Culture 101

Serge queried, "So, Elizabeth, do you know how to present a business card?"

I looked at him curiously. I had met Dr. Gravelle, the chairman of Depan Financial Group, on the flight from Los Angeles to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and he invited me to join colleagues and him in Subang Jaya, a town about thirty minutes from KL, to observe a leadership program for entrepreneurs. I had already noticed that anyone I met immediately offered me a card, but to this point had missed any subtlties associated with its exchange.

"Yes, indeed, Elizabeth, there is a protocol for giving a business card in Asia. You place your card in both hands, information facing toward the individual, and you proffer it with a slight bow at the waist. When he or she takes the card--in the same manner that you offer it, note what happens. Unlike in the West, where we grab the card and shove it in our wallets, he will inspect your card carefully and read it thoughtfully before putting it away."

On my flight from KL to Bangalore, Peter Andrist, Vice President of Business Development for Gate Gourmet, a multinational originally based in Switzerland and now with headquarters in Washington State, added, "And Elizabeth, be certain not to write on the card--at least not in the individual's presence. It is, for example, in Japan, considered very offensive to deface it."

Peter went on to explain that Westerners pay little attention to the detail of business protocol when working in other parts of the world. He said his biggest challenge in working in Asia, as he is responsible for acquiring new companies for Gate Gourmet , is helping his colleagues in Europe and in the United States to understand that business is conducted wholly differently.

I questioned, "Do you love what you do?"

"Indeed, yes." Peter now lives in Bankok and misses only the Swiss mayonnaise ("not sweet as Thai mayonnaise is) and mustard (senf, auf Deutsch, and a bit sweeter than the Asian varieties) that come in little toothpaste-style tubes.

"When you were a little boy, did you imagine you would be doing this?"

"I imagined I would be a chef, quite frankly, and now I have little time to cook, eating aboard airplanes quite a lot, actually."

"So, Peter, you are Swiss German. To use a euphemism, one might suggest you to be as tightly wound and precise as a Swiss watch. How is it that you have the patience to work in a culture so very different from that to which you are accustomed."

He replied, "I've come to see that to accomplish anything, it is the relationship that matters. People in Asia need to trust you and to discuss, discuss, discuss. You will see that especially in India, where they love to talk. "

I mentioned to him Amartya Sen's book, The Argumentative Indian, where he begins by boldly proclaiming that "prolixity is not alien to us in India." Peter laughed.

Peter agreed to meet with me again at a later date, where I could formally interview him and learn what it is his multinational will do to woo a company in Bangalore to become part of the Gate Gourmet family.