Doctoroff: Genuine individualism does not exist in China
Tom Doctoroff is CEO of JWT Greater China and author of the book Billions: Selling to the New Chinese Consumer. In this interview Doctoroff talks about the "Confucian conflict" that affects how modern Chinese spend their money. Doctoroff argues that while Chinese are driven by their egos, they do not display genuine individualism in the way Westerners do.
Doctoroff summarizes his point of view like this:
My overall point is that culture is relative and we Westerners have to open our eyes to differing fundamental motivations. Cultures do evolve. The process however is slow and the evolutionary path is always consistent with deeply held beliefs (i.e., cultural "imperatives"). There are human truths and cultural truths. Both need to be approached with an open mind.
Listen
Subscribe to China Businesscast
Links and Sources
If you are like me, you have sat in restaurants and bars nursing your drink in awkward silence wishing you knew enough to join in the conversation about the wonders of things called 3G and TD-SCDMA. If so, then you be pleased about this first of a series of China Businesscast episodes on the mobile space in China. In this episode I talk with industry veteran Sage Brennan of Pacific Epoch. Hopefully, we'll answer some of the questions you may have been too embarrassed to ask. 