“The man who asks a question is a fool for a minute, the man who does not ask is a fool for life.” So said the ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius. As an English-born speaker of Mandarin, Drayton’s Jack Montague-Nelson can answer questions in both languages.
But, with a nod to the great sage of Qufu, asking them is his speciality. As he defines himself as ‘incurably curious.’
That curiosity took him to the University of Sussex, where he earned a degree in philosophy. And the University of Birmingham for an MSc in International Management. It also took him to China.
‘I taught English for three years in Hangzhou, at Hailiang Education Group, a large international school, as well as travelling all over China,’ the Consumer Sector consultant – specialising in food and drink, retail, leisure, apparel, and healthcare – tells me at Drayton’s London HQ in Belgravia. ‘What really fascinated me back then were the cultural differences between East and West.’
When I press him on what they are, Montague-Nelson pauses, and takes his time, before giving a considered answer. He is obviously someone who likes to get details right.
‘Individualism versus collectivism. Chinese culture is very collectivist. People think with a group mentality. That really struck me when I was there. It was fascinating to me. So, when I did my MSc, I researched and wrote around the differing cultures between the two countries. Putting down on paper, what I’d personally experienced.’
Brought up in Somerset, Montague-Nelson loves the county’s idyllic countryside. As a boy going for long runs in the ‘dimpsey,’ a local dialect word for the ‘murky half-light which comes at the end of the day.’ He still likes to run. But these days, through the less picturesque surroundings of Hackney’s Victoria Park. Listening to music, Talking Heads being a favourite, and formalising the questions which he prides himself on asking.
‘I spent three years at the executive search company Carter Schwartz. The part I really loved about my consultant role there, and also here at Drayton, is speaking to people every day, and understanding their different dynamics, what makes them tick. And asking the right questions is the key to doing that. A way of unpicking their motivations, talents, and ambitions. Once you have really studied and grasped those kinds of things, you’re perfectly briefed to recommend a position to them that they will shine in.’
Hàoqí de, is the Mandarin for curious. Everything about Jack suggests that, in both the languages he speaks, it’s a word that defines him.