The Quest to Save ABC Manufacturing E-Book

Daniel Donahey

• Herausgeber: Books on Demand
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Serie: The Quest to Save ABC Manufacturing
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023

Beschreibung

The Quest to Save ABC Manufacturing: Volume 1 is a business novel that tells the story of William (Buddy), a dedicated Senior International Project Manager, from a German parent company. Buddy is on a quest to help save his company's struggling US subsidiary. As he navigates his way through a labyrinth filled with hidden enemies and unexpected challenges, he encounters cultural differences that he didn't even know existed, different ways of talking and thinking about business, different perceptions of time, and to his total surprise, a vastly different set of rules and expectations about how business should be done. To succeed in his quest, Buddy builds a brain trust made up of like-minded managers and he soon masters AMERICAN CORPORATE SPEAK. As he quickly learns how Americans really think about business, how they work, how they lead and expect to be led, how they talk about business, including how they use 870 AMERICAN BUSINESS EXPRESSIONS AND WORDS, many of which are virtually unknown outside of North America, he also learns how to implement uniquely American strategies to get things done quickly, conveniently, and successfully.

Leseprobe

What You Need to Know Before You Read This Book

“The Quest to Save ABC Manufacturing: Volume 1” is a business novel that tells the story of William (Buddy), a Senior International Project Manager, from a German parent company. Buddy is a dedicated manager on a quest to help save his company’s struggling US subsidiary.

What seems at first to be a straightforward task turns out instead to be an odyssey. As he navigates his way through a labyrinth filled with pitfalls and unexpected challenges, Buddy encounters cultural differences that he didn't even know existed, different ways of talking and thinking about business, different perceptions of time, and to his total surprise, a vastly different set of rules and expectations about how business should be done.

As if his job weren't difficult enough already, Buddy also soon discovers that his quest has pitted him against some very powerful forces at the top of his own company. It turns out that certain senior managers, including a few who should have the greatest interest in saving the US subsidiary, are in fact actively working against its success.

Unwilling to accept the status quo, Buddy assembles a team of like-minded colleagues who dedicate themselves to turning the situation around. As they master one challenge after the other, they learn from each other and somehow succeed in creating a brand-new way of doing business, one which not only survives, but genuinely thrives in the face of seemingly overwhelming cultural differences.

Author’s notes to the readers: READ THIS!

Buddy’s employer, ABC Manufacturing Group, manufactures, sells, and services

widget

production systems worldwide. In case you are unfamiliar with the term, a widget is not a real product. It is a fictional construct that Americans often use to study business principles. Using a fantasy product allows students to keep their focus on the underlying business principles and avoid becoming

tangled up

in the specifics of a real product or industry.

Throughout the story, Buddy

SPEAKS TO YOU

from his own point of view. He reports on important conversations and meetings in the form of detailed transcripts and relevant background information. The communication-style used throughout the book is

spoken

American English.

As you

shadow

Buddy from day to day, you will learn about

corporate America

, how Americans think about business, how they get things done, and how they talk about business.

This book will introduce you to common American business tactics and strategies, exactly as Americans use them, along with over 800

American Corporate Speak

phrases, acronyms, and words, many of them virtually unknown outside of the USA.

“The Quest to Save ABC Manufacturing: Volume 1”

is intended to serve two primary purposes: 1. It should be a compelling standalone book, a good read that inspires and teaches. 2. It is also an integral part of the American Corporate Speak training program, a program that teaches students how to do business successfully with American counterparts.

For more on becoming an American Business Culture Specialist by completing the American Corporate Speak training program, please visit us TODAY at:

www.corpspeak-usa.com

.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1: Let’s Build a Brain Trust

Chapter 2: Welcome Mr. President!

Chapter 3: A Pattern Begins to Emerge

Chapter 4: Clarifying the Challenge

Chapter 5: Uncovering the Cultural Misalignments

Chapter 6: Getting into the Weeds on Cultural Misalignment

Chapter 7: This is Harder than It Looks!

Chapter 8: The Plot Thickens

Chapter 9: An Unexpected Turn of Events

Chapter 10: An Unexpected Complication

Chapter 11: What Do We Tell Henry?

Chapter 12: The Nuts and Bolts of a New Process

Chapter 13: The Straw that Breaks the Camel’s Back

Chapter 14: The Paradox that Culture Created

Chapter 15: Lock It In!

Chapter 16: I smell a rat!

Chapter 17: Patterns Should Work for You, Not Against You!

Chapter 18: A Paradise for High-Performers

Chapter 19: The Turning Point

Chapter 20: Identifying the Leverage Points

Chapter 21: Creating a Bias for Action

Introduction

Being known as a notorious note-taker among my superiors and colleagues alike, I was recently asked to prepare a written account of my personal role in what has become known in my company as, “The Quest to Save ABC Manufacturing.”

The leaders who asked for my support strongly believe that creating an accurate account of this life-or-death corporate struggle would provide important lessons for the whole management team and may someday even serve as an important training and onboarding tool. I think they may be right, which is why I have agreed to take on such a tedious task.

