Doing business in China: the importance of a learning mindset

"How can you catch the cubs if you don't enter the tiger's lair?"
- Han Dynasty proverb, 25 AD.

The seven-part video below, which is one of the best documentaries I've seen on China, is another must see! The documentary is both informative and entertaining (Warning: there is some "colorful" language in this video). Here are a couple of quotes from it:

"Doing business in China is like a [the] wild, wild West, except they shoot better than the cowboys . . . you really could lose your shirt in the wild West."
- Chinese businessman

"To close the deals the Chinese way, wining, dining and wenching is necessary."
- Chinese businessman

" . . . the most expensive education there's been."
- British businessman who learned by entering the tiger's lair.



I had my first experience of doing business with Chinese and Taiwanese businesspeople in the late 1980s. I would never describe myself as an "expert" on doing business with the Chinese but can still offer some tips based on my own experiences:

1. Adopt a learning mindset and leave your assumptions at home.
2. Don't be ensnared by the charm, beauty, plumage, and general friendliness that you will encounter.
3. Relax, take it easy, be extremely patient, protect your physical and mental health like never before. Pace yourself.
4. Base results solely on outcomes: "Yes" often turns out to be "No" (as an outcome) and vice versa.
5. Dump your linear way of thinking and adopt a more fluid, emergent approach.
6. Be flexible, or you will snap.
7. The person you'll be communicating with (usually female) won't be the decision maker.
8. Never think that you know it all. Observe and learn.

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