Getting Picked-up at The Airport #2 January 5, 2009
Posted by jasonbarber in Business Culture, Culture, Doing Business In China, Strategy.add a comment
In my experience getting picked-up at the airport in a foreign place (remember that to me Miami, Florida is far more foreign than any random city in China) has almost always been for business. (Although not always the case.) I have learned that it is becoming more and more the case that price and performance are more or less equal and relationships are what trump in the end. Corporate Alliance has shown me how true this philosophy is.
I meet with a lot of companies, mainly in China and Taiwan, and for the most part they are incredibly hospitable. But sometimes one is far superior to another and leads me to ask the question: is it really a hard choice when choosing between two companies when company A) accompanies their driver to pick you up at the airport, takes you to your hotel to check in and have lunch, takes you to the factory to visit and do your business, then takes you back to the hotel to rest before taking you back out to dinner with their family and other important business partners. On the other hand, company B) tells you their Chinese locations address in English over the phone (pretty much worthless. No, actually completely worthless) so you can find a taxi yourself. Then tell you to stop by to visit whenever you want but not during lunch time, or not too early, or too late because that is inconvenient. Both companies want your business, but guess which one almost always wins out? Not too difficult. When extending hospitality to your own clients or prospective clients, do make sure that your warmth and friendship are genuine. If not you will cause more harm to the relationship then good.
When it comes to building guanxi (relationships) with a new company, existing partner, manufacturer or any type of partner, don’t underestimate the power of picking someone up at the airport. If you think treating your clients this way is not worth the hassle, investment or time, ignore this post at your own risk. Oh, and please don’t do business with me.
Getting Picked-up At The Airport Part #1 January 3, 2009
Posted by jasonbarber in Business Culture, Culture, Doing Business In China.add a comment
There is something special about being picked up at the airport when you are visiting a foreign country. Even visiting a foreign state or city in your home country, it sure is nice to have someone pick you up. In reality it is not hard to get a taxi and have them take you to your hotel yourself, but it sure is a nice feeling to have someone waiting at the curb. It may not be the airport. Maybe it’s the hotel, or the subway or train station. Wherever you may be the idea is the same. The feeling is that “you care enough about me to take time out of your day, or to send you driver and your car to pick me up.” There is a feeling of friendship even before you really get to know the other person or organization. The Chinese are some of the most hospitable people on the face of the planet and I have certainly learned a lot about how to treat other people, especially strangers, from my interactions with them.
In the end we are all human and no matter what country we are from we all want to feel that some one cares. They don’t teach you in school how to make people feel accepted or how to make friends, we learn those things on our own. I have found that when doing business with people remember the golden rule, “do unto others as you would have them do to you,” and you will not only be a happier person, but you will be much more successful in life, relationships and business.
China Craziness Therapy January 2, 2009
Posted by jasonbarber in China, Culture, Personal.add a comment
The craziness of China used to bother me. I grew-up in a small town on the Oregon coast so it was a foreign experience. The busy streets, the crazy drivers, the sometimes strange smells and the ever present cloud of pollution were too much all at once. But my feelings have slowly begun to change. A couple weeks ago I was walking around Futian district in Shenzhen city with an afternoon to waste and I felt completely at peace. I might mention that I was in the Electronics City area and there were tens of thousands of people and cars scurrying about.
It was then when I realized that the craziness and lack of order had almost become soothing and therapeutic. I realize that this probably has a lot to do with my personality than anything else but I don’t think I am “too” different then most people out there.
The client I was in Shenzhen with was in China for his first time. Throughout the week he mentioned a few times that China was like the “Wild West,” and if you have been to China and have felt the energy and seen the craziness you would probably agree.
The only example that I can think of to compare my own feelings to the crazy, yet soothing nature of China is the similar feeling to when you go to class and the teacher doesn’t show up so you and the rest of the students are off to run free! China has the vibrancy of a whole country of students skipping class and doing what they want, not necessarily within the confines of logic or order, but they are most all motivated to make money and do good. It is kind of nice.
5 Bloggers That Really Know China January 1, 2009
Posted by jasonbarber in Blogroll.3 comments
I read a few blogs on China that are absolutely terrible, these 5 are not those blogs. In fact these 5 blogs I greatly respect and would encourage anybody that really wants to know what is going on in China to read regularly.
