I am a huge fan of James Clavell's books, especially his Asian Saga and my personal favourite is Noble House.The book gave an insight about Hong Kong and the dying days of British rule. I watched the Noble House miniseries with pretty limited expectations as film and TV adaptations rarely live up to a book you have enjoyed. In this case, however I was pleasantly surprised. A pre-Bond Pierce Brosnan does a great job as Ian Dunross and Clavells Novels have complex interconnecting plotlines so representing the whole book in the mini-series would be impossible, or at best tedious, so it is simplified but keeps the same feel and pace as the book.

One of the first phrases Ian Dunross says during a meeting the outgoing Taipan. This is definitely a golden rule. If you are selling you can never be late and anyway lateness is a poor excuse as basically you are saying your time is more valuable than the time of the person you are meeting. Aim to get there 5 minute early and in the worst case scenario you will be on time.

Ultimately what saves the Noble House from ruin is Dunross securing a revolving credit agreement from the Bank of China. Dunross flies to China where he meets an old school friend who he has not seen for many years and who is now the bank director. The old school friend remembers him fondly and the request is granted. The moral of this..think long term, you never know when people will pop up again in life and business. Never burn your bridges unless absolutely necessary.

Ian Dunross always presents an impeccable image whether at work, social events or at the weekend and he maintains a consistent personal brand. His personality is in harmony with his actions

In the course of the Noble House Ian Dunross forges deals and alliances with pirates, communists, police and intelligence chiefs, bankers, journalists, Chinese, Americans and British citizens. Ian Dunross doesn't waste time judging their backgrounds, only exploring areas of common interests so they can both achieve their goals.

Ian Dunross can achieve what he does as he has a strong network of close confidants. This can only be built up over time and as a result of reciprocation, i.e. you cannot approach these relationships thinking "what can I get from this person" but rather "what can I do for this person".

Ian Dunross relationships are varied; the pirate and Heroin smuggler '4 Finger Wu', the superintendent of the Hong Kong Police Robert Armstrong plus numerous other characters Also his relationships are at all levels not just the top. Thus is important as most people only want to befriend and influence the person at the top, but this is a mistake as often many decisions are taken lower down, plus today's middle manager is tomorrows director! Dunross treats everybody the same neither talking up or talking down to people.

Ian Dunross rarely loses his cool, he invites his adversaries to his parties, and he does not engage in gossip or bad mouthing anyone. As I mentioned before you should never burn bridges in business unless absolutely necessary, but conversely there comes time you must step up and say what needs to be said regardless of if it will hurt someones feelings. On the day of Philip Chen's funeral where due to his actions and the actions of his father the Noble House is facing ruin. Dunross does not hold back. He lets the father know he is responsible and he has 3 days to raise $40 million or his connection to the noble house if finished. Its ruthless, but Dunross does not feel he has any choice.

In the course of the week in time that the Noble House covers Dunross must be under extreme stress. The Noble House which he has been groomed since birth to govern is in dire trouble and facing imminent collapse. Only strong action on his part can help it survive. Yet the whole time Dunross hosts and attends parties, takes Casey Tcholok on dates, attends the races and acts like he has a lot in reserve.

At evening events, the races at Happy Valley etc. etc. Dunross is always doing business. Now this doesn't mean you should turn into a tiresome networking and deal making machine who people want to avoid, but you have to always be alert for possible business deals and future contacts, which are much more likely to happen at social or informal events, or at places where you are with people who share your interests. You need to put yourself out there constantly, to meet people, to help people and to do deals.