China Business Speaker & Expert
I have just concluded a short visit to Guangzhou in China to meet with our local business partners and a diverse and supportive group of local entrepreneurs and investors. Here follows a summary of some of the views expressed on a range of issues of interest to us. I have refrained from adding my own personal views at this stage ...
It’s amazing how many people tell me that they don’t like negotiating when, in practice, they do it all the time. They negotiate with their parents for extra pocket money or to stay out late, they negotiate with their boss for extra leave or a pay rise, and they negotiate with landlords over their rent or with buyers when ...
Those of us who do business with Asians understand that, in order to gain the trust of an Asian investor or buyer from which a business relationship can flourish you need to invest in building relationships first before proceeding to any type of deal or transaction. In order to build that relationship you need some kind of ...
In today’s fast paced world of instant communication, short deadlines, e-mail, text, online chat, social media, speed networking and deal-making, I think we can all agree that the old fashioned art of relationship-building has been somewhat diminished in its importance, if not lost altogether? It wasn’t always this way. When ...
There is a story about a traveller who found that, in order to be welcomed into an eastern family, he would be asked to take three cups of tea. The first cup was taken as a stranger, the second cup as a friend and, if he was offered a third cup, he would then become part of their family. A place where trust was given freely and ...
It is said that, during President Nixon's visit to Beijing in 1972, the Chinese premier, Zhou Enlai, was famously asked for his view of the impact of the French Revolution. Zhou remarked that it was 'too early to say', a quote which is often used to emphasise the differences between China and the western world when it comes to ...
