I got all evangelical over lunch today with a prospective client in Vietnam.
I said that thanks to the high wall around the country built from the language barrier and the social change resistance of the Party, I feel Vietnam retains more collectivism than most countries.
“Opening the window” to limited capitalism – “Socialist-oriented market economy” – in the 80s was necessary and clever. The results have been spectacular.
But they must beware the associated culture of individualistic greed and self-entitlement seeping in.
It is ironic that multiple movements such as Teal are globally scrambling to restore some unity and collaboration before it is too late.
I said I hope Vietnam will realise they are ahead of the game, and that they will keep out the 20th Century management ideas peddled by the likes of McKinsey and the other BigCs, that push individual performance measurement and reward, and hence competition within and amongst teams.
All our great success comes from taking clients in the opposite direction. We can balance capitalism and socialism by saying “it’s ok to get richer so long as we all do”, which is precisely what is happening in VN.
Collective action brings better results, better lives, better society.