On May 16, 2019, the first session of the Long Ma Lecture ofExcellence of Central University of Finance and Economics (CUFE), sponsored by the MBA Education Center in celebration ofthe 70th anniversary of CUFE, was successfully held in Room 202, AcademicHall of CUFE. Mr. Wu Hai, alumnus of Class 1987 of the Information Department,founder of the Crystal Orange Hotel Group, and General Manager of DejiawuInvestment, was invited to give an insightful and impressive lecture titledLuckand Talent in Entrepreneurship. Professor Jia Xiaojing, Deputy Director ofthe CUFE MBA Education Center, attended and addressed the event.

ProfessorJia Xiaojing, Deputy Director of the CUFE MBA Education Center

“Standing in front of you is a seeker of changes andbreakthroughs, who had dared to write to Prime Minister and engaged hisparticular attention.” Mr. Wu Hai started his speech with amusing quips,setting a bright and pleasant tone for the lecture.

WuHai, alumnus of Class 1987 of the Information Department, founder of theCrystal Orange Hotel Group, and General Manager of Dejiawu Investment

At the beginning of the lecture, Mr. Wu systematically elaboratedon the importance of “talent” and “luck” in one’s success, which was the themeof his speech. He also shared with attendants his insights from books and life experienceby reviewing years of entrepreneurial venture in the hotel industry. As hesaid, despite decent material gains from starting his own business, he had beenstill far from enjoying a favorable life style. When communicating with friendsengaged in MBA or EMBA programs, he was impressed by their intelligence andfelt the fun of dealing with smart people, which inspired his desire to pursuefurther education.

A scene from the event

According to Mr. Wu, discussions and exchanges with teachers andpeer students and established connections were undoubtedly the greatest rewardsof his EMBA studies. He noted that he could not have completed the EMBA programwith consistently good grades without his “talent,” and illustrated this withtwo questions he had aced. The first question was: “If you had 10 million eurosat your disposal, what would you do with it?” Mr. Wu went so far as to write “toinvest them all in my own business,” rather than a so-called model answer, thathe scored high for the question. In another one related to marketing, he castdoubt on the statistical approach used therein and won the recognition ofexaminers. Mr. Wu stressed that as everyone has his own talent, agood entrepreneur should know how to read people’s minds, so that he can appointteam partners on their merits and manage to get twofold results with half theeffort.

Mr. Wu then took his entrepreneurial story for example: fromselling the FortuneTrip and being roped into the hotel industry to launching“MeiKTV,” his career seemed to be decreed by fate at most times, which deepenedhis understanding of “luck.” As Mr. Wu explained, MeiKTV, as a hard act tofollow by many traditional KTVs, thought outside the box and invented a new game.When customers are singing in MeiKTV, the facilities can realize real-timeaudio and video recording featuring auto-focus cameras, and the sound quality thatcan rival devices from professional studios. Finding and running such apromising and funny project was more by chance than design, which serves thebest example to illustrate the role of luck.

Q&A session

During the Q&A session, Mr. Wu had a lively exchange withstudents and won rounds of applause following his patient and detailed answersto the questions raised by the audience. Concluding the lecture, Mr. Wu addedthat entrepreneurship depends on resources which include both knowledge andsocial connections with people like peer students and alumni. Talent can bestrengthened through practices, but the thrust of better luck lies in a goodpersonality of one who conducts himself faithfully and is always ready to helpothers.

At the end of the lecture, Deputy Director Jia Xiaojing presenteda souvenir to Mr. Wu to thank him for his fascinating remarks at the lecture. Upto this point, the first session of the CUFE Long Ma Lecture of Excellence,sponsored by the MBA Education Center in celebration of the 70th anniversary ofCUFE and themed onLuck and Talent in Entrepreneurship, was concludedsuccessfully.

Lecture of Excellence, initiated by the CUFE MBA Education Centerand themed onFrom Good to Excellent, invites celebrities, renownedentrepreneurs, elites of different industries, outstanding alumni, and prestigiousteachers on- and off-campus to deliver various speeches on a regular basis.They cover multifarious topics including financial management, accounting,corporate management, cultural competence, frontiers of science, and innovationand entrepreneurship.