Happy “Western” New Year January 1, 2009
Posted by jasonbarber in Culture, Personal.add a comment
I try to hide my “stupid American person face” when I tell my Chinese friends and acquaintances about celebrating New Year here in the states and see their blank faced responses. Please forgive my ignorance but I didn’t know New Year was a Western secret. I mean it happens once a year when the NEW YEAR STARTS!!! How hard of a concept is that? (I may be cynically exaggerating just a little) Well back to my American ignorance:
Chinese don’t care about January 1st New Year. (Okay, they do, just not near as much as we do.) They have a much cooler late January-February two week long Christmas long New Years party. And get this, they don’t even bother with presents most of the time forgoing them with straight-up cash. Chinese New Year is coming-up starting on January 26. (Abnormally early this year!)
But for the rest of us HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! I say celebrate them all. I hope this year brings you hapiness, peace, love and rock and roll.
Taiwan and China Cross Strait Flights Are a Reality December 31, 2008
Posted by jasonbarber in China, Culture, Taiwan.1 comment so far
Direct daily flights have been a reality between China and Taiwan for a couple weeks now. To all the geography buffs out there, or anyone familiar with a world map, you might think that is ludicrous that these two countries are JUST NOW beginning direct flights. Taiwan and China are about as close to each other as possible. In fact I think I heard somewhere that Jianming Wang of the New York Yankees once threw a baseball from Taiwan and hit the mainland.
Despite these two countries being so close to one another they have actually been without direct flights since 1949 when the Nationalist party left the mainland for Taiwan. (Correct me if my history is off.)
That would be comparable to flying from New York only to have to land in Las Vegas, go through customs with a visa just to get on a plane to enter California. Makes no sense. Although those of you who have had to fly from the west coast to Chicago or Minneapolis only to get on a plane heading back to Japan and then onto Taiwan or China might not think that all too crazy. (If you got lost in the last sentence grab a map and connect the dots and it will all make sense.)
There are a lot of reasons that direct travel and looser travel restrictions make a lot of sense for both sides, here are a few:
- There are over 1 million Taiwanese living on the mainland. Over 300,000 in Shanghai alone. *See note below
- Other than the US, Taiwan invests more in China than any other country in the world. Yet they don’t have direct travel access to and from.
- Mainland Chinese have a lot of money and they would love to visit Taiwan both as visitors as well as potential investors to spend their money, but it is currently incredibly difficult. Great tourism and investment opportunity for Taiwan.
- In reverse, Taiwanese have a lot of money and would love to be able to visit China as tourists and investors, as well as to look into their history and ancestry, and spend their money, but it is a big hassle right now.
- The simplest and probably most important reason is that both nations are historically Chinese. They are playing the childish game of drawing and imaginary line through he middle of a shared bedroom and forbidding the other to cross even though they are essentially brother/sisters from the same family.
It is also important to note that direct mail service and cargo flights as well as ocean freighter cargo ships have begun regular direct service. Sea voyages are now expected to take four days, according to the state-run newspaper China Daily, about half the time of previous indirect routes.
In July, Chinese citizens were finally allowed to visit Taiwan as tourists. Before then, only Chinese citizens who were permanent residents of a foreign country or those with special permission for business or cultural exchanges could visit the island.
*The president of China Airlines, Taiwan’s largest carrier, was quoted by Bloomberg News last month as saying that the number of mainland travelers flying to the island could reach one million by 2010, up from about 300,000 last year.
If you have any cool Asia travel experiences I would love to hear them.
What is wrong with America December 29, 2008
Posted by jasonbarber in Uncategorized.add a comment
Thomas Friedman is a really smart guy. Or at least he has the guts to say what a lot of other smart people are thinking but don’t dare publish with heir name on it. Ever since I read “The World is Flat” I have always been incredibly impressed and fascinated with his opinions and insights on the world.
On Christmas day I was reading on www.nytimes.com and was sure to check out his latest post, “Time to Reboot America.” Great post. I think that it rings incredibly true with a lot of what I have seen in my limited life experiences. The premise of the article is that the US is falling behind. Or no, the US HAS fallen far behind the world in certain areas, mainly infrastructure and educational investment.
I am always amazed when I am in Asia that although much of it is clearly third world, certain things like subways, trains, bridges and roads are far nicer than anything I have ever seen in the states 10X over.
China Admits Flaws in School Construction December 28, 2008
Posted by jasonbarber in Uncategorized.add a comment
This piece of news is very sad and it brought back a strong memory.
