China – Perspectives

Retired Chinese play checkers.

I have now been traveling in and out of Asia for the last four years, of these four I have spent 13 months, actually residing and doing business in China. I have to admit that coming here I thought that I would have a very open mind, after all, I once was an immigrant in the USA and have traveled and done business in many countries… but, much to my surprise found my self falling into many “generalizations” and prejudices.

At a basic level Chinese people are no different than people in Des Moines, Iowa; they all want good health, family, a good school for their children and a prosperous future. They all long to be fruitful at their job and be able to enjoy their hours of relaxation. It is how their cultural roots make them go about achieving this that is very different from the west. Almost on a daily basis I am reminded that I am not in Kansas anymore!

Last year I was looking to invest some money in a Concrete Mixing business in China through my Taiwanese partner, after doing my careful research into this business (American style) I though it would be a great business opportunity, concrete in China? Is like selling air human beings.

I wanted to meet the principals in the company, so we traveled to Humen, north of Shenzhen for the meeting. In traditional Chinese business style (not Western/or Chinese corporate style) we started by sitting around a “coffee” table, very ornate and outfitted with a tea set, heating elements and a washing basin, all built into one. One of the men proceeded to wash all the utensils in hot water, then pulled a pasty black disk and tore a chunk, which he crammed into a tea pot and then poured hot water in it. Fascinated by the ritual I was  not paying attention to what my translator was saying to me.

After we all were served the “black” tea, I was informed by my translator that this was an informal meeting, that the general manager of the new operation had not been hired yet. With my fast American business mind set I replied asking, why was this fact significant to me? She then informed me that my objective of discussing the business plan, sales projections and start up date could not be achieved in the meeting. By now the “tea” ceremony and the back and forth smiles were beginning to fade as my face probably was beginning to show my restlessness and need to address the objective for the meeting. …well, when will the GM be hired for the operation? I asked.

It was the answer I got that had me somewhere between laughter and dismay. As a side note I have grown used to the fact that quite often when I ask a question as simple as can you produce this product in black? I will then witness a sometimes very dynamic 20 minute discussion (almost argument) to have the translator look back at me and say “yes”. Which is the reason that I am bound and determined to learn Mandarin, enough to at least follow the conversation, but that is another post.

Back to my dismay, disbelieve and need to burst into laughter. My translator informed me that the GM for the new company could no be hired until five weeks later, because it was “ghost” month, and it would be extremely bad luck for the business to begin operations in this month. I finally gained control over my reactions and asked to make sure I understood. Did you say “ghost”? She reaffirmed, yes! I ask to be excused then went to the bathroom to give my self a few minutes to digest this fact. It would be the first time in my business career that “ghost” got in the way of business.

The significance of this fact is that many people in China believe that this month which begins on the 15th day of the 7th lunar month is not a good month to launch a new business, get married, move your home or business or go swimming. To an American Business man this may seem very nonsensical at first glance, until you realize that you are not in Kansas anymore, this is part of Chinese culture. Of course this is changing and has already at large Chinese corporations additionally not all Chinese subscribe to the believe.

However for us westerners this is a reality that exists and may get in the way of a business deal. It is important to note, that even large corporations in China depend on many small industries to supply components just like the US and it is more likely that these small industries will embrace their cultural believes for many years to come if not forever.

In a future post I will cover my perspective on managing supply chains in China which is  a fairly new topic, and even at the large corporation level personal relationships quite often take precedent over business rules. Every day I am reminded that we are so very differently the same, I have now developed many friends and business associates with whom I can joke about these differences.