Cleveland, OH (currently Taipei, Taiwan)
My vision for the firm is to bring some of the best practices from the US (and elsewhere in the world) to Taiwan and focus on truly making our clients in Taiwan better companies…
Who are you?
I am a Taiwanese American Christian who was born in the US and grew up in Cleveland but has since moved back to Taiwan in order to reconnect with my roots, enjoy the splendid food, the unparalleled convenience of Taipei, and the heartwarming friendliness of the Taiwanese people.
After a bit of wandering, I have been fortunate enough to have the opportunity to start a new management consultancy firm focused on Greater China (initially Taiwan) with a few partners. While becoming an entrepreneur has always been a lifelong dream, my vision for the firm is to bring some of the best practices from the US (and elsewhere in the world) to Taiwan and focus on truly making our clients in Taiwan better companies, while at the same time creating a new, sensible and pleasant work environment that will train, grow, and empower new Taiwanese professionals to pursue their passions.
What do you do?
In my professional role as an entrepreneur and partner at a management consultancy, I work on business development, project and client management, recruiting, training, accounting, translating, etc. On our projects, we do anything from improving the efficiency of our clients by simplifying their processes to finding ways to reduce their indirect costs, from optimizing their dialogue and communications with their customers to analyzing their data to find predictive trends, from advising them on a potential transaction to helping them find buyers.
I also enjoy dabbling in a wide range of passions and interests, anything from teaching middle-aged women how to exercise at the local breakfast shop to performing my musical compositions on piano, from helping churches better serve and reach their communities to having philosophical discussions with both local Taiwanese and foreign expats, from playing strategic board games with university students to doing language exchange with people trying to improve their English.
Why are you proud to be of Taiwanese heritage?
As a 2nd generation Taiwanese American, what brings me the most pride is the kindness and warmth of the Taiwanese people, especially in how they treat foreign guests. Almost every foreign friend who has visited Taiwan has always come away with a good impression of the people, of how Taiwan exceeded their expectations, and how pleasantly surprised they were by their whole experience. Furthermore, I am proud of Taiwanese and Chinese history and culture, of how strongly we value family, of our work ethic, of cultural tendency for modesty, conservativeness, and indirectness, and of how we strive to make our indelible mark in history, becoming leaders in multiple field and industries and having a disproportionate amount of influence relative to our population.
What does the future of Taiwanese America look like to you?
While ideally Taiwanese Americans would become more visible, more united in spirit, and more diverse in talent, my hope is they would also reconnect and continue to develop even closer relations to Taiwan on a personal level in order to bond with local Taiwanese, thus creating mutually beneficial relationships that can be used to help and support each other.
Any additional information you would like to share?
I do think it is very important (and to Taiwan’s advantage) to sort out the Taiwan – China issue sooner rather than later rather than remaining apathetic and tabling the problem. In addition, I do believe there are potential solutions out there that are worth discussing. For example, I have put forth one possible idea in my blog at http://jerrykchiang.blogspot.com/2009/02/on-taiwanese-independence.html.
Also, you can visit my firm, Enhance International’s website at: http://www.enhance-international.com
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