Recta-fication

A recent post on Dan Harris's China Law Blog referred back to a 2008 post entitled "Chinese Cultural Awareness Simplified: Don't Be an Asshole". As a believer in, and blogger about, the business value of cultural consulting and training, I was intrigued. Essentially the post argues that as long as you avoid being an asshole, you can forget about messing up any deals. You don't need any fancy intercultural training. Mr. Harris concludes the piece this way: "I would love to hear from people aware of a deal that failed due to an inadvertent cultural mistake NOT relating to someone being an asshole, as that word is defined in all cultures."

I can't offer any such stories, and I be surprised if many of these stories exist. At the same time, I think what's missing from the piece is the flipside: what can Western organizations gain from a deeper understanding of Chinese culture? In other words, why stop at not being an asshole? Once we've achieved non-asshole status, how can learning more about Chinese mindsets help Western organizations reach their highest aspirations?

The case that I'm continually building in this blog is that if Western leaders are mindful of culture, and of what people bring to the table as a result of culture, the upper limit on their success is much higher than without such mindfulness.

"Don't be an asshole" is great advice the world over, and will save your business time and money. What more can we do to help our organizations thrive in China?