At the end of his post, he invited commenter to add their “rules”. Here is my response:

I’m not one who usually creates rules… I rather look at each situation… each day … and determine the best path forward according to what’s in front of me. Anyway…

I’m an HR-specialized management consultant, so naturally what I always see are HR problems which turn into operational problems. What I often see are companies and managers who don’t know how to lead people. So… my rule for succeeding in China:

Always think HR. Meaning… always think about how to develop your staff, and think of how you will keep them after they have developed (and have a higher perception of their own value). Always think about systems which motivate and retain the right people, as well as the systems your organization would need to let go of people without lawsuits and labor unrest (ie. Performance, C&B).

What types of failures do I usually see? Employees leave because the C&B system was not set up properly. Employees who don’t develop, and therefore have no desire to grow with a company. Managers…often expat managers… who don’t care about their employees nor understand them. Employee dismissals leading to lawsuits (and much much worse) because the company management didn’t adopt basic, common-sense performance appraisal systems. Quality problems and lack-of innovation, because management does not know how to make people care about their work. Managers who hire relatives, who take bribes, who refuse to get involved. All these problems are can be managed. But it requires a company’s top-leaders to think in terms of “people issues” instead of “operational issues”.