But my confidence also had a deeper basis than the data at hand. I think it is a common phenomenon among
the generation that lived through the Cultural Revolution (I was still a high school student when it began) that
we learned not to recoil at the sight of difficulties. It isn’t that we became arrogant – or, much less, that we were
blinded by optimism.Rather, we gained a different perspective on life and the prospect of failure. The things that
happened during that period made us reflect more deeply on human nature and society.We learned that everything
can turn for the better and all kinds of challenges can be overcome. There is no crisis that cannot be resolved.
Confidence alone does not make for leadership, but in those early days, it was the closest thing I had to a “leadership
style.” Unlike many young people today, I didn’t have a formal MBA education. But because of the small
size of our company, I did know most of the employees by name. I could make a decision in the morning and
approach the workers at noon to learn their reaction and check the results. My leadership then was task centered
and authoritative–I made the decisions and expected the rank and file to carry them out strictly. Today, this would not
be considered a proper way of managing. But at the time, we were a small enterprise in disorder, and there was
a very important role for it. Even the workers wanted me to lead in that way.