China - An Agenda For Success

Greetings! It is Monday in Shanghai, China….and I am enjoying both the ancient and magnificent new sites of an amazing country full of great anticipation for the future....a country that has decided to strategically plan to work together to build great cities, develop responsible communities, and improve the standard of living for their people.

The beautiful lacquered doors of China have been flung open and the world is invited to see the wonders of an exhilarating society in full bloom. Mao said, 'What the west has, China will have. And what the west does not have, China will also have.' Watch out westerners…they mean it. This country is buzzing with entrepreneurialism and positive forward movement.

How refreshing - Chinese newspapers are full of encouragement - stories of new business, new collaborations, new ideas for social change for the betterment of society, excitement over the impending Olympics in 2008, and fresh ideas to create growth and stimulation across China. No dwelling on negatives and spilt milk in this country – only the success of the nation. And so the ball keeps moving forward while growing stronger with the encouragement of the press.

It’s a time of momentous and phenomenal changes in China. After 2 decades, China has reinvented its economy to find new prosperity. In this short time, the people have learned not to rely on the state any more for sustenance and support. No whining either – they’re proud of their new autonomy and it’s an honor to have a job. The people have high hopes and display great ambition.

This fast-moving contemporary China has not forgotten the timeless cultural heritage of the country. Rich traditions are being preserved while the country marches fearlessly into the future. After 5,000 years of civilization, a new urban culture has evolved. And with it, a new generation of talented, liberal and open minded youth who, mixed with a plethora of colorful foreigners, share and discuss a worldly view of global affairs in China’s great international cities. Common concerns for humanity, the environment, world peace, and global partnerships are discussed openly in every corner of the country.

China’s economic agenda is to quadruple the 2002 gross domestic product by 2020 - and to do a good job managing the emerging society through intense strategic planning. Can you imagine managing a booming society that numbers over 1.3 billion people?

China's astonishing diversity is not a hindrance. While the country boasts 56 diverse ethnic groups, written script is actually pretty uniform throughout China. Many groups have their own language, although Mandarin is the dialect usually taught in the education system. The Reading the newspaper can be successful with just knowledge of about 1000 of the 50,000 Chinese characters in their dictionary.

Education. The China Daily Newspaper put it this way today. “The drive to build a harmonious society will not be achieved simply by continually expanding the economy – not even by balancing income distribution among different social groups. A factor that is often ignored, but is ultimately crucial for achieving that noble end, is the quality of education.” Just like the US, China is struggling to understand the best way to financially provide education for their youth, knowing as we do that education is the key to almost everything.

It has been a long march in the last few years for this noble and ancient land. And, it has been amazing watching their resilience and quick action. The ability to work fast - to analyze a situation, quickly come up with ideas to solve the it, try it out, and if it doesn’t work, quickly come up with another option, and so on until a viable method is developed. Bureaucracy doesn’t seem to slow things down here in China.

In contrast, the innovation that was so relevant in the development of the USA is not as spontaneous anymore. Mind you, it’s not just the US – most western cultures are suffering from dragging their feet.

You might ask – why is this and why are changes in the west taking so long? When we are losing our edge and so much is at stake, why are we procrastinating? The answer does not take rocket science to figure out. Changes can come slowly when there is internal resistance to change, when there is fear of change, when there are disputes, and when there is rigidity and competitiveness between rivals who cannot agree.

When people are flexible and open to new ideas – change can come fast. There is a word I have learned in China – its ‘guanxi’ – and it means ‘trusting relationship’. We need to build ‘guanxi’ in business rather than doing business with an eye on impending litigation. It’s all about the people – the cultural relationships and sensitivity that make trusting relationships. Throw in mutual respect and honor and you have success.

The Chinese team seems to be successful because everyone is on the same page. I believe that we can do this too.