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How To Live & Do Business In China: Eight Lessons I Learned from the Communists
by Ernie Tadla
133 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #06-1877; ISBN 1-4251-0120-8; US$19.13, C$22.00, EUR14.92, £9.89
What took Wal-Mart ten years and Microsoft twelve years to learn how to do business in China, will take you only 90 minutes with this quick-read (112 pages), practical, book by Ernie Tadla who lived, worked in Shanghai and even married in China.
About the Book
Knowing and understanding these eight lessons on how to succeed in China could save you hundreds of thousands of dollars, earn you millions in profits and save you years of time. Read case histories on Wal-Mart, Micro-Soft, VW and DMG illustrating the lessons. This is a practical how-to book giving you insights into the psychology and behavior of how and why the Chinese act the way they do.
It is written by a senior Western manager who successfully managed an American-Chinese company in Shanghai. It will give you the information you need to decide if you should be in China and if so, what to expect and prepare for and why.
The first eight chapters trace his background and preparation, his entry pains and joys. The second eight chapters contain the Lessons he learned and wished he knew and understood before going. The last chapters contain case histories.
About the Author
A native of North Battleford, Saskatchewan and graduate from the University of Alberta, Ernie's business and management experience was gained working with Johnson & Johnson, Bristol Myers Squibb and Quadra Logic Technologies Inc. Later, as founder of Odyssey Consulting International Inc., he provided consulting and management training for his own clients as he had done for his corporate employers.
Ernie Tadla went to China on a two year management development contract for a New York City entrepreneur who owned a marketing communications company with an all Chinese management and staff based in Shanghai. He returned seven years later after having fallen in love with China, its traditions, culture, history and people. It was not an easy love affair. He even married into a Chinese family.
He now resides in Westbank, British Columbia. He maintains a consulting practice as a "China Coach", building business bridges between China and the West.
He is enjoying being an author and has completed a second book and working on his third one.
You can learn more about Ernie from his website:
www.odysseychina.net
Reviews
"How to Live and Do Business in China provides just what the title suggests: a personal account of Chinese business and social interactions that taught author Ernie Tadla that "the right way for humanity is to balance, to integrate the best of [Western and Eastern thought]." Tadla recounts how he applied this maxim to the Chinese style of building business relationships slowly and focused on long-term goals rather than immediate solutions. The book begins with anecdotal chapters on living in China, which lead up to the second part: the eight business lessons Tadla "learned from the Communists," including opening the mind and changing paradigms, preserving face, understanding guanxi and Chinese communication. These lessons proved to be valuable in his work with PPI, an American-owned marketing communications company. The book is peppered with dozens of insightful stories, as well as dos and don'ts case studies, including Microsoft and Wal-Mart. Tadla writes in an easy-to-read style, with many lists, bullet points and quotable take-aways."
Caleb March
Book Editor of Insight Magazine
a monthly publication of the American Chamber of Commerce
in Shanghai, China.
"Perhaps I shouldn't have been surprised, but while reading Ernie Tadla's pint-sized book: How To Live & Do Business in China, I was finding his observations and perspectives about China to be strikingly relevant to my own experience moving to Shanghai more than a year ago."The author's perspective, lessons and case studies are based on his collective seven-year experience in China after leaving his Canadian homeland with his wife. From his anecdotes about getting sick soon after his arrival in China, Shanghai's `supercharged work atmosphere,' the value of participation in AmCham Shanghai, to crossing busy Shanghai streets, `face' and `guanxi,' Tadla's observations, perspectives and reporting are refreshingly accurate. "In stark contrast to everyday life in Shanghai, Tadla's story-telling style is as soothing as a cup of steaming oolong tea. The personal vignettes contained in his 150-page book will prove to be valuable reading to all China newbies, while also providing familiar and perhaps therapeutic reading for those of us already so familiar with this maddening and intoxicating country. China veterans may find the reading entertaining and reflective."
Robert Benedetti
Business Development Manager
Shanghai SIP Engineering Consulting
"Interesting from first page to last. Writer obviously is a good study of human nature. Worth reading - just for the entertainment. A must if you are planning on doing business there. Understanding the culture and how things are done is critical if you are to succeed. This book takes you through that for China."
Floyd Petersen
Loma Linda, CA
"This great little book tells you a lot more than you think.
I have just read Ernie Tadla's book " How to live and do business in China" I started to read the book out of curiosity and discovered that it said things to me that I hadn't expected. I have recently come over to Canada to live and work, and am setting up a new business venture. So to me it says "How to live and do business in Canada!"
I found amazing parallels with Ernie's journey and my own.
It told me things that I had forgotten I knew, things I didn't know that I knew and a lot of things that I really didn't know at all but should. By this I don't just mean facts, I mean how to go with the flow, how not to get frustrated and down when things don't go the way you hoped for and how everything will come with time. Enjoy the present.
I personally think it is a really great little book, it's light and easy to read and there is a lot of stuff in there that anyone who wants to can use to help them in business and in life.
To put it simply, read this book, you will get from it exactly what you are prepared to get from it.
And read it more than once, I have!"
