A few days ago I co-led a training to a roomful of 20- and 30-something nuclear engineers from China, in the U.S. on a job-shadow program. They had been in the U.S. for about a week. The first thing we had them do, after brief introductions, was, in small groups, to list out on a [...]

A recent post on Dan Harris’s China Law Blog referred back to a 2008 post entitled “Chinese Cultural Awareness Simplified: Don’t Be an Asshole“. As a believer in, and blogger about, the business value of cultural consulting and training, I was intrigued. Essentially the post argues that as long as you avoid being an asshole, [...]

Back from a week of consulting in China. The organization is a new company looking to implement a new model of outsourcing. For many reasons I’m optimistic about the company’s prospects, not least of which is that the leadership combines experience from the Mainland, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the U.S. The multiple perspectives will play [...]

In earlier posts I’ve quoted from Jack Perkowski’s Managing the Dragon: How I’m Building a Billion-Dollar Business in China. I haven’t yet finished the book. I’m enjoying it a lot, because it’s chock full of wisdom for the Westerner who wants to make a go of it in China, and much of what he writes [...]

Today an old friend and I had dinner at a quaint little spot in southeastern Beijing. We talked shop about an American organization we both know well, and some of its latest China moves — and how little sense they make.