Business relationships

Our real estate development work has seriously impacted our time to write blog postings over the past couple of weeks.  When our U.S. business partners are in Viet Nam as they have been these days, there is a whirlwind of meetings and trips to view potential project sites.  A substantial amount of time is necessary here in Viet Nam to build and maintain relationships.  The hard part is figuring out who to select for a relationship, and can they perform as they say they can.  To some degree, connections to government officials here are very important to get to meet the right person who can increase the chances of a faster approval of projects.  I haven't come to grips yet with the amount of cronyism here on the part of government officials and local developers.  I am trying to formulate both a business position as well as a personal ethical position so we can remain in the game without compromising our integrity as American developers.  We want to survive based on the extra value we can provide.  I will try to let you know how this evolves over time.