“As soon as possible”
I meet a schedule problem almost everyday. As a team player in a working team, there are always numerous tasks from various channels; colleagues; bosses; customers... And each time when I ask them when they want the job to be done, they always answer, “As soon as possible.”
At first, I had no exact idea on time controlling, so each time when the“asap” tasks arrive, I put aside of what I was working on in hand, and started to deal with the new “urgent” problem. And often, that would prolong my regular working hours. But the urgent tasks seemed endless, as everyone was coming and claiming, “Well, please as soon as possible.”
After some experiences at work, I found that actually the “asap” is never as urgent as I thought it would be. Chinese keen on using the “as soon as possible”technique to enjoy a priority and to stress the importance of the task, however very few chances to mean “immediately”.“Asap” could possibly means by the end of today, 3 days later, within this week, this month, or even not so clear time table.
It took me quite some time to figure this out. And now, they still keep telling me “as soon as possible”, but I’ll ask back “how soon” to make sure when the exact deadline is, then arrange my working tasks more appropriately.
Being late
It is not only the deadline in China could be flexible, but also the starting time. When Chinese establish a time schedule for a meeting or event, it is rare that any event in China can start at the exact time as planned. 5 minutes is no big deal; 15 minutes is acceptable; 30 minutes OK; 1 hour or longer, well, not so surprised... What? Canceled? Big boss/VIP won’t come? Boo, bad luck today.
Here is a tip: if you want people to arrive on time, better to tell them the time schedule half hour before the expected time. That would be more possible to see everyone at the time you very firstly agreed.
I wonder what makes Chinese not punctual. In a team, there is ALWAYS someone late. As a team, the action can only start when everyone is here and ready. If someone is late, others will have to wait a long long time to have the whole team in position, and a real start. Few recognise the cost of being late, but being early or on time, you face a risk of wasting time in waiting. When everyone behaves in this way, really it is not a surprise that time schedules aren’t important to Chinese.
Also in China patience is seen a virtue, and that people accept lateness but do not speak out, to maintain harmony, expecting the latecomer to be sufficiently embarrassed. But actually the same people are always late. These people appear to be disorganized and request tolerance from the rest of the group. Actually, they are disrespectful and don’t care about inconveniencing others, or waiting their time.
When Chinese do business outside of China, with other more punctual cultures, like the Germans or Japanese, then severe annoyance and negative feelings will damage the relationship.
Holding back
Chinese are more likely to keep their real thoughts, detailed information, and bad news to themselves. Maybe it’s because of the Chinese traditional thinking: “Wise man talks little” (智者慎言 zhì zhě shèn yán). It is common in China that the staff prefers to keep silent in the meeting. Why is that?
Surely, every company has its faults. But it will be considered unwise for an employee to point them out in a meeting.
First, it’s often just a saying on the lips when people express their view in a meeting. No real improvement will be followed afterwards. Everyone will possible complain or share thoughts at the beginning, but after a long time of no change, they will accept, and won’t waste their time in repeating the same criticism of the company again and again.
Second, if one speaks unkind words on the company, the Chinese boss will naturally think this employee is not so cooperative, or doesn’t enjoy his job much, or spreads negative influence to the team. If one speaks unfriendly thing to the company before his boss’ boss. Wow, that would be considered as a big bomb. Usually, both boss and big boss won’t be happy. For the lower-level boss, his “face” and“performance-sheet” are destroyed. For the big boss, he will be angry that he wasn’t informed in time before. No impression is better than bad impression anyway.
Third, if it is the first one who points out the problem, usually, he will be asked to solve the problem. Usually, it’s a tough task, and that’s why easily cause complaints. To try to avoid trouble or extra work, the staff will keep the opinion quiet. Anyway after a period of time, everyone will accept the current situation well.
Fourth, some bosses will take over most of the talking, enjoying the feeling of crowds of listeners around. Also in China, people agree unconsciously that the sequence of the speakers depends on the position they hold. After long speeches made by all the bosses, there is few time left for staff to talk at all.