Formal v Informal
This month I was a speaker at the annual conference of Educate Plus, an organisation focused on promoting and operating the business of private education, and I told a story of when I organised for a Chinese billionaire and his family to meet the Headmaster of one of Sydney’s most prestigious private schools. Honoured to […]
A View from Ground Level 2019
I spent last week in China as a member of the inaugural CKGSB CEO Study Tour Program where I travelled to 4 cities (Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou and Shenzhen) in only 6 days. During this week, we visited three of China’s biggest and best known companies, Alibaba, Tencent and Fosun, attended lectures from many of China’s […]
Unlocking Business Potential in Asia for the MICE Industry
As I travel around Asia, particularly in China, speaking at, and chairing, large scale Conferences, Events and Expos, I am always struck by the huge sums of money being spent by organisers to put on a big show. Whilst in the western world, people attend conferences based on the quality and relevance of the content […]
The Inbound Opportunity
The movement of capital, people and resources from “inside this circle to outside it” is one of the most confronting and exciting opportunities, challenges and risks of the 21st century and will have an impact on every aspect of our lives. In the long term, this movement creates unprecedented challenges for politicians, economists, historians and […]
Go to Mutianyu!
I would like to tell the story of a very special day I spent recently at Mutianyu Village, just a short drive north of Beijing to the foot of the Great Wall on the first day of the Fitzpatricks China Study Tour in September 2018. Many of my long term followers, and those who have […]
Chinese Millennials: A Key Export Target for Australian SMEs
China’s millennial sector is one of the richest and largest spending groups in the world and Australian businesses need to start focusing on this export market with quality Australian luxury items. Forget stuffed kangaroos and shiny boomerangs, China’s millennials want luxury personal items that they can wear, show off and enjoy. Chinese millennials are different […]
China in 2018 – the view from ground level
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 […]
The Numbers Game
It’s quite common in the western world to regard marketing as simply a “numbers game” In other words, if you contact 1,000 people (perhaps by email) with an offer of some kind, you might get a 10% response rate, meaning that 100 people may be willing to engage with you in an individual phone call […]
The Art of Negotiation – Price v Value
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 […]
Build ‘Relationships’ Not ‘Transactions’
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 […]