Let me, in all fairness, say something about hard work. Hard work is not a bad thing at all. But it is far from the only thing. It's certainly no substitute for results. No one cares if you work yourself to death, if you don't produce results.
Hard work is the bare minimum anyone can give. There are plenty of people who aren't exceptionally bright, very talented or deeply experienced. What they can give their employer, in lieu of all that, is hard work and integrity. In fact, when I was a novice programmer (in many ways, I still am) with almost no relevant experience, the only value I could give my then-employer was hard work. Hours of my life. And he certainly didn't go easy on me whenever I screwed up, on account of all those free hours I willingly gave him.
Any idiot can be hardworking. It is the lowest form of value an employer can expect. That really is the default setting, and spending twelve hours a day in the office doesn't make you special. Because literally anyone could spend time slogging in the office if they really wanted to. I'd go so far to say that any employer who values hard work over results is a fool, and a dangerous one at that, precisely because they're fools in positions of power. Keep clear of such people.
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| Old trusty workhorse. |
When you spend extra time in the office, you're basically sending the signal that you're a workhorse who has nothing else to offer. That's certainly valuable if you're just starting out, but once you start selling yourself as an experienced developer, it sends the wrong message. Because experienced developers are supposed to be good enough not to have to work to death in order to get things done. If you're a supposedly experienced developer but slog like any noob, you're not an asset. Why would you expect an employer to pay you the wage of an experienced developer if you work like a novice? Because you work hard? Really?
Another thing about Jack Ma and hard work
Look, I respect the man. Honestly, I do. He started from practically nothing and he hauled himself up to where he is today, by virtue of hard work. I give him all the props in the world. This man is incredible.Does this mean that just because Jack Ma succeeded this way, you will too? Hogwash.
See, Bill Gates dropped out of college and went on to found Microsoft. When people tell me they intend to do the same and cite Gates as an example of what they can achieve, my eyes roll all the way to Mars and back. Dude, Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard. This means he got into Harvard. And this in turn means that he was good enough to get into Harvard in the first place. What run-of-the-mill educational institute are you dropping out of? And assuming you're in somewhere even more prestigious than Harvard, do you have the business acumen of Bill Gates to make it? He succeeded in the 80s. That's a very different era from now.
Similarly, let's take a look at Singapore's own Wendy Cheng. Love her or hate her, she's probably Singapore's most successful influencer to date. And the number of people looking to escape the nine-to-five grind and emulate her, are endless. People think that just because Xiaxue (who isn't very pretty, particularly hot, pleasant or even interesting) can do it, they too, can get on Social Media and make a living being some kind of Internet personality. Newsflash, guys... Wendy Cheng is where she is today because she wasn't trying to copy anybody. And, she is one hell of a shrewd marketer. What have you got - endless selfies and vapid new age-y quotes? Good luck with that.
My point is, just because someone achieved success a certain way, doesn't mean you're going to. In fact, these people were successful arguably because no one else was doing what they tried to to at that time. Now if we have a million people trying to do the same thing and only a handful can succeed, what is everyone's chance of success? Very low. It's elementary. Primary school math!
So when Jack Ma says hard work is a good thing, I believe him. I believe that he means it, because the man has actually lived it. But we have fanboys who think that every word out of Jack Ma's mouth is wisdom from heaven. Let's see a few examples.
"Never give up. Today is hard, tomorrow will be worse, but the day after tomorrow will be sunshine."
"You need the right people with you, not the best people."
"Opportunity lies in the place where the complaints are."
Really? The day after tomorrow will be sunshine? Opportunity lies in the place where the complaints are? I can defecate better stuff than that. Why is this trite shit special? Because it comes from Jack friggin' Ma?
Let me break it down for you - despite my respect for Jack Ma and his claims that he wants to help others achieve success, the stark reality is, there's only so much money to go around. He can't possibly not know this. He's one hell of a smart dude, even if his fanboys aren't. Is he really going to dish out advice that will help people get rich, maybe become heads of large companies like his? No, he's just going to give some vague, generally sensible-sounding soundbites such as espousing on the value of hard work. Alibaba is this successful today because Alibaba has no competition. And it's in Jack Ma's interest to keep it that way.
Mr Ma then goes on to say,
"If you do not do 996 when you are young, when will you? Do you think never having to work 996 in your life is an honor to boast about?"
In that sense, he is perfectly right. When you're young and have the energy, that energy should be dedicated to something worthwhile. You should be prepared to give it your all. But not for your company or your boss. Do it for yourself. There is no sense in working yourself into ICU for a company that can (and probably will) replace you in a heartbeat.
So yes, to hell with the supposedly inspirational Jack Ma quotes. Jack Ma doesn't know how you're going to succeed. Only you know how you're going to succeed. And if you don't, why should anyone else?
Thanks for reading. ICU around!
T___T
T___T
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