Today we learned of the passing of Uni-President Enterprises founder Chairman Gao Qingyuan, who lived 88 years and was a great entrepreneur of the Republic of China. Looking back on Chairman Gao’s lifetime, besides dominating the business world and founding Uni-President Enterprises that changed Taiwan’s lifestyle, he also left behind many thought-provoking life experiences for future generations to learn from.
Based on the “Selfless Pioneer: Gao Qingyuan Biography” published by Common Wealth Publishing, we’ve compiled 25 quotes that Chairman Gao Qingyuan once said. Revisiting them now is truly enlightening. The inaugural issue specially organized them for everyone. As long as you remember these 25 life maxims, you’re guaranteed to benefit for life:
- First, when choosing what kind of work environment, it must closely align with one’s personal ideals and values.
- Second, selflessness enables leadership, allows delegation, and provides people with a stage to shine.
- Third, how you treat people is exactly how they will treat you.
- Fourth, your capacity determines what kind of business you’ll accomplish.
- Fifth, respect anyone older in rank, regardless of their actual age; and be able to stand in others’ positions when thinking about things, whether they’re a tea server or an ordinary worker.
- Sixth, the first job a person chooses and the boss they choose are important and affect a person’s entire life trajectory. If the boss is righteous and leads by example, employees learn well.
- Seventh, good academic performance doesn’t guarantee good work, good work doesn’t guarantee good character. Good character is supreme.
- Eighth, don’t create enemies or manufacture someone to argue with.
- Ninth, whether a person speaks from private interest is apparent the moment they open their mouth.
- Tenth, implementing employee stock ownership achieves two goals: first, employees work more seriously because better performance means higher dividends; second, talented people won’t leave the company.
- Eleventh, work diligently—complete today’s tasks today, settle today’s accounts today.
- Twelfth, Starting a business requires: 1. Market research 2. Fund raising 3. Acquiring land and building the most economical factory scale 4. Recruiting capable, ethical, hardworking talent 5. Establishing company systems 6. Purchasing the best production equipment and introducing high-level production technology 7. Confirming business objectives and making serious progress.
- Thirteenth, Business should win through superior quality and reliable credit, not through cheap competition (Three Excellences and One Fairness—excellent quality, excellent credit, excellent service, fair price). 14. **Businesses succeed when the right industry is chosen, and perseverance—never giving up until success—is maintained; ultimately they become winners.
- Fourteenth, When eating someone else’s salary, you must do good work.
- Fifteenth, Wu Xiuzhi: Business relies on wisdom; making money is luck. Don’t do unethical things.
- Sixteenth, Uni-President’s work habits: Cultivation, Cleanliness, Cleaning, Organization, Arrangement.
- Seventeenth, Integrity as a person, continuous development of new products and new business, willingness to use the best equipment, and ability to perceive future trends.
- Eighteenth, Caring deeply for employees, having affinity, speaking courteously with a smile—like the Kitchen God—requiring employees not to have affairs, not to take bribes, not to be corrupt, not to gamble.
- Nineteenth, A person can age, but thinking can’t.
- Twentieth, Good, but can be better. There’s never a best.
- Twenty-first, We must learn others’ technology, thinking of ourselves as students and them as teachers, maintaining the attitude of students toward teachers.
- Twenty-second, Mr. Wu Sanyang said: Sometimes to be human you must pretend to be naive—it must be fake naivete, not real naivete.
- Twenty-third, What a high-level leader should do most—first establish the major strategic direction the enterprise should develop (pursuing being best, biggest, and unique; Uni-President must continuously achieve maximum-scale food enterprise goals through product diversification).
- Twenty-fourth, The French say: In the future, whoever controls distribution channels will be the ultimate winner (the reason Seven-Eleven was established).
- Twenty-fifth, To ensure the company’s sustainable operation, never become a general manager for life—promote personnel renewal in the company. At age 60, retire.