CULTURE SHOCK. UNWRITTEN RULES AND BODY LANGUAGE

I believe that one of the most important things you have to take into account when doing business abroad is the culture of the country you are negotiating with. As you would not wear shorts when visiting mosques in Dubai, you should never give two kisses when meeting the CEO of a company. Unless you want to be fired, of course.

In the case of Spain, although giving two kisses on the cheek is a must when meeting someone (except for men, who usually shake hands), it is important to bear in mind that it is only done in informal situations.

However, at the work place, people usually adopt a more formal approach and shake hands when meeting, even between women. Of course, there are always exceptions. I once went to a job interview where the head of HR chose to greet me with two kisses even though I offered her my hand. This can happen but again I would definitely give my hand first and wait for the other person´s reaction.

On the other hand, in Spain, among working colleagues, there is also a more informal approach, and some people will laugh at you for trying to shake their hands or talk to them using the formal personal pronoun “usted” instead of “tú”.

As for Asian countries, the etiquette can vary considerably, but it is interesting how they use bowing as a greeting. The more status the other person has, the longest and most forward your bow will be, as it is considered a sign of respect. In China it is also polite to greet the most senior person before the others. Howerver, due to bigger contact with westerners, hand shaking has become more popular for Asian people when negotiating with foreigners. Just remember that when shaking hands you should avoid eye contact, and shaking too hard of for too long!

In conclusion, it is crucial to get to know the culture you are going to be working with beforehand. It does not matter whether you are visiting that country for just a week or for a year, because you will notice the differences right away. On the other hand, if your business partners/clients are coming to visit you instead it can earn you some points if you know their etiquette and have some nice gesture.

As an example, check out how Shia Labeouf in the film Wall Street 2 addreses his clients in Mandarin and offers them a gift.

ORGANISATIONAL SKILLS

If you want to get good results either doing business or in your daily life, I think it is crucial to be well organised. I guess we all have had those messy days when you plan to do lots of things but do not accomplish any of them. Then you go to bed thinking, “what did I spend my time on today?” and promise yourself “this will change, I will get down to it tomorrow”.

Well, as they usually say at the alcoholic anonymous meetings: the first step is to realise there is a problem and accept it. The second step is finding a solution. And what is the solution in this situation? I strongly believe it is writing everything down. Yes, you have heard correctly. Either you buy an agenda or use the calendar that is in your smartphone.

Although some people think writing things down on a piece of paper (and using a pen instead of a keyboard!) is old-fashioned, I honestly believe it is the best way to visualize everything and cross out the tasks you accomplish along the day.

I will put an example. First, write down everything you need to do tomorrow (brain storm): calling the dentist, meeting your friend Sarah for drinks, buying food, paying the rent (online bank transfer). The second thing to do is assigning priorities. Order your task taking into account how important each thing is (you can put a number next to each duty or reorder it again). In this case I would write down the most important taks first. Paying the rent, Calling the dentist, buying food and meeting your friend.

In the last place, you need to manage the time. That is why I would also write down the time next to each task so that you can work out how long it will take you to finish each activity.

Although all this may seem like a lot of hard work, it will hardly take you five minutes and at the end of the day it will be worth it, as it will save you lots of time. And most importantly, you will not forget about things!

Finally, remember what Abraham Lincoln once said: “If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I'd spend six hours sharpening my ax”.

Welcome!

Hello everyone, welcome to my business blog!

After almost three years working in the educational sector I must say I am excited to embark in a new professional path. The business path! I am about to start a Master in International Business and I cannot wait to start learning as much as possible.

However, I have always thought that knowledge does not only come from educational institutions. You also need to learn on your own, from books, films, websites, conferences, songs, blogs…anything will do. I also reckon that you can learn from any kind of source. It doesn´t necessarily need to be business-especific (in this case).

Once upon a time there was a wise man called Steve Jobs who talked about “connecting the dots”: sometimes when you are doing or learning something you think it’s not worth it, it can surprise you and take you to good places…

I hope you enjoy this humble blog and maybe once in a while learn something from it..:)