ジムvan Drunenに少しはネザーランド余りに小さい常に行っていた。 世界の最も最もよく知られた消費財の会社の1人のために二国語で上げられ、働いて、彼はインターナショナル1986年に行く。 首尾よくインドから大きいタバコ会社のための日本に伸びる領域を経営してそれはそれから他の個人的な野心を実現する時間である。 彼自身の企業を始め、中国語を学んで、それらは彼の目的である。 ヴァンDrunenは数月の中国家族との大学そして生命に少し戻る中国文化のよい理解を得るs。 始まる彼はその間あり得ることOne2Callに取り組む: もっと解釈、都市方向、イエロー・ページ、孤独な惑星およびロット。 1台の電話のすべてはサービスを基づかせていた。 呼出しの間に彼は私達に少数の金先端を与える。

「まず最初にあらゆる外国のビジネスマンが洞察力をに持っていることは中国に有用である 中国コミュニケーション。 dón」 t言うことへのたいそう聞くこと中国人が言い、十分ことをを私達が会合で欧米人間違えるである。 ことばにより、非言語的なコミュニケーションを知っていることは、どこか他の所により世界の中国で重要な私の経験に、ある。 中国の言語および文化を学ぶための努力をすればドアは大いにもっとすぐに開き、市場についてもっとたくさん知ることを得る。 そして一時的に、それはこうすればをとどまる。 特にの日常生活で、通りのそしてホテル。 For a taxi driver you have One2Call, but asking a big shot how his son’s doing in his studies, you have to be able to do yourself. If you learn Chinese, your business partner appreciate that you’re not in China to just fill your pockets for three years to then turn your back on him. Showing a long-term commitment to the partnership and China, is what will give you the much needed edge.”

High ambitions, committed targets low
“Furthermore, specifically for the consumer goods sector it’s important to understand that, even as an established international brand, you can’t attack China all at once. No matter how good that brand is. If your brand name is not known and you’re not willing to share your technology with local partners, then to be honest, you need to be very patient and have very deep pockets. On top of that, the rollout-principle is strong here: China is too big to conquer in one go. A brand that is a market leader in Beijing may not even exist in Shanghai. So keep your ambitions high, but keep committed targets low.”

Service level
The image of the market in China is that the Chinese copy what is successful and produce it cheaper. You can’t win that price war from a Chinese manufacturer. Looking for ways to succeed, you have little other choice than to compete on quality. Van Drunen Littel: “The Chinese middle-class buys mobile phones from Nokia and Sony Ericsson because they don’t trust the Chinese manufacturer’s quality. It’s the same for service. I’ve noticed, certainly when employing personnel for One2Call, that good customer service is uncommon in China. Sometimes young ladies with call-centre experience apply for a job. You assume they know what customer service is, but it’s usually disappointing. Getting my staff to the right service level requires long training. That investment pays off, simply because it is the best way you can compete as a Western company: quality in strategy, execution and service.”

Changing lives
Jim van Drunen Littel has been around in the international business world, and his family can attest to that. Constantly moving, from Belgium to Indonesia to Malaysia, back to Indonesia, then to Singapore, now to China. “The family of an expat has to put up with a lot. The cosy school in the suburbs becomes an international school, and blonde girls could get a lot of attention, which is not always welcome, especially in puberty. A partner who had a top position at home doesn’t always find work in a new country. It happens all too often that a company appoints a manager for a position abroad, only to later discover that his family isn’t up to the consequences involved. Also, it takes at least a year before you start to become fully effective in a senior position in China. So if your manager, after two years, needs to go home for his family, that is a heavy loss. You can reduce the chances of failing in this way, if you asses the family as well as the manager for suitability. For example, give them plenty of time to get to know the new home ground before the big decision is made: to go or not to go.”

Talent
The seasoned Van Drunen Littel has certainly made use of his talents. Is that the reason to now focus on investing in young Chinese entrepreneurial talent? “In Shanghai alone there is so much talent, you wouldn’t believe. That talent is not restricted to the ones who speak good English. Foreign companies should be aware of this. Imagine that I want to employ an IT manager. It’s tempting to hire someone who speaks English. But is he or she also the best person to run the IT department? It’s worth your while to find a way to see through the broken English and find the best man or woman for the job, and then give them language lessons. Thé surest way to have the best of both worlds - Asian and Western - combined.”

Printer friendly version of the interview “Advanced Golden China tips.”

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