|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
One Billion Customers: Lessons from the Front Lines of Doing Business in China (Wall Street Journal Book)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sales rank 474,918
Customers rating (based on 47 reviews)
|
|
|
|
|
Companies from around the globe are flocking to China to buy, sell, manufacture, and create new products, but as former Wall Street Journal China bureau chief turned successful corporate executive James McGregor explains, business in China is never quite what it seems. One Billion Customers offers compelling narratives of personalities, business deals, and lessons learned, creating a coherent pictures of China's emergence as a global economic power with a dog-eat-dog business climate that has turned bureaucrats into billionaires and left many foreign business executives with their pockets turned inside out.
|
|
|
| Publisher | Free Press | | Release date | 10/2005 | | Availability | | | Edition | Hardcover |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Solid advice to how you can gain One Billion Customers
This book gives a broad perspective and a specific analysis on how to do business in/with China and how to gain a better understanding of the Chinese Race. With clear writing and splendid story-telling the author reveals why it seems so difficult to do business in China and eventually provides the reader with rewarding success stories.
It is effortless to follow the writing, and the structure of the book works well. Each chapter entails a story of a particular field of business which this journalist dissects and analyses. And each chapter ends with a bulleted list of straight-forward advice on how to practically deal with people and business in China - easy to find and easy to follow. These stories and advices are based on personal experience and give a unique insight to the "unknown" culture and social behavior of the Chinese Business Culture.
I recommend this book to anybody who is remotely interested in China and/or its culture but especially for anyone who is involved in gaining access to the business world of China and in the pursuit of their own Billion Customers.
 A penetrating book
I am from China, growed up and educated in China. I haven't completed my reading of the book yet but based on the chapters I have finished, I like to say Mr. McGregor really knows what he is writing about.
In my opinion, love something or not, getting to know it is in first place. I can't say we understand West really well, but given the increasing outflow of Chinese students (some return but most stay) and inflow of western culture, Chinese, especially the young generation, have a much richer knowledge about West than before, while it's not the same on the other side. I often find foreign friends lack the understanding of China and Chinese, no matter they like China or not. This has been changed somewhat by China's raising economic power. Nevertheless, come also more and more conflicts.
I have found Mr. Gregor's many descriptions about China and Chinese very accurate, more, impressively penetrating. His stories are true and can be regarded as a snapshot of what's happening in China. Although there are some subjective conjectures, they are not jeopardizing the objectiveness of the book (actually, most of them are precise).
I have also compared this book with Peter Mayle's "A Year in Provence" and Italian director Michelangelo Antonioni's film on China (shot in 1972, during the Cultural Revolution). Compared with the two, I feel a little regretful that Mr. McGregor focused too much on business angle, which, seems to fall into the old trap again (of course, it's well understood considering Mr. McGregor's post in China). I hope Mr. McGregor may come up with a life-style book about China someday.
Dispelling the Myths About China
James McGregor, author of One Billion Customers: Lessons from the Front Lines of Doing Business in China, makes it clear on why China is such a hard place to do business by offering a detailed examination of that country's culture.
As a journalist and businessman, McGregor offers readers an honest and forthright portrayal of China's great strengths and shortcomings. An example is the author's discussion of China's split personality - i.e., distrustful of foreigners yet optimistically embracing growth.
McGregor's valuable insights into China is gained from his 15 years in China as a businessman and as China bureau chief for the Wall Street Journal. This book, richly grounded in Chinese history, dispels the myths about Chinese business practices by wrapping them in their historical context.
The stories McGregor sprinkles throughout his book serve as an ample warning against rushing blindly into China without first learning a great deal about the country's history, culture, legal system, and values.
McGregor ends each chapter by bulleting the highlights and summarizing the implications of the concepts covered for the reader. The author writes in the journalistic style which makes this book a very easy read. He is also an engaging speaker. I've had the chance to listen to him a couple of times
By Gunjan Bagla
Author of Doing Business in 21st Century India
A fantastic introduction to the business culture off China
This book should have been called "One Bill Partners," as there is very little about market research in the book. Rather, "One Billion Customers" is a series of highly readable case studies discussing businesses and joint ventures that went right and wrong in China. Jim's been in China for many years, speaks Chinese, and is able to distill political, economic, and cultural factors into witty advance, such as
"If your CEO wants to do business with China in order to turn around his business, lose his visa."
A brilliant book. Highly recommended.
A Must Read for Doing Business in China
One Billion Customers teaches by example. This book contains modern-day stories of foreigners doing business in China; some do it well, some poorly and some in between. But behind each story is a theme of what can, should, and should never be done when dealing with the Chinese, especially on their turf. There is no doubt that James McGregor is one of the foremost experts in the field given his time and experience in China and his journalism and research skills shine in the stories he relates to the reader. This book is also useful from a historical perspective given the historical details of modern-day China McGregor includes in One Billion Customers. Admittedly, I am not in a position to currently do business in China and as such, this book dragged on a bit for me. But if I ever were to be in China with a specific business task at hand, this book would never be more than an arm's length away.
|
|
| | |
|
