The Struggles of Five National Managers to Expand Overseas | Unseen Currents to See the World

Written by Ren Qian

Edited by Liu Jing

Three weeks ago, "Dark Tides Waves" published "The Precarious Overseas Country Managers", which has sparked quite a lot of discussions in the overseas business circle.

The reason why everyone resonates with this is not only because there are indeed gaps in the value perception, responsibility and authority distribution, and incentive ideas between individuals and enterprises mentioned in the article - this is the most difficult part for the overseas manager position to couple, but perhaps more helplessly, it is the various uncertainties in their overseas career.

In the comment section, there are managers from all corners of the world, jokingly calling themselves "Professional Pioneers" and "Rescue Captains". "After the pioneering is done, the enterprise is sure to discard the bow and arrow once the birds are gone. If one really has the ability to pioneer, after three years, one will have to force oneself to go independent and become a 'Devil King'." A reader who once served as a country manager in Europe said.

The country managers of Chinese enterprises stationed overseas first act as the outposts and lookout towers for going overseas. Many of them carry the aura of being in the top 10 companies in the industry and the Fortune 500 companies, and their professional resumes span many places around the world. They are both pioneers and versatile experts.

Recently, through interviews, "Dark Tides Waves" has discovered many overseas managers with unique styles, and focused on extracting the stories of five of them. These five people are stationed in almost the hottest regions at present: the Middle East, Europe, North America, and Latin America; the industries they are engaged in are also very different, including traditional manufacturing, IT, consumer electronics, and those who have found the second curve of their career - cross-cultural research and consulting services.

Through the career stories of these five people, we are trying to answer more diversely some questions about the daily state of "overseas businesspeople" and their understanding of this professional identity.

For example, "Cross-cultural Leadership" is a term almost everyone mentions. At the same time, the complexity of the overseas market means that it takes longer to prove the success or failure of the strategy. Therefore, not only must the business ability be strong, but the emotional quotient must also be high - sharp insight, the ability to lead the team, and persuasion are all indispensable.

As the end of the year approaches, these five overseas managers also shared their insights for 2024 with us: Some are happy because they just bought a ticket to go back to China for the New Year; some are preparing to use the rent from the UK to go to Mediterranean countries to start the "retirement life" in advance; but some also sigh that going overseas is a road of no return, "Looking back at the desolate places I have been, when I return, there will be neither wind nor rain, nor sunshine."

"Dark Tides Views the World" is a new column of Dark Tides. Over the past three years, we have successively launched a series of globalized content, and currently we are launching a series of reports more systematically. The following self-narratives are edited by "Dark Tides Waves".

01

The Speed of Talent Going Overseas Cannot Keep Up with the Speed of Enterprises Going Overseas

> Narrator: Asia and Africa, Who Has Worked Overseas for 20 Years

My overseas story began in 2001. At that time, I was still a young international student, carrying the dream of mathematics and economic engineering, and came to Germany. I still remember the early spring in Germany, with the rich aroma of coffee pervading the streets in the early morning.

After graduation, I joined the German industrial giant Schaeffler Group. Here, I spent 13 years. As one of the first batch of management trainees of Schaeffler China, I successfully entered the "2 + 2 + 2" executive "career marathon" training model of the multinational group. This experience opened a door to global management for me and also taught me how to find a balance in different cultures and work environments.

In 2017, I decided to leave the big enterprise and start my own business. This was my trial, with the goal of helping Chinese enterprises establish a foothold in Germany. However, "going overseas" is far more complex than imagined: language, regulations, and cultural conflicts, every step is full of challenges.

Once, when I was registering a company for a manufacturing enterprise in Germany, when the project was approaching the end, we found that the enterprise knew almost nothing about the strict labor regulations in Germany, and some non-compliant operations almost led to huge fines.

I immediately formed a cross-cultural team, from translating regulations to inviting lawyers for training, to clear the obstacles for the client. This experience made me realize that for enterprises to go overseas, not only strategic planning is needed, but also a deep understanding of the local market.

I also joined Lead Intelligent in 2021 as the head of overseas operations. At that time, the company's overseas business was only limited to the Swedish region, and it encountered compliance and management problems in the business expansion and project delivery in multiple countries. My task was to solve these problems and achieve the goal of local delivery of overseas business.

The challenges that Chinese enterprises face in the overseas market are multifaceted, from short-sighted market strategies to ignoring cultural differences, to talent recruitment and the establishment of business networks. Every link requires enterprises to invest more resources and energy.

Choosing the right navigator is crucial. Usually, managers with strategic vision, a deep industry background, multi-field experience, and strong communication and stress resistance capabilities can be competent. Such people are very rare and are the key to the success of enterprises going overseas.

