Brits get rich in China

On Channel 4 (London) last night an insigthful documentary profiled three british entrepeneurs in China in Brits get Rich in China. The program followed An old not quite over the empire war veteran, a liverpudlian that has lost his UK based business to chinese imports and a maverick from oldham who made his millions in selling cheap kitchens to the UK market as they sought their fortunes in China. All three came up smelling of roses but each of their stories was fascinating. It was also a fascinating glimpse into doing business in China. From the three c's of Culture, Connections, Community (and Cash - the fourth) to sharing in local delicacies of donkey penis it was an eye opener into the wild east of the business world. The three different characters all followed in the tradition of the british entrepeneur - self belief, high risks for high rewards and a determination in the face of incredible odds against them. Snapshots of Shanghai took me back to the excitement I felt when I was there last year. China is a land of opportunity for those willing to take the risk and dive in.

Technology consulting

Interesting article in the independent about career paths for current and future MBA graduates, particularly:

Simon Tankard, careers director at Saïd Business School in Oxford, sees
technology consulting on the rise, particularly among firms working in the
emerging markets of India and China.

This is very encouraging for me personally as I have spent the last six years in technology and looking to spend part of my MBA program in Shanghai.

Panel of CEOs choose their best business books

A panel of executives and CEO's choose their top 20 business books of all time.

Some on here I've enjoyed, others are new. I'm going to pick up some Drucker. I have read some of his articles in the Harvard Business Review and been impressed. He's really grounded and pragamatic in his approach often championing relationship managment as the key. Tsun Tsus art of war also features on the list. This is sometimes quite cryptic but remains a classic. It's required reading when joining some organisations.

New Blog

On the 14th of this month I received news that my application to the University of Edinburgh to pursue an MBA in International business had been succesful. I posted this news on my blog Road to MBA a blog I setup a couple of years ago to record the progress of my ambition to get into business school. This new blog will takes off where the last one ended. This is a new chapter. As the title of this blog suggests it is about undertaking the MBA program. I will cover all aspects from getting accomodation in Scotlands capital to dealing with the workload. In the immediate future I'll be oprganising finances and notfiying my emplorers.

Please feel free to add your comments, share your experiences and even send me suggestions for posts.