For several years, I have been interested in expanding my business and investment horizons by exploring opportunities in China, the fastest-growing economy in the world. Recently, I've been pursuing that goal with the help of the EO network. The following is a quick overview of my experience in leveraging the EO network in Shanghai.
As all EO members know, one of the primary benefits of membership is the peer-to-peer sharing. But all too often we forget that this benefit is about more than just our Forum. As I've learned, you can easily leverage the power of the EO network by attending Universities; joining the board and attending the Global Leadership Conference (GLC); participating in local, regional and Global leadership committees; attending events in neighboring chapters; using member-to-member exchange; and by simply reaching out to members in other chapters.
While attending the 2006 EO Chicago University, I had the privilege of meeting several members from EO Shanghai. I was intrigued by their stories regarding the rapidly growing Chinese economy. After I shared these stories with my close friend and business associate, Chris Karcher, we immediately planned a trip to China. Before our departure, I connected with EO Shanghai to see if they were willing to provide assistance on our journey. As with most of my EO experiences, the chapter was extremely willing to connect me with members in their chapter.
So what type of experiences did EO Shanghai provide? On our second night in Shanghai, the President of the chapter, Frank Steffen, hosted Chris and me at one of his restaurants for dinner and drinks. All in all, he spent more than four hours with us that night sharing insights into the culture, the business community and life in Shanghai. In turn, we provided him with ideas for his businesses based on our experiences in San Antonio, Texas, USA. We even talked about the similar challenges faced by EO Shanghai and EO San Antonio. I was pleased when Frank told me later in the week that he was already working to implement some of the ideas that we shared that night.
Several days later, Frank offered to take us on a private tour of Old Shanghai, including visits to some amazing parks and side streets with "authentic" food and shops. Then he took us through the Temple of the Town God and nearby Yu Yuan (Gardens). After having tea at the oldest tea house in China, we ended the night at a local restaurant with other EO Shanghai members. They shared countless stories about business opportunities and investments in China, and we were able to absorb priceless information and ideas. The entire experience was one I’ll never forget.
During my more than five years with EO, I have had the privilege of meeting members from Germany, Russia, Guatemala, Mexico, Colombia, India and Australia, among other countries. And now I can add China to that list. I’m proud to be an EO member, and I’m lucky to have access to such a great network. I hope you'll take the opportunity to leverage your network, too. You’ll find it will change your perspective on business and life in general.