A Group Reflection on Midea and the Paradox of Growth

The Paradox of Growth

Growth often looks glamorous from the outside. When we see a Fortune 500 company today, it is easy to forget its roots, its early stumbles, and the sheer ordinariness of its beginning. Midea is no exception.

What started in 1968 as a small workshop making plastic bottle caps in Foshan, Guangdong, with 5,000 yuan pooled by He Xiangjian (何享健) and 23 villagers, has now grown into one of the world’s leading home appliance manufacturers. In Malaysia, the story is often retold as “RM50 beginnings.” The point remains: something small, humble, and overlooked can grow into global impact.

Instead of a solo reflection, I (Daniel) invited my companions, Samuel, Joe, and Saw, to share this reflection together. What emerged was not one man’s insight, but a chorus of perspectives, each adding a layer of truth.

Stage 1: Humble Beginnings (1968–1980)

Midea: A bottle-cap workshop founded with 50 yuan per villager.

China: Post-Cultural Revolution recovery, township enterprises quietly rising.

Malaysia: Early industrialization era, preparing to move beyond tin and rubber.

Group Reflection:

• Daniel: It reminded me that reflection itself is rare. Most people only reflect when in trouble. Yet for leaders like He Xiangjian, humble beginnings demanded daily reflection and relentless action.
• Saw: Their 50-yuan start-up capital challenges us. Are we documenting Stellar’s own early story, so it becomes legacy later?

Meaning for Stellar: Both China and Malaysia prove that small capital plus community vision can birth giants. For Stellar, our preschools were the bottle-cap stage, the first step of something far larger.

Stage 2: Transformation Era (1980s–1990s)

Midea: Entered appliances, learned from Japan in 1985, became a national export base by 1988.

China: Deng Xiaoping’s reform and opening-up. Guangdong SEZs drive industrial growth.

Malaysia: Mahathir’s Look East Policy (1982), learning from Japan and Korea’s industrial models.

Group Reflection:

• Daniel: What struck me was He’s humility. In 1985, amid tense China–Japan relations, he traveled to Japan to learn technology. Letting go of pride to learn, that is real strength.
• Samuel: Midea set standards, but allowed personalization. Too often, companies become policemen. Standards without freedom only breed mediocrity.
• Joe: What impressed me was simplicity. Big companies do not need to do everything. They only need to do a few things deeply.

Meaning for Stellar: Transformation always requires humility to learn beyond pride. Just as Malaysia looked East, and Midea looked outward, Stellar too must remain open to learn beyond our borders and transform from schools into ecosystems.

Stage 3: Globalization Era (2000–2012)

Midea: Overseas plant in Vietnam (2007), sales passed RMB 100 billion (2010), leadership transition (2012).

China: WTO entry (2001), China becomes the world’s factory, 2008 stimulus preserves momentum.

Malaysia: Vision 2020 drives industrial ambition, Asian Financial Crisis recovery shows resilience.

Group Reflection:

• Samuel: Interdependence stood out. Midea’s mergers were not just takeovers. They were collaborations where two brains became a third. At Stellar, with 180 staff, imagine if we worked interdependently, the momentum we could unleash.
• Daniel: I see parallels here. Our shift from preschool to international school was our own leap into a different game. Later, during the pandemic, we ventured into edutourism and coaching. Like Midea, we are still in our infant transformation stage.

Meaning for Stellar: Global ecosystems reward those who plug in. For Malaysia, this meant attracting FDI into E&E. For Stellar, it means positioning education, coaching, and edutourism as our exports into the region.

Stage 4: Creation and Innovation Era (2013–2024)

Midea: Acquired Toshiba appliances, Italian Clivet (2016), KUKA robotics and Servotronix (2017). Listed in Hong Kong (2024).

China: From Made in China to Created in China. Belt & Road, robotics, Industry 4.0.

Malaysia: Deeper ties with China through Belt & Road. Johor positions as a global education and industrial corridor.

Group Reflection:

• Saw: Their advanced building systems amazed me. In Malaysia, I have not seen anything as comprehensive. If Stellar could bring such systems into our campuses, we could pioneer future-ready infrastructure.
• Daniel: What we showcase reveals what we value. Midea showcased family weddings, failures, and collaborations. We too must showcase not only results, but the culture and values that define us.