But a realistic problem is that It takes at least ten years of international experience to cultivate a professional manager with complex capabilities, and the speed at which Chinese-funded enterprises go overseas often exceeds the speed of talent cultivation.

From the perspective of enterprises, bosses hope to find an overseas manager who can be "plug and play" at a lower cost, and it is difficult to truly understand the complexity of this position. Professional managers, on the other hand, hope to have greater decision-making power and a clear incentive mechanism. In many Chinese-funded enterprises, this kind of trust and support is lacking, leading to frequent frictions in the actual cooperation between the two sides.

I remember once, when a client first approached me, they had very high performance expectations, but the salary and resources were far below the market standard. I spent a lot of time communicating. Although we finally cooperated, the differences in the process made me realize that this cognitive gap is actually a common phenomenon in the industry.

However, changes are also taking place. More and more enterprises clearly see that going overseas is a complex process, and truly experienced professional managers can help enterprises avoid detours and save tuition fees. For example, when some of my clients recruited sales directors in the European market, the base salary has increased from 100,000 euros five years ago to about 150,000 euros now, while an additional performance bonus has been added.

Now, I am operating a new consulting company, focusing on providing one-stop services from company registration to business expansion for Chinese-funded enterprises. We understand that every enterprise going overseas is like an "explorer", and what is needed is not only a map, but also an experienced guide.

02

Cross-Cultural Leadership is the Core Practice for Overseas Managers

> Narrator: Steven, Who Has Shifted from Overseas Practice to Cross-Cultural Research

In 2017, by various coincidences, I joined the OPPO Middle East and Africa team, mainly responsible for brand marketing management in Morocco. Being the country CMO of OPPO Morocco is the position I have held the longest overseas. Those five years also witnessed the ups and downs of the expansion of the Chinese mobile phone industry overseas.

In June 2022, based on considerations of long-term career planning, I decided to give up continuing to be a professional manager in the enterprise and transform to go to the UK for further studies. This career transformation has been thought about for a long time. Combining my personal overseas work experience and research interests, I set my research direction on cross-cultural leadership, mainly focusing on the cross-cultural challenges and coping strategies that Chinese enterprises encounter in the process of managing overseas businesses.

Why study this? According to my observation, There are certain common traits in the commonalities, individualities, and scarcity of managers who can truly secure the position of the top leader overseas. In terms of commonalities, cross-cultural leadership is the most prominent.

Overseas country managers who usually possess this ability can fully understand and respect different cultural backgrounds, effectively communicate and cooperate with the local team, and make decisions in line with the market reality in a multicultural environment.

In my personal overseas experience, I have quite a big experience in the differences between mature markets and emerging markets, especially from the perspective of cross-culture, these differences are particularly obvious in marketing environment, consumer behavior, channel management, communication methods, and working styles.

For example, in terms of consumers, in a mature market represented by the UK, its characteristics are perfect rules and fierce competition. British consumers have a high loyalty to brands and have a very rational judgment on the quality, service, and brand value of products. In such a market environment, overseas managers need to focus on fine management and brand maintenance.

In contrast, consumers in emerging markets represented by Morocco may pay more attention to the price and basic functions of the product, and have less emotional connection with the brand. This requires managers to have more pioneering spirit and rapid response ability, and to pay more attention to the cost performance and market penetration of products in marketing strategies.

In terms of channel management, mature markets mainly cooperate with large retailers and distributors, which requires managers to have strong negotiation and resource integration capabilities. While in emerging markets, there may be more individual operations and small distributors, and it is necessary to quickly establish and maintain extensive channel relationships.

In my research and observation, the demand for talents going overseas is undergoing several significant changes: Cultural intelligence, digital capabilities, and local insights.

The overall feeling I have for 2024 is that everyone is under a lot of pressure, and overseas work is also becoming as intense as in China. I notice that everyone in the circle seems to be trying to "stabilize". People are no longer as easily pursuing expansion or taking risks as before, but are paying more attention to how to maintain stable performance in the current market environment.

03

Going Overseas is One of the Industries Where Ordinary People Can Overtake by Taking a Detour

> Narrator: Sean, Who Went from Investment Failure to Eating Canned Food in Dubai and Now Becomes the Head of North America of a Company

My experience is quite complicated. I have worked in Taiwan-funded, foreign-funded, private, and state-owned enterprises. I majored in English and graduated from Northeast Electric Power University. Maybe you haven't heard of it. I originally wanted to study accounting, but I was finally adjusted to the English major. Now it seems that this choice is not bad.

