Rainy Day People

Rainy Day People, Susan C. Haley with Robert J. Delany, Infinity Publishing, 2005

Widowed early, Amber is living by herself by the ocean in Florida. She has a quiet connection with nature, and a wild, reckless side, That is characterized by her enjoyment of speeding along in her silver convertible, while heavy metal blasts from the car stereo.

During a trip into town, Amber meets a man in a local bookstore. There is some sort of connection between them, so they see each other a few times. They sit on a seawall feeding seagulls, instead of the "usual" activities like dinner or a movie. After hearing nothing from him for several weeks, Amber gets a letter from Texas. He (she learns that his name is Ben) is in a hospital with an undefined, but life-threatening, case of cancer. Amber immediately flies to Texas, practically drags Ben out of the hospital and brings him back to her place in Florida, where she nurses him back to health.

There are the usual ups and downs, as with any relationship, but for Ben and Amber, it's mostly up. After a period of time, they decide to go on a trip of unknown duration, to find a place to live that isn't His or Hers, but Theirs. It has to be near the ocean, but, otherwise, pretty much at random, they get in her car and head for Maine. Staying off the interstates as much as possible, they pass through all sorts of quirky small towns.

When they reach Maine, a series of coincidences lead them to a vacant stone house right on the ocean. Amber is convinced that they were led to that house for some sort of greater cosmic purpose, while Ben is much more of a down-to-earth pragmatist. The book ends with that moment where the relationship is put to the test, and will emerge stronger than ever, or be forever destroyed.

From the first few pages, the reader will realize that this is not your average relationship story; it's a lot better than that. It's very well done, and is very much worth the reader's time.

New Asian Emperors

New Asian Emperors: The Overseas Chinese, Their Strengths and Competitive Advantages, George T. Haley, Usha C.V. Haley and Chin Tiong Tan, Butterworth-Heineman, 1998

In international business, specifically in Southeast Asia, the Chinese seem to be the dominant players. They own, or have an interest in, everything from construction to hotels to media. The major lists of the richest people in the world contain many Chinese names. This book looks at the reasons for their success.

Confucianism prefers conciliation and compromise to confrontation. Under traditional Chinese law, merchants were forbidden to "show off" by wearing fine clothes or jewelry in public; they also had to walk everywhere, concepts that are still important today. An important part of Chinese business is the network; it can be based on family, dialect or the part of China that the members are from. It builds trust, helps build customer satisafction and speeds decision making.

Overseas Chinese are known for speed of decision-making (they don't wait for Western-style business analysis), control of information (through networks and informal talking with friends) and guanxi (concepts of trust). They can also be blindsided by unforeseen events, and away from their home turf there is less intimate knowledge of the local market. Also, an Overseas Chinese company can only grow as far as the limits of the family, another important part of Chinese culture.

This is a very specialized book, but also a very good book. For anyone doing business in Asia, this book is must reading.