Ceteris Paribus

Last December, I was heavily involved reading “how to” books and websites on interviewing, struggling for a spot at a consulting firm. One of the questions that I spent a lot of time on was “What adjectives best describe you?” and “What characteristics make for a successful person?” My journeys through both China and India have brought these questions back to the surface and shed new light on what they were really asking. It forced me to look inward and identify whether I really embodied the traits I wanted—the traits that would help me to be successful in whatever I do. We traveled across countries, down toboggans, over miles of train tracks and flew over some of the highest mountains in the world. We met founders of now well-established companies, entrepreneurs just setting up factories, and people from every stage in between. And we saw poverty, heartache, and felt a true human connection to people halfway around the world. There were many things that I took away from the trip, but the best way to describe them is to answer those two questions I spent so much time thinking over only six months ago—yet strangely now they are so easy to answer.

 

Creative.

Creativity is one element that is essential and yet seems both elusive and hard to teach. It is an ability to be confronted by an “or” situation and make it an “and” instead. With a heavy governmental hand in China, it seems difficult—some would use impossible—to get what you want done in order to succeed. But one of the most powerful quotes from the trip came during a small dinner in the hutongs near Beijing.

“In China, nothing is allowed but everything is possible.”

It is not possible or advisable to always follow the rule book. A necessary skill is to be able to think of alternatives that others do not. A great example of this was our bus driver in China. Roadblock due to heavy traffic? No problem, just turn a fifty foot bus around in the middle of the freeway and drive off the on-ramp to a better, faster freeway. Most people wouldn’t think to do this (I’ll be the first to admit there may be safety issues as to why this would be a bad idea but it did save us a lot of time).

A similar story is true in India, yet it is because the government has such a weak hand. It is up to businesses to decide where they want to be and what they want to do, and this sometimes requires gathering enough companies together to do the same in order to convince the government to build out infrastructure into the desired area. Or in the case of the hospitals, setting up separate floors and offering jet door to jet door treatment in order to bring foreigners into the country for travel medicine. In strategy, competitive advantage and differentiation is constantly stressed. One of the best ways to achieve both of these is through creativity. But things don’t always go as planned, which brings me to my next adjective.

Flexible.

Creativity is good for planning and strategizing, but not everything always works to plan. That is why flexibility is so important. An example of this is the difference in how people from different countries approach electronics and the internet. In the United States, email is used often and instant messaging is used less frequently. A plan that revolved around email would not work in a country like China where instant messaging is the dominant method of communication and email is not used nearly as much. We experienced a great example of the value of flexibility when checking into our first hotel in Dubai. What seemed to be a pretty nice hotel on the website was actually less than most expected and for some was “inadequate”. Being flexible about hotel conditions led many of us to actually enjoy the hotel and the surrounding area. When comparing US businesspeople with those in India, most from the US request to stay in nicer hotels while Indian businesspeople are willing to stay in cheaper alternatives. This can help to reduce costs and can lead to a competitive advantage.

Passionate.

Passion is my final adjective because above all else, you must be passionate about your life or you will never be able to achieve something truly great. Above all else, the common thread throughout our presenters in China was their passion—for children’s libraries, for marketing, for leading others, for travel. Passion is what brings creativity, flexibility, and all the other hiccups together to form a successful attempt. Passion is seen in Chinese and Indian companies’ willingness to go the extra mile for clients and guests. It is normal for a company to pick a visitor up from the airport and rent conference rooms from top hotels just to make guests more comfortable. I feel that this effort of going the extra mile is something that US businesses can learn from, from the executive office down to customer service. Essentially, passion is trying your hardest and still messing things up, but putting your head down and a smile on your face to keep working and try even harder. One of the great things about the trip was the chance to test this ability to smile through challenging situations, and I felt that I was able to and even improved along the trip.

I have described the three adjectives that I feel describe the characteristics of a successful person. I feel that I now embody many of these characteristics and am always working to improve myself. The trip was a great way to learn about different cultures but one of the most powerful things I took away from the trip was a better ability to learn about my own culture. We were given two other viewpoints with which we could look at the world and ourselves and I hope I am able to maintain those perspectives far into the future.

Thank you to everyone that was a part of the trip, both in our group and who we met along the journey. It was because of you that this trip was so great. I hope to see you all again soon and wish you all the best for the future.

