Jeffrey Immelt: India versus China - Trust is a Global Issue for GE
I was talking to Bill Dunk this morning, and we got to the topic of trust as an issue in global business.
I told him I'd seen a video in which Jeff Immelt said something to the effect that in China the concept of win-win is an issue, whereas India is much better at partnerships.
Immediately, Bill dug up this article for me - an interview with Nani Beccalli-Falco, GE International's chief executive.
From the article:
This is a difficult challenge and it is one that Beccalli-Falco speaks of with surprising candour. He talks of the problems of striking deals in China, where, he says, the values of equity and fairness implied in the West's 'win/win' approach to business are replaced by a more naked self-interest. "In China, they have a tendency to think 'win for China, OK for you'," he says. "It makes forming partnerships difficult."
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And yes, I finally dug up the video:
Watch Immelt's interview with Rajat Gupta, and listen carefully as Immelt talks about India versus China - right at the very end of the video:
"China has a hard time with win-win. That's a problem over the long term.India's much better. There's a much better sense that India can be a real ally..."
Wow.
China's got the Olympics this summer... wonder if they'll let anyone else win a medal...