Gotta go along with David's comments on China biz books:
[T]he longer you live here, the more difficult it becomes to find a book on business in China that adds much to your own store of observations and conclusions[.]
To be honest, I don't read that stuff anymore. Not because there isn't something worthwhile in those things, but rather because I'm too damn lazy to churn my way through the other crap to get to the good stuff. If I have some free time to indulge in that sort of thing, I would much rather be reading something fun.
Anyway, David's comments get even better:
But that does not mean we stop reading those books. Most of us want to hone our understanding of this vastly complicated place, or if nothing else compare our own ideas with those of others. Trust me, even the most jaded of China hands needs the occasional sanity check, some of us more often than others.
Even so, for most of these books are not meant for us, or for people like Forbes' reviewer. They are aimed at the massive majority of business people in the world who know little or less about doing business here, and yet find themselves having to (or wanting to) contend with China in their daily work.
Yes, I already said I don't read China biz books. I still appreciate the sentiment, though. We all do try to educate ourselves, and to the extent that slogging through the latest China biz book can help, some folks find the exercise worthwhile. I prefer to let others read the books, blog about the lessons they learned, and then I read the posts. It's like drinking a shot of Bacardi 151 instead of three pitchers of Yanjing — a perfect analogy, I might add.
Perhaps one of the reaons I find these books tough to read is that, as David rightly points out, they are not meant to be consumed by the local expat crowd. There are only so many times you can read about the proper way to exchange name cards in China without finding yourself fighting nausea. For the neophyte, I suppose it's kind of nifty and makes you feel culturally aware.
David also points out the much higher value in a focused book, say on Web 2.0 or the China pharma industry. This is useful stuff, while "How to do Business in China" almost guarantees that only three pages of a 300-page book will actually apply to your specific situation. Tough to sell niche books, though.
I am certain to make a few enemies by saying that the broad-based China biz book is really a dinosaur at this point. With the wealth of online (free) content out there, why plunk down 15 bucks to read some consultant telling you how important it is to drink baijiu with government officials?
I think most of these guys are really just selling fear to folks like your average businessman from Cincinnati who suddenly finds himself in charge of the China operations and is forced to actually travel over here and talk to real-life Chinese people.
Help!
Instead of calming down and following China Hearsay's 1st Rule of China — Don't be an asshole — the guy from Cincinnati runs out to Barnes and Noble and grabs a book off the shelf that promises him that he will learn all the inside info by reading the book on the plane flight over.
Once he arrives, a couple of nifty name card exchanges and a few shots of baijiu later, he thinks he's got it all figured out.
What a sucker.