Xu Xiaoliang, co-CEO and executive director of Fosun International. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
Xu Xiaoliang has seen his life trajectory intertwined with the magnificent coming-of-age tale of one of China’s largest privately owned business groups.
The 47-year-old entrepreneur, who joined the then-fledgling Fosun back in 1998, calls himself a “true witness” to and “keen participant” in the meteoric rise of the homegrown enterprise.
From his humble beginnings in pharmaceuticals and property development, Fosun has built up a global business empire spanning diverse fields, including pharmaceuticals and healthcare, tourism, culture and fashion, as well as insurance and financial services, in the past 28 years.
What matters is, once you make a choice, you must stick it out and work hard for it. This calls for a great deal of perseverance. Many things, in fact, are not as difficult as people may imagine
Xu Xiaoliang, co-CEO and executive director of Fosun International
Likewise, starting from the grassroots and rising all the way to the top management, Xu, along with Chen Qiyu, was appointed co-CEOs in February in the company’s management shake-up.
Xu and Chen, who are both co-CEOs, relinquished their positions as co-presidents at the time.
Consistent with his motto, “Choose what you love and love what you choose”, Xu deems life as a process of making choices.
“The significance of making choices cannot be over-exaggerated. Sometimes, the choice itself can be even more important than hard work,” Xu told China Daily. “What matters is, once you make a choice, you must stick it out and work hard for it. This calls for a great deal of perseverance. Many things, in fact, are not as difficult as people may imagine. It’s only a matter of time.”
Xu feels lucky that he chose Fosun as the starting point of his career and charted his course to become a part of the company’s glowing success story at a time that embraces a daring, near-iconoclastic spirit of change.
As one of the senior managers of Fosun, Xu believes talented workers are valuable assets to the ever-expanding enterprise, and such employees that businesses urgently seek fall into three groups.
The first group covers those who can get things done on their own. The second group is people who can cooperate with others to do things well. The third and the most-needed employees are those who can lead more people to get things done, which, he said, cannot go without sound leadership.
“One of the key elements of leadership is self-motivation. You must learn to be self-driven with a strong sense of commitment to taking a leading role in the work, rather than depending on others to urge and spur you on,” Xu said. “I think this lays the foundation for good leadership.”
Leadership also calls for continual learning. Looking back on his early years in Fosun, he recalls the many occasions that he was placed in various positions and couldn’t help sighing to himself over his limited ability as the company was growing at such a bewildering pace.
“It’s a natural response to facing squarely the limitations of one’s abilities. The only way out to making ourselves geared to new roles and keeping pace with the ever-changing times is to keep on learning,” he said.
“Although a person’s capabilities may be limited, one’s potentials can be unlimited. The one and only ‘converter’ to turn potentials into capabilities is learning.”
Xu regards every appointment as a chance to explore the boundary of his potential. He describes continual learning as the winning formula for Fosun, as well as the magic weapon for his career success.
“I think continual learning represents the pillar of leadership, inspiring people to do things they never thought they could.”
As the coronavirus pandemic continues, livestream shopping, which has become an obsession for the quarantined millions in China and a driving force for businesses that are making concerted efforts to restart, is rapidly expanding from standard categories, such as cosmetics, to new areas and big-ticket items like cars and real estate.
Companies like Fosun are also embracing the trend and joining in the fray. Having completed the annual results briefing on the morning of April 1, Guo Guangchang, chairman of the group, and Xu seized the opportunity to get a taste of livestreaming, taking on the roles of livestreamers to tout for business before the screen.
Recalling his first-in-life experience as a livestreamer, Xu said there’s so much to learn. “Online is the next big thing. Livestreaming has what it takes to reshape our future.”
“I could hardly imagine what technologies will be used and what forms the livestreaming industry will take in the next three to five years. I’m always well ready to set foot on a new journey of learning.”
