Related News
Home » Opinion » Book review
Networking is another word for guanxi
By Wang Yong |
March 21, 2009, Saturday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THE 2005 networking bestseller "Never Eat Alone" is not really about urging you to dine out in groups.
It's about "generously" spending your time in networking, especially purposeful networking.
To an average Western reader, the book provides useful tips on how to network to succeed.
To a Chinese reader, however, it has more to reveal.
It proves with vivid stories and hard facts that guanxi is not a Chinese patent. It is embedded in both Western and Chinese (Oriental, for that matter) cultures.
The very term guanxi is thus a redundant invention in the world of English. "Network" suffices.
Many people, Chinese and Western, falsely believe that Chinese society is one of guanxi and Western society is one of rule of law. They can't be more naive.
Keith Ferrazzi and Tahl Raz, the authors of the book "Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time," cited a 1974 sociological study in explaining the value of networking.
The study found that 56 percent of the men in Newton, Massachusetts, had got their jobs through friends, as opposed to recruiters, ads or employer interviews.
"Success in any field, but especially in business, is about working with people, not against them," said the authors.
True, there's nothing wrong with networking, and much of the book's advice is very practical.
But one unintended effect of the book is to effectively close the imaginary gap between Western and Chinese societies when it comes to guanxi (or lack of it).
That said, the book is a useful guide on how to interact with people. For example, it teaches you how to start an interesting conversation with a stranger:
1. Be alert to body language - Relax your arms. Don't be afraid to touch the other person if it is appropriate.
2. Make the other person feel like the center of attention - Don't look around.
3. Discuss something interesting and topical - Be talkative, but let others speak, too.
4. Be aware of people's different styles.
The authors cited Andrew Carnegie's homespun approach: Be good listeners, be sincere, smile, and be honest.
For a greenhorn in networking, the advice is great, but for seasoned networkers it's a restatement of the obvious.
The book would have been more valuable had the authors discussed the limits of networking in more detail.
Life has taught us that birds of a feather flock together. However "generous" you are with your time in networking, the more people you know may not mean you're better off.
In the end, it's your character, not the numbers of the people you know, that matters in social networking.
It's about "generously" spending your time in networking, especially purposeful networking.
To an average Western reader, the book provides useful tips on how to network to succeed.
To a Chinese reader, however, it has more to reveal.
It proves with vivid stories and hard facts that guanxi is not a Chinese patent. It is embedded in both Western and Chinese (Oriental, for that matter) cultures.
The very term guanxi is thus a redundant invention in the world of English. "Network" suffices.
Many people, Chinese and Western, falsely believe that Chinese society is one of guanxi and Western society is one of rule of law. They can't be more naive.
Keith Ferrazzi and Tahl Raz, the authors of the book "Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time," cited a 1974 sociological study in explaining the value of networking.
The study found that 56 percent of the men in Newton, Massachusetts, had got their jobs through friends, as opposed to recruiters, ads or employer interviews.
"Success in any field, but especially in business, is about working with people, not against them," said the authors.
True, there's nothing wrong with networking, and much of the book's advice is very practical.
But one unintended effect of the book is to effectively close the imaginary gap between Western and Chinese societies when it comes to guanxi (or lack of it).
That said, the book is a useful guide on how to interact with people. For example, it teaches you how to start an interesting conversation with a stranger:
1. Be alert to body language - Relax your arms. Don't be afraid to touch the other person if it is appropriate.
2. Make the other person feel like the center of attention - Don't look around.
3. Discuss something interesting and topical - Be talkative, but let others speak, too.
4. Be aware of people's different styles.
The authors cited Andrew Carnegie's homespun approach: Be good listeners, be sincere, smile, and be honest.
For a greenhorn in networking, the advice is great, but for seasoned networkers it's a restatement of the obvious.
The book would have been more valuable had the authors discussed the limits of networking in more detail.
Life has taught us that birds of a feather flock together. However "generous" you are with your time in networking, the more people you know may not mean you're better off.
In the end, it's your character, not the numbers of the people you know, that matters in social networking.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