Overview

River Town, by Peter Hessler, is a wonderful story about his time spent in China as a Peace Corps volunteer. Peter worked in Fuling, a small town located in the Sichuan province at the intersection of the Wu and Yangtze Rivers. For years, Fuling had been closed to waiguoren, the term used for people from outside the country. Peter taught English and American Literature at the Fuling Teachers College along with fellow volunteer Adam Meieras. Together they were the only white people in Fuling.

River Town provided excellent insight into the true Chinese culture. Since Fuling was so far removed from more westernized areas of China, they had almost no contact with waiguoren. Peter and Adam experienced a roller coaster of treatment from the townspeople. At first, the school where they worked tried to do everything they could to please them. This included telephones, air conditioning, and even an earnest attempt to “bring tennis” to Peter. Typical encounters with the local townspeople included yelling, laughing, and forming massive crowds anywhere the duo went. Being the only two white people in Fuling, it was difficult to blend in and assimilate with the culture. Adding to the problem was the fact that they spoke little of the local dialect which limited communication to the few who spoke English.

Throughout his two years in Fuling, Peter was able to learn much about the culture and gain insight on the local opinion of the communist party. The classroom was a valuable resource where students could express their ideas and teach important lessons to Peter about their culture. Peter soon discovered that many topics cannot be discussed. One of his most dreaded moments was the unanimous head bow that students performed at their desks when Peter introduced one of these taboo topics.

When Peter departed on the same river that originally brought him to the small town of Fuling, he had experienced a wide range of incidents which provided a blunt and open view into the Chinese culture. He left with a much better understanding and now provides a means for all to reach this level of understanding through River Town.

Application

There are many insights from the book that can be used to better understand the Chinese culture. One of the most apparent contradictions when reading River Town is how loved Mao Zedong is even though in America he is seen as evil. The townspeople would often quote that Mao was “70 percent correct and 30 percent wrong.” This ratio was enough for them to respect and idolize him. When Peter tried to dig further into why Mao was well liked, it seemed to be from the initial culture change that arose, which brought many out of poverty (although many would argue that a significant number of those impoverished were made so by Mao’s initial policies). While many here in the Unites States would expect the townspeople to be against Mao, it is actually quite the opposite.

“China is a democratic country.” Most people would violently disagree with this statement, especially those outside of China. But when Peter asked townspeople about the government, most described it as democratic. They argued that even though the government is run by the Communist Party, the party knows what is best for and acts in the interests of the people. The Constitution of the People’s Republic of China even states, “Citizens of the People’s Republic of China enjoy freedom of speech, of the press, of assembly, of association, of procession, and of demonstration.” The scenes that Peter saw did not align with this statement and he continued to feel that China was far from democratic.

Another application of River Town was its ability to show how important questioning and searching for the truth is. Many of the townspeople seemed to be almost brainwashed by Communist Party propaganda, and if you believed everything they told you, you would have a much different view. Peter met an “Old Hundred Names”, an individual who is against the current practices and favors a more democratic society, who provided an alternate view. He claimed that Hong Kong would have been ruined just like the rest of China had it not have been British. While this was probably the extreme opposite of the townspeople’s views, it is important to take all the different views and build it into your own coherent thesis.

Critique

Peter Hessler did an excellent job of taking the reader along on his journey through the different stages of acceptance, rejection, anger, fear, and the plethora of feelings that occurred during his two year stay in Fuling. He provides a frank view and clearly states his opinion at all times. While the book provides insight into the rural culture, it is important not to generalize the findings across all of Chinese society. I would be interested in finding out how different rural views are from urban views, but I feel that there are many similar themes. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to know more about the rural culture of China and the root views that many local people have about their community, government, and society.

Overview

The Elephant and the Dragon is an excellent portrayal of two looming super powers, India and China. The book tells the story of each country and details how the current situation has been shaped by previous events. The first chapter, “Where Mao Meets the Middle Class”, describes China’s history and the effect Mao had on society. It shows the extreme poverty created by Mao’s actions and the extremes that many families were pushed to. An example of this is yi zi er shi where a family trades one of their children for a neighbor’s child who is then killed and eaten. Meredith’s portrayal of China under Mao provided insight into why many Chinese are seemingly content in their current situation. The chapter continues with the reform regime of Deng and portrays the subsequent change from collectivized farming utopia to state capitalism.

