A Great Success Story (Li Ka-shing)

Mr. Li Ka-shing is the Chairman of Cheung Kong (Holdings) Limitedand Hutchison Whampoa Limited. Cheung Kong (Holdings) Limited is the flagship of the Cheung Kong Group, which has business operations in 54 countries around the world and employs more than about 240,000 staff. In Hong Kong alone, the Cheung Kong Group includes nine listed companies with a combined market capitalization of approximately HK$650 billion / US$83.3 billion (28 Feb 2010). Hutchison Whampoa Limited is a Fortune Global 500 company.

After his birth in 1928 in Chiu Chow, a coastal city in the southeastern part of China, Mr. Li and his family fled to Hong Kong to avoid the perils of war when he was 12. Shortly thereafter, his father suffered from tuberculosis and passed away in Hong Kong. Shouldering the responsibility of the family, Mr. Li left school before age 15 and found a job in a plastics trading company, where he labored 16 hours a day.

The Art of Management (Li Ka Shing)

It’s been 55 years since I founded my company. It has grown from a small enterprise with a few staff in 1950 to a multinational conglomerate with 200,000 employees and operations in 52 countries. I did not have the benefit of a formal education, and would not dare compare myself to management gurus. All my life, I’ve worked hard to learn on my own. What exactly is the “art of management”? I can only share with you my thoughts and experiences.

Art is defined as the creation, production, principle, method or expression of a human endeavor, generally considered beautiful, and is capable of transcendence and has a unifying effect. It is also a branch of learning that can be gained through learning, imitation, practice and observation. On the basis of this definition, art and management appear to share many common aspects.
Are you a boss or a leader?

I often ask myself: Would I rather be the boss or the leader of an organization? Generally speaking, being the boss is much simpler. Your authority is derived from your position of power, which may be granted to you through destiny or hard work and professional knowledge. Being a leader is more complicated. Your authority is derived from your expert power and charismatic power. To be a successful manager, attitude and ability are equally important ingredients. A leader inspires others to greatness. A boss dominates his subordinates and makes them feel small.

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Q&A : Thoughts Of Li Ka-Shing

The following is an edited transcript of an interview with Chinese entrepreneur Li Ka-Shing, conducted in China on Dec. 4:

Forbes: We wanted to start by exploring your arrival in Hong Kong, your background. You're obviously influenced by your father, a teacher. He instilled in you a deep thirst for reading and knowledge. It sounds as if, despite the difficulties of your early career, you are an optimist about the future. Would you classify yourself as an optimist?

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