This longggggg China New Year holiday drives me insane - as I’m sure a lot of other business owners (chinese and foreign) - it still amazes me how a country of such size and current global influence can completely shut down - so many of my favorite restaurants are still closed. Things should start opening up again friday and the weekend, and then China will be back to business as usual.

I hope my pictures aren’t getting too boring - more empty office pics below. but this is about all i see each day as I come to work during the holiday…

But in a way, a holiday this long makes everyone reflect on what they are doing with their lives, and what they want to do in the future. So many discussions with people on chats and in dinners these days about how they like or dislike their job, the way their career is going, the business they are in. Its like a fresh start for some, as they don’t return to their old companies after the holiday.

This is scary for business owners, as some factories and offices have some of their top workers not return to the office after the holiday….without even a notice. The worker just decides they need a change in their life, want to stay in their hometown with family, it doesnt even have to be about money! (well, usually it is, heh)

But this holiday has allowed me to focus on USA business. I’m on 3rd shift (almost) waking up around 1 or 2pm in China, and working until about 3 or 4 am. Afternoons are emails, accounting / financing, and planning. Then normally a dinner or drink with s ome friends in shenzhen - then back to the office to crank out some phone calls or USA hour type work.

Wondering if I should stick on this schedule after the holiday or not……..

Seems more and more I do USA business - its just what I am strong at, and I should focus on my strength. Let the staff manage their projects in the morning, I come in after lunch, check on progress, do my emails and planning with them. Grab dinner, then do USA calls.

Reading some linkedin.com discussions, and one that caught my eye was “how did you get into your industry where you are today?” I answered it in the thread, but also want to expand on it more here.

Since I can remember, I always wanted to have my own company, back in 2003 after graduating university and starting a new full time analyst job at Deutsche Bank, I met Greg Schwartz, also a fresh grad in the new hire training program who turned his university senior design project (mobile phone java app) into a business - Mobatech LLC. It was rather funny, as I randomly sat down next to him during 1st day orientation, we became great friends, business allies, and i was in his wedding party! During our training in London, England - I came on board in Mobatech as a marketing & sales consultant (it was his idea for me to do sales…I didnt think I could do it!!!). I remember finding ways to increase downloads (not really purchases, but shows “top downloads” on some of the reseller networks) - it came to be one of the top selling productivity mobile applications. Soon those channels started changing it from top downloads to top sellers….hehe. But ya, I love finding ways to get ahead. Later he showed me his website server logs and asking me to understand it and grow visitors…..it amazed me seeing people from all over the world coming to his website. Sure, I had made websites before, but never analyzed traffic and sources before…it truly amazed me from that day forward.

Researching more into ways to increase website traffic, in 2004 I attended a “free” online marketing class in a fancy NYC hotel. I brought my roommate, Andrew Moran, and we got pushed/sold into a “package” with all the tools to start your own online internet business.

We had no idea what we were going to sell!!!!! Andrew would do the writing, logistics, and operations, I would do the financial, technology, and marketing - both of course pushing sales and sharing customer support. A 50/50 split and a handshake, on a street corner in midtown Manhattan. A new company was born - Parallel Phenomena (started as a general partnership in New York, later re-organized to a corporation in the state of new jersey - Parallel Phenomena, Inc) The name Parallel Phenomena represented Andrew and I (2 people in parallel) and phenomena meaning following our “gut” and feelings.

Sold on ebay, tried multiple online stores (first was pimp guide - your bachelor pad store mixed with nightclub VIP list) - and found success selling bar products…..so much that it didn’t make sense to have a general “everything i think is cool” online shop and ebay store - so being in NYC and taking into consideration the party nightscene and the current “pimp guide” bachelor feel - it seemed newyorkbarstore.com was a fitting name / brand, and the online shop was born in early 2005.

Taking it from there, working every night until we could keep our eyes open, and drinking beers on fridays watching TV (COPS TV show is still my favorite) and some Lower East Side bar hopping, Andrew and I kept on pushing to build up the online business. First we shipped products to our NYC apartment…knowing there wasn’t anyone to sign for it, I got the shoe shine guy downstairs (really cool guy, think Juan) to hold the goods for us till I got back from work. But that got out of hand quickly….so I got my younger university friend, George Couto, to help receive and ship products at the fraternity house while I had the dayjob. That got out of hand, so we found a UPS store….that was expensive and a nightmare - so George’s parent’s basement. Then I found a print broker (he printed the Pimp Guide book for us), Alan Kaufman, who had a storage unit for his business - so we rented a unit next to his, and he would receive and ship for us. Then that got out of hand…so we moved to Webgistix, a 3rd party fulfillment center - uHauled it ourselves on a weekend roadtrip.

That kept going on, a rollercoaster ride. I was the first, quitting the day job at Deutsche Bank in early 2007, with steadily growing online sales, toned internet experience, and a budding business network - it lead me to buying directly from China / Asia distributing into western markets. Started a UK company…but too many logistical problems…..maybe get back there one day

Frustrations trying to buy from China lead me to start Shadstone sourcing (Shadstone Associates, Inc) in mid 2007, spent some time living in San Diego, California w/ my good friend Piotr, I transitioned from the mind of a “9-5″ worker to the full time entrepreneur……..working on the beach, coffee shops, and couches via my laptop……it was cool…..but i wanted something more….it was kind of boring, I got a little lonely, and i wanted to expand.

in addition, I was still frustrated buying from overseas remotely, even though i was now a full-time entrepreneur so i had more time then when i was with a fulltime deutsche bank job, still so many miscommunications trying to buy from China while located in USA…..I felt could do it better if I was on the ground in China…..so I moved to Southern China (city Shenzhen) to have a better understanding and control of product development and supply chain - so I opened Hong Kong & China companies. Plus, China is where the future is, this is the emerging market - this is where the money is to be made, right??? Plus, I had my boys back in USA covering things there (Andrew, Alan, and other business allies), I would build up the sources and supply chain here in China / Asia. Get some ocean containers shipping out, automate order flow and marketing processes. Scale up. Life would be good, right?

Well….. I am not patient enough……and I learned I am not going to succeed in being that “white guy” who changes how business is done in China. I think thats the mistake us stupid foreigners make when we come to China. We think we can change the culture, change the history, change the world. What I have learned is, you have to learn how to go with the way things are, and adapt properly.

So, doing import/ export isn’t my thing. No patience, too crude, too much detail in specifications.

So, internet. But then there’s not just making websites for people (i’ve done that back since 1999). Can’t take that, because most people don’t know what they want (similar to buying products from factories overseas), the client constantly changes their mind. And the money isn’t big enough.

So, selling online, that is my thing, maybe that will work. ecommerce. I dont have to deal with people. I can scale it. I can automate it. Its a growing industry. I have sources and contacts now on various sides of the world - China, USA, UK, etc…..

But how to move forward from here. A lot of pieces in play…..

Just gonna keep on going with what worked and ride the wave. Never give up, keep your chin up, and don’t be negative.

Its been since christmas since blogging….no i haven’t forgotten about you guys….its more because ive been working day and night - and that is pretty boring to blog about.
But i am getting more confident, more focused. I am sure 2010 will be a great year….all the time, years, invested both in time and in money, now is the time to shine. Now more then ever.

I am consolidating all my various businesses into 1 main idea - ecommerce in usa from china ) asia. Merging newyorkbarstore into the shadstone group has really cemented the idea….as well as doing ecommerce projects for many factories and trading companies in china - all begging to get more direct access to the western world
As the globe continues to flatten, factories will need to market themselves more as a brand, meaning….the chinese factories need western marketing experts to bring them there

Who would that be???

You guessed it…the Shadstone group will provide the skills, people, and tools to market directly in the usa market. Mainly through the internet, but also with traditional marketing allies.
Building a great team of organized and focused staff….that care about what they do and want the company to succeed…
Im just a bit worried about chinese new years slowing things down.
But nothing will slow me down, have come too far, its now or never. There is no such thing as failure, just keep going.

Just read an article from an Israeli company statement that jobs outsourced to India and China and other emerging markets will never return to Israel.  And for the country to continue to thrive, it must focus on innovation and original ideas.

Baharav said, “The transfer of work to emerging markets is a trend which changes the global status quo, in my opinion. That is why I say that no job which is transferred to China or India will return. No product whose production is moved to China or India will ever return.” Baharav added “That is why companies like Amdocs need to focus on innovation.”

While this continues to reinforce my idea for relocating to China to do business…it really makes me wonder whats going to happen in the global scale.

Today, I have been talking to many Chinese internet guys, and they are just blasting the search engines..using their labor powerful force to build up in Google and other web search engines.  Building english websites, selling online, generating income.

Again, the world continues to flatten….and we all have to be quick on our feet and smart to stay ahead.