As you read through the coming pages, you will become acquainted with the main stakeholders and the most important deliberations, interactions and meetings that led to an outcome which none of us could ever have anticipated as we stumbled our way through this corporate whodunnit. I have highlighted unusual or less known words and phrases in bold print and cursive. It is my hope that this will help you in your quest to learn American Corporate Speak.

To make this account as useful as possible to you, I’ve done my best to create a series of meticulously accurate transcripts. They document the most important conversations and meetings that I participated in along the way. Most neutral observers would agree that I played an important role in my company’s efforts to save our struggling business unit in the United States, the US BU. For that reason, I had the opportunity to participate directly in nearly every decisive meeting from the beginning to the end of this odyssey.

It goes without saying that I own my role and accept full responsibility for the way things ultimately turned out. There were winners and losers, and I had a hand in the fate of both groups. Believing that there is no better way to help you understand what happened, and why it happened, than to tell you the whole story from start to finish, that’s exactly what I intend to do. So, here it goes:

The whole situation started for me when my boss, Irene, asked me to stop into her office to talk about a matter of grave importance to the future of our company, ABC Manufacturing Group.

I wasn’t sure what she wanted from me, but I did suspect that it would probably have something to do with ABC’s subsidiary in the USA. For those of you who don’t know us, ABC Manufacturing Group is a high-end manufacturer of widget production equipment, headquartered in southern Germany. We have sales and service operations all over the world, but manufacturing is done exclusively in Germany.

By the way, my name is William, but most people just call me Buddy, a nickname that I really like. I’m a Senior International Project Manager at ABC Manufacturing Group. Irene is the COO at ABC, but when this all started, she was still Head of the Project Office. She became COO sooner than expected due to a foolish situation initiated by our former CSO.

I will explain that fiasco to you later on. For now, why don’t we just start with a transcript of the original meeting between Irene and me on the subject of the US BU? When I got to her office, Irene motioned me to sit down in a chair in front of her desk. She began speaking:

Irene:

Hi Buddy. It’s good to see you this morning. How was your weekend?

Me:

It was very nice, thank you. How was yours?

Irene:

Mine was nice, too. But too short, I suppose. Would you like anything to drink?

Me:

No thank you. I’m fine.

Irene:

Alright then. Before we get down to the business of the day, I wanted to ask you about the status of your Brazilian project. How’s it going?

Me:

It’s completely

wrapped up

. I spent most of last week

tying up the loose ends

, but as of last Friday,

it’s history

. I planned on using today to figure out what my next project should be, but I suspect that you already knew that.

Irene:

I did, but I like to go straight to

the horse’s mouth

to get my information. It’s a good way to avoid unnecessary complications. By the way, you did

a hell of a job

in Brazil. Everybody’s talking about it.

Me:

Well, thank you. That really means a lot to me.

Irene:

You deserve the recognition. Not many people could have

pulled

that project

off

, especially not in the time or at the level of success you achieved. That’s one of the reasons why I’ve decided to nominate you to take over for me as Head of the Project Office when I become COO.

Me:

Wow!

I didn’t see that coming.

I don’t even know what to say, except for what a huge honor it is to even be considered for the job.

Irene:

Again, you deserve it, but here’s the thing: I’ve got to ask you to take on an even bigger assignment than Brazil and to complete it even faster. It won’t be easy.

Me:

OK… What do you have in mind?

Irene:

I need your help to fix our US subsidiary. I sincerely believe that much of ABC’s future success will be determined by whether we can become successful on the American market, or not. We’ve never done well there and that makes me wonder about our international competitiveness. It is a mystery that

keeps me up at night

.

Me:

Whatever you need me from me, you’ve got it.

Irene:

I would like you to go to the US, and do everything in your power to help the incoming Business Unit (

BU

) President solve some very serious performance

issues

at the US BU.

Me:

Consider it done. But why me? I’m not a USA expert.

Irene:

As far as I understand it

, you not only succeeded on the Brazilian project, but you also made some

well-placed

American friends.

Me:

Yes, I did. And I’m very thankful for that because they did more to make Brazil a success than I did.

Irene:

Well, thanks to your success in Brazil and your friends at the US BU a lot of people here at HQ do indeed look at you as our American business expert.

Me:

I can assure you that… that… is a

gross exaggeration

. I only know a couple of people there, and I only one of them very well.

Irene:

Well, that puts you a big step ahead of the rest of us. Anyway, the

backstory

is this: Considering the size, diversity and wealth of the US market, the US BU, which is a

fully owned subsidiary

of ABC Manufacturing Group, should be one of Group’s most successful international sales and service operations. In fact, it should be the most successful of all, but it’s not.

Me:

I’ve heard that. I know that the US BU

doesn’t get a lot of love

from most people here at HQ.

Irene:

It’s not surprising. Instead of earning healthy profit margins, like so many of its American competitors do, in over eleven years of existence, the US BU has never had a profitable year. Its consistently bad outcomes make the managers here look bad. It also cuts into their bonuses.

