CNBC: The world’s richest self-made woman shares her No. 1 key to success

May 9, 2018 2:42 pm
Categories: Articles, People

I read an article on AsiaOne titled “The world’s richest self-made woman shares her No. 1 key to success” (by Serena Lin, dated May 8, 2018 on CNBC.com) which tells a story of Zhou Qunfei. For context, this was on CNBC.com in their Leadership section.

This story seems like a good one to touch on several YCISL ideas.

  1. For YCISL, we view success as having many forms (just as we do for leadership and sustainability) and perhaps the least encouraged way is on the level of attained wealth. As I scan the story, I see success in (a) how she pursued her dream of starting a business, and (b) how she teamed with relatives. Her personal commitment to perseverance is also a success.
  2. As we learn from Shawn Achor, we should place happiness before success. In the story, neither “happy” or “happiness” or anything similar are mentioned. Did she sacrifice happiness or has she not yet found any?
  3. The use of “self-made” in the article’s story seems incorrect. The article touches on several instances in which her support network kicked in. The fact that she started a family watch lens workshop shows that there was a support network. So too are her daughter and Motorola. Given this, I would have liked to have read about how she has shown gratitude to her supporters.
  4. In YCISL, we train in “fail early, fail fast” and discuss how one of Silicon Valley’s key strengths is the embrace of failure (or failing well) and one’s ability to rebound with learned lessons from failure. The part of the story where she is contemplating jumping from a train platform illustrates the opposite.
  5. There are two photos of Zhou with wide smiles. Applying Guy Kawasaki’s lessons on real smiles (ie, associated with positive mindset), I wonder whether she has a positive and growth mindset – which I consider critical elements on leadership.

Overall, I feel it’s a good Your Personal Story. It starts with a strong reflection of the past (especially a series of good decisions that seems like she would make again if she had to), an identity in the present (such as Brother Fei), and…ok, the story is missing a message to her future self. Almost there.