So why can't Hong Kong (and China for that matter) have a "Steve Jobs"?

[Watercooler]

The HK gov is always castigating local youngsters for being lazy and unmotivated (don't know whether that is really the case, but I think that is exaggerated), telling them to follow Steve Jobs as an example. But the HK gov never ask this question, why hasn't Hong Kong (and China for that matter) have a "Steve Jobs" then?

The Hk gov is always so proud of the "Hong Kong spirit", the belief of never giving up in the face of adversity grinding it out and overcoming challenges. Sounds great, but if that is the case, again, why is there no "Steve Jobs" in Hong Kong and China?

By "Steve Jobs", I mean someone who not only created monetary value, but someone who really created something new and innovative for society, be it product or services. Love him or hate him, that is what Jobs have done, and I'm saying this as someone who is indifferent to Apple. The local tycoons like Li Ka Shing or the Kwok Brothers don't really apply, because while they may have become rich and came from humble beginnings, they didn't really created anything new or innovative in products. Controlling property speculation, supermarket chains or telecommunication networks like the local tycoons have by itself isn't really anything original or innovative.

So the question is, why can't Hong Kong and China have a Steve Jobs yet?

[pin]

cause it will fcuk up all that harmony they are trying to promote.

[Mat]

Do you know how Li Ka Shing started?

He wasn't a Property Tycoon at first. He first improved (as Jobs did) the way plastic flower were made.
He founded a plastic manufacturing company to supply the world with high quality plastic flowers at low prices. Li learned the technique of mixing colour with plastics that resemble real flowers. After retooling his shop and hiring the best technicians he could find, he prepared for weeks for the plant visit of a large foreign buyer. Impressed with the quality of Li's plant, the buyer placed a large order. A few years later, Li grew to be the largest supplier of plastic flowers in Asia and made a fortune selling them.

(Extractfrom Wiki)

[Watercooler]

Do you know how Li Ka Shing started?

He wasn't a Property Tycoon at first. He first improved (as Jobs did) the way plastic flower were made.
He founded a plastic manufacturing company to supply the world with high quality plastic flowers at low prices. Li learned the technique of mixing colour with plastics that resemble real flowers. After retooling his shop and hiring the best technicians he could find, he prepared for weeks for the plant visit of a large foreign buyer. Impressed with the quality of Li's plant, the buyer placed a large order. A few years later, Li grew to be the largest supplier of plastic flowers in Asia and made a fortune selling them.

(Extractfrom Wiki)

True, but plastic flowers isn't anything innovative or having the same impact as Jobs did. At best, you could say Li improved and enhanced the production process of making plastic flowers, but again the impact of that is debatable. In contrast, Toyota improved the process of auto manufacturing with it's "lean manufacturing" and "just-in-time production", and that has a much more substantive impact then improving the production process of plastic flowers. To the extent that American and German automakers were copying Toyota's process.

[audiot]

is it becos Hong Kong kids have originality beaten out of them at an early age?

I noticed an article the other day where they said the best schools for younger kids stayed away from rote learning TV and computers....

here ( or do I mean now? ) I see kids being pushed in front of TV/ Ipad/ etc etc becos its easier to keep them quiet... basically teaching them to be passive consumers - or at best active shoot em blast ems...?

( confession - I have no children yet! )

[Watercooler]

is it becos Hong Kong kids have originality beaten out of them at an early age?

I noticed an article the other day where they said the best schools for younger kids stayed away from rote learning TV and computers....

here ( or do I mean now? ) I see kids being pushed in front of TV/ Ipad/ etc etc becos its easier to keep them quiet... basically teaching them to be passive consumers - or at best active shoot em blast ems...?

( confession - I have no children yet! )

Interesting observation. HK people always stress the value of being "realistic" and being "pragmatic" and not go chasing off wild and unrealistic dreams. But has the emphasis on being 'realistic" and "prgamatic" become a restriction and limiting factor on HK locals to go after their passion?

Let's face it, many people failed chasing after their dreams, but if no one ever do it, there will be no improvement or innovation in society. There will be be no Rowling or Gates or Buffet or Jobs.

[Football16]

WC adds a super, terrific question that should be addressed to the policy level folks of Hong Kong and China.

