Why Not Pull Together?

My boss Qi is pictured to my right

My first job in China was with a coffee trading company based in Yunnan Province (SW China).  I was hired to be a Sustainability Manager.  I and my assistant were charged to hire and lead a team to help certify the growing, environmental, and labor practices of local coffee farmers against internationally-recognized codes of conduct such as UTZ Certified and The Rainforest Alliance.

My boss was a gentleman from Shanghai who had spent ten years abroad and was fluent in English.  I watched as he molded a rowdy group of young singles and into a team.  He made sure that different departments ate together, played together, and even got involved in each other’s work when special projects or circumstances made it appropriate.  

The ethos he created in our workplace was very much like family.  And as I have learned since, this is not uncommon in Chinese places of business.  Each individual is willing to put the group first, and in return the group takes care of the individual.  No-one has an expectation or ambition to go it alone.  Rogue renegades are not considered heroes.  They are dangerous.  And this is not because people are fearful, it is because they recognize that life in a populous country must necessarily be collaborative.

When moving heavy loads, two oxen pulling together can easily out pull the total weight of two oxes pulling loads separately.  So from an Asian perspective, why would you partner with someone who is bound and determined to pull their own weight.  Why not pull together?

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