ChinesePod was my first job out of university 6 years ago. It has turned out to be a deeply fulfilling role both professionally and personally. I went from a happy-go-lucky 22 year-old to a mother and entrepreneur approaching her 30′s. Thanks to filmmakersJoanna Wong, Van and Weiwei, the ChinesePod story was told in this incredibly authentic, inspiring and cute (?!) piece. Enjoy!
Why is there no Canadian strategy on Mandarin? from Asia Pacific Video on Vimeo.
The two weeks leading up to Chinese New Year are marked by excessive feasting and drinking between colleagues and friends in China. It is an important social duty that puts one’s drinking ability into serious test. I was at such a dinner recently where a friend was barely holding his liquor, but insisted on drinking until he collapsed. He even proudly announced that his body can collapse, but his dignity can’t. This is the essence of China’s drinking culture.
Destructive drinking isn’t really a college thing here as it is an indispensable social ritual among mature, grown up men. They drink not for the thrill of getting wasted, but to show that they are trustworthy and upright. Yes, drinking excessively is a respectable quality here. We have this word 酒品/jiu3pin3, which combines the word for alcohol/酒/jiu3 and the word for personal integrity/人品/ren2pin3. The result is a concept which glorifies drinking and associates it with one’s dignity.
Business dinners in China are the most prominent display of our die-hard drinking culture. Even if you can’t drink, you need to drink to give your business partner face and respect, and also to show him that you are honest and trustworthy by putting your life on the line and drinking more than you are capable of. It’s not uncommon to find people whose entire career is built on their ability to drink. But of course not everyone in China abides by the same rule. The drinking culture in Shanghai for example is a lot more moderate. But that’s also why people from Shanghai are often the subject of ridicule at dinner tables.
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How are the Chinese adopting Western ways of life and what implications does it have? This is the question that Mukul Devichand, a journalist from BBC Radio 4 was obsessed about. He came to Soulfire , the radio company where I work as a host to get a peek at how my colleagues and I are sharing the finer things in life with our fellow listeners in China. He also went to night clubs and wine shops to find out how and why middle class Chinese are eating cheese, sipping wine and smoking cigar. This radio documentary will give you an indepth look into a powerful consumer trend and the dynamic cosmopolitan energy of Shanghai.
Enjoy!
In the wake of the 40th anniversary of Woodstock, China has just had its very first and very own equivalent. InMusic Festival or 张北音乐节/zhang bei yin yue jie rocked 100,000 live audience between the 7th and the 9th of August. Zhangbei is the name of the county where the festival was held. It’s 250-acre interrupted prairie at the border of Hebei province and Inner Mongolia, only two hours’ drive from Beijing.
During the three days, dozens of indie rock musicians performed at the festival, most of whom are unrecognizable to the mainstream audience but worshiped by indie fans. In addition, the very event being the first in such a scale also helped drew attendance and huge media attention. The festival was the brainchild of a indie music promoter and a prominent music magazine in China. On the official website, organizers promised that InMusic would be the most ‘natural high and Woodstock’ music event China had ever seen. And they succeeded overall, despite complaints of flaky logistics, insufficient camping facility, etc. In some ways, the problems were the result of the popularity of the festival, which was beyond the organizers’ expectation and planning.
So the question is what’s next for InMusic? Would it propel a force bigger than music? If so, how would the government treat it? In fact, InMusic got green light from the authorities was a surprise for many. Hopefully, that’s a sign of change. In the meantime, enjoy the video clip featuring Xu Wei/许巍/, one of the most influential indie musicians in China performing at the very first InMusic (forgive the mobile phone recording quality).
Ethnic tensions brewing for decades culminated in bloody riots recently. I came across a good article in Singapore’s major Chinese paper 联合早报 (Lianhe Morning Post) which provided some good assessment of the very complex issue. The article addresses a key problem as laid out in the title ‘the most generous ethnic policy in China results in clash’. Generous indeed. This is the essence and problem of the policy. Xin/jiang has received many favorable policies in economic development, education and employment. It’s not too dissimilar to affirmative action in the US, which has created somewhat similar problems. Neither the Uighur nor the Han Chinese feel the system is fair. Taking employment as an example, state run enterprises have a quota that stipulates they must have a certain amount of Uighur employees. Since it is not based on merits but ethnicity, some Han Chinese feel they are denied of a job that they are more qualified for. Quite often, this can create a culture where Uighurs do not work as hard because their job is secured by the favorable policy. It in turn creates a biased thinking amongst Han Chinese that Uighurs are lazy employees. So private businesses don’t hire them. Of course, that further perpetuates prejudice and tension. But it’s flawed to think that the tension is caused by Uighurs disgruntled over the Han Chinese’s grip of money and resources. In fact, the central government has poured money to the region and the majority of Uighurs are financially better off than in the past. What they are really concerned about is the restriction concerning their faith. Although mosques are prevalent, preaching is censored. There are also other restrictions limiting the role of religion. But this is an area that Beijing is determined to keep its control over. Thus the article makes the argument that the biggest mistake of in the policy is equating faith to benefits. They think by creating wealth in the region, people will be willing to pay the price, i.e. religion. Now, policy makers have to bear the consequences.
After reading the article, it got me thinking about the give and take game. Why does it work so well with the Han Chinese though? Why are we so pragmatic? I guess the lack of faith for a lot of people is a key condition. In the absence of a higher being, we answer to ourselves and loved ones. After many decades of turmoil, we are primarily concerned with stability and comfort. The price we have to pay seems small compared to what we could have. But the future generations who are born into prosperity and wealth might aspire to something different.