I have been spending a lot of time with my friend Jon Conte, whom I met in ITALY back in 2003 when we were part of a scholarship program for Italian Americans to learn about their heritage in Italy…..we were both living in New York at the time, so after our return from italy, we would spend times partying in new york city, as well as some other fun road trips. pretty funny that years later, we are in regular contact, and both in china pursuing our dreams, looking for something bigger than where we started.

Photo above: me, Jon Conte, and David Ho

Sitting next to him now, and we are both laughing about that. He and I both say we are in China for such different career purposes, but the same idea that USA is in a bad spot now and the future of opportunity is here in China!

Below is his MBA personal statement, he is studying at Fordham University in New York City and in an exchange program with Beijing University. He allowed me to put his statement of use to receive funding, so if you would like to read this before I start asking him questions (below this text). Right now I am helping him get his own blog setup on jonathanconte.com - check that after the next couple days to see what he is up to.

I have always been a high achiever and I believe that my academic and work records speak to that effect.  As a youth, I attended Regis High School in New York City, an all-scholarship boys Catholic High School, where I had my first experience in the true qualities of Jesuit education and learned the Jesuit credo to be a “man for others.”  I am versed in the classics, having studied both Latin and Italian while at Regis, and it was in these classes where I originally noticed my love for language and the opportunities linguistics opened to experience and interact with foreign cultures.  Regis High School pitted me in my first international setting, as I commingled with young men my age from around New York City, most from backgrounds far different than my own Italian heritage.  In many respects, it was my experiences at Regis that crafted my intellectual development, as I escaped the homogeneity that characterizes most students’ high school experiences.  I have never been afraid of others’ cultures and I embrace the diversity that characterizes our human experience.

Upon graduation from Regis in 2000, I began my undergraduate studies at Fordham University.  I was enthralled with the qualities of a liberal arts education enjoying my subjects equally but particularly enjoying philosophy, economics, language, and history.  Following the completion of my first semester at Fordham, I was asked to participate in Fordham University’s select Honor’s Program.  I readily accepted the opportunity, and was pleased to undertake my classes in a more close-knit and structured environment outside of the University’s general core track.  My time at Fordham saw my initial foray into the international sector as I obtained my degree in International Political Economy, partaking in this multidisciplinary field and studying key subjects such as International Politics, Economics, Italian language, and Anthropology.

Nevertheless, excluding my course study, my attempts and opportunities at exploring my passion for the International Development field were very limited.  In many respects, my efforts at this time were not to the best of my abilities, particularly for someone seeking opportunities in a field which requires significant independent study and outside internship experience.  There are several reasons for the lack of development of my passions at this juncture of my life, but none more prevalent than my need to work during my undergraduate career in order to support my education.  I was a commuting student as an undergraduate and although I received a modest scholarship, it was necessary for me to maintain employment throughout the year to meet my expenses.  My first working experience in college was working for my local City-Councilwoman in the Bronx as a legislative assistant.  I participated in this role starting in sophomore year and continuing through my first year after Undergraduate graduation.  If I was to characterize my favorite aspect of my work at the New York City Council, it was definitely the opportunities I had to help others.  I am particularly proud of some of the programs I was able to arrange such as flu shots for senior citizens and free dental screenings for children.  At the same time, I found the day to day interactions and inter-workings of New York City politics devoid of the cross-cultural opportunities that so endear me to the international setting.

The Councilwoman I worked for was on a term limited appointment and following the expiration of her term at the end of 2005, I was at a cross-roads.  Believing that security and stability were necessary aspects for my career I began my MBA in Finance at Fordham University and also started on a career in banking in mid-2006.  After three years in the banking industry, both at The Bank of New York Mellon and Merrill Lynch, I learned several important characteristics about myself.  For one, I was very good at the work, but truly this never endeared me to my day to day tasks.  I am a high-achiever from a hard-working middle class background.  When put to task, I do not know any other way to respond than to do my best.  My grandfather was a working class immigrant, who left his home in Italy at the age of seven-teen to make his way in America.  The dirt that stained his hands from a hard day’s labor is still present in my mind’s eye.  I will always work hard.  Secondly, I learned that I do not like, nor am I am I man who values the trappings that are associated with an investment banking career.  I have no great love of monetary gain, which whether good or bad, is most definitely a key motivator behind a banking career.