The second chapter, “The Spinning Wheel to the Fiber-optic Wire”, explains India’s arrival as a dominant economic power. India had closed their doors to the world with laws and subsidies that discouraged trade with other countries. The catalyst for change was Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination and the fact that India could only pay for less than a months worth of oil imports. The selection of Narasimha Rao as prime minister started a two year series of reforms that effectively opened India to private investors and improved the economic situation. The remaining chapters describe the current state of events in India and China and detail what the author sees as important events for understanding these two powers. The book finishes with a call to action for America in order to remain competitive against India and China.

Application

The book contains a great deal of information about both India and China and provides the reader a much better understanding of these two countries. Meredith includes a lot of practical information that can be applied to doing business with or competing against these countries. The analysis of India and why they seem to be struggling more than China is very helpful and provides insight to what a company could try to change to help push India forward. Meredith’s argument that the world is shifting to a “disassembly line” has large implications for businesses everywhere. The argument shows that while smaller countries such as Bangladesh or Vietnam may not be sophisticated enough to create entire products, they still play a role in providing simple components. Many think that China has taken all of the world’s manufacturing and will eventually put other countries out of business. This is not true as China seems to actually be increasing the volume of trade to and from these small countries. The countries are instead producing the smaller components mentioned above. With everyone focusing primarily on India and China, there could be an excellent opportunity building businesses in these smaller countries. In addition, it is important for companies to identify these smaller countries as possible suppliers so they do not end up buying the same product from a middleman in China.

The book also has applications in the political realm. Meredith analyzes India and China and the chance of future political problems or even wars, drawing the conclusion that China is a greater threat. India has been an ally and has an inclination towards supporting the US since they also support democracy. Meredith explains how the US doesn’t understand China’s opinions about Hong Kong and other issues. Misunderstandings could easily occur and an unprovoked attack by China against Hong Kong could pull US into a war with China. China also holds a large amount of US Treasury bills and could cause a lot of damage if they decided to take their money out. It is believed that interest rates are approximately 2% lower due to China’s involvement. These elements paint a complex political picture that should be managed delicately by both businesses and governments in each country. The past decade has benefited from a lack of major wars for these countries and this is one of the reasons their growth has been so consistent. A war would be harmful to the economic situations in each of these countries and could damage them in a way that would be difficult to recover from.

Critique

The Elephant and the Dragon is a well written book that includes a massive amount of information. Meredith successfully jumps between India in China and weaves the two into a global picture where every country is reliant on the others. The book does not seem overwhelming and instead provides the information in a story-like format which is a pleasure to read. Sadly, the last chapter of the book does not maintain the quality of the rest. It shifts to a call to action for America to improve the education system and remain competitive with upcoming generations in India and China. The tone is different from the other chapters and does not flow well. It also seems like this last chapter is the motivation for writing the book instead of providing information about India and China, which hurts the author’s credibility. Even though this last chapter is not expected, the book is still an excellent read for anyone who wants to learn more and understand both the current state and the history of India and China.

Creativity.

Failure.

More and more these two words are defining success for thousands of garage engineers turned BlackBerry addicts. Millions of educated and hard-working graduates flow out of school systems in India and China, some of which will be tomorrow’s business leaders—in our country. How does creativity happen? Is it spanked into you at birth? Or rather developed throughout the rigorous curriculum applied in the school system? And what about failure? How do some cultures come to accept failures, while others try to avoid them like the plague?

These are important questions to ask. Globalization is inevitable and many are struggling to maintain some kind of competitive advantage—in schools, for jobs, between companies. I believe strong creative ability and an ability to deal with failure are some of the most important aspects in being successful in today’s highly competitive world. Trying to be an entrepreneur? You have to expect failure—of your entire idea, part of your business, an aspect of your personal life. What about applying for a competitive job? There will certainly be road bumps along the way. If you let one “thank you but no” get you down, you won’t ever find the job you started looking for in the first place. In my own job search I had my fair share of “no”. If I let these so called failures prevent me from trying even harder, I never would have gotten my job that I set my sights on to begin with.

Ytivitaerc. This may be even more important—at least the factor that sets apart repeat failures from those working toward success. But the important question is how we instill these traits in ourselves, our children, and our country. What factors make India able to be so creative in IT? What edge will China be able to gain through their school system? Will Silicon Valley ever be matched?

