Why should you read this book?

If you are a young, or not so young design professional and you want to not only work in China but downright prosper and succeed then this book is essential.

It’s a distillation of wisdom from the men and women who have been in the trenches and the mud and rebuilt a country. This book is packed with advice, insights, tips and tricks from 25 of the world leaders in architecture and design.

Navigating the hutongs and alleyways of practicing architecture in China will never be easier than by taking on board the collective knowledge of these giants in the industry. Men and women who collectively have enough awards and kudos that would take a warehouse to show them all.

And every single one of the have been doing business in China for up to 30 years.

Insights, tips and tricks and the accumulated wisdom of people who have actually been down and dirty at the coalface.

You will learn:

How to create winning strategies for architectural competitions in China – and how to get paid afterwards. How you manage the mixture of staff you will work in China with the minimum of hassle. How to manage cash-flow in a very demanding and different environment. How to work with LDI’s – the Local Design Institutes that every architect in China has to work with. How to work with local developers Insights from a former Director of the Land Planning Bureau in a T1 city. Get surprising vision of what the future holds and where the next wave of work is coming from.

These and literally hundreds more tips and tricks that will make your work in China feel like home.

You are also going to learn hard won advice for doing business here – explanations of some of the unofficial rules that exist in China and without an understanding of them the road is hard and tortuous.

You will learn:

What is Guanxi? And it is not what most people think it is but the real idea and how to use it to build networks. The Rules of ‘Driving’ in China and why learning the driving rules teaches you about business. Partners: Why choosing your partners is the single biggest decisions you will make in China and finding out just who are the best partners? Why Boots on The Ground will determine your level of success. How to Walk Slow and Run Fast What is Yin and What is Yang and why this is important in everyday life in China. Why Chops and Seals are so important and how to avoid losing your skin because of not knowing this. How to Eat, Drink and Be Merry

And all presented with dozens of other insights into the way of doing business in the world’s oldest civilization, gleaned from years of experience in China.

Crombie Gavin

Books