Practice Management

China Business: The Rules.

By Dan Hull

If you are walking into a meeting preparing for a heated pissing contest why bother? There are no deals of the century in China, no deal has to be done today, and there are options.

--Richard Brubaker

For pros, clients, and the unwashed. Seattle's Dan Harris has located "The Rules" over at Rich Brubaker's Shanghai-based All Roads Lead To China. Our three--make that four--favorites with Harris's commentary:

3. Have lines (moral and economic) that cannot be moved. This is a great one and one that I too often have seen violated. In fact, I met with someone just the other day who told me that he had left China after building up a successful business there when he realized that what he was doing to keep it up had turned him into someone he did not want to be.

4. Understand the motivating factors of the parties sitting across the table. Stop negotiating and begin collaborating. "If you are walking into a meeting preparing for a heated pissing contest why bother? There are no deals of the century in China, no deal has to be done today, and there are options." Right on all counts.

7. If something goes wrong, look internally first. "It is not always the supplier's fault or a nationalistic regulation. When things fail it is typically no more than the byproduct of a failed process or system. Identify that, work with it, and move on." .... I cannot tell you how many times companies have come to me after having failed to abide by a Chinese law and seeking my confirmation that the Chinese law they violated was stupid. The reality is that the overwhelming majority of China's laws make sense, but whether they are sensible or not, it is sensible for you to know what they are and to follow them.

and

2. Develop a high tolerance for pain. Yup.

Full post as published by What About Clients? on March 13, 2010 (boomark / email).