The financial crisis was also a crisis of conscience in my life.  I watched many people around me, good people, lose their jobs and feel lost as they faced a juncture in their careers.  Their careers had been dominated and characterized by what the firm expected them to be, what the firm expected them to know.  Now the financial crisis put them in a position where their skill sets were less their own and solely dominated by what they had been bred to be.  They now stood lost with nothing to show for their efforts except a mortgage payment and car loan.  I did not lose my job during the financial crisis, but rather I found the courage to believe that my career can only be dominated by work that I am passionate for.  I do not value money, but rather I value knowledge, wisdom, and experience.  My career should not be developed by an organization, but rather should be developed according to what I love and who I am innately at my core.

So here I stand before you, having left my job at Merrill Lynch in July, refocusing my degree aspirations to the study of Management and Leadership. I have begun my foray into the International Development field some 5 years after earning my undergraduate degree.  My life has come full-circle, but I have been tempered and emboldened by my life-experience.  My values are unshakeable and that is truly the wealth that I have received these past 5 years.

My career aspirations are clear.  I have been studying abroad in Beijing, China this fall semester and this experience has led me to form a passion for the people of China and a burning desire to master Mandarin.  My time at the UN Democracy Fund this spring will open significant doors for my career.  I believe it will be the perfect bridge for my political and financial backgrounds, but most of all ensure that my daily efforts are devoted to bring about change for the betterment of others’ lives.

So now that you got a better idea of where he is coming from….I am going to start interviewing him with some questions and get his own ideas.

in his own words:

i was originally a finance major, and was to follow the lines of a banker, continued in finance in Merryl Lynch - or another bank as a trader. but soon i realized i didnt have a passion for the work, for finance in general. so i feel my original path was misguided because i am more macroeconomic as i am more interested in politics. i switched to management because i didnt just want to be another guy who got an MBA for a better job. i value knowledge, wisdom, and experience. i wasn’t getting those, and i felt my MBA wasn’t allowing me to get it. my school is an b-mba, and wouldn’t help me get that much higher salary. a lot of the classes are like my undergrad. so i didn’t see the value from the traditional school outline - so i made my own based on the social - political side, instead of on the finance and math side. That is how I ended up in China, reading up on the political issues, this is the next battleground of the next century, or at least half century. USA has a lot of work to keep relations with China.

what about the students in your class

here in China, its 70% chinese. i am noticing that the chinese are going to mba for the same mistaken reasons americans go for an mba - just for social standards, to make more money in their jobs - but not for true embetterment. they are more focused on monetary gains then on knowledge. they see the mba as an opportunity to make more money, which i feel is the wrong reason to get an education. the only extra benefit in china as an mba is still more noticable than in usa. in usa, everyone these days seems to get an undergrad, and it doesnt seem to differentiate your self from one another. “once you start giving everyone a gold metal, its not a gold metal anymore.” everyone has an undergrad in the usa, and its almost getting that way with an mba.

there aren’t enough risk takers in mba programs anymore. they are just after money. my view in life now is money will follow what i do. i am not sure how much that will be, but the money i make will suffice for what it is a truly enjoy doing.

anything else you want to add.

it upsets to hear me that fordham university is offering a 2nd degree for chinese students who want to get their fordham degree. its a 5 week program in the summer for $10,000usd. these chinese students save for so long, and is this investment worth it. 5 weeks in usa for that much money. seems fishy to me.

=========================

Well, I have talked about MBA in the past and I hope my chat and discussion with Jon give you another angle.

you can see some of my previous posts for your reference

surrounded by hard working people - does it require an mba

maybe i should have gone to mba school…

survived cyber monday, who needs an mba

Reading this article has given me even more confidence that i am doing busines in the correct country in the world.  India Times reports already by population there are more people in china speaking english than in india.

The study estimates less than five per cent of the Indian population speaks English, which would mean that only about 55 million people in India will be fluent English speakers by 2010.

In comparison China adds 20 million English speakers each year as a result of new education policies that require English to be a compulsory subject in primary schools. According to an earlier British Council study, China had 200 million English users in 1995.

this makes me feel good for many reasons -

1 - often i am questioned / challenged why i do english websites in china - and that more people are having their english website work in india.  that india has better english speakers, blah blah  - now i will just refer to this article when i have those critics

2 - china still seems to me to be the economic powerhouse of this century.  i have said many times how its almost frightening to think - if china makes everything, sells everything, and now speaks just like the western world….what is the requirement to need the west anymore…..domestic growth in china is still on the rise, and china is quickly learning from the mistakes of western businesses to its advantage.

