Author: Henry M. Paulson Jr
File under: Strategy
Executive Summary: Dealing With China by former US Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. is a narrative retelling of Mr Paulson’s history of working with China during his time with both Goldman Sachs and later as part of the Bush Whitehouse.
This book is an interesting look at the inside of Chinese power politics and the high-power world of international deal making though the late 90’s and early to mid 2000’s. While the book hinges on Mr Paulson’s interactions with the Chinese Government and the work of Goldman Sachs to assist in bringing large structural change to China, my real takeaways were from the way that breakthroughs were achieved.
At the outset of the book the Chinese government is a mess of internal politics and incompetent yes-men (or more accurately ‘no-men’) who are a legacy of the communist era of the 80s. Almost every early deal discussed were mired in internal Chinese politics and often a meeting with a key person is the difference between getting the go-ahead or not.
As the book moves on from the late 90s to the 2000’s, the Chinese government begins to replace its yes-men with people with drive and talent. This results in deals becoming easier to do, as well as a new empahsis on deals delivering growth and presteige.
While offering a interesting narrative, the book does not offer any obvious answers for someone looking to improve thier own deals with China. Rather the reader is expected to distill their own lessons from the text. The book is much more focused on recounting the “war stories” of Mr Paulson’s career working with China than offering helpful advice.
Which make’s me think, perhaps I’ve mis-read the title. Mr Paulson is indeed recounting himself ‘Dealing’ with China.
B>llets:
- Dealing with the Chinese, at least in this book, is based around the idea of concensus first.
- If consensus can’t be reached, then escallation to a senior decison maker is necessary to make further progress.
- Chinese meeting etiquite is very formal (in the book) and its important to understand how to work within these formalities to acheive targets.
- “I tend to approach all challenges the same way: Start with a big vision, choose a concrete first step that can be accomplished quickly to build momentum, then push forward relentlessly holding people to tight schedules.”
- Setting an example is much more effective than berating people for non-compliance. Mr Paulson relays a story of picking up rubbish around a lake in China that the local handlers had not cleared away. Rather than allowing the government officials to reprimand them, he simply picks up the trash – “Everyone is responsible for keeping the lake clean. I’ll do my part”
- This was respected both by the local officials, and by the senior party leaders.
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Great Read for: Strategy, Narrative, Geopolitics
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