Thailand Face and Leadership (in Thailand) Larry has written one of the best books on Thai culture that I've ever read, The Way Thais Lead. His focus is face and leadership, but what is really valuable is his in-depth research combined with his lifetime of experience in Thailand. The book dissects Th
Business The more things change... ...the more they stay the same.Shocker: Official and unofficial numbers for China 2012 economy are not the same!!! And, hold your breath…..the official numbers not only aren't accurate they've erred on the side of making last year's downturn less dramatic and the
Culture Red Shirts and Business as Usual The protests in BKK have put the Thai government and the Thai people in an awkward position. The protests are no longer about if the government will change. Rather they are about when will the govt step down, how will it come about, and what will Thailand do afterward.The
Book Reviews Books to read if you’re coming to China I apologize for not posting for a while. I was completing a year-long goal of losing 50lbs and running a triathlon, the Laguna Phuket Triathlon, this last week. I have never been so proud of 618th place in my life!I've also been incredible busy--I'
Thailand Thailand—to visit or not to visit? Update 13th May: Thailand tourist numbers 1/2 of last year's numbers.-----------------------------If you only read/watch the news on the major sites then you’d probably concede that tourists in Thailand are in a world of danger because of the ongoing political protests there. But talking with
Business Bits and Pieces From This Week in China 1. Factories out the Wazoo!I’ve been in 7 different factories in the last 10 days. Factories making everything from furniture to molded metal office suppliers, from clothing to candle holders, from offset printing to silk screening. Despite their different industries/products they all had a few things in
Business Thai Economic News...Worse Than Expected...ouch! Worse than expected? That must be really bad!Really, with all the bad news about the world economy lately, how could anyone be surprised by bad economic numbers from anywhere at this point? The numbers out of Thailand are indeed “dismal” and the fact that things are going to get
Business Post CNY Review--Thailand, China and the Hopelessnes in the US Feb 6 UPDATE--Like I said. "6.8% growth might as well be 0." And guess what? It actually was (more here)!___________________________________________________________I purposefully tried to avoid Asian news for the CNY Holiday. A change is as good as a break, right? It was nice to spend some
Business Expecting the Unexpected, Part II The much anticipated part II:6. No one can control Chinese workers around national holidays.Despite the iron fist that most use to control their workers the rest of the year, Chinese New Year is the exception. Workers rule with their feet. They leave when they want and come back
Business Expecting the Unexpected We’re back!No, we were not on vacation for all of last month. Not all of it, at least. We’ve actually been so busy that I’m wondering where the depression I’ve been reading about is. Really. Back in SLC, the stores, mall parking lots, theaters and
Business Article Pass-along Two excellent articles on China from other sites.First, China in the context of the world's melt down--it's not only not going to save the world, it's probably going to make it worse. This is a great piece--if you don't
Business One More Day of News Links Since I've been at factories and solving project issues all week, I've not had time to write a "real" blog--so here is another of my (usually) tri-weekly news links list. Enjoy.1. China on President Elect ObamaFirst, be careful on Taiwan. Second,
Business News Round Up--The Best Links of the Last 48 Hours I collect news links to read as I travel back and forth to factories. Here is my edited list of hightlights from Wednesday and Thursday. I thought it was especially good reading so I'm sharing. You're welcome.China stocks continue to drop, and while you can’
Business China, the global financial mess and what it means for SME's So, what’s really up with China and the Global Economy?Are they immune, hurting like everyone else, headed for collapse or what? Options include:1. They are fine and will see few if any affects from the world’s economic slow down.2. They are not only fine but
Business Much of what you see in China is planned/fake to some degree (updated 30 Sept) Update 30/09/08: others are noticing the contradiction between walking in space and the disasters on the ground in China. Many are saying that the solution is increased accountability within the system.____________I've said more than once that much of what you see here in China is
Business What does the milk powder scandal mean for you, an SME, doing business in China? I was interviewed by Public Radio’s Market Watch segment yesterday and their focus on the general economic conditions (downturn) headed into China got me thinking that there are certainly going to be more rather than less problems in the future. Specifically, Scott Tong asked me, in regards to the
Business Thailand #13, China #83 I mentioned on Wednesday that, despite the media that plays up every aspect of violence it can find anywhere in the world, the political crisis in Thailand will have little impact on business. Turns out I was right. More here and here too. Unfortunately, I also said (as a comment
Business So, how's the economy in China doing? Last week, while negotiating some future opportunities, I had the boss of a potential supplier tell me that the slow down in the US (and the EU) is having no affect on China whatsoever. He then proceeded to tell me how strong the domestic Chinese economy was and that I
Business Things like this come in 3's Like Junior Soprano claims, “things like this come in 3’s.” Maybe it’s true.For the first time today I saw a Bangkok license plate on a car in China. (I can't upload the photo for some reason, you'll just have to believe me that
Business "How the hell does anyone do business over here?!"* (or China vs. Thailand, pt.274) So let me get this straight…1. If my factory makes a mistake I get stuck paying for it or lose my deposit or go to court just to get what I contracted for? Right.2. If my factory can’t hit the quality standards specified I get stuck with
Business Where should you be? I've written a number of times about Inland Western China vs. Eastern Coastal China and the advantage and disadvantages of each and how to decide where to locate. There are certainly hundreds of other city and country specific comparison pieces online too. Some of the best are at
China Neither of these things are good news for business in Asia. First, Google News in China today:And this article about Thailand--um...banking on the stars? Ok, we did have Nancy Reagan, but this is the defacto-PM himself. Scary.
Business ASEAN Tidbits One visa for all countries in ASEAN—great idea! The fact that you’ve got Thailand,Malaysia and Vietnam all fighting over the same pool of potential business clients and ton of tourists going to both Cambodia and Thailand (and to a lesser degree Vietnam) this is a great deal
Business Thailand vs China, part II I'll admit, I'm biased. I would much rather live in Thailand than just about anywhere else on the planet. And news today of Thailand's world #47 ranking in medical technology. And Thailand costs (better than Korea, Japan, Malaysia, and China) supports my desire. Article
