About 3 weeks ago, one of my friends asked me to help him to prepare for a presentation
which he was going to deliver in China. The presentation was for the
global conference of the Chinese manufacturer which supplies the
air-conditioning units that he distributes. Over 200
distributors from around the world were coming, and he was one of
only three selected to deliver a presentation about the keys of his
success. There were several important messages he wanted the Chinese
company to understand through the presentation prior to his meeting
with them, so we worked hard on the best way to get these points
across without causing them to publicly lose face. Three days before
he was scheduled to fly to China, he changed his thinking and asked
me if I could come with him to China and deliver the presentation on
his behalf.
"Why do you need to ask your wife?"
“Errr, maybe.” I
replied, “Let me just ask my wife.”
“Why do you need
to ask your wife?” he asked.
“Because we are
not a one-man-show but we believe in teamwork.” I answered. He
laughed because I was repeating one of the points from the
presentation.
My hotel - The Ocean Spring Resort
This was how I found
myself waking up in a Chinese hotel, about to give a presentation to
a company which makes $20 billion per year along with its
distributors from all over the world.
I was amazed to be given a VIP badge but then found that everyone had one!
Tiring journey
I still felt pretty
tired when I woke up, since I had spent the previous night on planes
followed by a three hour drive from the airport. I skipped the
unusual-looking items at breakfast, not wanting to get an upset
stomach before my presentation. Then the morning's session consisted
of some of the senior Chinese management delivering presentations
designed to make their distributors feel appreciated and inspired to
improve their performance.
After lunch, we
gathered for a group photo and then went back to the conference room
to hear a speech from the president of the company. After she had
finished, the distributors presentations began and I was second in
line.
Group photo
If you want to fly with Eagles,
don't spend time with Chickens.
After the
distributor from Saudi Arabia finished his presentation I was
announced as the PR Manager of my friend's company. I walked up to
the lectern, but found that there was not enough space for my notes
because of all the flowers. However, after removing the water, they
just about fitted. The presentation went very well and was, in my
humble opinion, much more interesting than the other presentations.
Our final slide contained a proverb, 'If you want to fly with Eagles,
don't spend time with Chickens.', to which I added, “that's why we
chose to fly with such a great company as yours.”
Delivering my presentation, half-obscured by flowers
China's got talent
In the evening, we
were treated to an 'appreciation banquet' with many different courses
and a talent show from the employees of the company which consisted
of various dances, music, songs and a very long poem about the
company which was hilarious but was not intended to be. I sat on a
table with the distribution team from Oman, and had a good time with
them while we ate snails, oysters, prawns, crab and lots of strange
but delicious Chinese vegetables. The Chinese people complimented me
on my chopstick skills.
Appreciation banquet
Heroic wife!
That night I slept
solidly until 9.30am and had a few hours to enjoy the hotel hot
springs before spending another night on a plane flying home. My friend bought Kate a very expensive bottle of perfume to say
thank you for allowing me to come with him. It was hard for her to manage all
the kids by herself, with Jenson still only 9 months old and waking up
most nights, in addition to all of them having coughs and colds, but
she did a great job.
