A month or two ago, I was invited to Las Vegas for the Asian American Business Summit & Expo, hosted by the Asian American Business Association, along with a series of luncheons and networking events from the Las Vegas Asian Chamber of Commerce. It was my first time attending and the coordinator sent me a strong media kit, it sounded promising. The panel and guest line up had some well known brand operators there. I was pretty hyped for the event. A chance to meet Asian American business leaders across the country. Different from the usual regional events.
But once I settled into the conversations, the tone of the event became clear. The majority of attendees, especially the elder, newer immigrants supposedly managing mid to high 8 figures were very open about the way they did business...
I admire their honesty, especially when they ddint know me, but the takeaways left me uneasy which isn’t an easy thing to do. Several conversations with them, every piece of “advice,” had some scheme baked into it. Creative shortcuts, quiet manipulations, and an almost default reliance on gaming their industry partners or government backed system. Like don’t get me wrong. I’m not naive, I”m aware some elements of this exist in business. But I find it careless to talk to strangers about this so openly. I wasn’t even prying. They just blurted it out.
What I wasn’t expecting was feeling embarrassed. I think in some way, these were my people. We share cultural heritage, language, and immigrant backgrounds. You’d think that would make collaboration natural.
But the reality is, even though we “speak the same language,” our ways of doing business couldn’t be more different. What I realized now is, even though we “speak the same language,” our ways of doing business couldn’t be more different. I’m far too westernized in my practice. MTheir playbook wasn’t one I wanted to adopt. At least not now. Maybe it’s a tactic I’ll need when I reach their age of 50+? I only say this because all of them who talked about these funny business plays were that age. My instinct is to use what I know head-on, compete on execution, not manipulation.
After this last round of events in Vegas, I’ve decided I’m done. I don’t doubt that these gatherings have value, but for me, they’re a mismatch at this time. I don’t want to sound like a snob but I don’t want to be associated with these business leaders. I don’t want to spend my time nodding politely while someone explains how cutting corners or pulling strings is just “how things are done.”
I realized the gap wasn’t just generational or cultural, and you could almost say it was foundational.
No pressure; no diamonds
August 22, 2019