My first task for you is to watch Sir Ken Robinson at his TED talk (Trust me—it deals directly with this topic and he has the best delivery I have seen in a long time). Comment about what changes you think should be made to the school systems or culture of your country—then continue below.

India. From what we have heard it is one of the most diverse places in the world. I can’t wait to see it. I have pulled together a combination of articles on creativity in business, school and social circles.

Creativity and Innovation Driving Business – The Innovation Index

A Creative Laughter Club in Pune, India

Creative Attempts at Justifying Creativity in the Regular School Curriculum

The idea of Rasa from the third article rang true as what creativity truly is. This quote especially…

“Rasa is beyond religion, culture, language, and economic status, rasa teaches one to experience the meanings of the words ‘love’, or ‘compassion’, ‘justice’ – all human concepts that need to be lived, not mimed or manipulated. Should not our children learn to access this energy buried deep inside that would help them to grow into healthy, happy, well balanced individuals, supporting them in a world that is increasingly cruel, intolerant and filled with conflict?”

How true and how powerful if we can find a way for children to grow up with these values instilled in them. Again comment as you see fit on these three articles.

CHINA. This manufacturing powerhouse has been known more for its social justice than for creativity in recent years. As Harry Shum described, “A Chinese journalist once asked me, ‘…what is the difference between China and the U.S.?…’ I joked, ‘… the difference between China high-tech and American high-tech is only three months - if you don’t count creativity.’”

This is all changing. The article below gives an excellent account of what new strategies businesses in China are using and how the world’s view of China as being mere copycats is unwarranted. Click here.

Take a look at this Adidas for both a sense of the pride behind the Olympics and the creativity in marketing.

And finally, the new CCTV building.

Creativity is obviously alive and well in both China and India. Under the criteria listed above, the only separating factor left is the perception of failure. At a speech at Cal Poly, Ashok Bardhan described that one of the advantages the US culture holds is its acceptance of failure. This is one of the elements in the “perfect storm” that permits an area like Silicon Valley to thrive. But as India and China both continue to produce greater numbers of entrepreneurs, I doubt how long this advantage will remain ours.

Introduction

Sun Tzu’s The Art of War is an excellent piece of writing about military tactics used to gain advantages and win in battle. It covers many different areas from how and when to use fire and water as military tactics to the five different types of spies and how to use those spies best. It is a timeless piece that has had many different translations over the ages. The translation I read was created in 1910 by Lionel Giles and also includes additional commentary by him as well. Giles was the Keeper of the Department of Oriental Printed Books and Manuscripts at the British Museum in London, England. The edition is broken into two parts. The first contains Giles’ translation of the art of war with the accompanied Chinese text. The second contains Giles’ translation as well as additional commentary which provides more insight to the meaning of each of the different passages.

Giles’ Commentary

The commentary was extremely effective and helped to provide more understanding of the sometimes ambiguous passages. It also contains notes on other scholar’s translations and how they differ. This is one of the parts that was quite surprising to me. Many of the translations disagree with one another, sometimes taking completely opposite viewpoints. For example, Giles’ version would have “do not plunder” and an alternative would have “do plunder.” Since I cannot read the Chinese text for myself, I am left to read the reasoning behind each scholar’s argument and tend to lean towards Giles’ well reasoned translation.

The edition is also very helpful because it provides historical background to both the text and its application in more modern life. It attempts to give a timeline of Sun Tzu’s life and offers stories about some of his actions. In addition, the commentary includes example battles which truly bring the passages to life. This is one of the most important aspects of this edition and makes passages much more valuable. It also allows the reader to learn more about Chinese history. One of the main weaknesses of the text of The Art of War is a lack of credibility. Since many of the readers do not know enough history to determine whether these strategies have been effective, the reader has to choose to either trust or not trust the advice given. The commentary in this edition lends credibility to the ancient text and provides a more complete picture of what Sun Tzu’s strategies were.

The introduction of the translation is one area which could use improvement. Giles uses two different names for Sun Tzu which makes it hard to follow at first, and also tends to pack together too much information. Instead, it could have been more effective to tell the story and left the historical documentation as footnotes. The introduction does provide the feeling that Giles has completed significant research, which increases the credibility of his translation.

