The GameThe Path is one way to look at life, another way to look at it is "the game". Many of the more interesting people that I have met in Asia seem to follow the game. One of my first introductions to the game was in a Hong Kong taxi. If you have ever taken a taxi in the developing world, you know that it can be a hair-raising experience. Hong Kong is part of the developed world, but this driver was a total maniac. Swerving in and out of traffic, flooring it then slamming on the brakes. We nearly came to grief during one particularly harrowing double lane change. After that one, he looked over his shoulder, winked at me, and gave a huge laugh. Something about the look in his eye made me laugh as well. It was pure joy. He was living on the edge and loving it. To him, it was all one big game. I think this may also explain why most Asians are more comfortable with risk than I am. If everything is a game, then it doesn't really matter if you win or if you lose. The thrill is playing. This is an important thing to remember when you are negotiating in Asia. Many times, the guy across the table will be having a lot of fun just doing the deal. It is as much about the process as it is about the outcome. If you want to do business in Asia, you have to be willing to play the game. This can be pretty frustrating for Westerners. I think our culture is more about where you end up, than about how you arrived there. When I arrived in Asia, I often felt like I was trying to nail a piece of jelly in some of the deals I worked on. Things were always moving, never set, points that had been agreed on were re-opened. It wasn't until I separated myself from the outcome and viewed the whole process on Asian terms, that it started to make sense. As I removed myself from the equation, I became more effective both within my organisation, and with my business contacts. I started to play the game. Deals blew up, resurrected, cratered, flickered back to life, and occasionally completed. One thing was constant, my boss was never too concerned when things died. If it was meant to be, it would happen. Take this across to gambling. Some folks in Canada like gambling, but over here people LIVE gambling. Horses, property, the stock market, a new venture - anything. If everything is a game then you need to have a go. There is nothing worse than missing out. If you do that, you're not playing the game, not living. The fortunes of families come and go. Aunts and uncles strike it big, live large and are wiped out. Everybody still loves each other. They're playing the game together, and that's why Hong Kong is so vibrant. Over six million people playing the game and in the middle of them, a pale Canadian guy with his future tied up in treasuries! From the taxi driver playing the forex markets, to the 80 year-old grandmothers you see at the track. Everybody's having a go, and that's what makes Hong Kong one of the most interesting places in the world. gordo - 1 October 2000 |