10/10 is a failure

After 9 years of painstakingly trying to hire ambitious, well rounded, enthusiastic, hard working, creative-thinking young people with common sense, straight out of university, I must conclude that there are none in China.

It's not their fault either. Which is the saddest thing.

I have watched with paternal love the rapid career development of a number of interns that worked in the company I ran in my early years in China. Plucked from university with maybe only one or two of the traits above, they thrived in an open, free, creative environment, acquiring the missing skills over time to ultimately become very successful as a result.

Despite the modernisation and globalisation of so much in China, the Middle Kingdom continues to teach children a SINGLE outcome/conclusion to any question or any given situation.

They are not taught about:
1. The process that led to the outcome
2. Any possible alternative outcomes

And heaven forbid any child who might question, challenge or try to dig deeper into the reasons or rationales.

So, you end up with millions of kids that are simply programmed to pass exams (albeit often with very high grades). But these new young people in the People's Republic are woefully ill equipped for a working life, requiring "join the dots" instruction and a new "tool kit" of thinking that we employers must provide.

I suspect that only International companies notice this issue, as the Chinese State Owned Enterprises and local private companies probably like their junior staff to simply do what they are told, and not question why.

But in a world where the designing/creation process is becoming far more important/value-add than the production/manufacturing process, China needs to think seriously about teaching its children to think.

Happiness

I was asked by a recent British visitor to Shanghai if the Chinese were happy?

The Western press maintains a deep suspicion of China because it is a communist, single party state with restrictions on free speech and a draconian one-child policy. The logical assumption in the eyes of the West must therefore be that the Chinese people are deeply unhappy with their lot, and dream of one day living the life of a typical British person...

Here are some typical middle-class lifestyle comparisons that highlight that the opposite should actually be true:

THEIR HOME:
British: One house, big mortgage
Chinese: Two or three apartments (all worth more that the British family's end of terrace), and maybe only one of their properties has a mortgage

THEIR CAR:
British: Two cars, one old, one on credit
Chinese: One car, new, paid in cash

THEIR HOLIDAY:
British: Two weeks in Spain (if air traffic control are not on strike)
Chinese: Multiple short breaks throughout the year visiting various Chinese cities, plus one or two longer trips a year to South East Asia, Australia or Europe. Cruises are also now proving popular...and gambling trips to Macao or Singapore are too.

THEIR SAVINGS:
British: Start their careers with £25,000 of student loans, and spend the first 15 years of their working life mired in credit card debt
Chinese: Save all their life

THEIR CHILDREN:
British: Two kids, state school
Chinese: One kid, private school, and university fully funded by parents & grand parents

EATING OUT:
British: Once or twice a month. More a treat now than it used to be
Chinese: Two or three times a week. A way of life


Yes, there are some major issues in China. The healthcare system is still inconsistent and expensive. The air & water quality are not what they should be. But walking down a street in any of China's major cities, the majority of people are smiling, laughing and enjoying their life.

Now let me ask you the same question...are the British happy?

Developing Country? Not any more

Looks like an airport doesn't it? But this is actually China's newest railway station built on a green field site west of Shanghai's domestic Hong Qiao airport. Planning intelligently, as is China's way, the station is connected to a brand new second terminal that was built at the same time. Called Hong Qiao hub, this has to be the most advanced transportation interchange in the world with seamless connection from plane to elevated motorway network to trains.

Ah yes. I nearly forgot to mention the trains...













Chinese made, travelling 350 kph (about 260 mph) on purpose built, elevated tracks. At only £30 for a family of three to travel first class the equivalent distance of London to Birmingham in less than 40 minutes, this puts the UK's Network Rail to shame (along with most other developed countries).

And this is not some white elephant "demonstration line" like the Shanghai Maglev. No - this is part of some more joined up thinking by China's forward-looking government to create a grid of the world's longest highspeed railway track connecting Shanghai in the East, Beijing in the North, Chengdu in the West and Hong Kong in the south. Oh, and its all nearly finished!

Still developing? I don't think this term is appropriate anymore.