Being towards death

Original Text:#

Alibaba's Mission and Vision#

Alibaba's mission is to make it easy to do business anywhere, and Alibaba's vision is to become a good company that lasts for 102 years. I was initially drawn here by this sense of mission, hoping to spend a long time together, because Alibaba is a great company.

When I first joined the company, in the Entrepreneurship Building, I would go out for lunch nearby at noon, and everyone wore their employee badges. Besides the discounts offered by surrounding shops, we enjoyed the wonderful feeling of being respected and appreciated. At that time, respect was not because Alibaba employees had high incomes, but because they were kind and our products helped many people. Those around us felt, to some extent, that Alibaba was solving various problems, and the respect from society came from recognition of our character and values.

At that time, a popular joke was: mothers-in-law in Hangzhou liked to find sons-in-law from Alibaba because Alibaba had helped them screen for good character; Alibaba employees were reliable.

I can no longer remember when it became difficult to wear the employee badge. In recent years, various unfortunate events and setbacks, external public opinion, and internal employee attitudes have undergone tremendous changes. Perhaps mothers-in-law still prefer sons-in-law from Alibaba because of their high incomes. After fifteen years, to be objective, it is not just a change in external evaluations; we have really changed ourselves. We have lost the dream of bringing positive change to society. We talk about KPIs, salaries, stocks, and houses. We treat customers and users as traffic and data. We discuss how to operate data and how to harvest customers, while our competition consumes us internally.

To be honest, seeing the core values of Alibaba gradually deteriorate worries me about how long our mission can last and whether our vision can still be realized.

Let me clarify that my performance is still acceptable, and I have no dissatisfaction with my current department or supervisor. I am also planning to leave on my own accord, not just to collect a severance package. Therefore, I am writing this post not targeting any department or individual; I am speaking about anyone in any department who fits the situations I describe below. This is a summary based on my own experiences over the past fifteen years and discussions with friends from various business units, and it serves as feedback for the company as a whole and its leadership. I hope it can be seen as some final suggestions for the company, hoping it can improve. If you think the company is doing well now, feel free to ignore this article.

I won't say much more; I mainly want to address the existing problems. If there are issues, let's correct them; if not, let's encourage improvement. If I write something incorrect, I welcome corrections. Once again, I want to clarify that the following issues do not refer to all departments, nor do they imply that everyone in corresponding roles or levels behaves this way; they are general but not universal. If anyone feels offended, I apologize in advance.

I. Once Glorious#

First, let’s talk about why Alibaba was good. Everyone has their own explanations, but I summarize it into four points:

1. Trend of the Times: The reform and opening up and globalization have brought about an explosion of productivity. GDP, calculated in dollars, grew from 1 trillion in 1999 to 11 trillion in 2010, and is projected to reach 18 trillion by 2024. This enormous economic growth foundation has been the wind beneath our wings. The number of internet users grew from 8.9 million in 1999 to nearly 1 billion in 2020, and the popularity of smartphones caused mobile internet users to explode from nearly zero in 2005 to 986 million in 2020. The vigorous development of PCs and wireless technology has nurtured a multitude of applications and scenarios.
2. Jack Ma's Vision: Jack Ma's vision and determination seized opportunities. B2B, Taobao, Alipay, Alibaba Cloud... time and again, strategic decisions captured the first-mover advantage. Coupled with resource integration, Alibaba was built step by step around e-commerce. Of course, this also relied on strong determination, especially in the construction of Alibaba Cloud, where persistence was required despite external skepticism and internal misunderstanding, and performance challenges; that still required considerable willpower from senior colleagues.
3. Value-Based Screening and Unique Team Building: With strategy and determination in place, the next step was to have a capable team to execute the strategy, which is precisely Alibaba's unique culture. This allowed us to find a group of like-minded companions, uniting everyone to fight for a common goal. We referred to each other as classmates, helped each other, and learned from one another; we called each other by nicknames because we were equal, not hierarchically rigid. We wanted to make the world a better place and solve various problems. It cannot be said that everyone who joined was the same, but before 2015, the character of Alibaba employees felt relatively similar.
4. Good Institutional Guarantees for Team Combat Effectiveness: The first value is: customers first, employees second, shareholders third. The corresponding institutional design allows employees to fight for both the company and themselves. A free culture allows everyone to speak freely and think openly; the stock option system enables employees to treat the company as their own, working together; the HR role as a political commissar allows employees to seek help when encountering problems and to complain when facing injustice.

