Shanghai re-debutant

With 70 million expected to visit the World Expo there, Shanghai is braced to rake in 1.6 Billion just in admission ($23 per entrant).

Strength in numbers.

We had a taste for numbers back in the days when President Nixon first made his visit to China. That state dinner was rumored to be a royal thousand-course meal.

The Chinese like to guest-entertain first, then do business later (unlike its Western counterparts “get set, shoot, aim”).

In “Switch”, the authors of “Made to Stick” brought us once again the seemingly paradox: we are mixed creatures of both emotion and intellect.

To affect any change, we must work at both levels. More importantly, when it comes to East meets West, there exists another layer on top .

The expats can attest to this: once they have lived overseas, it’s hard to come back States side, and live on without a critical eye.

Here, we are obsessed with weight (yet we shop by carts), hygiene and punctuality.

I bet you the opening ceremony in Shanghai won’t begin on time in the Western sense.

Events in the East begin when all those expected to be present get there.

And if you  showed up early, you would appear too eager (not punctual, which is the norm in the West).

Anyway, the World Fair tradition which began in Chicago years ago has seen the center of gravity shift to the East.

(or for that matter, the Olympics which had started in Athens was last celebrated in Beijing, with unmatched fan fares and fireworks).

I must admit I did not see this coming. Back in the late 70’s, we saw an increased number of Chinese students, but they were mostly from Taiwan.

Then, in the 80’s, mainland students started to arrive to US campuses, picking up critical supply- chain skills. And before you know it, you are awaken by the sound of fireworks.

The question is, can we afford to ignore the inevitable rise of BRIC nations? And if not, how are we equipped to benefit from it, or forced down in ranking?

As one Social Network comment put it ” is your elevator pitch taking you up or down?”.

I would hate to see another missed opportunity. You can see it for yourself. It only costs $23 for admission.