Safe travels!

I don’t have any empty pages in my 5th passport and looking at the numerous, multi-colored visa stamps and stickers that create a ‘world journal’ of my travels, I reminisced how I have evolved from the all my trips.

In the 90s I was travelling across the United States, experiencing the pragmatism and concreteness of North American people. At the beginning of the this century I wandered around Europe, recognizing the balanced work-life approach of the Nordics and the passionate and productive style of the Mediterranean. In the last five years I have been travelling extensively across Asia and I can, without a doubt, say that the various cultures, behaviors and mannerisms I have seen are among the most diverse and inclusive. 

I have seen Koreans explain how to bring their interesting historical heritage into the digital era while showing me how to drink Soju. Vietnamese partners showed me how to surf the wave of Ho Chi Min traffic and convinced a key customer to adopt an Hybrid Cloud. Thailand colleagues discussed how to satisfy a last minute customer request while visiting Wat Pho - the temple with the reclining Buddha. Indonesia surfers discussed how to build a digital campaign to emphasize the importance of recycling in the chaotic island of Bali. Sri Lankan and Maldives friends set up a chat-bot to promote their marvelous country. Malaysian colleagues telling me about the digitalized ticketing system adopted by one of the leading hotels in KL, while walking on the connecting bridge of glass and steel at the Petronas towers. Filipinos athletes playing basket in a tiny island while streaming to the world, through a cloud based platform, the hatching of marine turtles in a full moon night. Singapore government officials showed the way on adopting a digital platform with hundreds of partner’s solutions to serve their citizens. New Zealanders sharing how some rugby coaches were using AI based algorithms to transform the way players are trained.

Beyond my professional learnings combined with the expansion of my personal network where colleagues often became friends, I am very grateful to the companies I have been working in for. I believe the main reason everyone should consider having experiences abroad is to give you and your family an opportunity to ‘open your mind’ and learn about different cultures, histories and communities.

In future, the opportunities for our children won’t be based on how many languages they speak but rather on how many cultures they can positively interact with. 

A few months ago, my 14 year old son and 11 year old daughter schooled me on this. While at dinner with South Korean friends, I poured myself a beer when I should have waited – as my kids told me, when at a table with multiple dinner guests, a younger person at the table serves the older people, as a mark of respect. I didn’t know that and while I meant no disrespect to anyone at the table, I’m sure I didn’t make it easy for our hosts. My children knew the subtlety and significance of this social interaction in a different culture and I am so grateful that we gave them the opportunity to learn this.

I firmly believe that for the next generation of leaders, this knowledge of interaction and social skills will be as, if not more, critical as the professional qualifications needed to succeed.

What have you learnt from your travels? And tell me about a time when you realized you made a cultural faux pas.

Safe travels!