I heard about this book from 2 difference sources. This novel is about the multi-national business operated in the blooming China, to be exact, Beijing. My reading mate suggested it a couple months ago, and yet, when being in Nanjing for a pre-sales meeting, our sales pre in Shanghai again mentioned this. I picked up the book in the bookstore in the airport, and finished it in one sitting.
The story begins with a middle-age Chinese, Wen, living in Boston, working for an IT company. His typical American middle-class life was challenged by his university friend, Jim, who works in the explosive IT business in Beijing. Is that the final picture of Wen’s career and live? Working in mid management, paying the mortgage and carrying on a non-surprising life in suburb Boston? Wen decided to come back to Beijing, to join Jim’s former company, ICE. Jim left the ICE to join VLC and Jim’s friend Yu took over Jim’s position in ICE. The sales cycle and implementation are very similar to what I am seeing in China.
The subtlety of dealing with a blonde manager who cannot speak a word of Chinese yet wants to get into Chinese market. The power struggle between those Chinese managers (how to bluff the high management outside of China better and win support). How to make yourself look good by eating down rival’s obnoxious attack and decelerate the damage. Also, the dark side of deal making between vendors and the customers. The salesmen work and penetrate the customer’s IT department and figure out how to make a deal with minimum sacrifice.
It is quite enjoyable read. Did I learn tricks out of it?
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