II. Signs of Fatigue#

When did it start to feel like we were weakening? There is no clear boundary or landmark event; perhaps some would mention the Ant Group incident, but my own feeling is that it began around 2017, when Qin Yan left a warning post even earlier.

1. Overall Trend Gradually Cooling: After more than a decade of rapid growth, starting in 2017, the growth rate of internet and wireless users turned single-digit and began to decline. By 2024, we expect to surpass 1.1 billion users, and the domestic population that can be penetrated has basically been completed, with growth essentially halted. The mainstream internet products had already established themselves before 2017.
2. Most External Acquisitions Failed: Various sectors of the group were thriving and began making some strategic investments; unfortunately, most acquisitions ended in failure, with several examples:
   • In-store: In 2006, we acquired Koubei, when O2O was still in its infancy. By 2010, Dianping was still a junior player, Meituan had just emerged, and after a series of operations in 2011, Koubei was shut down. It was restarted in 2015 with support from Alipay traffic but has remained lukewarm, eventually merging into the local sector.
   • Food delivery: In 2018, we acquired Ele.me, which at that time, combined with Baidu Waimai, held over 50% market share in the food delivery market, firmly in first place. Within two years, Meituan turned the tables.
   • Bicycles: In 2017, we invested in Ofo, which collapsed in 2018, and then invested in Hello Bike, which currently barely shares the market with Qingju and Meituan.
   • Payments: Since 2014, Alipay's offline payments have been continuously eroded by WeChat. By 2017, it was struggling to find direction, and now it is in a painful state.
   • Music: In 2013, we acquired Xiami and Tiantian Dongting, which held a 21.9% market share, ranking first. By 2016, Tiantian Dongting was out of the game, and in 2021, Xiami was shut down.
   • Video: In 2016, we acquired Youku Tudou, which held a 35% market share, ranking first. Now it has fallen to third place, only half of Tencent Video and iQIYI.
   • E-commerce: In 2016, we acquired Lazada, which was the top e-commerce player in Southeast Asia at that time. Now it has been defeated by Shopee, and TT has also captured a significant market share.
   • Additionally, there were the acquisitions of Intime and RT-Mart for hundreds of billions in 2017, which began to be gradually cleared out in 2024, resulting in significant losses. We did not bring about disruptive changes to these industries; traditional commerce remains traditional commerce.
3. Few Successful Internal Innovations: Since 2015, the group's innovative businesses have rarely succeeded. The steadfast investment and growth of Alibaba Cloud rely on the essential foundation of the e-commerce main business; Hema's momentum depends on the online user interconnection of e-commerce, and Xianyu is another incubation of Taobao's business. Apart from e-commerce-related derivative businesses, it seems that only DingTalk has emerged from zero to success, possibly with one new star, Quark; the rest have either died or are struggling. In recent years, many competitors have emerged externally, impacting the group's main business significantly. Market opportunities still exist, but we are unable to seize them.

III. Accumulated Internal Issues#

In discussions with people from different departments about the various problems and their severity within the company, since 2017, the basic understanding has been quite similar. The consensus is that the issues are becoming more common and more serious. What are these issues? I summarize various phenomena into three directions: people, finance, and operations. The following descriptions do not target any individual, nor do they imply that those who fit the descriptions necessarily bring negative effects.

