Unequivocally, my favorite topic....
I'm visiting Bangalore, the center of the software outsourcing world, and have had the opportunity to work with and explore some software businesses in China and Vietnam. I own and operate a (great!) software consulting business in the improbable locale of Chiang Mai, Thailand. So, by way of argument from authority, I'll step up on my soapbox.
I think most of us try to do due diligence when interacting with other cultures - typically there's a book or some wikipedia articles to peruse and most of the important materials can be covered in a few paragraphs - something at first vague, about family and circles (China, Thailand), hierarchical relationships (India), and obligation (Japan).
I think it's taken me nearly 10 years to really start to get those paragraphs. Some people get it right away - anthropologists are actually trained in how to get it. I wonder if any anthropologists are plying their trade in Silicon Valley, or if there are any companies smart enough to hire them.
The gist of my 10 year realization, is not only that you have to digest those paragraphs, but you have to factor out your own cultural habits, in many cases. Those paragraphs are steel girders of civilizations, not trivia notes on behavior. (I think we ironically focus on the behavioral recommendations because they're so concrete - but ultimiately I don't think they count for much as few people hold foreigners accountable by their own culturally-tight behavioral standards. I still put soy sauce on my rice in Japan, put my feet on my desk in Thailand, and eat with my left hand in India).
Things get done in India, and things get done in Thailand. Both places are top-down management to a fault. Interestingly, the responsibility and the work in Thailand hovers pretty close to the top of the heirarchy and that heirarchy is less well deliniated. In India, it's push, push, push, kick, kick again, done. In Thailand, there's many people working hard to cover the weaknesses of those under them, and Thais tend to be less effective at kicking down. Broad brush-stokes, but geneally true.
The ramifications... In a meeting, don't genuinely solicit junior people for ideas. It won't work. Also, there's no reason to be an ass, but our niceness is not some univeral obligation - it's probably more a function of where you're from than what's correct. This list could go on, but basically your not in Kansas anymore. I need to read those paragraphs again.
I'm visiting Bangalore, the center of the software outsourcing world, and have had the opportunity to work with and explore some software businesses in China and Vietnam. I own and operate a (great!) software consulting business in the improbable locale of Chiang Mai, Thailand. So, by way of argument from authority, I'll step up on my soapbox.
I think most of us try to do due diligence when interacting with other cultures - typically there's a book or some wikipedia articles to peruse and most of the important materials can be covered in a few paragraphs - something at first vague, about family and circles (China, Thailand), hierarchical relationships (India), and obligation (Japan).
I think it's taken me nearly 10 years to really start to get those paragraphs. Some people get it right away - anthropologists are actually trained in how to get it. I wonder if any anthropologists are plying their trade in Silicon Valley, or if there are any companies smart enough to hire them.
The gist of my 10 year realization, is not only that you have to digest those paragraphs, but you have to factor out your own cultural habits, in many cases. Those paragraphs are steel girders of civilizations, not trivia notes on behavior. (I think we ironically focus on the behavioral recommendations because they're so concrete - but ultimiately I don't think they count for much as few people hold foreigners accountable by their own culturally-tight behavioral standards. I still put soy sauce on my rice in Japan, put my feet on my desk in Thailand, and eat with my left hand in India).
Things get done in India, and things get done in Thailand. Both places are top-down management to a fault. Interestingly, the responsibility and the work in Thailand hovers pretty close to the top of the heirarchy and that heirarchy is less well deliniated. In India, it's push, push, push, kick, kick again, done. In Thailand, there's many people working hard to cover the weaknesses of those under them, and Thais tend to be less effective at kicking down. Broad brush-stokes, but geneally true.
The ramifications... In a meeting, don't genuinely solicit junior people for ideas. It won't work. Also, there's no reason to be an ass, but our niceness is not some univeral obligation - it's probably more a function of where you're from than what's correct. This list could go on, but basically your not in Kansas anymore. I need to read those paragraphs again.
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