The Decline of Giants: Burdened by Strengths and Arrogance

Originally published 2021-05-13Robin’s commentary, including retold anecdotes without sources supplied in the post

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Collected in Robin Shen’s Field Notes · Content type and attribution are shown above

English translation of the Chinese post originally published 2021-05-13. Translated 2026-10-30 with AI assistance. Historical figures and claims have not been updated or independently verified. 中文原文

Reading guide

Robin identifies two causes of corporate giants’ decline: being burdened by existing strengths and arrogance. The post mentions Netflix seeking a sale to Blockbuster and Google seeking a sale to Yahoo, followed by the two giants being overtaken by history; no sources are supplied for these accounts. He quotes Jack Ma’s progression—failing to see, looking down on it, failing to understand, and being too late—to explain how giants pursuing high growth and high margins dismiss fledgling ventures, giving startups room to rise.

Key points

Causes of decline: existing strengths becoming burdens, and arrogance.
Giants’ dismissal of fledgling businesses creates opportunities for startups.
“Fail to see; look down on it; fail to understand; too late”—attributed to Jack Ma in the post.

One clear path continues into the distance among several branching routes, suggesting choice and focus. — Entrepreneurship & strategyThematic illustration · AI generated

Full text — English translation

The decline of giants: 1. Being burdened by their existing strengths. 2. Arrogance. Netflix once wanted to sell to Blockbuster. Something similar happened when Google sought a sale to Yahoo… Ultimately, both Blockbuster and Yahoo were swept aside by history. Jack Ma also said: “Fail to see; look down on it; fail to understand; too late.” This captures how industry giants pursuing high growth and high profits dismiss small businesses just starting out. That also gives startups an opportunity to rise. History repeats itself.

These articles are personal notes, book excerpts, and collected reprints. Figures and events reflect the time of the original publication, are not current information, and do not constitute investment advice.

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