1. People Issues#

• Blind Faith in Outsiders: Often, when new and trendy industries or companies emerge, there is a blind faith that people from these companies are all excellent, leading to high salaries and positions. In reality, many of them are just riding a wave, and their abilities may not be that impressive; the real experts are often the core founders of those companies. Back then, Alipay had an extremely high opinion of WeChat and Uber, bringing in a bunch of young high-P employees who were unfamiliar with the business and wanted to achieve results in the short term, lacking historical connection to the business, leading to chaotic direction and significant damage to the company's existing business. At that time, we often joked that these people might be spies sent by the other side. These middle managers who parachuted in often formed their own factions due to difficulties in landing, and their goals were mostly to hold on to stock options, leading to short-sighted actions. We need fresh blood, but we really need to sharpen our eyes and remove the filters.
• Newcomers Hiring Newcomers: I remember there used to be a rule that newcomers could not be hired unless they had been with the company for a certain period and had integrated into Alibaba's culture. I don't know when it became common for newcomers to hire newcomers; I've even seen many probationary employees interviewing others. I have always been puzzled: is the business really that urgent? Can they meet the company's requirements? Can people who haven't yet understood the Alibaba culture really recruit others who embody it?
• Wild Dogs Prevailing: In the past, we categorized employees into golden cows, wild dogs, and white rabbits. We emphasized discovering golden cows, eliminating wild dogs, and improving white rabbits. However, in recent years, performance has taken precedence over everything else, leading to a culture where the focus is on achieving quick results with minimal investment. This culture has allowed wild dogs to thrive because they can resort to any means, deplete resources, and compete against each other. Gradually, wild dogs achieve performance, receive rewards and promotions, and others who want to survive are slowly assimilated or continuously enhance their defensive capabilities, leading to increasing collaboration costs due to diminishing trust.
• Accumulation of White Rabbits: In recent years, there have been more and more small white rabbits and old white rabbits, some due to bottlenecks in business development, some choosing to lay flat due to a lack of hope and ineffective incentive systems, some due to the company's poor reputation in previous years leading to an inability to eliminate white rabbits, and some due to the internal nurturing of faction cultures. In summary, the number of people who truly work hard is decreasing, while the number of those who procrastinate and evade responsibility is increasing. Of course, there are also many who act like wild dogs in the process but achieve results like white rabbits.

2. Financial Issues#

• Level Inflation: Our levels have been inflating; on one hand, there is input-driven inflation (due to insufficient salary levels, narrow or inflexible ranges, and the company's stock price decline in recent years, leading to a significant gap with rapidly expanding external companies, while still wanting to recruit external personnel and placing blind faith in them. Thus, in the case of not meeting reasonable levels, salaries can only be adjusted upwards). On the other hand, there is internal inflation (many people are promoted based on seniority, opportunities are becoming scarcer, but to retain people, promotions must be watered down). I have seen many such cases, and the negative impact is that: if this person can hold this level, why can't I? Such individuals may soon lead businesses, affecting more people. Now our levels are also hidden; we can only say that these contradictions and problems have shifted from the surface to beneath.
• Unclear Rewards and Punishments: Performance scores are directly linked to salaries, but performance is not made public, leading to significant operational space for supervisors. Although there are multiple levels of review and HR evaluations, the space remains, and the commonly recognized results often differ from actual outcomes. This lack of transparency in the distribution system further promotes a culture of loyalty to the boss, prioritizing serving the boss. In 2014, the department I was in piloted a system where everyone reported their performance, and performance was made public, with mutual evaluations and discussions. This effectively eliminated common tactics like taking credit for others' performances, shifting blame, and changing the concept of metrics.
• Short-Termism: In contrast to long-termism, more people are now adopting short-termism. Previously, when everyone shared the same pot, motivation was low; later, each business unit issued stock options, but unfortunately, none succeeded in breaking through, and many bottom-level employees ended up with no benefits from buybacks, leading everyone to focus on the present. Realistically speaking, we used to treat the company as our own, creating more performance and saving costs, with every bit of extra value potentially multiplying in the future. Now, even if some colleagues have this mindset, it seems to have no practical effect, creating a vicious cycle. Some old colleagues lament: I love the company, but does the company love us?

