This is the first in a series of newsletters on working and traveling abroad for business… and let’s not forget pleasure. Use the information as your reference guide, it’s not the gospel and it isn’t meant to be….
As a global society, we must understand the nuances of cultural differences, expectations and people’s behavior from city to city, country to country and even between regions in the U.S. Why? So we are prepared to work or travel together cutting out unnecessary misunderstandings upfront. Think of it as a form of preventive medicine!
Are you supposed to avert your eyes when speaking to someone from Saudi Arabia? Do all Muslim women wear the Hijab? Should I kiss both cheeks? How do I pronounce that name again? Is it Senora or Senorita??
How can we enjoy other people versus getting pissed off, or pissing someone off? The goal of this series is to provide insight to various cultures and how to work within so you BOTH leave with a happy and solidified relationship.
In 1988, my manager at Philip Morris asked me to travel to Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, and Tennessee to sell Bucks Baseball Batting Cages into bars located in the boondocks. There was no training, no words of wisdom, no call me to let me know how it’s going… to have me prepared to meet Southern men, negotiate, and close deals. I don’t believe these gentlemen were they prepared to meet a young woman from Buffalo, NY, who not only didn’t have a clue but, had never stepped foot in any of those states.
Taking clues from the men, I repeated their names often, slowwwwed my speech dramatically and learned to talk baseball. Big time. Not only was no one is in a rush to talk business, each set of men wanted to know me personally before business was conducted.
A 10 a.m. appointment in NYC means 10 a.m. A 10 a.m. appointment in the South, means I’ll see you around that time…hopefully no later than 10:30 a.m. To be on time in NYC, it is expected. In parts of the South, arriving on time would be ……well, it just doesn’t happen.
The first stop on our working culture tour, Italy! Click here…
Ciao for now,
Jocelyn
