If you read my last blog on trust and business you might be forgiven for thinking that the argument was built on a little hype on the development of technology. And of course there is nothing out there at the moment other than hype about technology.
But I thought this article from ZDnet which arrived in my inbox about the same time I published my last blog posting provides some additional support for my argument that business and society are about to under go some radical changes. Technology developments tend to take longer than we envisage and tend to disappear off in various directions before reaching any form of conclusion but even supposing that AI exceeds human capabilities in more than 125 years that is actually close enough to imagine.
For anyone born today with a life expectancy of around 100 years it is possible that we will see technology become more advanced than humans. That should not scare us but simply drive us on to do more and better things with technology.
I always find taking that first step off the airplane both exciting and distinctly underwhelming. Exciting as all new countries are an experience, and underwhelming because all airports now look-alike; other than Heathrow which looks like no airport on earth and despite the great PR machine actually doesn’t work very well. And Haneda in Tokyo which is the only airport in the world I’ve travelled through where the ground crew bow to the plan when it arrives.
One of the exciting aspects of traveling to a new country is trying to gain insights into the culture that drives how business is done. This is an important aspect of working overseas as a little respect for any local culture goes a long way to making people feel confident with each other. And confidence makes it easier to discuss things.
But trying to understand a culture and how it will impact you is difficult. As a westerner in Asia I had not idea of what is driving the local culture and what allowances are being made to accommodate your attempts to bow in say Japan. If you follow the link you’ll see just how complicated bowing can be. To be fair as a westerner in the USA I had equally no idea what was going on.
After giving it some thought I’ve come up with the 4 basic things that can tell you a lot about a country.
At the Airport
Airports can be a great place to gain some insights on how a country might work. Are the signs clear and easy to follow, in multiple languages and do the staff at immigration actually look like they want to be there. Business is likely to be thorough and organised and guest and visitors are appreciated. If you’ve travelled through Heathrow or into the USA you’ll appreciate that none of this is in place and when you jump in a taxi (particularly in the US) you’ll see exactly how business is going to be done; if the driver knows where you’re going that’s a bonus.
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At the Hotel
If the hotel staff have been trained and are courteous and helpful you know that meetings will be polite and well organised with the topics well though through. If you have to go back to reception multiple times because either the room the hotel gave you is already occupied (which does provide a major surprise for the existing occupant of the room but can be good for making or losing friends) or the room key fails to work then you’ll know that any meeting is likely to be a riot of noise, questions, papers and activity but with very little chance of actually achieving much. Again if you have ever tried checking into a hotel in London you’ll know what I mean.
Public Transport
If your hosts are happy to let you take public transport than you know that they are a proud people who value exposing you to their country and its people’s and activities. if not then I’d heartedly recommend that you do not try public transport yourself. There is a very good reason why the use of public transport has to be by recommendation only. See signs above. I have numerous examples over many years of colleagues who have faithfully boarded trams and ended up doing calls from public gardens 10 miles out-of-town.
So if public transport is recommended go for it and your meetings will be on time and end up in the place you want to get to (even if you go round the houses to get there). If not then you could end up anywhere with an agreement to repeat the whole thing again next time. On another bus and on a road to nowhere
At the Restaurant
Eating overseas is always fun and working out what is on the menu can be a real challenge but one you should always take. Don’t try to find something western as it will invariably not taste like anything you know and you’ll simply upset the hosts who will be keen to show you the best of their food culture. Personally though I always draw the line at eating anything alive – whether octopus or eel I prefer to know that it is dead and well prepared rather than still trying to escape as it travels down your throat.
For the squeamish look away now.
If your food is alive when it arrives you’re going hungry – sandwiches in meetings are a no-no and you have no way of getting to what you want as you will have upset your hosts. Just go get on the plane and leave.
There are more men on corporate boards named John, Robert, William or James than there are women on boards altogether – The Washington Post
As you will have seen from a previous post – Let’s take a stand – I am a strong supporter of inclusion. Articles like this one reinforce the need to keep trying to make a difference.
And there are many reasons why it makes sense to do so for any business. Apart from fairness alone (50% of the population are women) results improve for more balanced companies and decision-making becomes more rounded. Groupthink is avoided.
And with more women running businesses its possible they will want to deal with companies who recognize this fact. According to research undertaken across East Asia in 2013 between 38% and 47% of all SME’s businesses are owned by women. With SME’s accounting for the majority of economic output in most countries women will have an ever growing impact.
One of the issues that business in general struggles with, as do many other areas of society, is the issue of equality. It’s something that we all know needs to be dealt with and there is a lot research that will tell you that business performs best when the company is truly representative of the society in which it operates.
Doing something about it seems to be beyond many people and businesses. But even small steps can help.
So I am going to take a stand on this issue. I’ve signed up for the HeforShe campaign being run by the UN; a campaign that seeks to involve both men and women in making the issue of equality one for the history books.
I’d like to encourage everyone to join in.
And if you need some more background on why this issue is important please watch the video. An obviously nervous Emma Watson gives some background on why the issue is important and why its an issue for all of us.
The business world has so many opportunities to reshape itself and drive better outcomes - we are only scratching at the surface of the change agenda and all the possibilities open to us. What ever happens next must embrace how we all work better together, how we are organised, the things we do and the many tools we use to make the change. Let’s make good things happen
The Burble 