Cultural Strategies

ONE OF THE MOST challenging misunderstandings I hear about when consulting with non-Asian clients is about "SILENCE".

1. The silence that follows on emails with potential Asian clients;

2.  The silence during or following a business presentation in Asia;

3. The silence when asking a direct question accompanied by the faintest shake of the head or a muttered ‘yes’;

4. The silence punctuated by an indrawn breath like a long hissing sound implying ‘this is going to be very difficult’.

Many of these orchestrated silences in China, Sinagpore, Malaysia, Japan, South Korea and a host of ASEAN countries are the result of an over-direct or impatient desire to get an answer, a result or a deal as quickly as possible on the part of self-consciously ‘globalized’ foreigners.

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Australians working with Asian Businesses should realise things are not always black and white – communication is an art, and it can either make or break your highly profitable Asian deals. Listen to the interview »

Do you want  to know the  top 5 tips for doing business in Asia?

It is common that many of us talk about “Asia” as a block, but the businessman or woman looking to be successful in the region had better start differentiating between Asian countries and its specific local cultures on 3 levels – politically, socially, and economically.

Here is a quick review of 13 countries that I have worked with in both my corporate and business life.  There is so much to share with you, but for now, it’s a snapshot of 3 tips that many people have assumed that they can ignore (at their peril) because they have toured or travelled several times into Asia already.