 
ASIAN
VALUES: INDIVIDUALITY
vs HOMOGENEOUS
My Joy Luck friend Colleen who worked at
China Central Television in Beijing tells of a time when friends were playing a
game whose objective was for the contestant to fill in the blank to complete a
sentence. The sentence was: "I went to a dance the other
night. When I walked in and saw someone wearing the same dress as me, I
felt so ( fill-in-blank) "The westerner responded with
words like 'humiliation' and 'awful'. The West celebrates individuality.
The Chinese responded with words associated with 'proud'. Proud to fit in
with the trend. Asians revere homogenous harmony.
How does one extract the best of East
and West? In business, I found that by learning the "system" in
the playing fields of Hong Kong and Singapore, I could play the
"system" within the rules but use my western trained management
approach.
Do not be afraid in foreign territory.
Through my friend Winston in Hong Kong I found the hoped for real estate jewel
in high end luxury single family residences in an unfamiliar territory which we
eventually code named 'Tycoon Village'. The property was coveted by many and
had been neglected since the '80's. After much sleuthing, I
eventually figured out that the property could not be sold since the deceased
had three wives the estate was complicated. One of my most satisfying
moments in my entire career was when I was contacted in Toronto where I was
developing 500,000 square feet on the waterfront to hear that the offer to
purchase I had submitted on that estate in Hong Kong was accepted by all
parties. My methodical western training of Company Search contacting all
15 beneficiaries of the estate in advance allowed me a conquest in foreign
territory. Approach is key. Learn to use the system.
t matters not that one has all key
information. The key is being organized to access the most relevant
information instantaneously. With the net nowadays, anything
is possible again.
Study the "system" to
determine acceptable practice, manners etc. on a local level. The
strategy for success is think local but act global. In the west there is
lots of information available publicly. The advantage is knowing how to
access this information. Those who control the information for decision
making in business have power. In "systems", in both east and
west, assume that your competition will access the best professionals to make
the Best decision. One doesn't have to know all the answers but simply to
know where to go to get answers quickly. This is key to 'bust' the
system. Be sensitive to what constitutes "taste" so opinions
are not judgmental. Good taste depends on definition within the context
of the local environment. Think global; act local.
- by Andrea
Eng
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