Most people would agree that it is good to be the boss. However, being the boss in China has some unique characteristics to it. For example, while many Western cultures allow employees to question their bosses, or even challenge them during public meetings, Chinese employees are usually very deferential and do not voice contrary opinions. And Chinese bosses are typically expected to manage top-down and to know the right strategies and all the answers. So being the boss in China has a lot of pressure attached to it!

Bryan was aware of these differences when he started working in China, but he told me one funny story which illustrated this difference. During budget season, Bryan's finance team was preparing some detailed multi-year forecasts for various parts of the business. When Bryan asked one of his staff members to make a very complicated forecast, the staff agreed to do it, and then sat patiently in front of him. Bryan thought she didn't understand, so he repeated the request, but she said, "No, I understand what you want. But I need you to tell me what the right answer is, so that I can make the forecast correctly." When Bryan told her that he didn't know the answer, she laughed and continued to sit there waiting. So finally, Bryan said, "Of course I know the answer, but I want to see how close your calculations are, and I'll tell you afterwards how well you did." With that, she returned to her desk and got to work.

Two days later, she returned with a very well-done projection, and Bryan complimented her on the analysis. She then asked "So, was I right?" Bryan had already forgotten their earlier conversation, but quickly remembered and told her "Yes, you were very close."

(selected from 101 Stories for Foreigners to Understand Chinese People by Yi S. Ellis and Bryan D. Ellis, published by China Intercontinental Press in 2012)