China and I

My two mentors

Living in Asia is something my friends envy for but even if i still like it and i survive it for 13 years, I can honestly tell you i have been through the thick and thin. Success and failure have been part of my early years in China; every time, i have been able to rebound to higher heights than my biggest previous achievements. During those soul search moments and beyond, I have always looked into the readings of my two mentors: Carlos Ghosn and Lee Kuan Yew.

Carlos Ghosn is the CEO of renault-Nissan and Lee Kuan Yew is an Asian stateman who ruled Singapore from 1959 to 1990 and is now Singapore minister mentor. What do those two people have in common?  Both of them are very resilient in hard times, visionary and make people follow them.Carlos arrived @ Nissan in 1999 where it was very closed to bankruptcy. As a Foreign outsider, he was able to turn it around and to make it once again a thriving car manufacturer. Now he is facing a new challenge with the financial and economic crisis the world is facing. No other industry has been hitted so much by the crisis: worldwide car sales except in China plummeted in 2009 by more than 25%.  He has done two steps: in 2009, Renault-Nissan shall have a free cash flow with a big reduction of inventory; 2nd step, during difficult times, he bets towards the future with his zero-emission vehicles. That is a vision! A concept that brings everybody @ Nissan-Renault behind Carlos Ghosn and shall benefit not only the consumer but also the environment!

Regarding Lee Kuan Yew, he is not very well-know in the western world mainly because he ruled a city- state in Asia! My thought is also some westerners they cannot learn from Asian, something i strongly disagree. Former Prime Minister of Singapore during three decades, he is also the founding father of the city-state. As he mentioned in his latest he brought Singapore from "third world to first world". I highly recommend the book and will give a review in one of my next posts.

Going back to myself, how those two people have had an influence on me? Carlos Ghosn lived in many countries including Japan and speaks several languages. He is a true citizen of the world and i tend to see myself the same way. I also like Lee Kuan Yew because he gives me meaning to the things I do everyday; sometimes, it is difficult to combine Western and Asian culture. he shows me the way to get the best out of the two of it.

I will write again on the influence of those two men in my coming posts!

Postponment of my INSEAD Executive Programme in Singapore

I feel very sad today! I was supposed to attend INSEAD Asia International Executive Programme from June 1st to June 12th, 2009 but I had to cancel at the last minute. The reason? No sickness, no financial distress but my CEO asked me to postpone my attendance to the programme because my presence is highly required @ work during those troubled economic times. Two weeks away from my company was too much! I am in charge of the construction of our new factory (35,000m2/ 350,000 sq feet) in Kunshan (Jiangsu Province, China).
INSEAD was not happy at all I cancelled; I received many phone calls from the school: "You don't know how hard it is to be accepted at our business school", "you have to pay 100% cancellation fee (12,000 Euros)", etc...
I was already very disappointed not to attend and, in addition, I get the blame from the business school.
It was already one of the toughest decisions I had to take in my life. On one side, my boss asked me to stay and on the other side my wife wanted I go no matter what. I forgot to mention, I already booked my airtickets and hotel @ INSEAD.

Finally, I decided to postpone my attendance at INSEAD and they agreed. So, I will go to INSEAD in November 09. I got the approval from my boss and from INSEAD but there are two downsides to it.
- In November, I will have two weeks. Normally, at that time, I go to visit my wife @ Duke Fuqua but not this year. I will have to wait Xmas. We plan to go to South America.
- My boss takes a lot of vacation while I stay to work. :-( I will not use all the vacations I am entitled too!

Tagged: 5 things you didn't know about me...