Not sure if it should be focused only around Steve Jobs as there are more successful US entrepreneurs than just him in the Silicon Valley. Perhaps studying what it took to get these guys to where they are is key to the future here. Malcolm Gladwell's book The Outliers speaks of some top guys like Gates and the Rule of 10,000 hours and shows these guys did that. He notes the Beatles who did 8 hours a night in a large German beer garden and credits some of their showmanship success to the need to make 8 hours work and keep the crowd from turning on them.

He makes the case these guys got 10 thousand hours of whatever in. Cites a study of talented violinists done in the early 90s by a German psychologist. They were grouped as young as stars, good, and unlikely (to be pro soloists, etc but would be music teachers in schools etc). All had started at 5 years of age. By 8 years of age the best were coming out and they did more practice. At 9 - 6 hours a week; 12 - 8hrs, 12 - 16 hrs; by 20 years it was over 30 hours with the desire to get better.

By 20 the elite totalled about 10,000 hours of practice.

Good did 8,000.

Music teacher group - 4000 hours.

They then compared amateurs and pros and found the same thing. They didn't find any 'naturals' who didn't practice.

The key - the best worked harder in music, business or sports.

Peyton Manning NFL QB - my example -not his - used to watch tape with his dad Archie Manning also a QB when he was very young. I suspect he got in 10000 hours earlier than others.

He also notes that the year of birth makes a huge difference to how much success one can realize like Rockefeller, Carnegie, Weyerhauser, etc. Gates, Paul Allen etc all born at the same time approx.

Gladwell's other book What the Dog Saw features some entrepreneurial success stories there too.

HK:

It seems a lot of talented Hong Kong youth grow up desiring to be in the global financial houses and make a lot of money it seems as the past drivers of wealth attract them to these careers. Secondly they don't all want to work abroad - study maybe but not live and they don't want to work in China. In our pre-employment screening business we can almost not ask the question as to why someone left their good job in China in a great company to work back in HK as the answer is always the same. They want to work at home.

What I truly believe is that gov'ts (esp. Canada and USA) and here too need to get off this free enterprise notion and create centres of excellence in R&D in promising new sectors as well do more to create entrepreneurial enterprises in HK that are not all in service and professional industries but in high tech. HK has some highly talented youth and many are so underemployed for their talent levels that it seems such a waste.

The education seems to need re-tooling too. We interview at times local principals who give references for teachers moving to expat type schooling and most local principals voluntarily make the comment as to how this departing fits in an international school setting where the role of the teacher is not just lecturing. I find it ironic having done some of these myself in earlier days that they'd say this teacher is more suited to international teaching as they do all these creative things (they list them) that fit that environment more. If they can regale you with how the local system works vs. international schools how come they can't change this? Not sure about the university levels.

China:

There are growing number of leading edge entrepreneurs there too but education is not the quality level of North America, Aus, UK, etc. I spoke with a friend last night at Tshinghua Univ. where he is doing a semester for his MBA. He says it is not the same standard as his Canadian program in courses that are management oriented. He is originally from China but did his undergrad and some years of work in Canada.

Not as sure about what is going on there in China but some things seem to be done well.

[Mat]

I have no time to check since I'm at work but I am pretty sure China or HK have some top notch people (physician, genetitians, entrepreneurs) that have created something innovative for society.

Let me check this (or probably someone will throw in a few names shortly) later tonight.

SJ is SJ, what he did was "good" - not great imho - and by the way it only impacted a minority of the world population. The wast majority (Living in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Middle East, Most part of Russia) could not care less about SJ and his Apple....and for them an Apple, is just a fruit.

[jimbo]

The HK way is to follow and not think for yourself.

They don't encourage thinking outside the box, If it's a grey area then its no. Regardless of the situation.

[Mat]

You guys are really a funny bunch.

US of A = 1st world country - Strong on the worldwide scene since 1950ies
China = 3rd world country - Starting to emerge after 30 years of chaos.

I do not expect China or HK to have those type of entrpreneurs for the very simple reason that this generation (people in their 50ies like Jobs) were 1st busy to get our of poverty and did not have the resources available as easily as their western counterpart.

Give it 10/15 years more and we shall see.

(and as I said before i am pretty sure you can find a few, maybe not as well know as SJ but still...)