I am now the proud owner of a book that I wrote myself and that I cannot read. The Chinese translation of Management 3.0 was officially “launched” yesterday in Shanghai.
OK, the event was actually just a regular meeting of the local Agile community. And I happened to be around, and available, and eager to promote the book. (And hoping to get some copies myself!) It was a simple step to get the publisher and event organizers to work together and have a pile of books ready, waiting to be signed. We all did well. The books sold out in a matter of minutes.
I hear the translators (three students of the university in Beijing) did a great job on the translation. The translation is done in “simplified” Chinese, which is the standard nowadays. (Traditional Chinese would have made it an even heavier tome than it already is.) And I thank the translators for all their work. Translating my text must have been hard. Especially the parts that were serious.
I’m very happy to have met many Agile practitioners in China, both at the book launch and in my two courses. So far the people are suspiciously similar to Agile practitioners in Europe and the US. The main difference is that they try to let me eat bones, tongues and feet. And they pay all my bills.
I’m going back home on Saturday, but I have already planned my next trips to Shanghai. I will be at the Scrum Gathering in June, and hopefully we’re organizing an open course in October.
It may be wise to start learning some Chinese.
p.s. I sometimes get asked if there are other translations in the works. The short answer is, “I don’t know.” Several people have offered to translate the book. But my publisher’s approach to translations has repelled more people than the Great Wall of China.
