Paris Urban Pattern

I’ve recently noticed a subtle but perceptible attitude shift among Americans working in foreign markets. My overseas colleagues are noticing, too. American business people, they say, are displaying more thoughtfulness than usual. U.S. companies operating overseas seem less inclined to approach global business as though its epicenter is in New York or Palo Alto.

It’s too soon to call this a new Zeitgeist, but change is in the air. The global economic crisis, which has its roots in the U.S., may be partially responsible. I think the new vibe is also influenced by Washington’s new tone in its approach to global  affairs.  As an American doing business abroad, this is promising.

Historically, many American firms have approached business from a decidedly ethnocentric perspective–more so than many of our European rivals.  U.S. companies have missed opportunities as a result.

Things seem to be moving in a better direction now.

More Americans are coming to terms with the fact that global power is shifting away from America. It’s not that the U.S. is declining. Instead, other nations are rising. The U.S. is still a hothouse for science and technological innovation, but emerging markets are coming into their own.

We now find ourselves in a multi-polar world–one that Fareed Zakaria describes as the “Rise of the Rest“.  It’s a world where more people in other markets are well-informed and better-skilled than ever before. This is true in markets where living standards are considerably lower than ours.  The pool of business and technology talent in emerging markets is growing deeper every day. In my view, this isn’t a problem. It’s a golden opportunity, but one for which we have to prepare.

Globalization has created more homogeneous markets, but there are marked differences in the pace, etiquette and style of conducting business. These differences are more pronounced in emerging regions.  In any case, it’s immensely helpful to learn about the customs, behaviors and culture of markets where we’re doing business.  It starts by taking a considerate view of other cultures and appreciating what makes them unique. The most obvious benefit to this approach is that it helps build more durable business relationships and friendships.

How can greater respect and appreciation be demonstrated for colleagues in foreign markets?

I suggest five practices that we can undertake to improve the way we engage clients and colleagues in other cultures.  More enlightened business people working in foreign markets–including Americans–already use these practices:

1) Learn the language. At least learn enough to greet your clients but, ideally, strive for more. If your linguistic skills aren’t strong, at least how to how to greet, thank and toast your host in their native language. Go beyond merely learning “please” and “thank you”. Work on your pronunciation. Ideally, take language courses, download language lessons or–and this is my preference–hire a native-speaking tutor.

English is the language of global business, and it’s likely that your clients speak English. But, recognize that it’s often their second or third language. Never assume they understand your meaning.  Avoid slang or jargon. In any case, I suggest following up formal discussions with written summaries using direct, simple terms to recap key points.

2) Broaden the lens. Get as much contextual background information about the local culture as possible. It’s not only enriching, it helps you see your client’s challenges from their perspective. When I’m studying a new market, I gather market research as dictated by the project. But, I also try to learn about the region’s history and current affairs. I read as much as possible and talk to as many people from the region as I can before stepping foot in the market.

Learn about your client’s business culture, management practices and technology, but also get a feel for the “market context”. What’s the local business climate like? For example, many governments have recently privatized and deregulated  industries resulting in greater competition. Will such reforms continue in light of the economic downturn and, if so, how will they affect the problems you’re helping clients solve?

3) Be flexible. When booking client conferences, I observe their schedule. That means early morning, sometimes pre-dawn, conversations with clients who are 10 or more hours ahead of me. The upside is appreciative clients. (The downside, of course, is sleep deprivation.) It also means conferences on weekends with Middle Eastern clients whose days of rest are Thursday and Friday, or Friday and Saturday, and who observe different holidays. Flexibility is essential, but the rewards are substantial.

4) Integrate and collaborate. Happily, the days when a team of high-priced consultants flies into a region to fix problems for clients are over. Next generation collaboration tools like wikis are making it possible for distant, cross-cultural teams to integrate their skills and minimize project costs from start to finish. For example, our U.S. based technical team will work with a client’s process owners to develop solutions that neither team could produce on their own. Much of our team stays behind as the project unfolds. The result is a more cost-effective solution that is validated on a real-time basis by the client which also means fewer surprises.

5) Assume an attitude of humility and consideration. Approach assignments in other markets from the standpoint that the client knows what works best on the ground. Sometimes they need help seeing it from a different perspective, but their insights are valuable. My team lets foreign clients know at the start of an assignment that we recognize this fact.

An appreciative stance toward the client and their culture helps us build trust so we can move swiftly toward a more integrative solution.  A humbler, more considerate approach paves the way for a more enriching and successful assignment.

The global marketplace has undergone a seismic shift. Business people who bring a considerate attitude to their assignments in foreign markets will fare much better in a world that is now being defined and driven by talented, skillful people in those markets.

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Want more info on this subject? Read Newsweek editor Fareed Zakaria’s The Post-American World (W.W. Norton & Co., 2008).

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While the U.S. still possesses unique, natural advantages, “the rise of the rest,” including China, India and Brazil, among others, are creating a world through their economic growth that is more multi-focal. Other nations are now catching up to America’s level of economic clout and self-assertion.  What’s next for the U.S. in this new world order remains to be seen.

Zakaria argues that America has assumed that its innate strengths – academic resources, free markets and diversity of talent – can compensate for its anemic savings rate or the absence of a health care system or a cogent, long-term economic strategy.

“That was fine in a world when a lot of other countries were not performing,” argues Zakaria, but now the best of the rest are working hard, saving well and are looking ahead. “They have adopted our lessons and are playing our game”.  He  worries that “the U.S. risks having its unique and advantageous position in the world erode as other countries rise.”

According to Zakaria, the U.S. still has significant natural advantages. But the new worry for America is neither the rise of other societies, nor its own diminsihing influence, but Washington’s politics of stagnation and partisanship in recent years.  Zakaria argues that anachronistic systems of government hijacked by vested interests are having a drag on the agility and innovativeness that led to America’s rise in the last century. As David Singh Grewal notes in his new book, Network Power, “Everything is being globalized except politics.”

Zakaria makes his case skillfully. His argument should inspire a broader conversation during this election cycle about how to shift attention to the new challenges and opportunities of a multi-focal world. Rather than engage in the same tired debate about restoring America’s lustre, it makes sense to weigh the options as seen through the prism of a post-American world.

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