The Chinese Honeymoon Period is a phenomenon when your counterparts extend constant goodwill through exaggerated praise, insisted assistance, and the sharing of inside information. Embrace uncertainty and trust the process with eyes wide open, but first allow me to remove your myopic blinders.
Every foreigner’s journey in China is different, but the cross-cultural challenges are similar and uniquely Chinese. Circular conversations, Guanxi-driven networks, Face-giving rituals, and strange superstitions, to name a few, make simple things extraordinarily complicated. My content breaks down how Chinese people think, why they behave the way they do, and how predictable cooperation occurs through simple tactics that can be easily molded into your grand China strategy.
Learn Chinese Thinking
Discover how they think, why they behave the way they do, and the real difference makers in China.
Approach China Wiser
Learn to manage their perceptions and embrace their rituals to deepen your Guanxi, naturally.
Align Two Worlds
Unlock imagination and purpose-driven curiosity to enhance your cross-cultural relationships.
Gene believes better communication begins with curiosity and awareness—not stereotypes, assumptions, or surface-level language skills. After spending decades living and working across Greater China as a fluent Mandarin Chinese speaker, Gene realized “knowing how to speak Chinese doesn’t mean you know what to say in Chinese,” but knowing what to say works in any language.
Coaching others how to play and win in China is my mission to improve US–China relations, one cross-cultural relationship at a time. I can show you how to escape the “Chinese honeymoon period” so you can better understand not only China, but yourself. [read my story]
Connect with me on LinkedIn to read the full testimonials and let’s engage directly.
Intercultural Communication Expert
I was looking for an expert on Chinese culture and communication, and meeting Gene has really been a stroke of luck.
Program Management, Business Strategy
Gene, who as an American who spoke Chinese, seemingly was more effective in communication with the customer…
CEO, Keystone Group (Shanghai)
Working in a diverse cultural environment like Shanghai, your cultural insights and coaching sessions were extremely valuable…
Learn how studying Mandarin through their cultural lens prepares you play and win the China game inside the Chinese arena.
Speak Less, Guanxi More
reveals how stronger relationships—not louder words—are often the real key to working more collaboratively with Chinese people and culture.
The Chinese Honeymoon Period
explores the hidden psychological truths that shapes how Westerners first experience China—and why perceptions often change over time.
The Audible Experience
uncover the cultural, emotional, and psychological forces shaping modern U.S.–China relationships my personal journey between two worlds.
