China ain't playing

What does a big franchise look like in Malaysia?

Get to 20 outlets, and you're a big boy. People know your name. You get invited to speak everywhere. You've made it.

In China, 20 outlets is a 'test batch'.

Completely different scale.

China has 1.4 billion people, though

Fair enough.

1.4 billion vs 34 million.

Population answers one part of it.

But work culture is the other.

You've probably heard of 996. Nine in the morning to nine at night, six days a week.

Observe the speed they work – launch, measure, kill, relaunch. All while we're still finalising "brand guidelines".

And the disparity is widening every year.

By the time we spend perfecting one campaign, they've run 40 and learnt from all of them.

Speed is king

Speed is one of the lessons we can take back if we observe China's working culture.

Speed is the advantage a small business here can take right now without asking anyone for permission.

What if we can shorten the distance between "I have an idea" and "the market has seen it"?

An imperfect campaign launched today is better than a perfect campaign launched tomorrow, because by tomorrow you'd have receive data to enhance the campaign.

10 years ago, you could win by just being the "best" in your category. Today, you win by being the fastest to find out what works.

A business conversation around the East & West

I'm excited to bring you Breaking Barriers, an in-person program that I've working on with King Quah, visionary and CEO of Saltycustoms.

This is not a typical talk. It's part sharing, storytelling and part strategy session with King, on 23rd September.

One of the things he'll cover is this: How to shorten the distance between spotting an opportunity, making the call, and getting it into the market.

The 3 hours you spend in Breaking Barriers will change how you think, act, and lead.

Learn more about Breaking Barriers with King Quah