Guanxi: Is the Chinese expression for a close relationship. It is more than friendship and does not translate easily into English. However the feelings and emotions that Guanxi generates are very strong and powerful. It transcends words and body language into something that we in the Western culture cannot describe, only experience! If we are fortunate enough to have the opportunity.
My relationship with China did not actually begin in China. It began a lot closer to home—at a trade show booth in Louisville, Kentucky. It was the mid 1990s, and I was with my previous company, Recovery Technologies Inc. (RTI)—we made and sold cryogenic tire recycling units around the world—at the International Tire and Retreaders Association’s (ITRA) annual convention.
At some point on that fateful day, a very tall man came up to our RTI booth and introduced himself. His name was Roger Newman, and I had no idea who he was. He had not been involved with the ITRA as far as I knew—I had been a director for several years and had not heard his name before. Roger’s six-foot-four-inch frame was quite a bit more imposing than my five-foot-seven-inch one, and with a soft voice and unassuming manner that belied his size, he asked me a very simple question: Was I interesting in selling tire-recycling units to China?
My relationship with China did not actually begin in China. It began a lot closer to home—at a trade show booth in Louisville, Kentucky. It was the mid 1990s, and I was with my previous company, Recovery Technologies Inc. (RTI)—we made and sold cryogenic tire recycling units around the world—at the International Tire and Retreaders Association’s (ITRA) annual convention.
At some point on that fateful day, a very tall man came up to our RTI booth and introduced himself. His name was Roger Newman, and I had no idea who he was. He had not been involved with the ITRA as far as I knew—I had been a director for several years and had not heard his name before. Roger’s six-foot-four-inch frame was quite a bit more imposing than my five-foot-seven-inch one, and with a soft voice and unassuming manner that belied his size, he asked me a very simple question: Was I interesting in selling tire-recycling units to China?
;)
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