Quick E-tips
June 2008
We hope you enjoy this newsletter brought to you by International Advantage® LLC - Leading Across Cultures™. Every month we bring you tips to help your team and organization, especially those operating in culturally diverse environments, reach their business goals.
This Month's Topic
A Trip to Cozumel and a Lesson in Cultural Competency
I wonder how many of you are scuba divers. Those of you who are, will immediately recognize “Cozumel” as the island off the tip of the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico. And if you haven’t already been there, my guess is that it’s on your short list.
Cozumel is Mexico’s only Caribbean island and, measuring 32mi by 10mi (53km by 14km), it is also the largest on the Atlantic side. Called “Island of Swallows” by its earliest inhabitants, Cozumel became famous when Jacques Cousteau produced a documentary on its fabulous reefs in 1961. Today, more than 100 world-class dive sites have been identified within several miles of Cozumel, and about a dozen are shallow enough for snorkeling.
I was actually at this tropical paradise last month for business purposes which -- according to the Mexican immigration official I asked at the airport -- only happens about once every 100 people. I was serving as a representative of a professional organization, the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO), to meet with a similar group of female business owners in Mexico, Asociación Mexicana de Mujeres Empresarias (AMMJE). (see the write-up in our News section)
While the intention of the trip was to set the stage for future business alliances, the evidence of the work at hand may have looked sketchy. Consider the agenda: Constructed by our counterparts who had invited us, it was written in a culturally consistent way which recounted descriptions of meals, venues and entertainment, punctuated by an occasional work-oriented reference. Certainly to the uninformed outsider, this agenda looks like “code” for a trip that’s slated for business but finishes as a vacation with a tax write off. This was not the case. It does reflect, however, the assumption in Mexico that alliances (business agreements, etc.) are most easily achieved when people are relaxed and have an opportunity to get to know each other personally.
Fast forward a few days. I talk to the same group of Mexican entrepreneurs about an upcoming national conference to be held on the U.S. side of the border. The conversation turns to the agenda. The agenda looks very different than theirs had. Meals and entertainment serve as mere placeholders on long pages of educational sessions, workshops and speakers, and I get some pushback asking me to "tempt" them with more information. I know what they mean and I find myself reading between the lines to describe the conference highlights from another cultural point of view.
So here's the tip ...(have I already said it?): Keep a balanced agenda with plenty of variety when planning an international conference that appeal to a culturally-different audience. This is where knowledge and experience count...you need to know what appeals. And remember that achieving cultural competency is about having "range". To have “range” means that you are effective despite a wide range of cultures and expectations. Two keys to achieving range is to be slow in making judgments and to have the ability to respond to situations without our own strong cultural lens we all carry around.
In case there is any doubt, we accomplished an enormous amount in Cozumel. We made specific plans for the future and began collaborating on two substantial projects that will make a difference in our members’ ability to internationalize their businesses. We strengthened two large women-owned business organizations, bringing them closer to their goals of having an increased influence in the global economy. And our personal energy was renewed as resolve as we discussed the numerous possibilities for mutual success. Indeed, much was accomplished…but you’d never know it from the agenda.
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To your success around the globe,
Lisa Koss, Principal Consultant International Advantage® LLC Consulting, Facilitation, Training Phoenix, Arizona U.S.A. Direct: +1 - 623-866-8893 www.intladvantage.com lisakoss@intladvantage.com©Lisa Koss, 2008