I just a attended a business leaders meeting in Beijing as part of a Chamber of Commerce trip to China. Actually, in our meeting were several Chamber groups from California. The trip was aimed at showing off China’s economic engine. Capitalism is on fire there. Everyone is selling something. And American’s are welcomed with open arms to receive both our money and good will.

For me, it was the trip of a lifetime — a chance to get a first hand look at the new China in action. I can’t tell you how much I learned. I came away with a very positive attitude about China and the people.

As for business meetings, designed to bring American and China business partners together to do business, they haven’t seemed to figure it out. Our delegation had submitted our requests ahead of time to meet with potential suppliers or business partners so they would be in the room when we arrived.

Instead, the organizers welcomed us and then said “enjoy your meeting” with no individual introductions.

There was no organization to it. Ultimately, I persuaded an interpreter to introduce our people at the microphone to determine if their were Chinese counterparts in the room. For the most part, there weren’t. Ultimately, however, the organizers met with members of our delegation and said they could facilitate contacts with suppliers, etc.

My headline suggests the Chinese don’t understand business. They certainly do. But based on our experience, not in the nitty gritty meet-and-greet fashion — the tried and true mixer — that is the staple of business interactions, at least locally, across the U.S.

Based on our short visit, this small problem will be remedied soon. The Chinese are moving at light speed as they increasingly dominate world markets in so many areas.

One insight: we should be teaching our kids mandarin at a young age — the same way they teach Chinese kids English — to put us on a solid business footing in the future. While everything in China seems to be in both Chinese and English and many people speak English, business interactions will be improved if Americans can speak and understand the language and culture.

Having worked both the corporate and agency sides of the public relations aisle, I’ve seen a tendency for agencies to use a sledge hammer when a screw driver would work just fine. They view new business as a revenue booster rather than a communications challenge. Do PR consultants these days ever ask themselves if the best solution for the client is also the least expensive? Is more always better? Does the organization have the staff necessary to carry out the plan? Is is possible that the client may actually be doing some things right?

Gary Summers and I have held senior communications positions at Kaiser Permanente, one of the nation’s largest HMO’s with a very sophisticated healthcare public relations program. Kaiser, like most providers these days, focuses on prevention. Using Kaiser as a yard stick of good medicine, last year we evaluated the internal and external communications program at rural Mendocino Coast District Hospital in Fort Bragg, Calif. (You’re thinking: Kaiser as a yard stick, you must be talking big money. But read on).

Many of Coast Hospital’s communications activities were on track and appropriate for a small community hospital. The Update newsletter, however, needed a makeover.

Mailed only two or three times a year to 15,000 people in the local community, whole issues of Update were devoted to volunteer activities and plant maintenance or the “clean, well run” cafeteria. A few health classes appeared on page 8. Otherwise, prevention advise was largely absent.

We revamped it: cut the size from tabloid to 8 1/2 by 11 (easier to handle and cheaper to mail); moved from two-color to four (we live in a four-color world); created a new look and feel (new logo, type and layout), and based content on pr goals set by the organization with emphasis on prevention and quality of care. We also suggested printing it six times a year. Ultimately, quarterly was the most the organization could afford.

All these changes resulted in a more attractive, focused publication better serving the community at literally the same cost. Reducing the content and simplifying the design also allowed the internal public relations manager to eliminate outside writers and coordinators (us). That’s okay. It means we did our job successfully.

Lessons: less is more. Be guided by a pr plan. Revamp communications according to resources available (including money and staff).