Last year, at the same period I published a blog post about 5 things you didn't know about me . I have decided this year to do a new one. As you will read, some issues have found their solutions, others are new. So enough talk, let's write!
1- I have reconnected with my mother with whom I didn't have news for the past 11 years. She has changed since the retired 18 months, and I got more mature and self-confident. It is really a big achievement and I feel really at peace now!
2- I am 37 and I finally found my soulmate, her name is Caroline, she is Chinese and eventually, we will marry this spring.
3- Despite my high salary and the advantages coming from my job position, I have been hit by the economic crisis. My wife is, currently, doing a MBA @ Duke Fuqua promotion 2010. While we hoped last year to have a student loan, it appeared very quickly it would be impossible with the financial meltdown. Bank loans for Foreign students has increased to 20% interest rate which means if you borrow 150,000 USD for 2 years MBA you have to reimburse 300,000 USD within 5 years. Therefore, we have decided to pay without borrowing; I will pay 150,000 USD within 18 months putting us in a lot of financial pressure.  Compare to other students I still feel lucky, we can afford to pay in full the MBA, some are quitting right now!
4-I have moved again last october 2008 from Beijing to Shanghai. I have to admit I prefer Shanghai to Beijing because the city is greener, less polluted, warmer, more international and it is the economic center of China therefore more opportunities.
5- I will attend in June at INSEAD Singapore an executive education. I have a law degree, an Executive MBA and currently doing a PhD but I feel the need for more knowledge in management and Asia therefore I am attending this program. It doesn't come cheap 11,900 Euros but my friends who attended it said it is worth it.

Tagged: 5 things you didn't know about me...

I really don't use this blog to talk about myself but currently there is a tag (here) about it. The new year just started so it would be nice to talk about something different and guess what? it's about me. So let's write!

1- I gained 30 kgs over a period of 3 years. Yes, you read well not 30 pounds or 30 jin, it is 30 kgs. The reason: too much bad stress, frustration but guess what I have decided to do something about it in 2007. Let's see how far I can go!

2- I am 35 and I am not married, not even attached to a single person. No, I am not gay, and no I haven't a bad temper that makes impossible to live with. I just finished a two-year relationship after a five-year one. So I am quite stable but I think I can only fulfill myself when I am single don't know why. Any answer guys?

3- I come from Nice (here) (pronounced Nissss) France: la cote d'Azur! So like many people around me, you ask yourself what the hell I decided to come to China to work. Well, Nice is a little paradise on earth but when you are young and want to discover something new and have thrilling experiences I don't think it is the place!

4- I have lost my mum and dad at an early young age. My father died when I was 23 from a lung cancer; my mother didn't die actually but she cut family ties in 1997. Since then, I have no news of her.

5- I am never satisfied about myself; I always want more. I performed better at school than average, got higher diplomas, speak many languages and successful experience but I don't know why, I see myself as somebody with little value compared to others. Any answer or help on that?

Back home....in Beijing!

I was away from Beijing most of the month of october travelling to China hinterland, Shanghai and Hong Kong. I am still amazed how Shanghai is developing so fast. On the contrary, very little change in Hong Kong except the skyrocketing prices for hotel rooms, just because there is an exhibition in town. It was even difficult to find a room. We had to call at least 10 hotels to find three rooms available.

As my friend Bertrand Girard mentioned to my clients: "You are latest Foreign businessmen to come to China" and they were. As soon as I pick them up at Beijing International Airport, they told me: "We have nothing to do here, it is already too developed". Their remark is true; the image we have of China mirrored by medias is the one of a poor country oppressed by its government. Problems exist here I will not hide them but it is not how medias describe it.

10 days, 3 cities (Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong). Three different cities, three different representations of China but one common goal show the world, the Middle Kingdom is back in business.

My ten tips published on China law blog

What a surprise I had this morning when I saw Dan Harris published on China Law Blog, my "Top Ten China Business Survival Tips". Not the first time but probably the first on a leading blog.

Thanks Dan!

Update: Richard Brubaker did also comment on my ten tips with his 7 tips. Have a look on his post and my reply.

Moving back to Shanghai

After 4 years and half in Beijing, I finally go back to Shanghai to work. I always have preferred Shanghai to Beijing even if I have survived very well there but Beijing seems to me too bureaucratic compared to Shanghai who is more business oriented.

For a few weeks, I will split my time between the two cities and then move to Shanghai.

I will keep my apartment in Beijing and I plan to buy it because it has a large balcony (70 m2) and view to the whole city of Beijing and the surrounding mountains. With a bit of luck I may buy the apartment next to mine who also has a superb balcony of 35 m2. Imagine if I can join the two apartments.