I lived in Taiwan two years after the terrible September 21 Earthquake of 1999. I lived in Nantou, a larger city located only miles away from the epicenter of the monstrous quake. I remember people re-telling their experiences and grief caused by the traumatic experience. A lot of people were effected, but one story theme that I heard multiple times left an extra deep impression. In the Nantou suburb of Puli City, where the epicenter was located, a lot of buildings, including a school collapsed. What makes the news especially sad is that many of them should not have fallen. During the post earthquake damamge inspection it was found that the builder filled cement pillars that were supposed to be filled with cement and re-bar, with empty paint cans and buckets. He did this to save a little money on cement, and besides, who would ever know? How would they know? Unfortunately the only way for this evil building practice to come to light was for the building to collapse in an earthquake. People died because of the greed of one man, or one company. This man was punished and an embarrassed Taiwanese government spent a fortune testing and inspecting thousands of suspect buildings.
Then in 2008 it happened again. Only this time across the strait in China, and this time over 90,000 people died. Granted not all because of faulty building practices, but no one doubts that this was a culprit in many cases. Yesterday the Chinese government admitted that indeed faulty business practices were used in the Sichuan province where the earthquake hit. The Chinese government rarely ever admits guilt. There was a lot of pressure domestically this time around. Mainly thousands of grieving parents.
An article I just read yesterday on www.nytimes.com said, “The Ministry of Education report is a rare government admission of substandard school construction. The issue has been a delicate one since the earthquake, which killed 88,000 people, many of them children crushed in shoddily built schools.”
An estimated 14,000 schools were damaged in the earthquake in the Sichuan province and unofficial reports estimate that as many as 10,000 students died from the earthquake. In Yunnan province (South of Sichuan) government officials estimated that approximately 20% of grade schools are structurally unsound. (Remember that Chinese statistics are notoriously high or low depending on whether or not they make China look good or bad.)
Every time something like this happens people ask me what I think of the Chinese government. So here is my answer again: China has a lot of room for improvement. They need to try harder in a lot of areas (but so do all countries) and should not be let-off-the hook in cases like this. However, they should also not be thrown under the bus.
Read the www.nytimes.com article here
Taiwan and China = “frenemies” December 27, 2008
Posted by jasonbarber in Uncategorized.add a comment
I think that this is a great word to describe China and Taiwan’s recent relationship development. “frenemies”
According to Forbes.com the two countries have “become more closely aligned economically, huddling together to ward off the chill of global recession.” Really it makes a lot of sense. The two countries are neighbors, they are both filled with Chinese speaking Chinese people and are incredibly tied when it comes to their economies, yet they put up a “front” of condescending hate and resentment. Propaganda can do a lot of harm.
The highlights of recent talks between the Taiwanese government and the mainland Chinese Beijing government are as follows:
- China said it would expand loans to Taiwanese companies operating on the mainland
- Open its doors wider to Taiwanese financial services firms
- Buy more liquid crystal displays from Taiwan
The changes are part of a 10-point proposal that will serve as the blueprint for a formal memorandum of understanding between the two governments that is expected to be inked early next year. I personally think that is is extremely important for both sides economically, and politically.
This new found cooperation has it’s root in Taiwan’s presidential decision in the past election of Ma Ying-jeou. I can’t imagine Chen Shui-bian buddying-up with China. He was too busy inciting frustration from Beijing’s government as well as just about every other government on the planet. Oh, that and embezzling money in the way of Sogo gift certificates.
Source: Forbes.com
If China Has So Much Money, Why are They So Poor? December 26, 2008
Posted by jasonbarber in China, China Government, Culture.add a comment
A lot of people say “if the Chinese government really has so much money then why don’t they balance the scales and eliminate poverty.” That sounds nice, but I think people don’t realize just how big China is. There are 1.3 billion people AT LEAST in China. Most are poor by most any countries standards. Unless the government has 100 trillion dollars more than they are saying, they are much more powerless to “fix” the status-as people think.
The average monthly welfare check in the US is equal to about half of the annual Chinese GDP per-capita. Remember that most welfare recipients in the US are far from leaping with joy because of their good fortune in being “able” to receive welfare. These are our poor, not the average. The income gap and standard of living gap between USA and China are staggering. Poor people in the US receive far more in the ways of welfare then the “average” person makes in China. Of course things cost a lot more in the States. This situation is a lot more complicated then I am making it. But China is massive.
China will need a lot more time and people are going to have to be patient.
