Success and profitability are outcomes of focusing on customers and employees, not objectives.

The line frames profit and “success” as lagging indicators rather than targets: if an organization treats customers well and invests in employees, financial results follow as a consequence. It also implies a critique of short-termism—when profit is treated as the primary objective, firms may cut corners on service, trust, or workplace culture, undermining the very conditions that sustain long-run profitability. Attributed to Jack Ma, the sentiment aligns with a stakeholder-first philosophy often associated with Alibaba’s rhetoric: prioritize users and staff, and the market rewards that discipline. The quote’s significance lies in shifting managerial attention from metrics to relationships and capabilities that generate those metrics.