Sun Tzu’s The Art of War

For a general going into battle, almost every part of The Art of War is useful. The translation made by Giles is simple, direct, and clear. It provides an easy read even without the commentary. For someone leading a business, more work is required to extract meaning from the passages. I have decided that the most effective analysis of the book would be to list the main passages which I wanted to apply to business strategy and also the passages that I thought should never be applied to business strategy. By doing this, I hope to display some of the strengths and weaknesses of the text as it applies to business strategy.

Applying Tzu to Business Strategy

“The commander stands for the virtues of wisdom, sincerely, benevolence, courage, and strictness.” (114)

These five traits continue to apply to effective leaders of companies today.

“Without constant practice, the officers will be nervous and undecided when mustering for battle; without constant practice, the general will be wavering and irresolute when the crisis is at hand.” (116)

Always utilize scenario planning so that the company may be able to decisively switch paths if needed.

“Cleverness has never been seen associated with long delays.” (120)

“The value of time—that is, being a little ahead of your opponent—has counted for more than either numerical superiority or the nicest calculations with regard to commissariat.” (121)

If the opportunity is present, act on it. Delaying may cause any advantage to disappear.

“Only one who is thoroughly acquainted with the evils of war can thoroughly understand the profitable way of carrying it on.” (121)

Extremely competitive environments can be bad for everyone involved. For example, only begin a price-cutting scheme when you know it will not turn into a price war that will damage everyone.

“Rewards are necessary in order to make the soldiers see the advantage of beating the enemy.” (123)

Align the incentives of your employees with the company’s incentives in order to make everyone successfully work together toward a common goal.

“Supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting.” (125)

Direct competition may not always be the best strategy. Look for alternatives and ways to win without having to use tactics that may deplete the company’s resources.

The Five Essentials for Victory (131)

1) “He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight.”

2) “He will win who knows how to handle both superior and inferior forces.”

3) “He will win whose army is animated by the same spirit throughout all its ranks.”

4) “He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared.”

5) “He will win who has military capacity and is not interfered with by the sovereign.”

In order to be successful, compete at the right times, use your employees effectively, maintain a consistent culture, prepare thoroughly, and do not micromanage.

“Do not press a desperate foe too hard.” (170)

If you compete so heavily that the competition feels the danger of losing everything, they will fight even harder and may end up damaging you through competition wars.

“By shifting camp and taking circuitous routes, he prevents the enemy from anticipating his purpose.” (224)

Use techniques to ensure that competitors cannot anticipate your actions.

“Do not give your reasons for any order.” (233)

This is an area that should not be used in business strategy. Employees tend to work more effectively when they know why they are working and for what end purpose, so spell this out to them.

“Move not unless you see an advantage; use not your troops unless there is something to be gained; fight not unless the position is critical.” (246)

Do not complete unnecessary actions. Make sure there is a purpose and something to gain from any new actions you undertake.

“The converted spy knows how the enemy can best be deceived.” (257)

Pay your employees well to ensure that they do switch to working for your competitors. Be willing to pay the employees of competitors well to receive their insight and skill and get them to switch to your company.

Conclusion

Overall, The Art of War by Lionel Giles is an excellent book with many applications to business strategy. Giles’ translation and commentary are effective in providing background information and context, leading to a better understanding and increased ease of application. The translation is simple, accurate, and direct, creating for an easy read which can be enjoyed by readers from any discipline.

Giles, Lionel. The Art of War by Sun Tzu. Texas: El Paso Norte Press, 2005.

I want to take the time to welcome you to my blog. For those of you who may be slightly confused to the choice in title, Cēterīs pāribus is loosely defined as “all other things being equal.” It assumes that other influences are absent. Of course in rapidly expanding countries like China and India, nothing is ever held constant. What is true one day may not be true the next, and what is true for one person may not be true for another. I approach this blog (and the trip), like a chubby child, face pressed up against the glass, waiting for the candy store to open. Inside I see some things that are beautiful, some confusing, and others frightening. I don’t know exactly what to make of it, or what I will end up taking home, but I am thoroughly excited nonetheless. And just like the chubby child, I expect at least a stomach ache or two. But that is part of the journey, part of exploring new cultures, discovering new vantage points, and rediscovering myself. Which is why I also include the following quote: “Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.” Reason will only take you so far. Sometimes it takes a great mind, imaging the beauty of what could be, not just for these two countries but for the world as a whole, to truly make a difference. So with those thoughts I leave you to explore. Take a look around, contribute, and share. But most of all, enjoy.