Mr. Brotman: In China, businesses are built on networks, or guanxi. Knowing the right intermediary is key.
I imagine you discovered the hard way about the need to focus on relationships.
Mr. Brotman: Japan was the one that really opened up my eyes. I landed after a long trip. The Japanese came to meet me at the airport, graciously took me to the hotel, gave me a half hour and said we’re going for dinner. I thought, wait a second, I just flew across so many time zones. To myself I said, “that’s totally inconsiderate.” But that’s the way they start establishing a relationship. They want to know who you are. Do you have integrity, do you have credibility? Can I trust you? If they don’t relate to these elements, you’ll never be able to do business wherever you go.
I made my presentation in the North American style which is to provide some slides, some facts and figures and conclusions. I saw that their eyes were glazing. Two or three appeared to be sleeping. They work very long hours; very often it takes them two or three hours travelling by bullet train. It didn’t matter that one or two were not fully attentive because the next day they review the presentation.
Then I realized the presentation is just one thing. They want to understand that I am really committed to working with them in the long term. They have a long-term horizon when they do business. In the U.S. and often in Canada, we’re very quarterly focused. What are the revenue and profit figures? You must declare those by law and it affects the share price. Over there they’re really not concerned about that. Let’s have a long-term relationship and see how we develop jointly as organizations.
What other big differences should business people be aware of when they go abroad?
Mr. Brotman: In India you can ask a direct question and they will never say no to you because it’s totally disrespectful to say no. You have to be able to interpret the type of questions they pose so you know if it’s a yes or a no.
Ms. Kearns: We have an unspoken rule: if there’s a problem, give me a head’s up. In China, people don’t feel comfortable with that. People don’t volunteer bad news in China. But you can get it. There has to be that personal relationship. No one is going to fire off an e-mail saying there’s a problem here. It comes out of time spent, sitting around having dinner or having a tea. But it doesn’t come with the precision we’re used to working with in North America.
[Also] It really depends on the country, but women would be smart to research specifically about the country they’re going to. In China a lot of women perceive that women in general are not highly regarded or not involved in business, but the reality is that it’s quite similar to North America – it’s not 50-50 here either but there are a lot of women in senior positions of power in government and politics and corporations. Women going to China to do business will be highly regarded. Women need to take the extra step in all countries of understanding what is acceptable dress. How do I need to dress to demonstrate my stature as a leader in this organization? Often that tends to be more conservative.
In companies where hierarchy is very important, make sure the woman is listed first. Make sure her title clearly designates her role within the group. If she is going over to a country with a delegation make sure she understands the cues that show she is the leader. For instance allowing her to enter the room first and to take the seat of priority at the table.