3. Operational Issues#

• Unclear Strategy: In recent years, judgments and strategies for the future have not been clear and have gradually detached from users. The communication from top to bottom is either too vague or simply a breakdown of numbers, with little that excites people or effective means. There is a disconnect at the mid-to-high levels. Of course, returning to users, focusing on the internet, going all-in on AI, and clearing out traditional commerce are strategies that finally show some signs of clarity and hope.
• Wanting Everything: We used to think that wanting everything was a source of pride and a sign of our capabilities. However, looking back now, the strong winds of the past were what supported so many "wants." When the strong winds stop, the unreasonable demands behind so many "wants" foster unreasonable ways of working. As growth slows and competition intensifies, with bloated personnel, the focus shifts to investing less, achieving quick results, and setting high targets. Thus, various phenomena that violate objective laws emerge, and those responsible for these phenomena may be unprofessional, intentionally catering to demands, or willing to exploit resources.
• Operational Data: How can we achieve results with minimal investment in a short time? The answer is operations. Operations run activities, and metrics soar; targeted data manipulation yields the best ROI; if growth stagnates, redefine the metrics. We have seen various tactics, but the long-term value brought by product development pales in comparison, leading to long-term neglect. I have worked in operations for several years and achieved good performance; I do not oppose operations, as different stages of a product require different operational strategies to help it gain better market traction. However, now we treat operations as the primary means. Often, the false prosperity brought by operations masks the emptiness of the product, leading to either an inability to break the habit or a chaotic aftermath.
• Bureaucracy: Many individuals at levels 8, 9, and 10 do not engage deeply in the industry; once they reach a higher level, they tend to engage in empty talk, recounting their glorious experiences without providing actual effective help to current business. Many achievements reached through favorable circumstances may not be replicable, but they often believe they are due to their own talents. The reason for categorizing this as an issue is that this bureaucracy directly affects decision-making and judgment, leading to unprofessionalism, underestimating the advice of professionals, and unrealistic performance expectations, all while cloaked in slogans about boldness and productivity. The cost of collaboration is also extremely high: everyone must save face and engage in personal connections; even collaborations without meaning must be maintained for appearances, leading to a reluctance to refuse direct requests; when wanting A, one pretends to pursue B, causing colleagues to be led around aimlessly. Bureaucracy also manifests in various reports, with layers of reporting consuming much time in organizing information, and when it comes to decision-making, there is often hesitation and indecision.

IV. Root Causes#

Alibaba's slogan is: a group of caring and righteous people come together to do something valuable and meaningful. I wonder how many people have heard this phrase; it was one of the aspects of Alibaba's culture that attracted me. Breaking this phrase down, it can fully articulate what a good company should do.

• Caring and Righteous People: Selecting and uniting like-minded companions through values.
• Together: Requires organizational systems to unify and guarantee this.
• Doing Something: Refers to having a clear strategic direction, with focus being one of the prerequisites for efficiency.
• Valuable and Meaningful: Refers to having a mission to make it easy to do business anywhere, with customers first.

The various phenomena mentioned above stem from the gradual ineffectiveness of this slogan. We have gradually moved from institutional dysfunction to a loss of values, to unclear strategies, and now only see KPIs without a sense of mission. We are still a large company, but we have become mediocre. Values cannot guarantee our success, but they are a powerful weapon that helps us weather difficulties together. Alibaba has gone through many hardships in recent years, with many disappointments, and we have gradually made it through. However, the most regrettable thing is that in the process, we have abandoned our values. We did not come together in unity and support; rather, we relied on our substantial reserves and thick bloodlines.

Values are the company's morals, and company systems are the laws of the company. Laws are the minimum standards of morality; self-restraint in morality will yield far better results than using laws to impose constraints. When culture is lost, people become chaotic; if people become corrupt, performance will also vanish.

1. Values Are Merely a Formality#

It seems that after 2020, values have gradually been weakened, and now they are merely a facade. Although they are still in the OKR, the previous detailed reviews have long disappeared, and evaluations have been condensed. How many newcomers remember our values, and do we still advocate them? My favorite remains the old six principles: customers first, teamwork, embracing change, integrity, passion, and dedication.

Now, these values have all deteriorated. Customers first has become less important than the boss first: because the boss determines performance, bonuses, stock options, and promotion nominations, when there are no constraints on the boss or incomplete information about them, employees choose the boss first as the best way to work and survive. If the boss also insists on customers first, then the two would not conflict. But many current bosses prioritize sharing immediate benefits, exchanging performance for stock options, and focus more on short-term results. Thus, performance and promotions have begun to transform into personal tools of reward and punishment for the boss, evolving from company rewards for individuals into personal rewards from the boss to subordinates, further solidifying and strengthening the boss culture. In the case of distorted interest mechanisms, loyalty to the company has transformed into loyalty to the boss.

