Dear Fellow Fosun Partners,

In the first morning meeting for the New Year held on January 4, I shared with you about a partnership program Fosun is going to implement. Some of you may be wondering, what is the significance of a partnership program for Fosun? After meeting with many partners with strong entrepreneurial acumen, I would like to share with you my thoughts on the Fosun partnership program in this letter.

First, the DNA of partnership has always been in the genes of Fosun. 24 years ago, five fellows including Xinjun, Qunbin and myself kick-started our journey of entrepreneurship by founding Fosun. With limited startup funds, we realized we had our work cut out for us: it was going to be a tough start. Although we had shares in the company, we made it clear the shareholding ratio would be more dynamic than static. We have always been expecting more enthusiastic people to join, making Fosun continuously bigger and stronger.

All along, our founding team firmly believed in the original ideals, and we still do. Fosun has gradually evolved into a multinational enterprise while taking roots in China with global competences. We have our own unique “Insurance + Investment” twin-driver business model. We are committed to combining China’s Growth Momentum with Global Resource. We have identified and accumulated our edges, deepening our footholds in industries, integrating and ploughing deep into the industry chains. We are prepared to deliver better products and services to clients addressing their three core concerns, which are “wealth”, “health” and “happiness”, in order to create better value for the society. This is the vision, vocation and core strategy of Fosun, this keeps Fosun relevant and ensures its continuous survival.

This is the outcome of the joint efforts paid, and wisdom dedicated by all fellow Fosun partners with entrepreneurial acumen. Therefore, talents are highly correlated to Fosun’s core strategies. We hope Fosun’s talent strategy can take more references from the partnership culture adopted by Goldman Sachs. We will attach more importance to team building, elite organization and entrepreneurial spirit and look forward to turning each and every individual in Fosun into a Fosun partner.

Today, we have announced a batch of partners on the Fosun Group level. Fosun partners do not just earn a recognition. They also shoulder a responsibility. Among the world’s organizations with the highest efficiency, the first is military, which is top-down, command-style, with absolute conformity and priority to efficiency. The second is religion, with everyone voluntarily committing to the same goal without any strict commands. Fosun cannot and will not become any one of these types of organizations, but Fosun partners develop their intrinsic quality by taking reference and learning from them. Our partners need to have highly efficient execution capabilities like soldiers, and with high degrees of recognition, trust and passion for the visions and businesses of Fosun.

Therefore, a Fosun partner is groomed under a precedence of “a high degree of recognition in Fosun’s culture and values, profound understandings in Fosun’s developing strategies, willing to learning and in a perpetual entrepreneurial status, having the ability and passion to contribute to company development and create value perpetually”. Fosun partners will be our guarantee to survivals and growths in competition and achieving our constant transformation in this efficient, flat-structured and integrated intelligent and vital entity.  

I would like to emphasize on a few points: first, there will be Fosun partners on different levels, they are outstanding in their respective professional turfs and have the vision to seek comprehensive development in Fosun. Second, partners on the Group level are essential in perfecting our entire partnership scheme. Third, Fosun partners must be globalized and welcome entrants from around the world. Jorge (CEO of Fidelidade) has become the first batch of partners on the Group level. Fourth and the most importantly, Fosun’s partners do not have lifetime tenures and are not arranged according to years of service. We hope to attract younger, stronger people who meet our standards to join this organization, and decommission those who cannot meet these standards. 

In particular, I consider whether you are in or not in an ongoing entrepreneurial state will be the most important measure of whether you will be admitted as a Fosun partner. Recently I have learned a meaningful term called “an entrepreneurial status”. It is this status that drives urges to innovate, create, learn and consider new business models, while at the same time has courage, capability and thought to bring them to reality. Not everyone who works in an enterprise nor one with just entrepreneurial acumen can evolve into an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs also cannot stay in this state of mind forever. They may get sick or tired and encounter other obstacles that stop them from being in this status. We hope partners of Fosun to stay in this status forever, at least when you are a partner, you have to be in this state of mind and continue cultivating these values.

You might need to consider being decommissioned if you are not in this status. The world is becoming more competitive. Xinjun, Qunbin and I can feel the stress escalating. We keep asking ourselves, “Am I in the entrepreneurial status?” If one day, one of our teammates in our partnership program fails to be in the entrepreneurial status, he would be better to withdraw himself from the position and let others who are in the status to lead the team to go forward. The status of core members can influence the spirit and combat effectiveness of the whole team. We cannot afford to have core team members not to be in that status. They will make the whole team being eliminated by the market.

Lastly, I would like to emphasize that Fosun does not belong to one single individual nor a few individuals. Fosun is a group of people, a community, an elite organization built by the partners. This organization has to be more efficient and vital. We have to give young people more opportunities. Fosun partners will keep on creating the future for the organization’s development. Only by doing so can we become a great enterprise taking roots in China with global competences.

Thank you very much!

Guo Guangchang       

Drafted in Tel Aviv, Israel and finalized in Shanghai on January 11, 2016