Global meetings: The show business of business
Posted by Hilka Klinkenberg on Sat, Aug 08, 2009 @ 10:39 PM
Lois Wyse once wrote that meetings are the show business of business. Two words that seem almost contradictory, but such an apt description of meetings in the USA. Show...well, you show up and on time. And, you have something to "show" or present that contributes to the business at hand. Business...that's what meetings are about, not socializing nor relationship building. So, only the people relevant to the business should attend, and the focus is on moving the business forward. If only meetings did run that smoothly and simply all the time! Compared to other countries, they do though.
So, it was interesting to read Andrew Jack's column "Expenses culture has high cost for world's poorest nations" (http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/832f89ea-7c4f-11de-a7bf-00144feabdc0.html) describing meetings in Dar Es Salaam Tanzania a
s "a form of institutionalised, legal time-wasting that is endemic in the region...at its root is the culture of the "per diem" the daily payment made to officials attending meetings and conferences". Consequently, officials are seldom available and business grinds to a standstill because they are off collecting a "per diem" to subsidize their income. And, this problem is not specific to Tanzania, as Mr. Jack points out. It is wide-spread in Africa.
It's hard enough for expats living in another country; with time and cultural coaching, they eventually get the lay of the land and learn what they have to do to get where they need to go. Woe, though, to the poor hi-po sent on business meetings to far-flung corners of the world. Without adequate cultural briefings, how can he or she be expected to understand the protocols of meetings in other countries, whether it is the ‘schmoozing' and socializing that is necessary before getting down to business, dealing with the hierarchy of the foreign counterparts, constant interruptions and lack of privacy when meeting, varying presentation styles, the nuances of negotiating and signing contracts, or even something as simple as where to sit?
Every culture has different protocols and values regarding business meetings. Not knowing what to do is no excuse, especially when that hi-po, or even the expat, returns with a wad of expenses without the business and no understanding of what went wrong. If a company expects to succeed globally and get valuable business, it must provide the necessary training and coaching resources for its representatives to represent the company effectively.