On Tuesday morning 6 June the BBA (still called the Benelux Business Association, but not for long…) invited James to talk about his book.

One more book indeed, even China Daily mentioned a couple of days ago “the flood of China-themed business books” referring among others to “China CEO” (see previous blog) and James’ book, now quite famous.
Of course I bought it, with a kind dedication from James. Now I have to find the time to actually read it, as well as all the others.
Troubling what he said – did I hear well? He retreated for 18 months somewhere in a log cabin in the US to write? And people want I write something too? Not exactly encouraging when I hardly get through my e-mails every day. Maybe I should isolate myself in Phuket, haha. Maybe not exactly the place for quiet isolation. A cabin in the forest probably IS more appropriate.
This guy makes me jealous: 1. he speaks Chinese (my major frustration after 25 years) and managed to talk with some 300 Chinese (while biking in Beijing.. among other); 2. he finds time for his retreat.
He certainly also knows how to speak. Yes, he is a journalist but they are supposed to listen rather than talk, or? Some of his comments were sharp and in line with what I also think. Some of the remarkable ones, at least for me:
– our life is “guilt based” meaning we think we should follow rules (mostly a result of our education and religious influences); so we stop for a red light in the middle of the night when nobody is around; Chinese are rather “shame based” – meaning they just try to get away with as much as they can as long as they are not caught (and lose face, and that’s bad of course); now I know why Chinese are so undisciplined and do whatever they feel like. Just look at the Beijing traffic. I might have my own explanation but it’s for sure a nice way to put it.
– “If you don’t get rich in the gold rush, you’ll never get rich”. That really does not look good in my case. Maybe I should learn from the Chinese how to make money and get away with as much as I can. I blame my education with the Jesuits.
– “Should we be afraid of China? No, we should be afraid of ourselves”. Quite true Now, if you want to know why, I guess you’ll have to read the book.
So at least I know what I should NOT write about. Don’t worry, I have a long list of ideas still standing.

On Friday 26 Amcham organized an interesting presentation by one of the authors of the book, Ms. Laurie Underwood and also Mr. Kenneth Yu, managing director of 3M China Region, one of the CEOs interviewed. Both were excellent speakers and communicators.

Laurie and Kenneth at the the Kerry Center
About every week a new book is coming out on China. Many of my friends urge me to write my own book and I ask myself if it makes sense to add one more to the list. People who have been 6 months or 10 year over here feel compelled to explain to the world their deep insight in this fascinating country. Some authors succeed to focus on interesting areas, many however just list the usual generalities on how to enter the “vast market” or come up with questionable views on the market potential for foreigners or come up with disaster scenarios. So, what should I possibly write about? Question unanswered as for now.
The Amcham presentation was looking into one – important – aspect of working here: “Closing the China-to-Headquarters Communication Gap”. My experience can only confirm some of the comments during the presentation: I mostly felt it was harder to deal with the headquarters than with the Chinese. And still today, with all the information available through the media and the Internet, even well educated westerners have a poor knowledge of what China really is today. A big cultural gap filled with misconceptions, misinformation and unrealistic expectations. Not to speak of the usual lack of effort and patience to understand a world that is so different from ours. Bridging that gap with your bosses thousands of Km away is a real challenge.
The book has the merit that is based on factual research, interviewing about 20 CEOs of Fortune 500 companies in China. As far as I can see, some valuable feedback. I happen to know some of them quite well, so I am very curious to find out how they are presenting their story. Let’s be clear – I did not read the book yet. Knowing how some MNCs manage to project their wisdom and professionalism to the outside world while internally things are often a accumulation of personal interests, infighting and plain incompetence it is always interesting reading how they show their colors to a wider public. Maybe I have been looking too much to the inner workings of several MNCs…
What I already see missing in the picture is the absence of some non-western CEOs. Only one Japanese CEO is featured, not by oversight of the authors but because – as I know – those are reluctant to participate in such a project. I have been looking into the way South Koreans companies operate in China (no CEO from that country could be interviewed). They have very different strategies than our western companies. Just take note – South Korea is the third de facto trading partner of China (China Daily!). I met some of those Korean executives, not exactly the open and social type of executives, a bit like the Japanese. But they are very successful, using a nearly totally different management style. Maybe more about that in my book. Some day, who knows.