In this class, we go through 6 digital superpowers, which is a simple high-level checklist for when digital tools can significantly change the competitive …Read More »

In this class, I talk about the share of the consumer mind as a revenue competitive advantage. And how companies like WeChat and TikTok are …Read More »

In this class, I go into the how digital native education companies like LAIX are challenging traditional companies like New Oriental. You can listen here …Read More »

In 2019, Mark Zuckerberg released a memo on “privacy-focused messaging and social networking” – and charted a new direction for Facebook. The memo had some …Read More »

I’ve sent out three Daily Lessons recently with various AI use cases. Products with Personalities? My Interview with JD About Conversational AI 3 Ways AI …Read More »

  In this class, I go into the increasing dimensions of operational marathons. I call these the SMILE marathon. You can listen here or at …Read More »

In this class, I talk about ways AI and cheap prediction are being used in fashion and apparel. From my interview with Dr. Tao Mei, …Read More »

  In this class, I go through some of the basics of Grab, GoJek and Lazada. And the different approaches for capturing local services in …Read More »

There was an interesting report about China ecommerce trends released by Coresight Research, which specializes in retail meets tech consulting. It’s run by Deborah Weinswig, …Read More »

  In this class, I talk about my interview with He Xiaodong of JD. And about how chatbots are evolving into conversational AI. Plus the …Read More »

A couple of topics for today’s lesson / update. Why Steve Jobs Chose China for the Assembly of the iPhone In my One Hour China …Read More »

The big digital China / Asia news this week was the expansion of the US entity list ban to include TSMC. In theory, Huawei cannot …Read More »

  In this class, I talk about what can be done with Luckin Coffee post-scandal. Should another company or investor buy it? You can listen …Read More »

In this week’s podcast (Can Shopee / Garena Beat Lazada? Tencent vs. Alibaba In SE Asia. (Podcast 29)), I teed up the idea of an …Read More »

In this class, I talk about Shopee (ecommerce) and Garena (online gaming) in SE Asia – and the complementary platform businesses Sea Limited is building. …Read More »

  In this class, I talk about Ant Financial/Alipay, AI factories and the basics of payment platforms. You can listen here or at iTunes, Google …Read More »

Here’s a simple framework for how digital can evolve over time. Some of this thinking is from Competing in the Age of AI. Some is …Read More »

  In this class, I talk about Meituan and the evolution toward more advanced types of services marketplaces. You can listen here or at iTunes, …Read More »

Most of this course has been about strategy. Well, the intersection of strategy and digital. Basically, Michael Porter meets Jack Ma. But an important part …Read More »

In this class, I talk about networks vs. ecosystems. And how networks have evolved from physical to virtual / digital. You can listen here or …Read More »

One of the big digital China / Asia stories of 2019-2020 has been the movement of Alipay into services. And I don’t think people have …Read More »

  In this class, I talk about Lazada, the SE Asia ecommerce champion. And about how Asia is both at scale and increasingly interconnected. You …Read More »

Ctrip has forecast its revenues will drop 45-50% in first quarter. From KrAsia: Coronavirus spurs somber outlook for online travel companies Chinese major online travel …Read More »

  In this class, I talk about my interview with Huawei about their 2019 financial results. And a bit about the disclosure of fraud at …Read More »

The big news yesterday was that Luckin Coffee has disclosed an internal investigation into fabricated sales for 2019. From CNBC: Luckin Coffee disclosed Thursday that …Read More »

Congratulations!!!! You have completed the First Steps and are moving upwards. Awesome. Keep going. For Level 2, there are 5 learning goals. And the first …Read More »

Wow. Welcome to Level 4. Very impressive. You have completed Level 3. I hope you feel good about that. For Level 4, there are again …Read More »

Welcome to the class! The goal of this class is steady, consistent progress, which is not unlike climbing a mountain. But when you are looking …Read More »

A couple of topics for today. About how all business begins and ends with the customer. HeyTea and Why You Have to Thrill Your Customers. …Read More »

  In this class, I talk about the basics of Didi and the importance of switching costs on the supplier side of the platform. You …Read More »

Much of our discussion about digital platforms (Alibaba, Tencent, etc.) has been about their business models. And all their strengths, which are formidable. But I …Read More »

Two topics for Today’s Update / Lesson. Tencent Quarterly Results Are Awesome, Yet Again It’s almost boring how these digital giants keep putting up fantastic …Read More »

In this class, I talk about the crazy collision of Ctrip, Meituan and Alibaba in services in China, particularly in hotels. You can listen here …Read More »

One of things I like about Warren Buffett is he is very open about his life. He talks a lot about his experiences, his wife, …Read More »

This week’s podcast was about Zoom, which is a pretty cool video communications app. What Is the Secret of Zoom’s Success in Video Communications? (Jeff’s …Read More »

Congratulations!!!! You have completed Level 2, which was a lot of big ideas. That was definitely a jump forward in terms of your thinking. Congratulations. …Read More »

In this class, I talk about why Zoom has been so successful in video communications. You can listen here or at iTunes, Google Podcasts and …Read More »

Learning Goals #12 is the “Basics of Tiktok / Douyin and Audience-Builder Platforms”. And as part of this, I’ve been introducing companies that are based …Read More »

