Yu Minhong: Methodologies, Key Decisions & Mental Models

Yu Minhong

Practitioner of adversity resilience philosophy, a lifelong striver from poor rural child to New Oriental empire to Dongfang Zhenxuan transformation

Yu Minhong founded New Oriental English School in 1993, using adversity resilience philosophy and motivational speaking style to build New Oriental into China's largest education institution, listing on the NYSE in 2006. China's Double Reduction education policy in 2021 severely damaged New Oriental; Yu Minhong led the company through a historic transformation from K12 education to live-stream e-commerce, and Dongfang Zhenxuan quickly rose through bilingual live-streaming and cultural content, becoming one of China's most influential live-stream e-commerce brands. Yu Minhong's adversity resilience story—three failed college entrance exams, being defrauded in early entrepreneurship, company facing existential crisis—has become one of the most widely disseminated inspirational narratives in China.

Methodologies

Adversity Resilience Activation Method - By actively reframing the meaning of adversity, convert failures and setbacks into growth opportunities, building psychological resilience to stand up again in the face of any difficulty.
Business Phoenix Transformation Method - When a company faces an existential crisis, with employee interests as the core, completely abandon the original business model and convert the company's core DNA into a new business form.

Key decisions and timeline

1978 First College Entrance Exam Failure, Began Life Training in Adversity Resilience - Adversity is not proof of failure but an opportunity to temper the will; persistence is more important than talent.
1985 Entered Peking University English Department, Beginning Life Turning Point - Studying hard on the best platforms, even when the process is full of setbacks, can accumulate core capabilities to change destiny.
1993 Founded New Oriental English School, Created New Model with Inspirational Education - Converting personal adversity experiences into educational content can build the most authentic and inspiring brand story—a competitive advantage that no marketing can replicate.

Beliefs and mental models

Adversity Is Life's Best Teacher - The most important growth in life often happens in the most difficult moments. Three failed college entrance exams, being defrauded in entrepreneurship, company crises—each adversity is an opportunity to deepen cognition and strengthen will. True success is not about never experiencing failure but about being able to stand up again after failure.
Education Is the Only Fair Path to Changing Destiny - Yu Minhong, who grew up in rural poverty, changed his own destiny through education and converted this belief into New Oriental's core mission. Education is the most important channel for social mobility; enabling everyone to have the opportunity to change their destiny through learning is the most valuable social contribution.
Lifelong Learning Is the Strongest Weapon Against Uncertainty - In a rapidly changing era, any fixed knowledge and skills will quickly become outdated. Only by maintaining the habit and ability of lifelong learning can one continuously adapt to change and create value. Yu Minhong's proactive transformation to live-stream e-commerce after age 60 is the most powerful proof of his lifelong learning belief.
Adversity Reframing Framework - View adversity as a growth opportunity rather than proof of failure; by actively reframing the meaning of adversity, convert negative experiences into driving force for moving forward.
Cultural Content Differentiation Strategy - In homogenized competition, use cultural content and knowledge value as core differentiation to build brand moats that cannot be replicated by pure price competition.
Founder Self-Revolution Model - When a company faces fundamental challenges, the founder needs to first complete a self-revolution—abandoning past cognitive frameworks and restarting with a learner's rather than expert's mindset.