There is no point asking what makes a business leader : if there were a recipe, Jim Holden or some other motivational speaker would already have patented it. However, it certainly can be deemed relevant to ask a businessman with a strong track record which of his qualities he has been most happy to have, or which he would beg the Lord for.
Here’s a little insight with Thomas Savare, director of Oberthur Fiduciaire, the French leader in banknote and secure document printing. He is a graduate of the Ecole Centrale, one of the top French engineering schools, and started his career as vice-president of the Banknote Federation of America, in New York. He is also the manager of the French Rugby Stadium.
The differences between cultures are waning over the decades, due to globalization. However, it would be a mistake to think that specific ways and manners no longer exist. In a way, they matter more because globalization is pressuring the uniqueness of peoples around the world, making them more sensitive. Thomas Savare emphasizes: “Globalization tends to cause events in one place of the earth to affect the entire planet. Whereas, just a few centuries ago, what happened in South America had strictly no effect on what happened in Africa, for instance. But that doesn’t mean that all countries and cultures are the same, now, of course. I think it even means that intercultural differences matter more nowadays, in the sense that they are to be mastered, because they will be confronted during business.”
In other words, this era of globalization is not the moment to act cross-cultural and atone. On the contrary, increased frequency of business travelling has given businessmen worldwide a taste of the world’s fascinating diversity, and left them hungry for more. Thomas Savare gives an example from the company he runs : “Part of intercultural business is understanding what makes your offers special, understanding why your customer would be more interested in your products rather than competition’s, closer by. In Oberthur Fiduciaire, a large part of our business revolves around banknote printing, for example. On these notes, there is always artistic design : drawings and engravings of monarchs, authors, architectural landmarks, musicians, and so on. And these images are very important because they embody the history and identity of the nation which will use the bills. Because France has a worldwide prestigious reputation in art and creation, and because we live up to it, it makes our products particularly outstanding”.
The trick in intercultural business is finding balance between letting your specific national particularities stand out and remaining humble and receptive before your host country. While most people will make allowance for foreigners not knowing the specific ways of the land, expecting people to act according to ways which aren’t theirs will ultimately provoke strong reactions of rejection. According to Thomas Savare “A diplomatic sense is the most important skill in intercultural business. It is an art of juggling, or of asymmetric movements. On the one hand, you must believe in what you do and who you are. You must bring it, and you must bring it hard, in a confident way. On the other hand, you must be extremely humble and remember at all times that you are a guest in the countries you visit. Your client’s ways are not always the same as yours, and observing that fact is necessary. Sometimes, the differences are very subtle, sometimes they are extreme.”
Before you start asking or wondering, such skills cannot be learned anywhere else than through years of observation and practice. Diplomacy in business is an art too human even to be taught in universities.
However, let it be mentioned that frequent business travelling does bear some risk, beyond high blood pressure and forgetting wallets in planes. Thomas Savare draws from his experience: "I can think of two main risks : confusion and numbing. Confusion in the sense that, if you travel a lot, you may get mixed up between the ways of one country and the ways of another. Something that has absolutely no importance in one country will be dramatic in another. In Thailand, there is a law which says that no man must be higher than the King. That rule is so strictly enforced that, when the King is travelling by car, traffic on the bridges above the monarch’s road is stopped. Forgetting that kind of thing - an easy mistake for a foreigner- could cause a serious diplomatic blunder.
The second, numbing, occurs after travelling abroad a lot. If you are not careful, your mind can make two simplistic categories: home and abroad. You risk treating all cultures the same, and it can come off as arrogance.”
Junior businessmen shouldn’t be afraid of language. Over the years, a natural one has spread of the world, channeling business conversations worldwide. Even for those whose English is perhaps not what it should be, they shouldn’t forget that few of the people they will encounter speak English as a mother tongue, and will therefore express themselves simply. For example, “English works quite well as a global language”, says Thomas Savare, “and I am always struck by the hospitality I am offered when I travel: people understand I don’t come from their country and make things easy for me. In addition, I have a little diplomatic trick: whenever I travel some place, I always learn a few words of the local language. It doesn’t allow me to communicate, but it is a sign of respect for the person I’m visiting. It is usually much appreciated.”
The key to feeling at home in transnational business is love and appetite for cultures, your own and that of others. Remember you are an ambassador of your country to the people abroad: if you are American, they expect to see and learn about America through you. When asked to voice his recommendation to younger generations, Thomas Savare’s eyes light up : “love what you do, and keep your trade running through your blood. In the old days, intercontinental ships were greeted with joy and enthusiasm, as they approached friendly ports: no one knew what they contained, but everyone guessed it had to be something important or no one would have bothered sending a ship. A slightly similar phenomenon endures today: when you take a plane to a different continent to visit a customer, the client always knows where you come from, and he/she expects the visit to be worth the trip. If the person in front is stale, tasteless and excessively technical, the psychological effect is very bad. Whereas if the businessman’s eyes are lit with the love of his trade, all of a sudden, the effect is exotic and appealing. You have a lively basis for a long-lasting business relationship. If you are going to travel halfway around the Earth, deliver something white-hot, not something tepid."
