Want help to grow your business? Download Brin, the world's first business advisor in your pocket. To find out more, visit brin.ai or search the App Store today. Music Hi, welcome to the latest issue of Think Global China Edition.
And with me today, I'm David Thomas. With me today, we have my friends Charlotte Oberg and Katia... Dobinson welcome thank you now today we're going to talk about Chinese culture how Chinese people like doing business some of the cultural aspects that we need to pay attention to here's what we're going to cover we're going to talk about cultural intelligence and why it matters we'll look at a quick lesson in Chinese culture around symbols superstitions and traditions some of the key cultural differences to remember when you're doing business with China including hierarchy communication shame and guilt, some of the long and short-term issues.
And finally, we're going to look at some major do's and don'ts of doing business in China around culture. So let's just start, Lotta, with cultural intelligence. What is cultural intelligence?
Why is it important? What does it mean and why is it important? Sure. Cultural intelligence is essentially your ability to navigate different cultural contexts. So we're all playing the social game every day.
you know we socialize we negotiate we get managed we communicate and when we do it in our own cultural context well then we know how to do that you know on autopilot but when we change culture change cultural context some of the rules for that social game changes and then some of what we do gets lost in translation it's not as effective sometimes it's completely counterproductive so we know this from research we know this from experience but essentially everybody who does business across cultures need three things they need knowledge they need motivation and they need skills so that knowledge is what you're talking about those things that are the unwritten rules for the social game it is something we got to switch our radar on to the motivation should be clear if you want to do business with china but you got to motivate yourself every day and try that much harder. And the skills is something that you develop by trial and error. So I think we look forward to sharing some of the examples of success and some of the examples where things haven't gone quite as well. And why does this matter, Katia? Why does culture matter, cultural differences?
Why does it matter? I think it matters because, you know, in business dealings, culture is actually a really critical factor in business dealings. And it can actually be the reason for your business deal to fail.
It can't, you know, it may... may not necessarily be because of the content of that deal. It's because you weren't able to understand where the other business partner was coming from. You know, you don't understand their frame of mind, their views, their culture.
So I think, you know, it's not just understanding their culture, but it's also understanding your own culture and how that differs to theirs. Yeah. So give us an example of this. So it... It's one thing to understand culture and the cultural differences, but I suppose you've got to be motivated to do something about that.
Totally, yes. I mean, I think it's interesting. Sometimes people tend to think culture is just the icing on the cake. It's just that little extra bit you do, you hand over the business card in a nice way. You know how to say hello in Chinese and Mandarin and Cantonese.
But the thing is that when it comes to culture, it's the deep stuff that matters the most. So maybe you will do that business card handover with your two hands and you do it really well. But maybe you fail to pay attention to issues like face and how to navigate hierarchy. Maybe you lose face in a situation.
And you yourself culturally don't care much about that. But your counterparts do. You're Chinese. his counterparts.
And suddenly the deal doesn't go ahead and we see it time and time again, don't we? So that's, I think, how culture matters. And you don't, well, you might win some points, you know, by showing that you've understood something about culture, but your actions must really show that you've entered their world. Good.
Okay. Well, let's try and break this down a bit. So Confucianism is a big part of Chinese culture. So how does that play out in terms of business dealings and cross-cultural differences?
Yeah. Confucius was very concerned about social stability. So, you know, in ancient times, without going too deeply into history, Confucius was setting out rules for the roles that we all play. And those rules at the time, they were, you know, ruler and subject, teacher and student, you know, father and son, etc.
And maybe if you ask Chinese people today, you know, what does Confucius mean, you get many different answers. But whether we think about Confucius or not, those principles still apply. And underneath those principles are virtues, like humility, like respect, like harmony. So that plays out every day. And now we may not be talking about ruler and subject.
We might be talking about client and provider. Or we might be talking about manager and the person being managed. And they play out so that you have to pay a lot of attention, for example, to hierarchy.
Would you agree? I agree. I definitely agree.
Hierarchy, in particular filial piety, so respect for your father, respect for elders, is a... cornerstone of Confucius beliefs and you know that has it may not be filial piety anymore but that respect for elder respect for someone higher than you in the hierarchical chain is still very relevant Confucius belief today and we see it in organizations and businesses in in china they're very structured they're very um you have a clear director boss or chairman then you have you know very clear second in charge third in charge underlings and um everyone in the company respects that hierarchy no one will really try and you know overstep their position yeah i suppose when we're talking about culture we all have a different culture i'm actually british You're British by birth, Charlotte, you're Swedish, and Katya's Australian. So, when we talk about culture, we all have certain cultural traits, I suppose, based on where we started.
Is that right? Because you teach cultural intelligence all the time. I do. What does it mean? Well, like Katya said, you've got to understand your own culture and your own cultural hardwiring, and that's hard.
