Ron Cune experienced China for the first time during a fantastic holiday. A course in Chinese, an exchange project, and a round-trip further he was devoted to the country. Upon receiving a financial bonus he took his chances: he moved to China. Currently he is staying in a pleasant office in Beijing and his company DragonDancers has reached lightning speed. The philosophy behind the DragonDancers brand name: the Chinese dragon dances through perfect coordination, collaboration and harmony between those that let it move. Cune explains how a Western company can equally move smoothly in the Land of the Dragon.

“For the Chinese, ‘face’ is very important. Loss of face is disastrous for them, so you have to communicate and act tactfully.” Cune found this out the hard way: “The thing I did wrong in my first job was employ people in accordance with Western standards, and to push them for action. Diplomacy was not my strongest point. I arrived here as a 24-year old graduate from the Haarlem School of Economics at a local company, and was supposed to completely reorganise the management structure. That didn’t work out at all, and within one and a half months I was out on the streets again.” It was partially this experience that brought Ron Cune where he is now. His DragonDancers constitutes an ideal platform for Western companies that want to operate a little more carefully in the Chinese market than he did back then.

Relationship based on mutual trust
Dealing with Chinese people is something that Ron Cune masters well nowadays, and his network has expanded rapidly over the years. He has several instructions that might suit you well, starting with some background information. “Chinese people seem to be more distrustful than the average Westerner, who simply trusts his contracts. Maybe this is a result of what happened during the Cultural Revolution. Communities were set at one another’s throats; the craziness went so far that children sometimes even reported their own parents to the party. Whether that has been the reason or not, by all means it is worth building up a relationship based on mutual trust with your business partner. Regularly inquire about his private situation and make use of everything you know about him. See, for example, to personal promotional gifts. It doesn’t have to be more complicated than that.”

Impressive presents
Giving presents to your partners is part of the game in China. Is there more that you need to know about this habit? “Success and status are partially measured here by strong relationships, preferably with high-placed persons, and of course by material goods. But stability within the family is just as important for prestige. For that matter, when presenting a promotional gift, you have the chance of killing three birds with one stone. Do not buy a gift for your partner for example, but for his wife. If you are going to spend leisure time together, then do something with the whole family. In that way you enhance the relationship as well as the family ties and material status.”

Double flexibility
With the necessary tact and diplomacy you move more flexibly in the country of Tai Chi, and China itself even doubles your freedom of movement, according to Cune. “An enormous difference with where I come from is the 24-hour economy of China. If I decide on Thursday evening that I feel like going to a concert and I have to take a plane the next day at 12 noon to Shanghai, and in between I also want to do some shopping, then that is all possible. Chinese society is super-flexible. On the other hand, that also means that you shouldn’t look strange – and certainly not become angry – if appointments are cancelled or made at short notice. The timetable for that company trip in 3 months? Forget it; I cannot give you that now. The planning for confirming and reconfirming is the standard here. In a nutshell this country is about: coordination, collaboration, and harmony. And a real DragonDancer feels very comfortable with that.”

Printer friendly version of the interview “Chinese Freedom of Movement.”

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