Closest ear won't always be the best organ for advice

Business consultant warns of expensive mistakes in acquiring other companies

Who would you go to for advice if you were preparing to do a big business deal? Many Westerners, even with bread-and-butter issues such as buying houses and planning their retirement, would engage a financial adviser.

But for many Chinese, it seems, the go-to person, even with multimillion dollar transactions, is not a professional adviser but their spouse, their parents or some other relative, or friends.