It was a rainy weekend. I was alone in my hotel room in Guangzhou, looking down on the sodden streets below. Nowhere to be and a lot on my mind.
I'd been thinking about the concept for years. Every meeting that went nowhere, every western executive frustrated that no one wanted to talk business. It was all pointing at the same thing. Across Asia, people don't separate the relationship from the deal. They never have.
I ordered room service and started writing.
The idea was simple. Before you can do business here, you have to earn it. Three cups of tea. A stranger becomes a friend. A friend becomes family. Only then does the deal happen. If it happens at all.
I first saw it clearly in China. But I've since watched it play out the same way from Manila to Cebu, Hong Kong to Ho Chi Minh City. The language changes. The food changes. The patience required doesn't.
The book is free. It's my best thinking, unfiltered. I'd love you to read it.
Download it here: www.davidthomas.asia/ebooks/3-cups-of-tea
PS What's your three cups of tea story? Connect with me on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/davidthomas-asia/
