Guanxi Videos

Download this podcast Length 16:50 Download audio file (20091106_kim_woodard_pt3.mp3) OK we are on to Part 3 of our interview with the newest addition to the Technomic Asia team, Kim Woodard.  In this section, we get down into the nitty-gritty of doing deals in China.  Enjoy!

Download this podcast Length 17:54 Download audio file (20091102_kim_woodard_pt2.mp3) We are in the middle of a Podcast interview with Dr. Kim Woodard, the newest addition to the Technomic Asia team here in Shanghai.  Kim’s background includes setting up A.T. Kearney in the early days of China business and running his own boutique M&A consulting firm.  We brought Kim into Technomic to fill out our ability to provide end-to-end services for our clients doing deals in China.  While we saw a bit slow-down in 2009 for M&A in China (and, in fact, around the world), we see that things are really going to pick up in 2010 as companies are looking for aggressive growth opportunities. In this Podcast, I talk with Kim about the practical do’s and don’ts of doing deals in China …

A friday morning in the Nanning Peoples Park. Author: DanielEnDeirdre Keywords: music chinese nanning guanxi dance street park sythesizer Nanning China Street Music Chinese Daniel Deirdre Lynn Gua Added: May 23, 2008

Download audio file (20071130_guanxi_andrew_hill.mp3) Download - - - - - - - - - - This podcast on guanxi is transcribed and featured as an editor s pick on PodsInPrint.com. Download, print and take this podcast with you. Read it here. - - - - - - - - - - Today I chat with Andrew Hill, a good friend and fellow Minnesotan and one of the founders of the Minnesota Club of Shanghai, of which I m a board member about relationships in China and their importance in business. Of particular interest are government relationships, an area in which Andy has decades of experience. Andy came to China in 1989, a complicated time to be in and around China. Since then, he s developed true guanxi with many people in China on many different levels. And while there s certainly no science to guanxi, there is some advice we can share to help you understand this important concept. Guanxi is a complex term that means a lot in China but doesn t have a direct translation to English. In terms of government relationships specifically, the complexity of guanxi is magnified. This is due in part to the complexity of the federal-local government arrangement in China and in part because of the importance of strong government relationships in doing business in China. For more on guanxi in China, see my earlier podcast Guanxi for foreigners.

Download audio file (20050815_guanxi_for_foreigners.mp3) Download Many foreigners on their first visit to China learn some Chinese and try to use it whenever they can: xiexie (thank you), pijiu (beer) and xishou jian zai naili (where is the bathroom?) are just a few of the most important. But probably the most used yet most confusing Chinese word is guanxi, broadly translated as relationships. First off the plane we are told that China is a society built on guanxi, that it is important to have good guanxi, and that, if you are to do business in China, guanxi is the thing that may either make or break your venture. The foundation of guanxi in China is human relationships. Why is this? Well, let s try a social experiment: Put a bunch of people on a land mass with arable land too small to support them effectively; send them storms and floods, wars, pestilence and famine; let simmer for five thousand years. Now open the cover and pick out the key ingredient of that society, the unifying theme that seems to run throughout their history. Most likely, it will be relationships. How do you get food when there isn t enough? You know someone with better access to food than you have. How do you protect your family from strong enemies? Band together with others to form a stronger group. Guanxi is the very basic phenomenon of human beings getting access to scare resources and understanding that they are stronger together than they are alone.