This past week, I’ve been talking about TikTok and Alibaba’s Tudou-Youku as examples of “audience builder” digital platforms. These are +2 sided platform that connect …Read More »

  In this class, I talk about why TikTok / Douyin took off so rapidly and powerfully. You can listen here or at iTunes, Google …Read More »

In Podcast 19 (How the Coronavirus Quarantine Economy Is Supercharging Taobao Live), I went into how social media and KOLs / Influencers are really important …Read More »

In Podcast 19 – How the Coronavirus Quarantine Economy Is Supercharging Taobao Live), I went into how social media and KOLs / Influencers are so …Read More »

In this class, I talk about how live-streaming and KOLs (especially Taobao Live) are activating the China Digital Consumer Network (CDCN). And how the quarantine …Read More »

A final short discussion about this week’s lecture / podcast on JD vs. Alibaba. And how they compete on different factors. The talk is located …Read More »

In this week’s lecture / podcast, I talked about how online retailers like early JD compete on different factors than marketplace platforms like Alibaba. JD …Read More »

In this class, I talk about how online retailers like JD and marketplace platforms like Alibaba compete on different dimensions. You can listen here or …Read More »

I consider digital platforms the super predators of the business world. They are like that Indominus Rex dinosaur in the movie Jurassic World that is …Read More »

In previous Daily Updates, I presented 4 slides that showed the evolution of Alibaba as a powerful marketplace platform. A 3 Slide Summary of Alibaba …Read More »

  In this class, we continue the discussion about what Huawei should have done after the US tech ban. In Part 1, we discussed the …Read More »

Happy Friday, One final concept for the end of the week. And that is externalizing capabilities, which builds on yesterday’s 3 Slide Summary of Alibaba …Read More »

Hi, I’ve been building out visual models of platform businesses for like 4 years. From Alibaba and JD to Google and MasterCard. The goal is …Read More »

  In this class, we review the basics of digital platforms, which is one of the key learning goals for Level 2. You can listen …Read More »

The Wall Street Journal (paywall) reported on a new initiative by the US government to create a competitor in telecommunications equipment. The companies involved include …Read More »

In this class, we review the basics of digital economics, which is one of the key learning goals for Level 2. You can listen here …Read More »

Cheers from Laos, I’m in the capital Vientiane getting a new visa. And it turns out this is sleepy city is a good place to …Read More »

In this class, we discuss Huawei’s tech ban and what the company should have done. You can listen here or at iTunes and Himalaya. Part …Read More »

I recently attended WeChat’s Open Class in Guangzhou. It is their big annual event for developers and there were lots of updates on WeChat Work …Read More »

Happy Friday everyone. Three quick reads for the Daily Update. Have a great weekend. – jeff   TikTok Is Rocking Facebook TikTok continues to go …Read More »

  In this class, I discuss my visit to the WeChat Open Class in Guangzhou. And why Allen Zhang and the WeChat team are doing …Read More »

Hi everyone, As part of the Asia Tech Class, we are doing a 30-day New Year’s Challenge. The idea is to create a new habit …Read More »

In this class, I discuss some of the theory behind ecosystems, firms and coordination costs. And why digital platforms are having such a big impact …Read More »

In this class, I discuss my visit to JD’s new 50,000 sqm e-space in Chongqing – and the question of what new retail (i.e., online-merge-offline) …Read More »

In this class, I discuss my visit to Huawei and some lessons learned from lunch with rotating Chairman Guo Ping. You can listen here or …Read More »

In this class, we discuss Chinese bike-sharing company Ofo. And their spectacular rise and fall. You can listen here or at iTunes here. The exercise …Read More »

In this class, we discuss Vipshop and JD. And how a smaller ecommerce site can compete with larger players, especially in the area of logistics. …Read More »

Hi everyone, Here is the daily update. Cheers from Bangkok, -j   Suggestions for Questions for the CEO of Huawei? I’m going to Shenzhen next …Read More »

  In this class, we discuss Didi, Luckin and Mobike and how to predict if they will be profitable. Exercise for this class: For Mobike, …Read More »

Why are so many things free on the internet? And on our smartphones? And what does this mean for the economics of traditional products and …Read More »

Hi everyone, My apologies for being silent for a couple of days. I was teaching my digital strategy class at CEIBS (China Europe International Business …Read More »

This is the fifth episode of my Asia tech class. It is a summary of my time with Alibaba on Singles’ Day. It was one …Read More »

Hiya, I’m sitting at the Shanghai airport, heading out to the USA shortly. I’m exhausted. It’s been a crazy couple of days out in Hangzhou …Read More »

Good morning everyone. This is the daily update for Jeff’s Asia Tech Class, with two points. Facebook is increasingly citing China in their lobbying. Are …Read More »

This is the fourth episode of my Asia tech class. It is an introduction to Alibaba and platform business models. Exercise: For a shopping mall, …Read More »

This is one of the daily updates for my Asia Tech class. It builds off podcast / lecture 2 about what Starbucks China should have …Read More »

This is the third episode for my Asia tech class. It asks how Starbucks China should have responded to the rapid entrance of Luckin Coffee …Read More »

This is the second episode (and first case) for my Asia tech class. It is about what the leading bike manufacturers (like Giant) should have …Read More »

This is a short introduction to my Asia Tech class. ———-Read More »