3- i am a valuable part of the growth in china - again, i feel warm welcome in china overall.  chinese people want to learn, to grow, and to embetter themselves.  reading this article again - that schools in china are requiring more english classes, they are not just forced.  i see so many young chinese that are yearning to learn english, and how the western culture thinks and operates.  so many questions, so many note taking.

just imagine in 10 or 20 years from now, when the new generation of chinese are in the working world, building up businesses, that how much china will be different then it is today.

amazing…..but also (for usa, and the western worlds) scary and intimidating.

Trying to change my perspective, and noting what others have said, i would have to discuss the fact that in asia, white guys have been flagged as scary, or even barbarians.
Well, if you back to “white” people, it goes to europe - an area that was in countless wars between its own countries and invading other lands.
“americans” today are really mainly descendants from europe, after overtaking “native american” land and settling there.
Seems normally in history it was europe or “white” people exploring other foreign lands, looking to expand its empire, add to its sources of natural resources, deploy its language as an official country language, and grow its name throughtout the world.
Now, that is great and dandy, depending on which side of the coin you are on - as the white / european citizen in your home - great, we are helping a poor country, improving its chances of higher education, investing into its infrastructure system…..
Maybe, from the “under developed” country, you were already happy with your life and your country, you didn’t ask these “white guys” to come over and “help”
Of course, i give to extreme sides, there are many perspectives and reasons one country settles to another….
Something to keep in mind - a more developed country consumes more natural resources - forcing the leadership and government of that country unto pressure to provide its people with OIL, grain, wood, metal, etc - so….one would tend to make assumptions why one country approaches another.
Ok, enough of the boring history stuff - TODAY - white guys are still scary because, the majority of those traveling are aggressive / adventurous - have to be to leave a home country.
Also, when i traveled to the phillippines, the girls tell me they are intimidated by white guys….and then i looked around at the majority of white guys - middle to older age war veterans from an army base that since moved out. Mostly overweight, long pony tails or bald, tattoos, - all single and looking to mingle….
If i were a filipina girl….i would be scared of white guys too!!!
The other night listening to music with dswei, i had some of my….agressive + “motivational” hip hop american music. One specifically was about a nightclub bouncer staying “ya’ll ain’t f_____king getting into the club tonight, ill show you _____ a riot (slams door)”…
To me, that is funny, and almost somewhat normal in new york (usa is pretty big, so cannot speak for the whole country), but to a chinese person - that is crazy and rude, and unheard of.
EVEN the other day, i wanted to visit a company, so i just go and knock on the door to see if the boss is available - my chinese colleagues said i shouldn’t do that because i would be seen as “crazy”
just another reason that the “white” culture is usually more upfront, aggressive, and direct.
Plus, traveling - exploring and approaching, does force the person / culture to become more like this.

Just some ideas…..now, when i look in the mirror at my white skin, i scare my own self….hahah

while yes, i am a ceo in some way, i still like to think of myself as an entrepreneur and small business owner. Ceo is too official and formal, plus in my eyes, ceo is a worker/ staff for the owners, while a business owner is the one who hires the ceo to manage his/ her business. So i prefer business owner over ceo if we get into titles.

Anyway, i have blogged in the past about ceo representing the 3 groups of a company

C = customers
E = employees
O = owners

And not only does this represent the 3 main parts of any business, it is also in the correct order!!!!!!

So many businesspeople i meet seem to put CEO in a different order. Like OCE, where they put the owners….or the end profits, ahead of the interests of the customers and employees…..i could not disagree more. While yes, a business is created to make profit and cashflow for its owners and investors, to have any long term business sustainability, you have to build qualty relations with your customers and your employees.

On the other extreme, it may be OEC , or even EOC (but this one seems rare), but both of these put the customer LAST! That is simply insane, because its the customer that is the whole reason the company is established! Listening to and adapting to the needs of your customer is the only way a business can grow and thrive for generations.

Maybe some will disagree with this post, but i think we all should consider keeping the CEO , customer, employee, and owner, in this order. reminding yourself and your team of this priority should also keep everyone on track

“A man who never made a mistake, never made anything” - Richard Branson.

that quote inspires me! I relate to it in the fact that I am taking risks, many of which people think I am crazy to do. But I think to myself, I only live once, and if I make a mistake, then who cares, I learn, I move on, lesson learned and I’ll be a better person the next day.

So while traveling, I picked up the book “Business the Richard Branson Way”, and it was definitely a great read! Not a long book, so I can get through it rather quickly and get the main bullet points from it.

Here are some main points I picked up from it:

1) Pick on someone bigger than you - You will never grow if you don’t go after the big boys. Fight any way you can, use marketing tactics that your big competitors would be afraid to be known to use, and get deals with questionable upstarts that may become big hits.

