DOING BUSINESS IN ASIA: GOING WITH THE FLOW, BY LEONARDO GON

15/05/2013

Sometimes in China you can be surprised by the total "unprogrammed" attitude of many people.

One example is the planner (agenda). At the beginning of the year I was looking for a planner like we are used to in the West.... No way! 

I visited many shops in Beijing and Shanghai and I wasn't able to find one with the dates printed on each page. I was able to find only the planner full of "Memo pages" where on top of the page you can write yourself the date and then there’s a clean page to write on! The first idea that came to my mind was “you cannot write the future”. In fact these Planners are usable only for the past and the present.

Another instance happened when I asked a customer to set an appointment one month in advance. He looked at me like an alien… “Mr. Gon, in one month from now anything can happen… how can I give you an appointment so ahead in the future?”

I had to "adapt". So now when I'm "around", I give some calls to ask appointments with short notice like the next morning or the next few hours... and, surprisingly, it works!

Therefore I always have some “spare appointments” wherever I go... I have learned “to go with the flow!” …even though I am still searching for a planner like the one I used in Europe. I am still and stubbornly a manager that wants to PLAN!

Ciao from Suzhou 

Leonardo Gon