Attending a conference in another country (as doing business there) can be exciting. How do you prepare? For one, it requires some cultural sensitivity. Tom Peters suggests we approach another culture with humility and humor.[1]
When I first visited France, I was warned by colleagues, that the arrogance in Paris was probably only surpassed by the arrogance of visiting Americans. Watch your step.
I remember going to a to a retail store where I tried to ask for some particular item in very broken French. And at one point, I just sort of looked at the salesperson and shrugged and said, Je ne comprends pas, I don't understand. Pardon. And excuse me. And she laughed and immediately switched to English. Now, her English was far better than my French. But she approached the situation differently than if I had come in and expected her to speak English. And so, I was trying to indicate a bit of humility, but also a bit of the humor with a shrug of my shoulders, that I needed her help.
Peters goes on to say that we do well to go with 'beginner's mind" and remember that this is our host's home.[2] Keep in mind that this may end up becoming our passport into a future partner's world. |