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Cape Town - Arrogance always fails, and at the core of a lot of downfalls of companies and people is arrogance, said entrepreneur and new CEO of Naspers Bob van Dijk.
Van Dijk was talking to Fin24 about his first 100 days in the hot seat at Naspers [JSE:NPN] and how he intends to nurture and keep the entrepreneurial spirit alive at Naspers.
"You have to let entrepreneurs be entrepreneurs.
"Most of the important decisions should be made by entrepreneurs on the ground.
"(At Naspers) I intend to keep (the corporate centre small), because if you have a small number of people, first(ly) you can move fast and (secondly) the people who work for Naspers are at the service of the operating units and not the other way around."
On who inspires him, Van Dijk said really successful entrepreneurs are humble at heart and this is why he admires Pony Ma, China's mobile mogul as an outstanding entrepreneur. Ma is the founder of Tencent, of which Naspers owns 34%.
He especially admires Ma for "taking on completely new areas, very rapidly, very successfully and combining it with his attitude, which is very down to earth".
Another entrepreneur who stands out for Van Dijk is Steve Jobs, "for his persistence to do things in a way that customers all love and being unwilling to compromise".
"There's always a thousand reasons not to give customers what they really want... to be uncompromising and giving customers what they want is the epitome of that."
Watch:
If he could go back 20 years and give himself advice, Van Dijk said he would have told himself to look for something he'd have a positive, natural feel for and do it. "Whatever you have a passion for, do it with a vengeance and put all your energy into it, then you won't be disappointed."
Van Dijk said he started his working career off as a consultant, something he could do, but which he didn't have a lot of passion for. "When I moved to being more an internet entrepreneur and manager, I found something that I really loved, it served me well. I should've done it earlier."
Read: Bob van Dijk aims for Naspers mobile revolution
- Fin24
* Fin24 is part of Media24, a subsidiary of Naspers.
** Share your experience of setting up your business and get published or simply ask a question. Our business panel can put you on the right path.
Van Dijk was talking to Fin24 about his first 100 days in the hot seat at Naspers [JSE:NPN] and how he intends to nurture and keep the entrepreneurial spirit alive at Naspers.
"You have to let entrepreneurs be entrepreneurs.
"Most of the important decisions should be made by entrepreneurs on the ground.
"(At Naspers) I intend to keep (the corporate centre small), because if you have a small number of people, first(ly) you can move fast and (secondly) the people who work for Naspers are at the service of the operating units and not the other way around."
On who inspires him, Van Dijk said really successful entrepreneurs are humble at heart and this is why he admires Pony Ma, China's mobile mogul as an outstanding entrepreneur. Ma is the founder of Tencent, of which Naspers owns 34%.
He especially admires Ma for "taking on completely new areas, very rapidly, very successfully and combining it with his attitude, which is very down to earth".
Another entrepreneur who stands out for Van Dijk is Steve Jobs, "for his persistence to do things in a way that customers all love and being unwilling to compromise".
"There's always a thousand reasons not to give customers what they really want... to be uncompromising and giving customers what they want is the epitome of that."
Watch:
If he could go back 20 years and give himself advice, Van Dijk said he would have told himself to look for something he'd have a positive, natural feel for and do it. "Whatever you have a passion for, do it with a vengeance and put all your energy into it, then you won't be disappointed."
Van Dijk said he started his working career off as a consultant, something he could do, but which he didn't have a lot of passion for. "When I moved to being more an internet entrepreneur and manager, I found something that I really loved, it served me well. I should've done it earlier."
Read: Bob van Dijk aims for Naspers mobile revolution
- Fin24
* Fin24 is part of Media24, a subsidiary of Naspers.
** Share your experience of setting up your business and get published or simply ask a question. Our business panel can put you on the right path.
