A Serendipitous Call from Hong Kong

A few months ago, one of you readers requested that I talk about my time working in China. It was not something I had planned at all. So how did I end up there?

After six years of working in Japan post-college, I thought it would be interesting to move to a new country. I loved living and working in Tokyo, but felt it was time to move back to the US. I started sharing my plans with my Cornell alumni groups around the globe.

Back then, we still had answering machines and flip phones, and we had to travel with bags of phone adapters to dial up an internet connection in hotel rooms. The answering machine at my apartment in Tokyo was typically empty, so I was surprised to receive several messages during the summer of 1997. The messages were almost impossible to comprehend. After the third of these garbled messages, I thought I could make out a name, sounding like “Bowcock” but distinctly Chinese.

I mentioned this to a fellow Cornellian, who looked at me in utter disbelief: “Are you telling me that Beau Kuok is calling your home phone? Beau Kuok?!?” I asked him to spell it for me and give me some background. He was still in shock as he explained that if these calls were from Hong Kong and it was indeed Beau Kuok (which I doubted), I better get ready to meet one of the biggest tycoons in Hong Kong! Mr. Kuok owns Shangri-La Hotels, The China Morning Post, private clubs, real estate all over Asia, and is the largest edible oil exporter in Asia.

I went home and listened to all the messages again until I could make out a phone number, which I then dialed. Beau Kuok’s secretary answered and immediately scolded me: “We have been trying to get a hold of you for months! Mr. Kuok would like to see you.” I instinctively asked, “Why?” That was probably not the best question to ask. I was simply told that Mr. Kuok wanted to see me. By this time, it was fall, and I thought, well, temperatures in Hong Kong are more manageable in the fall—and it’s a great time for Christmas shopping. And, I have to say, it was intriguing to be invited by a person I had never met, never sent a resume to, and was completely unaware of.

I was also not used to being picked up by a limo and chauffeur and getting checked into a “butlered” suite at the Island Shangri-La. I shopped all weekend, wondering what would happen on Monday when I would finally meet Beau Kuok.

Sunday night at the hotel, I ran into the President of the Cornell Hotel Society. He resides in San Francisco, and I went to Cornell with his daughter. Both he and his wife, Michael and Shirley, hugged me and asked what I was doing in Hong Kong. I told them I wasn’t sure and explained my invite from Beau Kuok and my wondering why he would invite me. Michael said immediately, “Oh, yes, I sent him your resume. Did I not tell you?” Mystery solved.

I still did not know why he wanted to see me, and Michael explained that Beau was aware of the turnaround of the Tokyo American Club I was involved in, and he wanted to talk about private expatriate clubs in Asia. Happy to get a bit of background before meeting Mr. Kuok the next morning, I was convinced that I wanted to work in a different industry. Private clubs moved too slowly, were typically averse to innovation, and I was a little disenchanted with the powerful boards these clubs have, members who did not want anything to change.

The carpeting in Mr. Kuok’s building was about three inches thick. Try walking that with heels!

After the typical introductory questions, Beau Kuok brought up his plans to build expatriate clubs all over Asia, starting in Beijing, and he wanted me to be involved. I had to be honest with him and share that I was neither planning to stay in Asia nor in the club industry. It’s just not how I saw my future.

His next question really shows Beau Kuok’s incredible sophistication in reading people. He asked me the only question he could to get me into a more open-minded mindset: “Under what circumstances would you stay?”

Wow. I was never asked this question in any interview or even by any superior. Ever.

I could feel the energy bubbling up inside of me, and I was instantly energized. I told him that I would love to do this work if I had free range and no board to answer to. His words: “Let’s do it!”

I have to say, of all the superiors I had in my life thus far, Beau Kuok understood me best, knew not to micromanage me, and gave me one simple job description: “Surprise me. Every day.”

Take the time to truly understand the person you are interviewing. Ask the questions that reveal their true motivations, passions, and conditions for success. You never know what might come of it!