Teamwork has turned into a winner-takes-all mentality: applauding the process but paying for the results has gradually evolved into a purely results-oriented approach. Thus, when business flourished, teamwork could lead to mutual benefits. When external growth opportunities are limited and resources are insufficient, occupying a favorable position in the distribution of existing value yields far more than creating long-term value. Consequently, the direction of competition has shifted inward: during business booms, territory is seized, and performance is stolen, leading to various unpleasant situations, but this is also an inevitable phenomenon of zero-sum games. Wild dogs have become the most profitable roles, leading to a gradual expulsion of good currency by bad currency within teams.

Embracing change has masked unclear strategies: previously, there were numerous blue ocean markets, and the rapidly changing market dynamics prompted us to embrace change. In recent years, frequent personnel changes, unclear strategies, variable policies, diverse metrics, and a plethora of short-term KPIs have resulted in a lack of continuity in actions, with no one able to adhere to long-termism, as no one wants to make sacrifices for future generations. For senior management, it seems that they have not faced penalties for their unclear strategies or ineffective commands; they simply move to another place to continue. An incompetent general can exhaust the entire army. For grassroots employees, how can they achieve promotions and performance? Business innovation, outstanding performance, and supervisor trust are the three points that cannot be guaranteed in a constantly changing environment; thus, the best way to maintain relationships is through trust with supervisors, leading to an increasing prevalence of boss culture, where nicknames are no longer used, replaced by titles like boss, teacher, brother, sister, or manager. The chivalry of the past has turned into a culture of bosses.

Integrity has begun to become a scarce commodity: an atmosphere focused solely on results has normalized various forms of plunder, theft, performance falsification, and misleading claims, giving an advantage to those who master these skills. The company's several incidents of dishonesty have been lightly punished; even though the mooncake incident was a corrective measure, these penalties have swung to the other extreme, losing public support. The lack of boundaries regarding integrity has led us to lose the courage and necessity to seek the truth, as uncovering the truth may offend people, and the truth may not be pleasant. Thus, some who know something is false begin to turn a blind eye. Boasting before the event to seize resources, manipulating data during the event, and shifting blame afterward have become the three familiar tactics for those who master them. Now, discussions about integrity are left with only the flag of B2B performance falsification fluttering in the wind and rain.

Passion has become a casualty of institutional dysfunction: predecessors have proven that contracting is better than collectivization. Passion exists in everyone's heart; it is not created but released under clear property protections, reasonable benefit distributions, and good incentive systems. In recent years, as business space has shrunk, personnel have expanded, and capital markets have turned unfavorable, the systems we once operated have become dysfunctional. Since the all-in wireless initiative in 2014, everyone began working 996. After experiencing multiple 996s, my conclusion based on what I have seen and felt is that 996 has no practical value; it merely makes it appear that everyone is busy, and working hours are high, but we are not manual laborers. We must believe that creativity is stimulated, not oppressed; as long as the incentive system is reasonable, whether through internal achievement or material incentives, if the company ensures a fair process, everyone will work hard for themselves. After experiencing several teams and projects, spontaneous 9116s have emerged; some are due to interesting projects they want to pursue, while others are due to clear goals and rewards, as heavy rewards naturally attract brave individuals. However, those who force overtime without meaningful work will lead to internal competition and performance displays.

Dedication has become a disadvantage for honest individuals: dedication means treating work as one's own business, enduring loneliness, and being serious and hardworking. Sometimes it is like farming, cultivating and nurturing bit by bit, which is a farming civilization. However, now, the nomadic civilization prevails, where many people rush into a business when it is valuable and abandon it when it loses value, leaving honest individuals to pick up the pieces. Faction leaders impose soft budget constraints on their own people during business operations, leading to many projects with no value, which are bad yet persist.

2. HR's Negligence and Dishonesty#

Why have values become merely a formality? The root cause lies in HR's negligence and dishonesty. HR has two roles within this organization: teacher + police. The teacher guides students on the right path, while the police catch those who cause harm to the organization. HR is the inheritor and guardian of organizational culture.

Business leaders lead teams to achieve results, while HR manages employees and observes processes; leaders are responsible for business, and HR is responsible for culture. In the past, HR would accompany the business in meetings, focusing on personnel, morale, and discussing with colleagues whether the process of work adhered to the correct values, whether employees encountered problems, and whether supervisors were competent. Employees were relatively willing to communicate and provide feedback to HR when encountering issues, promoting healthier organizational development, with HR acting as a supportive figure.

