Wealth Without Borders Podcast
Business:Investing
Chinese Mobile Industry Rainmaker with Karl Weaver
How do you endear yourself to the Chinese and make a lasting impact on a country like China?
The mistake many of us make is to stereotype people but that only makes us foolish.
When you’re in a country like China, there’s one thing that you should learn - treat people with respect regardless of country, belief or religion. Contribute to making a change to better society and don’t solely focus on making an income.
Karl Weaver has 3 obvious passions: wireless technologies, softball or baseball and finally, speaking, reading and writing Mandarin Chinese, the latter of which he’s been doing since 1982. Indeed, Karl was pretty much the first person to sell a computer to China in 1989. Those are his passions aside from his family, friends, and his career.
In this episode, Karl highlights the goodness that Chinese people have shown him. The stories he shares of meaningful memories experienced in Taiwan and Greater China prove that more than the place being magical, it’s the people themselves who are special. The respect he showed them was met with fondness and kindness, making it easier to adapt and become successful in a foreign place.
What you will learn from this episode:
“Treat people the way you would expect them to treat you. Don't be pretentious, don't be condescending and realize that everyone is just a person just trying to survive.”
- Karl Weaver
Topics Covered:
02:43 - How Karl became an expat
03:30 - How it was back when Karl was living in Taiwan in terms of technology and food
04:19 - What makes life so special in Taiwan that Karl stayed longer than three years
04:50 - The courtship style in Taiwan that Karl finds fascinating
06:07 - Sharing a personal story of an expat’s struggle that Karl experienced and the kindness of the Taiwanese people
09:26 - The important lessons Karl learned in terms of dealing with people of a different race and religion
10:56 - The 80/20 rule that Karl advises
12:32 - The three key things that you need to be very consistent with when you are an expat
14:52 - An interesting highlight of an experience in sports while living in China
16:51 - The one biggest lesson Karl learned being an expat
18:35 - Sharing his most meaningful memory while living in China
19:45 - How you don't have to be Chinese to do things successfully in the Chinese world
20:55 – Karl’s significant predictions over what will happen in the ex-pat world in China
23:58 - Why recruiters need to have an unbiased view with hiring foreign nationals for the Chinese market
26:45 - What Karl would have done back when he started living in Taiwan
Key Takeaways:
“Taiwan is a magical place because of the people, who are very westernized. But I think more than the physical presence of the place, it's the people that make the place in Taiwan so special.” - Karl Weaver
“I think this is a very important rule in life, especially for a business person, especially when you're not in your native country, which is the 80/20 rule. Well, listen 80% and talk only 20% because you're out of your comfort zone.” - Karl Weaver
“I always try to use EQ when dealing with the Chinese world and dealing with the Chinese people, trying never to stereotype.” - Karl Weaver
“I believe there are some key things you need to be very consistent with, which is your tenacity, your persistence to live in a different world and a different way of doing things is very, very critical. You just never know when you might be unintentionally insulting somebody, it can happen.” - Karl Weaver
“This is the most important thing that I've learned, which is that when you're dealing with another culture, these people may speak a different language and they may look a little bit different than you but their thoughts and their emotions are virtually the same.” - Karl Weaver
Resources:
Ways to connect with Karl Weaver:
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