Personal Data Name: Thomas McKinley Country of Origin: USA Location: Shanghai Time in China: 5 years	Relationships mean more here than in the West. There’s a steady process here of forming relationships first and then talking about business.
Company Data Company: Commercial Real Estate Position: Advertising Director Industry: Media / Advertising Website: www.cre-china.com
Commercial Real Estate China (CRE China) offers expert insight on real estate issues for experts in the China market. Our target readership consists of top-tier investors and fund managers in the US, Europe, and Asia. CRE China is hence a powerful marketing channel for companies to advertise their properties and services.

Cultural issues are still challenging. A lack of straight-forwardness is the cause of a lot of problems. In the West, we are used to people being more direct with us. You’ll find out, maybe the hard way, that people in China are much more prone to telling you what you want to hear -- or not telling you what you don’t want to hear, as the case may be. The view of honesty is based on the practicality of being honest at the time. Sometimes it is more practical to lie. Shanghai is changing, but in other parts of China you’ll encounter those problems a great deal.

---

There is a bias against young people. The perception is that young people can’t do anything or really know anything, regardless of what degrees you may have or experience in the field – or sheer capability. If you look young, it really doesn’t help, whereas it may help back home. It definitely works against you in professional situations.

---

In business situations, people are more likely to make promises – even if they aren’t the true decision maker. Once that happens, they are often unwilling to admit that they overstepped, so they will avoid taking your calls. They’re too embarrassed to tell you bad news, so they’ll drag it out forever. Losing a sale is frustrating anyway, but when you think a contract is coming and then the other person suddenly disappears, it’s much worse. The face issue comes into play again, and it gets very complicated and time-consuming. You can’t criticize or get angry afterwards. I always say to them that I am “confused about the issue” instead of saying I’m disappointed or angry. That leaves the door open to future business.

You have to be willing to swallow your pride here in some business situations. I’ve been in situations were people refused to pay me money that was owed – simply because it was convenient not to. I had to go through other channels – basically go over their heads – to force them to give me the money that I had coming. When I went to collect, it was as though we were still the best of friends. I couldn’t comprehend this. They invited me out to lunch, and I wouldn’t do it. I was angry so I burnt bridges when I left. But later when I encountered a similar situation, I held my anger in check and swallowed my pride a bit. I apologized for things ‘having gone badly’ – even though I felt I was right – and as a result I was able to keep an important business relationship alive.

---

You must take risks to be a success in China. Taking a big risk in Shanghai - be it personal or professional - is definitely worthwhile. Of course, you have to cultivate relationships and invest the time and effort to develop relationships – but you’ll find there is a huge reservoir of assistance and goodwill available to you if you are wiling to put something on the line. It’s worth it to take risks, but you can’t be afraid to ask for help and to ask for advice. I was lucky in that I found a boss that acted as a mentor when I first came to Shanghai – but you have to be willing to ask.

Do not expect anything to happen as quickly as you think it should. It won’t. Be prepared for problems that you might not encounter in other places. One example is time management issues – specifically deadlines or promises. People here have a different understanding of deadlines. If you try to rush people here, it often becomes a “face issue” and people’s feelings get involved. In the West, a contract is an agreement written in stone. In China, it’s more like a snapshot of conditions that existed at a particular point in time. You can get around that by forming relationships, going out for drinks or dinner, investing the time and making allowances. It’s not like you can predict how long everything will take.