Book review
Need to know meets know-how
China CEO: Voices of Experience from 20 International Business Leaders

By Juan Antonio Fernandez and Laurie Underwood
Reviewed by Judy Royle

　　Change jobs and you're faced with supervising people who used to be your peers. Move across the country to a new position, and you'll find yourself in a new corporate culture. Change career paths, and you'll face an entirely new set of expectations and demands.

　　Many how-to books about doing business in China are gathering dust on executives' bookshelves. This book is different, because the perspective comes not from an ivory tower but the corner office. The leaders of multinational corporations who sat for interviews offer a wealth of insight and information based on personal experience. The knowledge they are willing to share will be of benefit to anyone whose goal is to rise to the top.
　　Juan Fernandez met Laurie Underwood when she was enrolled in one of his classes at China Europe International Business School Shanghai. He had the idea for this book, but wanted to find a business writer with China experience as a co-author. Laurie, with her journalism background and 12 years in Taiwan, was the perfect fit. In 2002 they embarked on their quest to interview 20 top international executives from Fortune 500 corporations that were successfully doing business in China.
　　Their book dedicates a chapter to each question that was asked of every CEO:
　　What skills do I need to manage business operations in China today?
　　How can I recruit and retain top-grade professional personnel in China's highly competitive market?
　　What is the secret to forming successful joint ventures or business partnerships?
　　How should I establish effective communication with corporate headquarters?
　　How can my company attract China's newly demanding and fickle customers?
　　How should I prepare to fight China's rising domestic competitors in my field?
　　What is the best strategy for safeguarding intellectual property rights?
　　How can my company form good relations with the Chinese government?
　　How can I ensure that I — and my spouse or partner and children — lead a satisfying life in China?
　　The CEOs' answers were boiled down into concise and helpful tips aimed mainly at those who are unfamiliar with Asian culture. But even businesspeople with experience in the Middle Kingdom will find a new idea or two, as well as affirmation of particular techniques. Those with time constraints (and who doesn't that term apply to?) will find that the authors have done a fine job of keeping the tone of the book conversational while delivering the CEOs' insights in a highly readable form. Each chapter offers anecdotes, case studies and ends with a summary of Chinese business tips.
　　One example of the authors' devotion to understandability is a matrix they use to illustrate the different relationships that executives must deal with in China: internal relationships, external relations, and personal relations. The executive is the center of this model, and each chapter examines how to best deal with these three key elements.
　　Juan and Laurie also introduce readers to the concept of guanxi. This term refers to the Chinese-style networking. In Mandarin, guan means "gate" and xi means "links." This concept is so important in doing business in China — and so challenging for westerners to grasp — that it became a central theme of this book.
　　The ability to get firsthand knowledge from top executives of: Bayer, British Petroleum, Coca-Cola, General Electric, General Motors, Philips, Microsoft, Siemens, Sony, and Unilever along with expert advice form some of the top China-based consultants at Korn-Ferry International, McKinsey, and The Boston Consulting Group should prove to be invaluable to everyone looking to succeed in the Chinese market.
　　So whether you are currently doing business in China or planning to a new venture, I would recommend China CEO Voices of Experience from 20 International Business Leaders as a must-read. Don't let this book be found on your shelf collecting dust.