that every climber faces.In the vast snowy mountains, there may be a big ice cave suddenly appearing in front of the climber, and the climber may accidentally fall into it; there may also be an avalanche, and the snow will bury the climber in one fell swoop; or there may be a snowstorm, Encountering a sudden drop in temperature...all the mysterious actions of the snow mountain are unpredictable before climbing the mountain.In front of the snow-capped mountains, everyone is equal, and everyone faces the same danger. ——Wang Shi's understanding makes people think of a question: In the face of a crisis, everyone's current situation is the same, the difference is how you treat it. success.Before reaching the summit of Mount Everest, Wang Shi's perception of mountaineering was: a sport that wanted to give up but did not give up on success.When he climbed Mount Everest, he knew that his success did not depend only on himself, but on the weather and luck. He just had to work hard and do it seriously. He also climbed Mount Everest 4 times in 10 years, and he failed every 5 times. to go.He very much hopes to be able to climb to the summit successfully, but he also knows that if he fails to reach the summit, there will be another time, and he will do it next time.When facing Mount Everest, Wang Shi understood: It is not what he wants to achieve. ——This is also often the case in business operations. after success.After successfully climbing Mount Everest, someone asked Wang Shi a question: Will there be passion for mountaineering in the future?Wang Shi's answer is: Although reaching the summit of Mount Everest is a height, it is not a satisfaction, but a transformation.After coming down from Mount Everest, when climbing again, there will be no more regrets, no more impatience, and I will climb again in the future.He and his teammates spent just 15 minutes on the summit after summiting Everest, and were back at base camp within hours.Looking back, Mount Everest is just a small peak, and success has become a thing of the past in an instant. ——In fact, success and crisis are the same. After passing by, it seems that it is just a momentary memory.