From China, lessons in preparing for the opportunities (and risks) you don't know are out there.n Made in China: What Western Managers Can Learn from Trailblazing Chinese Entrepreneurs by Donald N. Sull with Yong Wang Harvard Business School Press, 2005 $35.00 CIOs who are loath to do too much long-term thinking will find a lot to like in Made in China: What Western Managers Can Learn from Trailblazing Chinese Entrepreneurs by Donald N. Sull. In his examination of leading entrepreneurs in China, Sull posits that in truly unpredictable markets, a long-term vision is pointless at best and perilous at worst. On the surface, the book is a collection of case studies that uncover many of the idiosyncrasies an executive faces in the Chinese market (murky ownership structures, inconsistent access to capital, shifting industrial policy). But CIOs, who also seek to survive amid uncertainty, could glean potentially valuable best practices as well. The impetus for the book is straightforward. American companies such as Wal-Mart, and U.S. entrepreneurs such as Bill Gates have been examined and emulated for years. But there’s precious little written about the corporate pioneers operating in the world’s second largest economy. So Sull, an associate professor of management practice at London Business School, sought to identify the business leaders of China today. He settled on four industriesIT, telecom, appliances, and food and beveragethat he thought were the most integrated into global markets, and then identified two leading companies in each that had thrived during the economic, political and regulatory turbulence of the past decade. Through in-depth interviews and access to corporate archives, Sull has created an outline of China’s current winners’ successful strategies and introduces some fascinating new business and management concepts that work for Chinese executives. An example is “active waiting” — anticipating and preparing for opportunities and threats one can neither fully foresee nor control. During periods of relative calm, successful managers in China focus on midterm priorities that provide their companies direction over periods of one to three years, such as building reserves of cash and resources, improving operations and managing risk. As a primer for dominating the Chinese market in the long run, it’s not clear how helpful this book will be. But it can be a valuable playbook for flourishing in an environment of insecurity and ambiguity — a state in which many companies operate these days, no matter where they are in the world. Related content BrandPost How Infosys and Tennis Australia are harnessing technology for good By Veronica Lew Mar 26, 2023 6 mins Infosys BrandPost Retail innovation playbook: Fast, economical transformation on Microsoft Cloud For retailers, tight integration of data and systems is the antidote to a challenging economy. By Tata Consultancy Services Mar 24, 2023 3 mins Retail Industry Digital Transformation BrandPost How retailers are empowering business transformation with TCS and Microsoft Cloud AI-powered omnichannel integration and a strong, secure digital core lets retailers innovate across four primary areas while staying compliant, maintaining security and preventing fraud. By Tata Consultancy Services Mar 24, 2023 4 mins Retail Industry Cloud Computing BrandPost How to Build ROI from Cloud Migration This whitepaper and webcast can help you calculate the ROI and create a business case for modernizing your legacy applications to the Microsoft Cloud. By Tata Consultancy Services Mar 24, 2023 1 min Retail Industry Cloud Computing Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe