Managing The Dragon

When someone learns that I have lived in China since 1994, one of the first things they ask is what I miss most. It’s an easy question to answer: holidays and sports. I have always found it very difficult to go to the office on July 4 in Beijing, knowing that everyone back home is […]

First it was pagers, then cell phones, then Internet use and then cars. In each case, China has emerged as the largest market in the world for these products soon after they were introduced into the country. Can the same thing happen in sports? When I came to China over 15 years ago, I would […]

Last week, China rendered its long awaited verdict: it blocked Coca-Cola’s bid to buy one of China’s largest juice companies for $2.4 billion on antitrust grounds. In case you haven’t been following the story, Coca-Cola made its offer to acquire China Huiyuan Juice Group Ltd. in early September 2008. Building upon the momentum it gained […]

It’s pretty safe to say that 2008 did not turn out like anyone expected. At the beginning of the year, there were already signs that the United States economy was heading for a recession, but no one expected the total financial and economic meltdown that ultimately occurred. In China, there was a big question mark […]

In order to meet the objectives of its various stakeholders–stockholders, employees, creditors, suppliers and anyone else with an interest in the company’s success–a company must run its business and perform according to a variety of metrics. Sometimes, however, circumstances become so critical that it must adopt an overriding, singular focus for the good of all. […]

From all anecdotal evidence, the 2008 Beijing Olympics lived up to its promise and was a great success. Whether sitting in the Bird’s Nest or watching on television, everyone was simply blown away by the show China put on for the Opening Ceremony. Friends of mine in Beijing had nothing but good things to say […]

These past three weeks in Beijing have been some of my most memorable in China. The Games themselves—from the Opening Ceremony to the amazing lineup of Chinese athletes and the unbelievable individual performances by Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt—- have been nothing short of spectacular. Along with that, I have had my entire family in […]

NBC and its affiliates have a ton of people here covering the Olympics, but even those not in China are featuring Beijing, China and the Games in their broadcasts from the States. In June, I was interviewed by Maria Bartiromo for her Wall Street Journal Report. Even then, much of the talk was about the […]

If you are in Beijing and hadn’t gotten into the Olympic spirit before this Monday, you couldn’t help but get into it then. Both NBC and CNN began their Olympic coverage with Matt Lauer conducting interviews on the Great Wall and John Vause and Anjali Rao leading Countdown Beijing.  Meanwhile, United, Continental, Lufthansa and dozens […]

The last few days in Beijing have been hot, muggy and grey—not great news for the upcoming Olympic Games. Also, the elimination of one-half of the cars on the streets of Beijing through the odd/even license plate system has not reduced traffic as much as one might think or hope. For one thing, one lane […]