»November 30, 2009: Selecting a Vendor In China
When choosing a vendor in China, be careful of the best or the worst in the market. Both of these have drawbacks, but for different reasons. I’ve found the best-in-breed has the tendency to be complacent to the point that customer service takes a back seat. While the lowest-price options are seriously lacking in quality. Warning: anecdotal evidence! This is by no means the scientifically ... ... (MORE)
»November 9, 2009: Management (R)Evolution - In China
Will the next great step in management science come from China? That was the question posed to me by a friend of mine during a recent conversation. The friend, a seasoned manager currently in China doing field work for his PhD at Penn, was wondering if the Chinese had it in them to make the next great contribution to management. He brought up previous historic changes in management approaches t... ... (MORE)
»October 19, 2009: Insourcing Creativity - to China?
A lot has been said about the lack of creativity in China. Great imitators, but poor innovators. But that is changing as the trend is that more and more companies take the leap of placing creative functions on the mainland. Microsoft surprised some ten years ago by opening a major R&D center in Beijing, headed at the time by Lee Kaifu, who recently left his subsequent job at Google China t... ... (MORE)
»October 5, 2009: Sell the Steak, Not the Sizzle In China
Does the end justify the means? Well, I’m not about to get into philosophical questions like that, but I will pass along a little tid bit about the China market that came up in conversation recently. A colleague and I were talking about the management training industry in China, and his comment illustrated a good point. He mentioned that the market focuses on the results, not the process... ... (MORE)
»September 7, 2009: Read this (other) blog from China
Professor Patrick Chovanec is beginning his second year on the faculty here at Tsinghua University in Beijing. His tenure might yet be brief, but he is quickly becoming a student favorite. When I took his Doing Business in America course last fall many asked me why, as an American, I was taking the class at all. Actually I ended up learning a lot about my own country’s business landscape ... ... (MORE)
)»August 3, 2009: A HIP Graduation - In China
Tsinghua University my have just been presented with its very own version of an MBA Oath. More of a handy acronym than an oath, it still offers that guiding voice which graduates can choose to follow. Our ‘oath’ was offered up by Professor David Robb during his speech at the recent Tsinghua 2009 MBA graduation ceremony. Dr. Robb, originally from New Zealand, teaches operations mana... ... (MORE)
»June 22, 2009: Closing a Deal In China
Some of the best advice I got about business in China I did not learn in class. Instead, it was over coffee with a friend. To add context, my friend is from the US and has been in China since the early 90s. Also, he started a successful internet advertising company that has since gone through multiple rounds of funding totaling in the millions of dollars. Currently he still acts as chairman of ... ... (MORE)
»May 25, 2009: Job Interview Prep in China
I recently had a phone interview that I felt was indicative of the times in which we live now. More specifically, it was how I had gone about preparing for it that was interesting. Let me share with you the details. The interview was with a Fortune 100 company based in California which is setting up operations in China for a new business unit. The position I was interviewing for was for a regi... ... (MORE)
»April 27, 2009: Kung Fu Lessons and the Network Effect - in China
During a recent visit to the Shaolin Temple I once again experienced the pros and cons of the network effect in China. For those not in the know, Shaolin Temple is one of the birthplaces of Chinese kung fu. It is still an active Buddhist temple with several martial arts schools just outside the temple grounds. At the mid-semseter break in classes I took a trip there to recharge my batteries by ... ... (MORE)
»April 13, 2009: No Red Lights - in China
There is a major intersection of the 2nd Ring Road here in Beijing that I think offers a great example of what life, and doing business, is like in China. One of the directions has no red lights, only green. The other direction, however, has a fully functioning traffic light, with red, yellow, and green lights. While traveling in the former direction one must be very careful, the only two situa... ... (MORE)
