Step 8 of the series: “When the going gets tough….., the tough apply a winning 8-step approach to the Russian and CIS markets”

1. Make sure your product or service is competitive

2. Know the market

3. Be hungry for the business

4. Be ready to go local

5. Have a clear strategy

6. Dedicate enough resources

7. Put together the right team

8. TAKE CONTROL

Step 8. Are we capable and willing to take control?

Russians say: “doverjay, no proverjay” which means “trust but check”. “Trust but check” is a leading Russian management principle. A leading Western management principle is to delegate power and responsibilities, which is the exact opposite. This desire to delegate leads many Western companies to completely rely on their Russian partners or employees to manage their Russian affairs. In reply to questions on how certain issues are dealt with Western companies often reply: “We are so lucky because we found the right distributor”. “I don’t know; our Russian partner is taking care of that”. “Our Russian (speaking) employee has that information”. Most of the time Western companies don’t have any or sufficient information about their Russian affairs and largely depend on whatever information is presented to them.

We regularly observe that companies that closely manage their staff and operations on their home market inexplicably leave the management of their Russian operations in the hands of relative strangers. In more cases than not this leads to problems such as stagnating sales, cost overruns, lack of transparency and a lack of understanding of the market. Russia is no different from any other country in the sense that businesses need to be managed hands-on on a day to day basis.

Control of the Russian business is based on communicating a clear strategy, planning and expected results to your Russian team. Work with them based on trust but control using marketing-, sales- and financial metrics and implement sound management structures and processes. Teach your employees to work according to your standards and train them to be able to meet those standards. Get involved hands-on and know the people you work with well.

(If you want to know more about how to obtain control of your Russian business then you can contact us at [email protected] for further information)