In any organization, anyone can potentially do bad things. Employees are relatively weak compared to supervisors, and HR serves as a neutral role representing the company, outside of both employees and supervisors. However, now HR seems to only care about performance results, showing little concern for people, and has seemingly forgotten about the importance of values. How many people now have in-depth communication with their HR? How many have met them? Does HR truly help employees solve problems? Do employees view HR as a supportive figure or as a watchdog? How many are willing to speak the truth to HR?

HR's negligence leads to a lack of checks and balances in business processes, and HR's dishonesty leaves employees feeling anxious and unable to see the light of day. What is the fundamental reason for HR's negligence? I believe it is the higher-ups' greater emphasis on performance pursuit, which shifts HR's focus. However, if an organization's system begins to decay and its culture starts to decline, how much creativity can the people within it have?

3. Middle and Senior Management's Incompetence#

In the beginning, I mentioned the overall trend; those who came before caught the wave of the times. They may have been relatively outstanding among their peers and were fortunate to seize opportunities to rise. In the new situation, there are new talents, but unfortunately, opportunities are limited, and positions are saturated. With no business development and promotions needing to continue, middle and senior management has become increasingly bloated, with a growing proportion of incompetence and a prevalence of makeshift teams.

As a result, strategic breakdowns have become common, and execution has become difficult. Decision-making has been delegated, and responsibility has shifted downwards; as long as there are results, the means do not matter. It has become unclear who is a leader and who is a supervisor.

V. Healing the Wounds#

I am about to lose access, and I have said so much not to complain, which may offend many and requires courage, but I sincerely hope the company can face the problems and gradually improve. We need to restore our core, making the team more combat-effective to truly move towards 102 years.

Alibaba is an amazing company; we have done many things that bring positive change to society, and we have driven social progress. Please continue to create wonderful things.

Previously, many departing colleagues wrote suggestions for the company on the internal network, and some were really well-written. Years have passed, and I have seen no changes. Someone on the internal network said: sweeping dust under the bed does not make the dust disappear. What a sad and laughable description, yet how accurate.

I hope we can face and truly change these issues. The internal network should allow everyone to speak freely; suppressing thoughts is suppressing innovation.

1. Repair Values: Restore our value assessments, translating the current formal scoring into collective comparisons, prompting collective reflection and eliminating those with differing values. Once the team is clean, many chaotic issues will naturally disappear.
2. Reorganize the HR System: HR should return to serving employees, reducing the emphasis on performance to become a good balance within the organization. HR must be upright, serving as the inheritor and guardian of values. 360 evaluations should not only apply to supervisors but also include evaluations of HR, helping HR rebuild its credibility.
3. Reform the Management System: Eliminate boss culture and encourage freer movement. Free movement gives employees more options and accelerates the dissolution of bad teams and businesses. In a situation where strategy and tactics are clear, top-down communication and leadership are more effective; if not, create and encourage a bottom-up innovative atmosphere.
4. Public and Unified Levels: Eliminate the current hidden levels, allowing everyone to withstand evaluation from others, making it easier for the public to identify those who are not competent.
5. Publicize Performance and Promotions: It is not about what is said but about what is done. Performance, achievements, and promotions are the most tangible actions; what we encourage and oppose is reflected here. These must be transparent and publicized, allowing everyone to judge. Avoiding dark boxes, relying on relationships, and seizing performance (this does not mean salaries need to be public).
6. Reduce Redundancies and Stop Businesses: Having been in many departments, I feel that cutting 1/3 of the personnel will not fundamentally change the business. Cutting 1/3 of the business will also have no impact; many things do not need to be done; they are just busywork. With more people and fewer tasks, unnecessary matters have increased. We need to conduct proper evaluations, carefully assess wild dogs and white rabbits, and eliminate those who need to be let go.
7. Weakening Operations to Seek the Truth: I have worked in operations for several years and achieved good performance; I do not target operations, but I believe we need to weaken operations. We must bravely face the harsh truths stripped of operational packaging to seriously work on products and build foundations.

AI has arrived; let’s embrace this era.

I hope the company can regain the blue sky, solid ground, and transparent air. I have said a lot, and this is just one person's opinion. I will conclude with the title written by Qin Yan: "Written Before Leaving, Hoping Someone Will Read It." Accompanying you for 15 years, may you cross the century, Alibaba, keep it up!