2) Do the Hippy, Hippy Shake - a hippy capitalist, Richard is a guy that works hard and plays hard. He inspires his staff to do the same, having big parties and long nights in the office. Get everyone in the organization to buy in.

3) Haggle - everything is negotiable - one thing about Richard Branson seems to be his ability to negotiate. Another thing is, he doesn’t give shares in his parent company Virgin very easily, Instead he sets up new companies where the shares are divided between the businessmen. Interesting…

4) Make Work fun - like I said up above, Richard has his team buy into the company idea. He says “people work cheaper if they like it”. Its not just money that has people work hard for a company, its about achieving a mutual goal. Inspire others, create energy in the company. Praise instead of criticize, motivate others.

5) Don’t lead sheep, herd cats - this chapter really inspired me. If you have a team of independent workers, let them take ownership of a project. Make a team of ENTREPRENEURS within your company. Master of Mayhem, Branson allows the teams to run independently, his Virgin network operates pretty independently, and Branson becomes an “orchestrator of chaos”, as if it were a rock band.

6) Move faster then a speeding bullet - push people to keep learning new things. challenge your team. When a joint venture opportunity comes to him, he brings the brand and the energy, the other side brings the experience and knowledge.

7) Size does matter - Branson wants to keep his operations to talk on a first name basis, so smaller is better . If the group becomes too big, he splits them up. He wants the workers to be in a startup culture, and have a web of startups. He is a builder of businesses, not a buyer of existing businesses.

Never lose the common touch - Branson has charisma. He is charming, and fun to be around. His energy brings people to him, and opportunities keep on flowing. Even though he is a billionaire now, he is still on the same level as the general public.

This book was an awesome read for me. I didn’t understand the Branson way that much before, and I really connected with his ideas in the book. I hope to apply these to my day to day life…

Being in China, I didn’t expect to be exposed to so many europeans….but from my experiences I have gotten involved with more Europeans than Americans here. Of course I am learning more and more how do to business in China as a foreigner…..but at the same time, I am getting exposure to doing business with Europeans.

My involvement with DBR Shenzhen / Finland didn’t work out…and I think that is for a few reasons. But one I will chat about today is the differences I noticed between Europeans and Americans. I would talk about apples, and I would get responses about oranges…..

Difference 1: Language - I am going to admit it, again, I am a spoiled american! I grew up speaking 1 language, doing business in 1 language, and mostly dealing with people who grew up in similar households and cultures as I did. Of course I grew up in a middle income suburb in Hartford, Connecticut - mostly exposed to Spanish (Puerto Rican), Italian, and Polish heritages….and maybe some of the parents / families couldn’t speak english and at my friend’s houses we’d hear the mom or dad talk in Italian or Spanish to our friends…..but I would say minor exposure to those who didn’t grow up speaking English language.

Now, dealing with Europeans, they are used to dealing in multiple currencies and multiple languages. And they LOVE to discuss the differences in the cultures between their countries in the EU. I feel left out, as I am an “ignorant” or “sheltered” American guy, and am not familiar with the politics or cultural differences of Germany versus Holland, for example. So many times, I am in bars with Europeans, and they would talk about these differences, and these experiences with different cultures…and I am left there listening, as I cannot really add anything to the conversations….

But not only is this difference with the culture and the knowledge of the cultural differences in the EU, but its also that most do not grow up with English, or not using it commonly. So when I deal with a European business associate, they struggle to express themselves in the English language.

Difference 2: Design / Detail - One thing taht is always annoying to me, is when in a project, the design is in the driver’s seat. To me, functionality is the primary focus - GET THE DAMN THING TO WORK…..then worry about how beautiful it is. I think this is why I enjoy doing business in china….as here in China they are also “get it done, worry about details later” attitude. I have the perspective that American’s have the “cowboy” attitude….and Chinese are similar there. But in Europe….they are more concerned with the design layout and the perfectionism of the product. This is a common dispute I have, with anyone, but I notice that in Europe, design is so important so I am often bumping heads in this department.

Difference 3: Work Ethic - I know I may get some heat from friends on this one…but I think most Europeans want to enjoy life, and are more casual about getting the project done as urgently as I may feel. Here though, Northern Europeans (Finland, Sweden) seem to have a stronger work ethic than the Southern Europeans (Italy, Spain), but even still, I sometimes would generalize that in Europe, its not normal to work overtime and weekends.

Of course there are books probably written about this subject, but I wanted to write down some of the differences I have highlighted in my dealings with Europeans, as an American.