Because our own culture tends to hide from us. Right. in the interaction with people from different cultures that you realize, oh, what I thought was common sense wasn't quite as common as I thought.
And in some cultures, many Western cultures, when we take initiative and we speak up in a meeting, we think, oh, good, that's initiative. Whereas like Katja just described, in a hierarchical culture, that's seen as stepping outside of your role and being disrespectful to those people who are higher in the hierarchy, who have the wisdom, who you should be listening to instead. Sure, have ideas and opinions, but just wait to express those. So the trickiest thing of all, the first thing you need to understand when it comes to culture, is your own culture.
Your own cultural hardwiring and how it impacts the way you see the world. And that has to do with, again, hierarchy, sense of obligation, individuals in a group. Yeah.
I always think that culture in China has Confucianism as its kind of framework, but family and the importance of family. is another key aspect to it. Do you want to say something about that? Yeah, well, the first thing that comes to mind for me, I mean, the family is this tight-knit unit that you expect to be loyal to throughout your life and to heed advice from the elders throughout your life. And you have obligations to your family.
So I see a lot of people, a lot of Chinese people who succeed. And the first thing they do is that money goes to family. That time and the money goes to family. And that's not just a choice which we can all make across cultures. but it is an obligation.
And if they fail that obligation, they've been seen as less virtuous. So, you know, their status goes down in that society. Would you agree? Yeah, I definitely agree.
Chinese culture, they have a belief that people are born connected rather than born equal. So that differs from Western mindset where we say, you know, we're all born equal. Being born connected differs from that because there is a very strong sense of your position in your family, in your...
greater family in your friendship circle, in your society, in your country, in your business. But being born equal is that we all come from a level playing field, but then we can move around. There's no sense of being connected in that group.
So I think that's a, you know, it comes from that belief in family. Sorry, the connections with your family. And the family is that first cultural group. And then you expand that to include, you know, the business partners.
the friends can become part of your family network. But that takes a long time. And I know that we keep hearing that Chinese build relationships and that's really important.
And I think people nod and go, yes, yes, I know relationship. But I don't think we know the magnitude of the relationship and the importance of family as a cornerstone in that. Yeah, so let's talk a bit more about hierarchy and the importance of that. that relates to Confucius and family, these sort of hierarchical elements.
How does that translate into doing business in China? Well, so you know that you have a special role to play, you know, in any context. So you talked about family, but then you're in business, you're in organizations.
So there you are, you have a certain place in the hierarchy. Now, what happens, I think, in a lot of international business dealings is that we think, well, I'll just go and talk to the person who knows stuff. It doesn't matter whether they're in the hierarchy so much as what they know.
Well, when you do business with China, err on the other side, which is talk to the same level person. Go to the right level of hierarchy. And that, I think, is the mistake we see made time and time again.
Even if you have a business meeting and you address... a question and you're thinking, hey, I've dealt with this person before. I know they know this. I'll ask the question for this person.
But they're not the right hierarchy level to engage with. You need to ask the person highest in the hierarchy, perhaps, or at the same level as you. I agree, definitely.
And also, you know, when it comes to the actual business meeting itself, you actually need to be taking your cues from the person who's in the position of power. So, you know... as simple as it sounds, waiting for them to sit down first before you sit down, it may seem like a no-brainer, but it's considered very important.
And if you don't respect that, that's actually quite rude. Also, Chinese people have a lot of business meetings over meals, over lunch or dinner. And even where you sit in the table is considered very important. The person who is the most important should sit facing the door and then the rest should sort of... span out around that.
But if you sit in the boss's seat, that's a no-no. The hierarchy does impact all those things. Like you say, where you sit, who gets to talk first?
Who steps into the elevator first? Who should you engage with first? And so we see a lot of people sometimes getting into, top level goes to meanings together, and they have to connect first, but then all the other work is done at the other hierarchy levels.
Yeah, this is quite a challenge in the Western world, because... Generally, we're pretty egalitarian these days. Whereas Asia and China in particular, very hierarchical. And that's a whole new way of thinking, which is quite alien to us now. Exactly.
And if you want to think about what hierarchy looks like, we all know that there's a hierarchical pyramid. But in the Western world, it tends to be a bit squashed. Especially in the English-speaking Western world. But in the Chinese and Chinese-speaking world, it's pointy.
And you want to... Instead of trying to minimize hierarchy difference as we do in the Western world, by getting informal and relaxing and calling you by your first name and sitting in any seat, we want to keep those hierarchy differences because that is respect to people that we do business with in China. Let's talk about this concept of face.
It often comes up. Why is that so important? What does it mean, face, in this context?
How do you give face? How do you lose face? Why is face so important? To continue enjoying this presentation, download Brin, the world's first business advisor in your pocket.
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