Richard Sowerby
"I have lived and worked in this fascinating land for almost 15 years. Every story from Ernie rings true to me. They are valid representations of life and work in China. Ernie has, however, gone further than that. He has peered beneath the veil and found depth that few foreigners see or understand. He reports on that depth in a meaningful way, with a good heart, honest intention and a twinkle in his eye. Read this book if you want a glimpse behind the veil of what is presented on television and in the print media about China. Read this book if you are considering coming to China."
Irv Beiman, PhD
Chairman, eGate Consulting Shanghai, Ltd.
"The book has the potential to be a must-read for every exec winging his or her way to China - whether on Air China, or not. It speaks to the stuff that is not part of the negotiating documents in his or her briefcase. An easy, warm, and engaging 90-minute read whilst over the Pacific."
Peter Parrish, Principal
The Signal Group
"I highly recommend this book to everyone considering doing business in China and anyone else who wants to learn about this fascinating country."
John Sowerby, Vice-President for Global Equipment Supply Chain
Management (retired), YUM Brands.
"I read a few books about doing business in China before I found Ernie Tadla's book. I have to say that this is the best book that I have read on this subject.
First, the sub title caught my attention - Eight Lessons I Learned From The Communists.
The style is captivating and it was difficult for me to drop the book. Most importantly, very practical. He was able to articulate solid principles that one needs to adopt to be effective in China's rapidly growing business landscape. Ernie was able to inject a lot of his personal experience as well and by the time I finished reading the book, I felt like I knew him, and that I was ready to go over to China and connect with the flow there.
Ernie was able to explain the basic core of Chinese culture, particularly Confucianism, connecting it with guanxi and how to apply these principles in doing business in China and with every day living in the streets for that matter.
Get the book. Very easy to read. Solid Content. You can start and finish it on your flight to China.
Steve Aninye "Alpharetta, GA USA"
"After my recent business trip to Beijing I got the book How to live and do Business in China in my hands. The title is a little cheezy, but for pseudo business travelers like me, a well written guide in order to get an idea about the basics on how to understand the behavior of Chinese business people.
The book is written by Ernie Tadla, who seemed to have his best time of his life while living in China. I can only imagine and I certainly would love to spend some time in this beautiful country! Here one out of many excerpts that I liked: "... I attended their [American Chamber of Commerce] meetings for the three months I lived there. The members had difficulty believing the economic growth figures the Chinese government was posting. Actually, the Chinese government often understated the numbers because they understood that these would be challenging to other governments in the Western world."
It's really a well-written book and during my daily subway ride from Brooklyn to New York I was often laughing and sometimes close to crying (when I read the story about the cancer).
Keep up the great work!"
Sebastian Wenzel, New York City
www.webanalyticsbook.com/about
VP, Consumer Business, MOI Inc.
I met Ernie in Shanghai a few years ago when our Dutch senior management development program with De Baak Management Centrum VNO-NCW included a couple of weeks in China to learn more about "doing business in another culture." Ernie gave us several cross-cultural lectures during our first days in Shanghai. We received a basic understanding of Confucianism, face and guanxi. His sharing of his personal experiences about adaptability and accommodation were very helpful for the company visits in the weeks that followed. Of course, when I learned that he had published a book, "How to Live and Do Business in China" I ordered it immediately. The book is a quick and easy read and brought back many good memories. I certainly agree with Ernie that one should respect and learn from other cultures, integrating the best of all worlds in order to find long-term stability for mankind in our era of globalization. Read the book, irrespective if you go to China. Don't miss his experiences about living and doing business in China.
Andries E. van der Meulen
Manager Projectacquisitie
n.v. Nuon Netwerk Services Commerciële zaken
Consider this book as a part of your business research. Proper due diligence is the route to success. Tadla's approach to a complex subject is simple and direct. It is also a quick, easy and entertaining read. What you will receive is a clear framework of priorities upon which to hang your evolving understanding of the "Chinese way" that things are accomplished. This insider knowledge will save you and your company hundreds of thousands of dollars and years of time, but more importantly by knowing the playing field on the way in you will increase your effectiveness and reduce your exposure to mistakes and inadvertent faux pas. This small book is a must read synopsis of "what works in China," personally, professionally, corporately and socially.
Enjoy!
John Kuchenthal
Director, Strategic Partners Ltd.
I just loved this book. It is a succinct education on doing business in China wrapped together with a heartfelt true story.
It is usually easy to put down an educational book but the story here makes you want to read it right through, it is thought provoking and entertaining. I would certainly recommend this book to any person going to China for pleasure travel or business travel.
Ernie Tadla does not over complicate the basics of understanding the Chinese people in fact he will help you enjoy your visit to China a great deal more with his excellent educational book.
I might also add it may make us think twice about the way we live with each other here in North America.
Enjoy.
Thomas G. Taylor
Kelowna BC, Canada
"The more concrete an idea is, the more semantic overlap there may be between, say, the English word for it and the Russian or Mandarin word for it. "Trust" is a pretty abstract concept. There's some semantic overlap between the idea of "trust" in English and the idea of "guanxi" in Mandarin. But the ideas are also different in many ways. Ernie Tadla does a good job of explaining what "trust" (or guanxi, at least) means in China. Take a look at his article...
Excerpts
