Business & Cultural Awareness — MedTech in China - Al B. Reid
International experience can allow one to open their mind to cultures, ideas, values, and beliefs, practiced by people around the world. It allows one to broaden their worldview, adds to personal development, and immersion into a global community. We are in conversation with Al Reid, a global transformation strategist, and executive, who has worked in over 75 countries around the globe. Having an acute sense of cultural awareness, Al can manage cultural and business challenges faced by companies.
We’re in an ongoing conversation with Al about his approach to leadership, also with regards to his extensive international experience. For a period, Al oversaw several projects in the mainland of China and we’re curious to hear more about what he learned there.
Al, throughout your career, you worked abroad a lot, providing you with valuable insights and knowledge about other parts of the world, and challenges faced by other cultures. One destination among many was China; can you share some of your most interesting learnings from your time working and living there?
“Of all my professional experiences, I truly value the time I spent in China. My first visit was in 1997 when the country was becoming more interested in accessing MedTech from Western countries. The transformation that I witnessed, starting from inadequate poor hospital facilities and poor medical treatment over a span of more than 20 years was extremely stark and noticeable. Not only were there segments of the Chinese population that demanded American MedTech innovations, but they were also willing to pay premium prices for technologies that extended lives and improved medical outcomes. In addition, the building of state-of-the-art medical facilities by Western companies accelerated the adoption of the latest medical innovations. Witnessing the progress, the country experienced with regards to medical technology and innovation was extremely satisfying.
“The greatest challenge in doing cross-border transactions is understanding international culture and customs. Since China was so different from Western Cultures, it was essential that the team was smart, agile, and able to gain insights into what the Chinese consumer demanded. The greatest virtue that I pushed the team was to be patient because the Chinese were very good at figuring out when Westerners are under pressure from tight deadlines. Since American businessmen had a reputation for impatience, the Chinese would often drag out negotiations well beyond deadlines just to gain an advantage. Hence, we were successful in managing the Chinese hierarchical business culture which led to more inclusive decision-making as we established the framework for expanding the Nutrition business unit. As a result, we were expected to make presentations to many different groups at different levels.
“Another challenge was navigating the conflicting dynamics of the Chinese urban vs. rural population consumer expectations. Since most of the product innovation was geared toward the middle to upper-middle-class consumers with premium pricing, we had to adjust the product profile and pricing to meet the needs of rural consumers. The key leadership lesson was that in an evolving market, scenario planning is the best way to prepare for your company's future. Leadership plays an important role in helping to support a strategy that is prepared to pivot when the unexpected occurs. In the end, I learned to be patient, expect delays, show little emotion, and to enjoy the long evening Chinese banquets”
Can you talk to us about a specific project you did in China?
“My favorite project was serving as the lead to establish Abbott’s Nutritional business in China. Previously the nutritional business resided within a global pharmaceutical business without much strategic direction. The decision was made to establish what would become the company’s largest market outside of the USA. The organizational capabilities were developed, and products were created specifically for the Chinese consumer. The result was a robust pipeline plan for R&D that yielded expanded revenue and improved profitability of the nutrition business. Today the total nutrition business in China has an annual turnover of over $1 billion.”
Sounds interesting. Thanks, Al.
