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Day #3
It’s day #3 and I’m considering a lifetime ban on Chinese food. It’s actually not that bad, I think others are having much more difficulty than I am. Positioning myself as a vegetarian has saved me more than once. If you’re a picky meat eater, you’re in trouble. I felt bad for George yesterday during lunch. We ate “Imperial Style” which basically means there’s really no menu and the food keeps coming in small courses. At one point I was given a really tasty bowl of mushroom/tofu soup. Everybody else got a covered bowl of soup that was described as “chicken soup”. The thing is that I’ve never seen blue chicken covered with bumpy, scaly skin. Chicken? Right! George had stashed some beef jerky which I think became the backup lunch for him.
Morning Lecture
We had a really great lecture by the Dean of our host school, Dr. Bing Xiang. As has been the case all week, I continue to appreciate the perspective we’re getting from being here and understanding how the Chinese view themselves. Dr. Xiang was very candid about what he thought about Chinese business, it’s role in the global market and the futures of Europe, the US and the emerging economies of India and Russia. In particular I was surprised about his optimism regarding a more cooperative China-Japan relationship. Dr. Xiang sees thit relationship thawing in the years to come precipitated by synergies between the two countries primarily due to Japan’s aging population and the anticipated lack of talent that will be required to perpetuate business there.
Dr. Bing seemed optimistic regarding the United States also. Xiang considers the US the absolute leader in secondary education with no close seconds. He also considers the US leaders in the area of leadership development, management practices and techniques and innovation. Xiang was also very candid about the Chinese shortcomings and how they relate to the US. China lacks the capacity for wealth creating innovation, which the US is quite good at. He described the Chinese as leaders in low-cost and experts at “copy-catting” and not so good at generating original concepts, which is evident as you see Chinese companies first hand. More on that below…
HuiYuan Juice Company – Chinese Juicy-juice
After lunch we headed out to the Beijing hinterland. As you might expect the landscape gets very bleak as you leave the city. The soaring glass skyscrapers are replaced by small “worker shanties” and what I’d describe as ran shackled strip malls. The HuiYan Juice factory is a huge complex. I didn’t get the details regarding the physical dimensions, but it was big. The “campus” looks like an old Soviet-Style factory. It’s a very sterile style that I found very bleak and depressing. As we wondered around the complex, you get the feeling that somebody pulled the plug on the drain that was holding all the color in, it’s all just kind of grey. The only exception to this is colorful flowers lining the walking paths and sidewalks. The yellow and red flowers are in pots and in some cases are planted in what looks like plastic kerosene jugs that have been cut in half. Lack of originality is evident as all of the landscaping is in long continuous rows with no variation or mixing. This reflects the predominant mindset here. Whatever you do, DO NOT COLOR OUTSIDE THE LINES!
During the visit to HuiYuan, it dawned on me why the Chinese might have difficulty breaking out of in-the-box thinking. I imagined myself toiling away in such a Spartan, dark, emotionally repressive environment year after year. I couldn’t imagine having one innovative or inspirational moment with the exception of maybe considering improving the environment. Juxtapose this with an office complexes in California like Cisco or Google. These environments inspire thinking – at least in my opinion. I think human beings tend to be more creative and optimistic when surrounded by interesting shapes, bright colors and things that inspire creativity. My advice to our friends at HuiYan:
1. By yourself a ticket to California and knock around silicon valley for a few weeks to get ides.
2. Hire yourself a really good interior designer. Maybe they could sign up for Trading Spaces?
3. Stand on your head, think about your surrounds with a new perspective, do one thing dangerous, funky, whacky or inspirational everyday.
Italian Food in China
I think Barbara and crew anticipated that we’d be growing tired of fighting the culture shock and arranged for an Italian meal. I didn’t really get much of a feel for exactly what this place on the outskirts of Beijing was all about. The sign outside the complex said “Italian Organic Farm” – I Guess this is where they grow Italians? Aside for the most horrible wine I’ve ever had, the meal was actually quite good. As you’d expect, they had pasta, garlic bread, salad and even tiramisu. All was pretty darned good. By the time we all finished around 8:30 or so, I think we were all very ready to get back to the hotel. The days have been long and I think many of us are still adjusting to the time zone even though we’ve all been here for at least 3 days.
Off to the Great Wall. No posts until Wednesday night (Bejing time). Talk soon, Peter.
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It’s interesting to hear about your trip to the juice factory. I especially liked your description: “It’s as if someone pulled the drain on all the color.” It’s bizarre because I had a very different experience today at an elementary school. I was visiting a friend of mine in North Carolina (thank you Columbus Day!)and her kids wanted us to join them for lunch at school. I was shocked when we walked into the cafeteria because all you could hear was the most beautiful classical music over the loud speakers. Apparently at this school they play classical music at lunchtime and NO ONE (not the kids or the adults) are allowed to speak when the music is playing. It was amazing to watch because the music was so calming and beautiful and it allowed the kids to focus on eating lunch without distraction (keep in mind, the room was filled with about 100 7 to 9 year olds, so you can imagine how the scene might otherwise look). They only play the music for about 5 minutes at a time so the kids still have time to talk with friends, but it was incredible to watch and believe it or not, it seemed like the kids didn’t mind!
Whether at home, school or work, is so important to have a peaceful, pleasing experience. Wouldn’t it be great if that was the case everywhere, all the time?