The Art of War

 How an Ancient Text Influences Chinese Business Culture.

 

 Successful business in China depends on one thing: knowing your business partner. To understand them, you must know what to expect from the Chinese business culture. Written 2500 years ago, Sun Tzu’s The Art of War maintains its status as the authority on effective strategizing and continues to be mandatory reading for corporate-bound Chinese. While topics like effective organization of troops and military maneuvers may not seem applicable to the professional world, these tactics have evolved into modern day Chinese business practices. Consequently, The Art of War is a great introduction for any company planning to do business in China.

 

Guanxi

 “The clever combatant looks to the effect of combined energy, and does not require too much from individuals.” Guanxi, the Mandarin word for relationship, drives business in China. Without it, any foreign businessperson in China will stumble into a number of unnecessary pitfalls. In China, the individual has little power while the group controls everything. Accordingly, a foreign businessperson must build a relationship with their Chinese suppliers. Many Westerners tend to consider lavish meals and long debates over tea as tinged with insincerity, and are hesitant to reciprocate. This reluctance is neither helpful nor conducive to building good business relationships in China. Spending extra time building a relationship grows trust, understanding and encourages good business transactions in the future.

 

Indirect Communication

“In all fighting, the direct method may be used for joining battle, but indirect methods will be needed in order to secure victory.” In the West, long meetings full of circuitous conversations are considered unnecessary, tedious, and unacceptable, which is quite the opposite of standard Chinese practices. Chinese tend to avoid direct confrontation, instead, gathering information through social situations. Informal gatherings allow the Chinese business partner to scope out their client. The simple and subtle getting-to-know-you questions allow them to evaluate your age, experience, and business potential.

 

Strategy

“Countries in which are precipitous cliffs with torrents running between, deep natural hollows, confined places, tangled thickets, quagmires and crevasses, should be left with all possible speed and not approached.” Tzu‘s message is simple: strategize. The Chinese are hard working, shrewd businesspeople. Suppliers are smart and find ways to put themselves in a favorable position, but they tend to think in the short term.  Consequently, they will agree to and even sign a contract without intending to follow it exactly. A contract is rather seen as a summary of intentions that can and will be renegotiated if any party is unhappy about it. In China, the moral framework differs from the West in that Chinese will not see their actions as deceptive.

 

Chinese business culture can easily feel like a maze of incomprehensible rituals and inconsistent rules. Consequently, a thorough understanding of the East-West differences is imperative to fruitful enterprises in China, without it, Western companies face a grave disadvantage. For the individual used to Western business formulas, the Chinese way may seem counterintuitive, frustrating, and even deceitful, but success is possible with some preparation. Remember, if you are going to play, you have to know the rules. Why not read them firsthand in Sun Tzu’s The Art of War?