We are the way we are! But is that good?

Yesterday at lunch with friends and extended family I went through a bizarre five minutes. This lady, a geriatric, amidst the lunch, got into a loud & lively conversation with whom I perceived to be a family member of hers on the cell phone. The conversation meandered on & on and left many of us writhing in discomfort, unable to enjoy our meal.

This incident followed, my stop at a traffic signal, where a gentleman in a 'Corolla' quite nonchalantly threw a couple of biscuit wrappers on to the road. Out of curiosity, I maneuvered my car next to his & was surprised to see a well dressed gent of about 65!

Some people tend to speak with an increased volume when they want to demonstrate authority, make a point or simply show friendship. It is not unusual for a superior to raise his voice with his staff or for a group of buddies to be boisterous in an otherwise quiet restaurant. In some offices, employees talk about private matters so loudly on the phone that colleagues can overhear them. For them, a high pitch may convey strength, sincerity or warmth-- values that people cherish. In comparison, a soft voice may imply weaknesses or indecisiveness.

As such, when these people talk loudly in a restaurant, hotel or office, they may not be aware that they are creating noise that might invade other people's space. Some tourist guides have said that what annoys foreigners most is when Indian tourists speak loudly and make noises in public.

Respecting another person's personal or private space is anathema to most Indian's and what till recently was a well kept secret is quite common knowledge as India take centre stage as a nation of importance.Currently, uncouth behaviour including spitting, littering, jumping queues and talking loudly has already stigmatized Indian's both inside and outside of India.

So much so, that the United Kingdom, says that it is going to henceforth teach immigrants to stand in a 'Q'. Culturally, in the UK, people are taught to wait for their turn & they find it very disconcerting when ' a Johnny come lately' wanders in & takes a place ahead of him/her in a 'Q'.

A while ago, the government of China issued an etiquette guide asking Chinese travellers, who number in the millions, to heed common etiquette and hygiene standards while on holiday at home and abroad. There has been empirical evidence that Chinese overseas tourists have improved their behaviour, with less spitting and littering.

Personally, I believe spitting, littering and most other unhygienic habits can be effectively controlled in the next couple of years by government intervention and having public figures as well as schools, chipping in on this aspect.

It is also important that corporates brief their staff on country specific cultures before they send their employees abroad on projects or as long term expatriates.Improving one's Cultural intelligence & Cultural Quotient is very important when heading overseas.It could be the difference between expat failure & success and how your bottom line looks..........

Multiple Intelligence!

I was touched by the moving tale of a young Pakistani family's trip to India, to have their child operated upon, for a complicated heart condition. Apparently the operation was successful & the family was treated extremely well in Delhi. They hope to return in year or so, for a second operation.

Recently the Times of India has launched an initiative to improve people to people contact and understanding, this against Government to Government talks, which seem to go nowhere.

A few years ago, while in Dubai, my ship had a sentry. A quiet fellow we would exchange few words. I always thought he was Indian till I learnt that he was from Lahore & had been an army soldier. Post this we swapped a lot of stories & when we were leaving the Port I invited him over to lunch with us & presented him a company 'T Shirt'.The chap was immensely touched and having grown up on staple anti India propaganda in the army, would hopefully have altered his view about Indian's a tad.The sentry had a common story to tell- how his agent in Pakistan had duped him into coming to Dubai & once he did he found life tough and payment poor. He was looking to return home at the end of his one year contract, to be with his family.At the end of the lunch the chap was in tears.......more so because he did not expect to share a meal with officer's in our hierarchy driven world, where we live in societies with a high Power Distance Index.

Apparently Indian visitor's to Pakistan, during cricket matches were treated like royalty and returned a happy lot!

In that context people to people contact is wonderful but will stop short of achieving anything tangible unless Government's make a breakthrough through negotiation.While many may differ, I think the Indian Government is doing a wonderful job. They talk but keep their guard up.............That is the way forward, at a more serious level you cannot negotiate all starry eyed & full of romance.

However, all attempts to build cultural understanding and intelligence must be encouraged, because that is what distances prejudice and rancour.At the more micro level, I think the same holds true for an organization as well.As a manager, in a global world Cultural Intelligence is as fundamental as is Emotional Intelligence and intrinsic IQ.

It is also important that as Manager's we are equipped with an array of Intelligences to be successful.

Are you a Protean!

If you ever thought that management was a project,then I'm afraid you are mistaken. Management is one long road with little or no time to stop and rest on your oars. A good story to substantiate this is Homer's Odyssey.I'm amazed as to why history is not taught as a course in management, because we can laern a good deal from folk who preceeded us.But then that's not what holds my attention right now.

Post the pillage of Troy the victorious Greeks, would have probably heaved a sigh of relief, and look forward to returning home. Not the case for Hercules. The heroes of the 'Iliad'- rebellious Achilles, brave Hector and the bossy Menelaus are all gone and the Odyssey is the story of Hercules and his labors.

This short blog is not a piece on Greek history but on one of the characters of the Odyssey- Proteus. Proteus, supposedly son of Poseidon was a sea god. He was special because he could tell the future but avoided doing so by changing shape and form. He was versatile and quick. He bought time, in decision making and eventually made a commitment only when captured.

Plato, Euthyphro 15d (trans. Fowler) (Greek philosopher C4Th B.C.) :
"[Plato uses Proteus as a metaphor for the reluctant speaker :]

Like Proteus, you must be held until you speak."

Plato, Ion 541e (trans. Lamb) :
"[Plato uses Proteus as a metaphor for the twisting arguments of a debate :]

You are a perfect Proteus in the way you take on every kind of shape, twisting about this way and that, until at last you elude my grasp."



While I do not subscribe to the evasive tactics of Proteus, I do like his ability to change shape and appearance at will. Drawing a parallel with our world today, I think managers should draw a leaf from his book and develop the ability to adapt to and change depending upon the situation.

One area where managers falter regularly is in their Cultural Intelligence. Like other forms of intelligence, CI is fundamental to success in a globalized world. Stories of deals that have failed due to a lack of cultural sensitivity abound but we still refuse to learn that culture and cultural practices are various and different across the world.

In my last organization, we had a gent from a pacific Island. The guy was very polite, but behaved strangely- avoided eye contact, sat before he was offered a seat & generally did not shake hands. He was summarily labelled as uncouth.

Was this the truth................. no!

In his part of the world, you avoided eye contact with a person you respected and did not appear bigger than a superior so he sat uninvited.

Culture can be complicated and you need a high Culture Quotient, to avoid pitfalls in a world that is increasingly turning flat.More importantly a high CQ would preclude us from being judgemental.

Proteus, or as Homer called him, 'The Old Man of the Sea' would be a great example in cultural adaptability!