Don Bryant shares his impressions of Chinese culture, the lessons he's learned doing business here and the value of making connections with Chinese counterparts.
I work for Michael's Stores as a Supplier Optimization Manager and I was one of the first few sourcing managers hired by the company.
During my time at Michael's, as well as during my previous careers at JC Penney and in the golf business, I've worked with many Chinese business partners.
The first, and most important, thing to learn about the Chinese is the meaning of guanxi . In English, this roughly translates as "relationships". Whether the relationship lasts for a few minutes or a lifetime, it is the foundation upon which all other interactions are built. Without guanxi, it is diffcult to move forward on any level. Relationships are extremely important, not only as Westerners dealing with Chinese, but even more so in Chinese people dealing with each other. Many businesses rely on, and function based on both simple and complex networks of relationships between producers, suppliers, relatives and friends.
Chinese people are often very eager to please, sometimes to a fault. This means that, sometimes in business, "yes" can actually mean "no". They may use phrases such as "no problem" or "we will try" when, in fact, your request may be very difficult, if not impossible, to carry out. If you can't recognize the differences between a solid "yes" and the subtle clues that may actually mean "no", you may fail in your business venture. In fact, your request may never have had any chance of success at all.
When communicating business needs, I've found it's always better to use pictures, rather then words, to get your point across. And to avoid confusion, be as clear, direct and to the point as possible.
Chinese people generally divulge little about private matters at first meeting, and may appear very guarded. But as your relationship develops and grows, they're willing, sometimes even anxious, to share their thoughts, and they're curious to learn more about you. They're very proud of their heritage. One of the first things they will always tell you is the location of their hometown and and what that area is 'famous' for. I've gathered much information from conversations that begin like this.
There's a famous saying that goes, "If you travel to China once, you write a book. If you travel there twice, you write a paragraph. If you travel there a third time, you'll write nothing." While this seems counterintuitive at first, for me it not only describes my experiences in China but with Chinese people as well. The first meeting with people in China is full of uncertainty and newness but there is much to tell after you return. The next visit is more familiar, as you begin to get accustomed to the many differences from Western life, but afterwards you still have something to share. By the third time (and all times after), you've already adjusted and know what to expect, so there's a sense of familiarity.
Beneath the Surface
But however familiar it may seem, there's always opportunities to learn something new when interacting with Chinese people, as well as opportunities to teach. Food and travel are favorite subjects. Like America, most people in China have not traveled outside of their own country, and are very curious about the outside world. The impressions they have of the West, and those we have of the East, are often quite different from reality. One of the most interesting things for me about China is that the new and the old often still exist side-byside. This is also refiected in the people – although Western culture is becoming increasingly prevalent in China, most Chinese people are pretty good at balancing their own traditional culture with new, imported ones. This is evident in every part of their daily lives.
"Everything in China is a production" – I make this statement to everyone I talk to about China. From an outside point of view, very little is "simple" in China. Everything from ordering lunch to negotiating costs to talking about how a factory is managed is a complex process that requires patience and perseverance to work through all the details.
Some things that appear to us to be simple issues with simple solutions may actually be very complex and involved. Learning to work completely and thoroughly through an issue, rather then just working on the surface, is crucial to doing business well here.
When I'm asked about my travels to China, and my impressions of Chinese people, I usually respond that after all these years I'm still learning. I don't think I'll ever have a complete understanding of the Chinese, nor will they ever have a complete understanding of my world, and that's OK. Our cultures may be very different, but the reward is in finding the similarities that make us in many ways the same.
