Business is done at the dinner table
This is something that US businessmen don’t understand. In the states, dinner, drinks and entertainment is meant to be good rapport building before you go to the negotiation table. In the US, I would say you talk very little business at the actual dinner table. This is not the case in China as the majority of business is worked out and discussed over dinner.
Seat arrangement is important
This I think is pretty unique but if you’re eating in a big group which is very customary, the arrangement of where everybody sits is important. The dinner tables will be arranged in a circle and the biggest boss who is also generally the one who picks up the check sits at the far end of the table(red square) facing the door (purple rectangle). Then more important people (yellow squares) surround him and where then the lowest ranking individuals (green square) are sitting at the other side of the table.
Not sure where you are supposed to sit? Your best bet is to wait for others to sit down first or as a form of respect, push to sit across the table unless you are instructed otherwise.
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Drinking Etiquette
This is unique as well and let me tell you, Chinese businessmen can drink. At times I feel very fortunate to have a fair drinking tolerance which has allowed me to keep up with these guys. What's important to understand is that they will individually “cheers you”. Generally at the first half of dinner there will be a lot of heavy drinking. It’s etiquette to “cheers” the guy next to you, which essentially is taking a shot and then go around the table taking shots with everybody individually until you’ve gone around one time. Everybody at the table will be doing this simultaneously and it can be very fun and hectic as well.
What is also important about this is cup position when you actually touch glasses. If you ranked lower than the person you are “cheering” than you will want to position your glass lower than his. More than likely, out of respect, he will try to lower his underneath yours; here is where you will have to lower your glass even further out of respect for him.
I’ve demonstrated this by drawing my cup as the yellow cup and the higher ranking individual as the red cup.
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So obviously doing business in China is more than just drinking around the dinner table but I thought this would be a great start to a long series I can do over the next year. Outside of the the small etiquette you have to know, the two biggest things you need to understand about doing business in China is this, everything is about relationships and respect. If you can understand how to build the right relationships and demonstrate the proper respect with how you conduct your business, than you will have a leg up on a lot of people. Some would argue that is standard business 101 but the importance of relationships and respect in China is 100X more important.
Quick Hits:
- Please shoot out a prayer for all those potentially caught up in the big storm on the East Coast. We all hope everybody is safe and people can go on with their lives after it all.
- Business and life is about having fun. Make sure you’re building an environment for your employees to enjoy what they are doing and take the time to listen and respond to what they might be telling you. Your employees are your greatest asset, you should always make sure they are fulfilled and are enjoying their time at the company.
Quote:
A business has to be involving, it has to be fun, and it has to exercise your creative instincts.
-Richard Branson