Meaning for Stellar: Once scale is reached, the challenge shifts from copying to creating. For Stellar, this means moving from delivering education to creating leadership IP, global coaching models, and future-ready frameworks.

Insights Through the Lens

• Growth is not an accident. Midea did not stumble into the Fortune 500. It aligned humble beginnings with China’s reform windows and global trade openings. Growth happens when vision, humility, and timing converge. For Stellar, this means watching not only our classrooms but also the macro winds shaping education.
• Standards must empower, not restrict. Midea’s cafeteria freedom and casual dress codes did not weaken excellence, they strengthened creativity. In education, too many rules can suffocate. Systems should protect what matters most, not choke innovation. Our standards must unlock talent, not police it.
• Failures, when displayed openly, build credibility. Midea proudly displayed its scrapped automotive plan. By admitting where they fell short, they signaled confidence. Leaders who hide failure limit learning. For Stellar, our openness about missteps can become a strength, modeling resilience for students and staff alike.
• Collaboration multiplies creativity. Midea’s partnerships with Toshiba, Clivet, and KUKA were not signs of weakness but of strength. In Malaysia, too many companies see collaboration as compromise. The truth is the opposite. Interdependence creates breakthroughs. For Stellar, this is our chance to collaborate across borders, industries, and disciplines.
• Culture and family keep scale human. Midea did not only showcase technology; it showcased weddings. What you celebrate shows what you value. In Stellar, our family spirit is not an afterthought. It is the culture that will hold us together as we scale beyond Johor and Malaysia.
• Macro tailwinds matter. The real story is not just Midea’s leadership but how it positioned itself inside China’s reform, globalization, and innovation eras. Leaders who learn to read and ride those tailwinds change history. For Stellar, this means aligning with Malaysia’s own currents such as the digital economy, Johor-Singapore corridor, and future-ready education.

Steps Forward – For Stellar, For Us

• Transformation: Do not cling to old games. Keep evolving. Midea did not stop at bottle caps. We must not stop at preschools. Our purpose is larger: to innovate education and transform lives. That means continually stepping into higher games such as international school, edutourism, and leadership coaching.
• Standards with freedom: Build systems that empower, not police. Just as Midea trusted employees with cafeteria choices, Stellar must trust teachers with creativity while protecting what matters. Systems should safeguard excellence, not kill innovation. The goal is culture before strategy, identity before position.
• Document legacy: Write, record, reflect. Our journey matters. Midea’s museum did not just showcase products; it showcased their story. If we do not document, we disappear. Reflection, writing, and storytelling ensure Stellar’s legacy outlives any of us.
• Infuse family into culture: What we showcase is what we value. Midea showcased weddings. We must showcase our family spirit such as servant leadership, gratitude, and resilience. Culture is not decoration, it is direction.
• Teach macro literacy: Help our teams understand how environment creates opportunity. Leaders must learn to read policy, market shifts, and regional trends. Midea rode China’s WTO wave. Malaysia today is entering its own windows of opportunity. Our job is to train future-ready leaders who can see and seize those windows.

Closing Insight

You climb to gain perspective, not to stay there. When you return to daily life, lead with the wisdom you saw higher up.

The Reverse That Redefines It All

The opposite of growth is not failure. Failure teaches, humbles, and redirects. The real opposite of growth is comfort, standing still while the world moves on.

Midea shows us this truth. They began as a bottle-cap workshop, tiny compared to the global giants of their time. Yet instead of pretending to compete head-to-head, they climbed to gain perspective. In 1985, He Xiangjian went to Japan, not as a rival but as a learner. He bent low so his company could rise higher.

This is exactly where Stellar is today. Compared to Midea, we are small, a preschool group turned international school, now exploring edutourism and leadership coaching. But small is not a weakness. Small is our vantage point. We climb by being open to learn from those ahead of us, whether in education, business, or leadership.

The paradox is clear:

• Midea was once what we are now. Tiny, unproven, fragile.
• We can one day be what they are now. Global, impactful, lasting.
• But only if we adopt the same posture: humble enough to learn, bold enough to transform, disciplined enough to persist.

For Stellar, climbing means stepping into bigger games while staying rooted in family culture and servant leadership. It means documenting our journey so that one day, when others study us, they see not just schools but a story of transformation.

Growth looks like climbing. Legacy looks like returning, wiser, humbler, and ready to lead daily life with new perspective.