Lincoln Tan: Teamwork essential in drive for social and business wins

One of the great things about being a parent is you get to do things that kids do and not feel the least embarrassed.

Last week, I watched the animated Disney movie Cars with the kids. But watching it just after reading a report, Preparing for a Future with Asia, I saw the show in a very different light.

Perhaps there are lessons New Zealand can learn from the movie.

Cars revolves around hot-shot race car Lightning McQueen, who thinks he is leading a dream life when he goes astray on Route 66, and ends up in sleepy Radiator Springs, where cars hold completely different values.

McQueen feels stifled and cannot stop grumbling, as he and the townsfolk get into heated discussions.

But over time, he discovers there is so much more to life when you slow down. The characters learn to appreciate one another's differences and are able to work together as a team.

In the end, the winner is Radiator Springs, which is returned to its former glory and, through McQueen's big-city connection, experiences an economic boom when the Porsches and the Ferraris come to town.

Coming from a crazy-paced Asian city, Singapore, I remember how Lightning McQueen-like I was when I first arrived here. I grumbled about shops closing early and how public transport came to a near standstill over weekends.

But like McQueen, over time, I learned to appreciate the slower pace of life - giving me time to do things I could only dream about in the past, like watching a hawk soar above vast farmlands, picking oysters and shellfish on my evening walks, and having a beach barbecue as the sun sets.

That is, however, where similarities with the movies end and where lesson time begins.

The report on New Zealand's relationship with Asia released last week shows New Zealand is still a long way from being a truly multicultural society that embraces differences.

In many ways, it is still pretending to be a white society and seems to be turning a blind eye to the changing colour and make up of its people.

Estimates suggest that by 2020, 40 per cent of the 370,000 population of Auckland City will be ethnic Asian, and by 2021, there will be 670,000 New Zealanders of Asian descent.

"Despite our substantial Asian population and our location within the Asia Pacific region, most New Zealanders do not recognise an Asian component in our national identity", the report said.

The Asia New Zealand-commissioned report also warned that ignoring Asia and the opportunities it offered could land New Zealand with a less secure future.

But even before we look to engaging Asia, like Lightning McQueen, we must learn to engage with each other and work as a team.

Some weeks ago, a reporter and I worked on a story for the Herald about a group of Chinese tourists who complained their New Zealand tour was far from satisfactory.

They were unhappy because their local Chinese tour operator put them in a Chinese-owned hotel, took them for Chinese meals and brought them to souvenir shops which sold mainly made-in-China souvenirs.

"We may as well not have left China," one of the visitors commented, and said that he would never consider coming to New Zealand again.

Following the article, a Kiwi-owned tour company contacted me and said that perhaps New Zealand tours should be best left to the locals who knew the "ins and outs of this country" that could give tourists from Asia a real Kiwi experience.

But she commented she did not get many visitors from China on her tours because she did not have salespeople or tour guides who could speak the language.

Here is an ideal example of how working together could have resulted in a win-win situation. The Chinese company gets the tourists and is contracted to provide tour guide services; a Kiwi operator runs the tour. Visitors go back happy and tell others and the biggest winner is New Zealand.

While locals may know the ins and outs of New Zealand, to be successful in getting Asian business, it pays to team up with Asians living here.

Being culturally sensitive can sometimes make or break a business in Asia, and engaging a multinational advertising agency or business adviser may not deliver the desired result.

Some time ago, ad agency Leo Burnett - the company which has angered many here because of its use of Italian women doing the haka in a Fiat advertisement - also ruffled the feathers of the Chinese.

The agency's China office came up with an ad for Nippon Paint featuring two dragons entwined on the pillars of a Chinese pavilion and, in a tongue-in-cheek manner, one of the dragons slipped down after the pillar was given a fresh coat of paint.

This drew an angry response from the Chinese who felt it was an insult as the dragon is regarded as a symbol of China.

Ultimately, for any place or country to be great, it depends very much on its people.

Asia is booming, with China, Japan and India in the world's top five economies.

Korea, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines are in the top 25.

It would be silly to ignore these countries as we look to restore and grow our education, export and tourism sectors.

Combining the old Kiwi can-do spirit with the connections that migrants have with the Asian economies can reap big rewards for everyone.