Working across cultures

The first of the ten caselets on working across cultures:

Disclaimer: All incidents, names, organizations are fictional. They are written to help the audience be more concious and deliberate in their thinking and approach while working with professionals from different cultures. The actual event may be trivial but is designed to highlight everyday, non-obvious situations that may impact relationships across cultures. 

For Dummies….really?

This case highlights how a person’s own upbringing and outlook may impair judgements about people from other culture. This could lead to not only embarrassing moments but also have serious impact on business.

George Sal was a senior partner at a technology consulting firm, TechCo. He led a team of 80 consultants in the design and delivery of niche solutions for the automobile industry. He had been with the firm for just over three years and was instrumental in significantly increasing its sales and revenue from automobile clients. George was a veteran in the industry having served at two of the big four auto companies in Detroit for close to three decades before joining TechCo.

He was not what you would describe a typical consultant. George was a heavyset guy, who hated the formal attire. He spoke his mind and used language and phrases that had the potential to embarrass others. But he knew his stuff. George was a union leader during his days in Detroit and was known to be a hard negotiator. He knew his people and took care of them. He got them the best health and retirement plans from management. George was also a brilliant engineer. He was able to design and operationalize assembly lines that were at least 10% more energy, cost, and process efficient than the competitors.

TechCo was ecstatic at getting George into its ranks. George was a cult figure in the US automobile industry. Most automobile and automobile parts manufacturers knew him and respected him for his knowledge and experience. TechCo believed that having George would help them get new clients.

After joining TechCo, George spent the first two years consolidating the industry and stabilizing the services being offered to clients. After these initial years, TechCo was positioned as the industry leader and recognized as an innovator of new technology and services. The leadership at TechCo also recognized the potential that this industry held worldwide. They started to evaluate the European and Asian markets for potential new business.

One of the studies they conducted identified France evolving as a major source of automobile parts manufacturing. TechCo was keen on expanding and diversifying into the international market. They started to scout for a joint venture in France that would give them an easy entry into the European market. After over a year of evaluating and engaging in early conversations with several companies, they were able to find a perfect match for their needs. TechCo kick started the process of starting a JV. After several months of extensive work the stage was set for final contracts to be signed and George was planning to go over to meet the management at the French company.

This was the first time in his career spanning three decades that George was going overseas. He despised flying and formal business meetings. This trip called for both. George wanted to make a good first impression and so he thought of giving his counterpart, Michael Sas, a gift from America. He had heard that the French were voracious readers and so decided to give Michael a set of books.

George met Michael at the first meeting. The room was filled with high level delegates from both companies eager to get the meeting started. It was a daylong meeting to address concerns of both sides and find a middle ground for operating the JV in a manner that was acceptable to both organizations. George handed Michael the gift at the start of the meeting and insisted that Michael open the gift. Michael obliged and opened the gift in front of everyone. As soon as he saw the book his composure changed. He was visibly upset. The gift was a series of books on management under the “For Dummies” series.

The French value their intelligence a lot. They like bestsellers and biographies. Books which has “for dummies” in the title may be considered an insult to their intellect.

The gift that George gave his counterpart caused the environment in the room to change drastically. Members of the French organizations became distanced and aloof. It was a tough meeting with no major accomplishments at the end of the day. In fact by lunch time three key member of the French organization, including Michael, excused themselves and didn’t return for rest of the day. George had to cut short his trip and return to the US without any decisions or contracts having been signed. Within a few days TechCo received an intimation from the French organization saying they were not interested in getting into a partnership with TechCo. TechCo not only lost out on a good opportunity but it also lost all the investment (money, time, effort) it had made up to this point. It also led to funny anecdotes circulating in French automotive industry about TechCo and impacted their expansion plans in the French market.

A simple well intentioned act of giving a gift led to the fall of a partnership that could have been advantageous to both firms. While George was a simple down to earth person who believed in strong basics his counterparts were more sophisticated who valued and appreciated finer things in life. The situation could have been avoided had George spoken to a few people in his circle who had insights about the French culture.