One Third of What You Want is Perfect

There’s an expression I learned early in my bike manufacturing days—probably in 1988:

“When you work with the Taiwanese you get one-third of what you asked for, one-third of what they think you asked for, and one-third of what they want to do.”

I first heard the words from Ron Andrews, back when he worked at Fat City Cycles.  At the time, I thought it was a humorous statement and that’s about all.  I had not worked with any Taiwanese companies yet, so my only reference point was the results I saw from companies that did source frames and parts from Taiwan.  And, it sure looked like Ron’s comment was true—sometimes the bikes seemed a bit off:  odd design choices, parts that had the appearance and feel of being designed by people that weren’t riders, durability issues, funky quality.

Well, now that I've done some work in Taiwan and China—mainly for other companies—I no longer find that comment humorous—although it still makes me smile.  I now find Ron’s statement to be true and fairly universal.  I’ve learned that the words hold a lot of wisdom.  In fact, his comment has been really helpful in my travels over the years—and not just in Asia.

Universal

What has finally sunken into my head is that the statement has nothing to do with Taiwan or any other specific country; therefore, I would make one minor change in Ron’s statement—I would replace the words “the Taiwanese” with the word “anyone”.  It really seems to hold true anytime two or more people communicate.  Although, I think it appears more noticeable when we’re working through email, faxes, drawings, mathematical equations, and then add to that a foreign language—like Mandarin.  I think that’s why the statement first appeared in the Taiwanese communication context.

Nowadays I think about the statement in the three distinct parts:

“What You Want”

This is the easy part to understand.  Unfortunately, communication is very difficult—really, it’s impossible.  You know what you want.  But don’t count on anyone else knowing—you are probably speaking Mandarin to someone that doesn’t.

“What They Think You Want”

This is the interpretation, the translation, the processing that we all do in order to cope with the world.  This interpretation occurs because it’s so impossible to communicate clearly.  It can also create a bit of a Rashomon effect. 

“What They Want”

This is the most interesting, and undervalued, part of the wisdom.  I used to think this part of the statement was all about "those willful Taiwanese".  Well, if you’ve worked with smart Taiwanese companies, you know that “willful” is not a term to be used.  What I’ve learned is that it’s a statement about people wanting to participate.  You can either have them participate in the first third—make what “you want” into "what you all want".  Get “them” involved in the development.  Get them involved in problem solving.  Make it “Our” project, rather than “my” project.  After all, it can’t be “mine” if others are helping accomplish the project.  And others are always helping accomplish work.

It may be human nature—not that I would really know—to want to be involved.  To want to leave a mark, to put your stamp on the work in which you participate.  Who would want to work on that which you don’t want any ownership—or any pride?