GLOBALISATION MEANS NEW business opportunities but also new demands on building relations across cultural borders. As competition gets tougher and products become increasingly similar, it is often the personal relation that is the defining factor. This is according to Ingemar Dahlqvist, with personal experience from some 30 countries all over the world. Today, he is working as export advisor to about 20 companies.
– It has become increasingly important to understand both what separates as well as what unites people from different countries. Establishing new contacts in new cultures is not as hard as we believe, even though it may seem so in the beginning. There is a lot that unites people; we strive for the same goals in life no matter where we live – good health, satisfying job, money, appreciation from the boss. In some businesses, there are more similarities irrespective of cultural origin. You face the same questions and similar problems, says Ingemar Dahlqvist.
CONFIDENCE IS A corner stone in a successful business relation. You
create confidence by avoiding mistakes and being prepared.
– Showing interest and knowledge about current issues in your counterpart’s part of the world is always appreciated no matter what business or culture you are dealing with or in. In the end, it is people you are dealing with – not companies – which makes personal confidence the most important factor.
Ingemar Dahlqvist tells us that surveys show that two out of three customers that stop buying from a company, do it because they don’t feel appreciated by that company.
– It is nothing extraordinary, just keeping in touch, building confidence and showing interest.
HOW TO CREATE CONFIDENCE and build relations successfully vary strongly between different business cultures, says Ingemar Dahlqvist. He is a highly valued lecturer and often uses the “typically Swedish” as a benchmark when comparing different business cultures. But he stresses that it is not about identifying differences pointing to shortcomings.
– It is just as important to find similarities and common contact points to build a relationship.
What is typically Swedish to a foreigner?
– We are considered skilled, serious, reliable and very well prepared. We are well organised, we keep our promises and are often skilled when it comes to languages. Swedes are also considered honest, which could be misinterpreted as being naive and easily fooled, warns Ingemar Dahlqvist.
– In addition, we believe that a Yes is a Yes and a No is a No. This is not the case south of Copenhagen. When a Frenchman says “no, no, no, it is absolutely impossible”, I interpret that as “this could be a bit tricky, we need to negotiate and I need to sharpen my argument”.
SWEDES ALSO FEAR conflict and need to practice how to show anger.
– When an Italian throws his files on the conference table and marches out, I know that he will be right back. In Southern Europe there is no imposition in having had an argument. Swedes may believe that, after an argument, they are enemies for life. In other countries you may get closer to each other instead.
ONE PROBLEM FOR SWEDES in non-Nordic business cultures, according to Ingemar Dahlqvist, is that we are considered quiet. This could be misinterpreted as being uninterested.
– We set a very high ambition level for ourselves and we don’t want to make mistakes when speaking a foreign language or with someone we don’t know that well.
Ingemar Dahlqvist says that Swedes will never win a championship in small talk, since this is considered negative and a waste of time at home.
– In most cultures outside of Scandinavia, small talk and conversation about this and that is a necessity.
Can you talk about anything?
– Avoid politics and religion, ethnic minorities and sex. Don’t be too fast going from formal to personal. Don’t tell a dirty joke on the first night.
Then what do you talk about? Current affairs, weather, culture and sports, suggests Ingemar Dahlqvist. He advices against paying too strong tributes to the Swedish model.
– We believe that we are very equal in Sweden, but putting that across abroad may seem self-righteous. In addition, we base our opinion on a gender-equal situation in the Swedish parliament and government, but the Swedish business community is still quite male-dominated. In macho cultures like France, Italy and Spain, there are more female middle managers than in Sweden.
SWEDES ARE VERY proud of our consensus and democracy. In certain cultures, this may be perceived as just slow decision making, says Ingemar Dahlqvist.
– Don’t take everything back home for discussion, make sure to travel with some sort of decision mandate or you’ll lose respect when you are travelling. A manager without a mandate looks suspicious.
Not using a title when talking to a business associate could be considered disrespectful, especially in Germany or France where there is a distinction between you and you.
– You will be regarded as impolite and rude. In Germany, it is very important using titles like Herr Doktor Professor or Herr Diplomingenieur.
Ingemar himself is not strict about titles. Cross cultural communication professional maybe, or just a citizen of the world?
Jonas Rehnberg
INGEMAR’S QUICK ADVICE TO GET ESTABLISHED
IN A NEW BUSINESS CULTURE
- Be aware of differences
- Be humble, you may be wrong.
- We easily dismiss strange behaviour. Replace “strange” by “different”. Nothing is “strange” as long as we know why.
A GOOD BOOK ABOUT DIFFERENT BUSINESS CULTURES
- ”Unwritten rules” from Industrilitteratur discusses negotiation techniques, unwritten codes, cultural twists and communication in 51 countries.