How China Transforms an Executive's Mind

China today is global business' tomorrow. In the next decade, virtually all businesses in the world will be dealing with the Chinese as suppliers, partners, competitors and customers. To be successful, global executives will need new competencies learned from the East. A small group of executives in China are forerunners of that change. This article is based on original research suggesting that exposure to China rewires the brain to make executives more perceptive, efficient and socially aware. We argue that these executives have learned five essential lessons from Chinese social and business cultures that set them apart. We describe the five lessons, set each in context, use the executives' own words, and share insights into how they leaned these skills. Finally, we sketch some ways companies can assess candidates for high positions in China and can train international managers to raise their effectiveness. We argue that China is key to developing new global skills that is challenges expatriate executives' cognitive, emotional and behavioral habits, forcing breakdowns of old patterns and a remapping of the mind. Not always pleasant, undergoing this process co-opts existing mental faculties to deal with new demands and raises cognitive complexity. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]