Communication and networking in USA

This post is part of the Harvard Business Rreview Insight Center, The Next Generation of Global Leaders written by Andy Molinsky

Picture this: You are at a networking event and see across the room a potential employer from a company you're interested in. You walk over to that person, look him in the eye, and say the following:

"Hello, I noticed that you're from IBM. I'm very interested in IBM and would love to give you a sense of my background."

I recently posed this scenario to a group of foreign-born professionals in the United States and then asked whether they believed that according to American cultural norms, the person's statement was:

(a) Too direct
(b) Not direct enough
(c) Appropriately direct

I also posed the same question to a group of American-born professionals, and the answers from the two groups were telling.

All the American-born professionals in the room answered (c), that the statement was appropriately direct, and was a reasonable way to begin a networking conversation in the United States.

The foreign-born professionals, on the other hand, saw the situation quite differently. A few with extensive experience living and working in the United States agreed with the Americans. However, the large majority didn't, answering (a) — that the behavior was too direct and assertive for an American-style networking event.

I then posed an additional question:

Imagine that a few minutes later you see another person across the room from a company you're interested in. You walk over to that person and say the following in a tentative manner:

"Hello, sir. My name is ___________. I am so very honored to meet you. Would it be possible for me to introduce myself to you?"

Again, I had seminar participants assess the appropriateness of this statement according to American cultural norms: in particular, whether the statement was:

(a) Appropriately polite: When talking with someone at a networking event, especially someone senior to you in either age or professional background, it is important in the United States to be highly deferential.

(b) Too polite: Even when talking with someone senior to you in age or professional background, it is important not to be overly polite and deferential. It makes you look like you lack confidence and professionalism.

Again, all American-born individuals answered (b), whereas a large group of the foreign-born professionals, many of whom were from India, answered (a) — that the statement was appropriately polite for the situation.

The ability to network — to develop contacts and personal connections with a variety of people — is a critical skill for any global business leader. The only problem is that global networking can be extremely difficult to do when the rules for networking vary so dramatically across cultures. In fact, these cultural challenges can be so strong that many of the young potential foreign-born global leaders that I know often purposefully avoid networking opportunities in the United States — despite how important these opportunities can be for developing their careers.

Listen to the words of Ravi (name disguised to protect confidentiality), an Indian management consultant, who describes his experience participating at a networking event in the U.S.

I feel that I am performing a sin, trying to become something that I am not, being artificial and fake. For example, while trying to network, I try to sell myself, bragging about my abilities to a stranger. And that feels so weird and selfish to me, making me feel like I am doing things to achieve my objectives at all cost.

So what can be done? How can budding global professionals like Ravi acquire this critical global leadership skill?

In working with young global leaders like Ravi over the past 10 years, I have found three key tools for success in learning to adapt behavior across cultures in a networking situation or in any other situation where you need to switch your cultural behavior to be effective in a new setting.

Learn from those around you: Watch carefully how others operate in networking situations, and learn what behaviors work and don't work in that setting. Customize your own approach from what you observe to develop a style that feels authentic to you, and that is also effective in the new setting.

Master the new cultural logic: Learn the rationale for this new behavior from the perspective of the new culture. Learn, for example, why "small talk" is such an important part of networking in the United States. Understand from the American point of view why it's actually appropriate to speak positively about yourself and your qualifications. Master the logic of the new culture and the behavior will feel much more comfortable to perform.

Finally, Practice! Practice multiple times, and ideally in settings that mimic the stress and pressure of real situations. Integrate the behavior so deeply into your psyche that it becomes your "new normal" — something you do naturally and instinctively.

Use these tools and you will master networking in no time. The bonus is that you will also learn a method that you can apply to any other global leadership situation you face — which perhaps is the greatest learning of all.

Branding

Branding as part of marketing activity is a key fact in order to get the right product placement, below  I reproduce a good article about it written by David Thorp of The Chartered Insitute of Marketing who explains why around the world brands mean business and should be taken seriously.

It is tempting to think of ‘a brand’ as something that only matters to the multinational giants whose products fill our supermarket shelves. Many people, especially those outside the traditional ‘fast moving consumer goods’ arena such as those in business to business environments, government organisations or the not-for-profit sector, dismiss branding as the preserve of the likes of Coke and Cadbury’s.

But branding is important to all organisations, operating in any environment, anywhere in the world. The specialist medical company that is a leader in its field or the respected local authority can both offer the same reassurance and guarantee of quality that consumers seek when choosing an internationally recognised brand name.

Even in the business to business sector, customers do not make decisions on the facts and figures alone, and often irrational, intangible forces will prompt them to choose one product over the other. Brands such as IBM have succeeded because they appeal to the heart as well as the head. And in a crowded marketplace, brand identity may be all that separates one company from its competitors.

A strong brand inspires loyalty. It prompts a customer to return time and time again. It helps a company to maintain price – consumers will pay more for a t-shirt from a recognised high street store than they will for a similar garment from a market stall. It opens doors - the well known company will find it easier to secure a sales meeting, will find it easier to break into new markets or to secure the larger contracts. And when things go wrong, a company with a recognised name will be forgiven more readily.

So what is a brand and how to we create a brand that can really boost a business. A brand is more than a corporate colour and should not be confused with corporate identity. A brand is the consequence of a user’s experience of a product gained over many years. This experience is comprised of a multitude of separate experiences – good, bad and indifferent. These could range from the pleasant smile of a sales assistant, to a piece of unfavourable press coverage. A brand is not what the owner of a company tells customers, it is the genuine sentiments in those customer’s hearts.

And it is more than gloss and hype. And like beauty, it rests in the eye of the beholder. We may have a clear picture of what our company stands for. But this is only a true reflection our brand if that perception is shared by our customers, employees and our competitors. And a brand is not a veneer to disguise a shoddy product – if it does not deliver what it promises it is doomed to failure.

Great brands are consistent. The values and motivations that make them stand out from the crowd run through everything they say and do. At drinks company Innocent for example, the fun and funky attitude that made the smoothie brand such a hit is woven through all the company’s activities. This includes everything from the titles of the managers - the HR director is called the People Person - to a scholarship system that gives employees cash to achieve personal ambitions such as learning to drive or doing charity work.

Today’s savvy consumer knows when the truth is not being told. In the past, a brand provided customers with a product they could trust – the Volvo that was safe, the Persil that washed whiter. Then, as we began to take quality for granted, branding became about making an emotional connection with a customer – Mini sparked the affection of those nostalgic for the sixties, and Oxo created a family that we all wanted to join for Sunday lunch.

But now consumers are becoming increasing sceptical about the artificial lifestyles portrayed in carefully filmed TV ads, and they are looking for something that has real relevance and real meaning. The beautiful young things cavorting in sand dunes have been rejected in favour of ordinary people who have the same concerns and problems as us lesser mortals. The campaign to promote Dove Body Firming Wash stared ‘real’ women with real curves, and its strap line explained that there would be little challenge in smoothing the thighs of size eight super-models.

Escapism will always have a role to play. We all want to believe that we can become more gorgeous if we use a particular shampoo. But we recognise the difference between fantasy and reality. By tapping into the true needs and concerns of our customers, we can turn our brand into something that will strike a chord.

Smart branding is about going back to basics. It means giving our customers something they can rely on. A brand that delivers its promise and has real meaning for the way customers live their lives, is one that is genuinely powerful.