My experience overseas can be described as ups and downs. I come from a rural area. When I just graduated, I had no resources and no background, so I had to explore by myself. I remember that the first two countries I was assigned to were Bangladesh and India. At that time, I had a beautiful fantasy about foreign countries, but after I went there, my limited cognition was broken.

Later, I went to Dubai to find more opportunities. I also tried to invest in a friend's fresh food business, but in the end, due to various reasons, my savings of several years were gone, which caused me to be in a very difficult situation for a while. What was even worse was that the European fast-moving consumer goods company I was working for at that time optimized the Chinese employees because of the sluggish domestic market due to the epidemic, and I was one of them.

Everyone says that Dubai is full of gold, but in fact, it is a completely competitive market. It is not so easy to make money from Arabs. Their ancestors were businesspeople, and it is not certain who is calculating whom. Moreover, the cost of living in the Middle East is also very high. On the surface, many industries seem to be easy to make money, but when you go deeper, the routines are too deep.

Fortunately, I survived the most difficult time. Later, I went to a state-owned enterprise in Guangxi to be responsible for the business of the entire Arabian Peninsula. Half a year ago, due to family reasons, I jumped to my current company, Qingdao Haojiang, to be responsible for the sales and development of smart home seat drive products in the US market.

How can an ordinary person find their own position in the globalized market? First of all, market research is the first and most critical step in business development. You have to deeply understand the target market, including the local culture, consumer habits, competitor situation, and even the policy environment. I usually spend a lot of time collecting information, including reading industry reports, participating in local business activities, and even directly communicating with potential customers.

Next, it is to break the deadlock. In a new market, especially a highly competitive market, how to find the entry point is the key. My experience is to start small, find those overlooked market segments or the weak links of competitors. Through providing differentiated products or services, gradually establish your own market position. At the same time, I also focus on using my network resources, such as finding opportunities through partners or industry contacts.

As for customer development, I think building trust is the most important. In the overseas market, especially when dealing with customers who have long-term partnerships, you have to show professionalism and reliability. I will spend time understanding the needs of customers, and then provide customized solutions. At the same time, I will also follow up regularly to ensure customer satisfaction, so that they will be willing to cooperate for a long time.

Another point is continuous learning and adaptation. The market is constantly changing, and you have to update your knowledge and strategies at any time. In short, business development is a systematic project that requires patience, strategy, and execution. As long as you are willing to invest time and energy, there will always be gains.

Working in different cultural backgrounds is a new challenge every time, and I have learned a lot from it.

For example, doing business with Arabs is really a test. Arabs are a typical business culture nation that attaches great importance to interests. I remember once, I signed an agency agreement with a Saudi distributor. When it came to placing the first batch of orders for stocking, they suddenly went back on their word, wanting a longer cooperation period and not accepting the exit mechanism. Such things are not uncommon in the Arab world.

And doing business with Europeans and Americans is another situation. European and American customers attach more importance to long-term cooperation and stability. They have high requirements for suppliers, but once a cooperative relationship is established, it can usually be maintained for a long time. They pay more attention to product quality and the reliability of supply. However, it is not easy to enter their market at the beginning of contact and breakthrough. No matter where you work, understanding and respecting the other party's culture is the basis for establishing a successful business relationship.

I think the career path of overseas managers is a topic worth thinking deeply about. From my personal experience, it is not a straight line, but full of various possibilities and choices. Going overseas is a road of no return. Some overseas managers do have the opportunity to return to the headquarters to take on higher-level positions after working abroad for several years. But such transfers are not common, and many companies prefer to let them continue to explore the market and manage business abroad, or replace them.

In more than 10 years of overseas experience, I have worked in multiple industries, with ups and downs, pride and disappointment. But it is these cross-national and cross-cultural experiences that have made me understand the profoundness of life and humanity more.

It is too difficult to be content. Happiness = What you have / What you want. This formula is very useful. The larger the remainder, the higher the happiness. This year's New Year is early, and there hasn't been a serious snowfall in my hometown in Shandong. I hope there will be a snow before the New Year to wipe away some unpleasant things in 2024. Also, I wish you and I both have a good mood. When there is pressure in work and life, think about the days when I ate canned food and worked in a restaurant in Dubai, and it will all pass.

04

Overseas Businesspeople Should Carefully Study and Judge the Regions Suitable for Themselves

> Narrator: Feng Kai, Who Once Misjudged a Region

From 2010 to 2018, I was in Singapore, with four years of undergraduate study and four years of work. I majored in computer science. At the beginning, I worked for a European IT company in Singapore. To be honest, I didn't think much.