The title of this post happens to be the theme of the Suixuntong interview series. It will feature conversations with foreign managers in China who face dual challenges of management and culture.
The inspiration came from enlightening conversations in restaurants and bars where friends (and often my own bosses) speak candidly about their frustration, bewilderment and joy of being a manager in China. These real life stories tell the most down to earth experiences and carry practical and overreaching implications for fellow managers (and employees).
I have known and worked for some great foreign managers in China. They are able to build and lead effective teams because they work particularly hard to understand their staff’s perception, action and motivation shaped by the socio-cultural context. They are the ones who go beyond than just saying ‘why don’t my staff get it’. They observe, communicate and reflect to find a better approach. I hope their stories will help you get the most out of your team in China. And I look forward to hearing your stories in the interview. Feel free to contact me jennyzhu at suixuntong.com
美国企业学习重量级人物Jay Cross发出最新警告：‘Get out of the Training Business’(别再干培训) ！
文中他向效率低下、单向被动、不进取的传统培训模式宣战。虽然很多培训同行无法认同他的观点，并且公然挑战。我想说，不要停留在商业模式的争论上，而要看到社会和经济环境的变化。想想下面这些显而易见的现实吧，企业培训怎能不顺势改变呢？
1. 科技发展：网络时代，绝大部分工作和生活都是电子化的。
2. 经济景气：我们正在经历全球性的经济衰退，你想坐以待毙吗？
3. 网络协作、开放平台：颠覆主动和被动的教育关系，知识的创造和累积更加强大。
4. 培训和绩效结合：培训必须更有目的性，直接为企业创造价值。考核培训的不该是人头，而是效果。
Jay的最后一点非常值得探索。现在一些公司已经开始整合培训部门。精简员工之外，留下的员工全力支持业务部门，以及与客户沟通。这也是随训通的理念。我们觉得有力的培训一定要由直线经理领导，因为他们最了解实际需要。应该有一套工具支持他们轻松地创建发布课程。而员工也不只是单纯的接受者，更是参与者、创造者。只有这样，培训才有价值。
最近有本新书，叫Fake Work (虚假的工作）。 光凭名字就足以引发有价值的思考。它探讨了一个非常有趣的思维和现象。今天的员工可能是历史上工作强度最大的，但是各项研究却显示了一个惊人的数据，我们50%的工作都是“虚假”的。
不过，这个虚假要打引号。因为很多人并不是有意要混日子，相反地，大家甚是尽职尽力。比如花大半天美化PPT、花几个小事口若悬河地brain storm, 还有美国人不断用黑莓手机收发email，更不用说加班加点了。这样辛勤的劳动何以是虚假呢？作者Brent Peterson和Gaylan Nielson认为，只要你算一下这些工作创造的业绩或者对业绩的影响，那么真假就显而易见。
虽然他们的界定标准和结果并不完全客观，但是这个现象却毋庸置疑。作者认为，根源就在于众多管理者自己也稀里糊涂，而且自己也在作假。还有主流价值观的影响，辛勤劳动不仅是中华民族的美德，世界人民也差不多。所以辛勤和忙碌往往会得到嘉奖。
我想看到这个问题的人不在少数，但是难的是大环境不变，我们再有真知灼见也没用。有多少企业能像Google一样让员工上班时间躺在草坪上思考？又有多少老板会说“我不管你在不在座位上，事情做好就好”。 所以，决策者和管理者比员工更有必要思考这个问题， “我在作假吗”？
Elliot Masie是我很敬佩的学习培训界领袖人物。他是第一个提出e-learning概念的人。但绝不是只会说 buzzwords的所谓大师。他真正的价值是一直在寻找能提高学习效果、提高培训体验和最终提升企业效率的方法。他的智库Masie Center是500强公司和美国各个政府部门的学习导向。我在07年有幸接受他的邀请，成为他Learning 2007研讨会的主旨发言人之一，介绍网络语言教育的心得。http://www.learning2007.com/focus/keynoters/keynotes–interviews.html
今天看他的网站，www.masieweb.com, 读到他会在2月5日组织一次网络研讨会，主题是“企业培训如何为学生服务”。 我立马注册，即使是北京时间凌晨3点，也不能错过这次必定精彩、务实的会议。我想从这个活动本身，我们就能看到许多企业培训应该具备的理念：1）为学生服务：想要员工学得好，企业就必须换位思考，从而设计出实用、方便、有吸引力的学习系统和课程， 2） 便捷：欧美越来越多的会议都变为网络会议，培训也是一样。既削减开支，也不影响效果，反而能够扩大培训范围。你看，我在中国都能参加。当然，面对面的沟通是必要的，有些差旅还是不能少。但是能优化的，就应该优化，特别是现在。3）善用科技： 这次的网络会议是由一家叫WebEx的公司做技术支持。他们专门提供安全的网络会议服务，由音频、视讯，还能让参与者一起看、编辑ppt,word文档等。而且很多基本服务都是免费的。还有一家印度公司Dimdim也是类似的服务。开放平台时代，这种好的、免费的技术非常多，都能帮助企业降低成本、提高效率。21世纪除了和谐最贵，找到价廉物美技术的能力也差不了。
先说到这儿，过两天写这次Maise网会的精华，与大家分享。