Midway Takeaways

I'm flying to Hong Kong as I write this. Below are several snippets and takeaways from my trip thus far.


We’ve completed travel through two of our three cities. At the end of each visit, Mabel asks the group to share your perspective on our learnings from both business and social perspectives. Today (5/16), while crowded near our gate in Shanghai’s airport, I shared mine.

For almost three years I had the pleasure of living and working in Washington, DC. Every time I came back to Washington from a trip, I made myself drive into the heart of Washington, crossing over the Potomac and getting a crystal clear view of the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Memorial and the Capital Rotunda. I would drive right up to the west side of the Capital Building before circling around it to head to my humble apartment on Capital Hill. Why did I do this? It was simply my way to take in the awe of Washington. To feel the power of American government. It’s splendor and magnificence.

Visiting Beijing, I had the same feeling. You can certainly feel the power of government. “Official-dom” is ever-present. Armed guards and gates. Flags. Statues. Enormous monuments and open spaces. It felt the same as Washington. But just like in the states, once you leave Beijing, it’s difficult to have that same feeling. You don’t “feel” Chinese government in Shanghai just like you don’t “feel” American government in New York. That is mostly because you can’t see it. The symbols, statues and official-dom are not there to behold. But clearly, what we learned is that government – even in Shanghai – is ever-present in business. And not only must business develop relations with the central government, provincial and local government must be factored in as well. Government is behind the scenes. It’s in phone calls and lunch meetings. It’s in contracts. In negotiations and business deals. We heard from one CEO that many multinational CEOs wish they could spend 50% of their time working with the various levels of government. It is part of the business process and if an organization maintains strong productive relationships with all levels of government, business will generally blossom. What is “productive”? A relationship that is win-win for both sides.

Same Principle Applies
In planning my trip, I packed a short narrative written by my uncle Laurence Sprunt. Uncle Laurence, through his own will, gathered together some wise and interesting stories about life as he has seen it – some humorous and all instructive. In one of the stories, he talks about how he and a friend headed west to California to develop relationships with lumber companies to represent their lumber on the east cost of the United States. How ironic. Here I am, many years later, heading east to make business contacts in China reading a book from my Uncle, a graduate of UNC with a degree in “commerce”. The world has changed so much in his lifetime but one thing hasn’t changed about Uncle Laurence. He’s one shrewd business man and still to this day has the first penny he’s ever earned in his pocket. So while touring through the streets of Souzu, I couldn’t help myself when I came across this sign – evidence of a good marketer and just like Uncle Laurence, and Chinaman who knows how to drum up business.

Sweet Candy
I can’t imagine moving through China without a guide. They help with translation and logistics but also the better guides really know their history and the traditions of this country. And in Shanghai, we had the best experience with Candy, pictured here. She was not only thorough and easy to deal with but she was also quite funny. On day one, someone sneezed on the bus. She said to us – in heavy Chinenglish: “You know Chinese tradition about sneeze? Chinese says that one sneeze means someone thinking of you. Two sneeze mean someone cursing you. Three sneeze? You’re sick.”

Another one from Candy: “You know what national bird of China is? Building Crane.”

And finally: “You know what national flower of China is? Peony. Some people, they think national bird is carnation. Get it? Car-nation.”

We will miss Candy.

A Lesson in Brushing Teeth

Harry and Ella Reaves, you’ve got it made. We know its such a drag to brush your teeth twice a day. But imagine not being able to brush your teeth with the water from the sink? For the entire trip, I have brushed my teeth with bottled water. And I’m incredibly efficient. I can get about three brushes in with a small bottle. China is a developing country and drinking water out of the sink can’t be done. So brush up kids and be grateful. You’ve got it made.

The Evening Class

Those of my classmates following our trip, we’re having a great time. I think I speak for the evening group in saying that it’s been a fun experience meeting and traveling with the day and weekend students. We’ve shared some good stories about professors, careers and other life matters. But in addition to the folks on our trip, we’ve met alumni – both ex-pat and Chinese – in every city along the way. They have been fascinating and have provided a whole new level of perspective for our trip. Meeting students from the other Kenan-Flagler programs has been a rewarding experience in this global emersion. It has also proven Kenan-Flagler’s prominence throughout the world – something that we can all be proud of an leverage in the future.


Stay tuned.