Me:

And they’re just about

fed up

with it, huh?

Irene:

That’s putting it mildly

. In two of its more successful years, it almost broke even, but that was quite a while ago. And it has never done better than that. They’ve never earned a profit. Some powerful people around here want to

pull the plug

on it once and for all, but I think that would be a serious mistake.

Me:

If you don’t mind me asking

, why are you so passionate about the business in the US?

Irene:

For two big reasons: First, I think that we may have competitiveness issues in many, perhaps most of our international markets, not just in the USA. And if I’m right about that, we need to get to the core of the problem, fast. Second, the US BU is about to become my personal problem. As COO, the BU President reports directly to me. That makes me personally responsible for its results.

Me:

I understand. So,

the heat is on.

Irene:

Yes, it certainly is, but it’s more than that. I think it would be foolish to walk away from the American market. It’s simply too big and too important to be ignored.

Not to mention

, if the US subsidiary ever did start

firing on all cylinders

, the boost to ABC Manufacturing Group’s revenues and profit margins would be enormous. And we could certainly use that.

Me:

I understand. So, how do you think I can make the biggest difference?

Irene:

The US BU’s future will be determined by whether Bill Smith, the latest and possibly last BU President is able to do something about its chronic

underperformance

. The time is short, and

the stakes are high.

So, I want you to fly over there and do everything in your power to help him turn that organization into a major success.

Me:

You’ve got it. I’ll

get on

my flight and housing stuff as soon as we get done here.

Irene:

Thank you, Buddy. This really means a lot to me. I would appreciate it if we could connect on a weekly basis, maybe on Fridays, just so you can

keep me posted

on how things are developing. If you need any support from me, any help at all, just ask. (Handing me an envelope) … Here’s a briefing that I put together for you. It’s not a lot but it should help you get started.

Me:

OK. I’ll be in the US by this weekend, and I’ll

touch base

with you again Friday of next week. Is there anything else I can do for you in the meantime?

Irene:

No, there isn’t, Buddy. Just know how much I appreciate your dedication and sacrifice. I won’t forget it.

Me:

You are very welcome. Talk to you soon.

Report: Known Issues at the US BU

Background:

Bill Smith is the fifth President that the US BU has had in just over eleven years. Two previous Presidents came from Group. They both failed miserably. Two others came from the US. And they both failed, just as miserably. One of the American BU Presidents was recruited from our main competitor in the US, and the other was a very well-liked, competent manager who came up through the ranks at the US BU. All to no avail. To this day, nobody has been able to figure out how to make this subsidiary run profitably and smoothly.

That’s where you come in, Buddy. It will be your job to make sure that Bill succeeds where his predecessors failed. Bill Smith is known as a very successful, hotshot manager in the American widget industry. He is only 39 years old, but he has already surpassed most of his peers in the industry. He’s also said to be an expert in consultative selling. I want you to work side-by-side with him for the next two months to help him solve three main issues:

White-collar

personnel fluctuation is too high. It must be lowered.

The US BU’s customers are extremely dissatisfied. This must be changed quickly.

White-collar employees are unreliable in their dealings with their HQ counterparts. That’s unacceptable. It must also be changed quickly.

If Bill can’t do anything to improve the performance at the US BU, it will very likely be shut down by the end of this year. So, this is a life-or-death struggle. Obviously, the following information is for your eyes only:

1. White Collar “churn rates” are far too high:

It appears that the US BU has trouble holding on to white collar employees. Not only has the BU President changed often over the past eleven years, but so too has a large percentage of the white-collar staff, including many good managers, PAs, Key Account Managers, Purchasing Agents, Accountants and more. Churn rates among white collar employees at the US BU exceed 40% per year. This is totally unacceptable. They must be brought down to and remain in the neighborhood of 10%.

The good news is that one major block of the white-collar staff, almost 40%, is very stable. They’ve been working at the US BU since it was founded. For some reason, we don’t hear much from them, but they seem to be the ones who keep the ship afloat. Other than for death or serious illness, there’s essentially no fluctuation among this loyal group.

The last BU President was recruited from this group of white-collar loyalists, but for some reason, he failed worse than any of his predecessors. He oversaw the worst year in the BU’s history, reporting the lowest productivity, the lowest sales, the highest churn rates, you name it.

Since he left, the BU has been operating without a real President. For legal reasons, the office of President is occupied by a senior manager from ABC Manufacturing Group, but this situation cannot go on much longer. Interestingly, however, the performance has actually improved slightly since the subsidiary has been operating without a real BU President.

Although white-collar churn rates are extraordinarily high, for some reason, blue-collar churn rates are just the opposite. The blue-collar employees appear to be a very stable group of people. They are highly productive and seem to be quite satisfied. Their churn rates run below 10% per year and in a recent survey, they reported exceptionally high levels of job satisfaction, the best in the whole ABC organization. Their work makes a very big contribution to the bottom line, so this is truly a beacon of hope.

2. The US BU’s customers are extremely dissatisfied:

Most BUs within ABC Manufacturing Group enjoy high customer satisfaction rates. This is not true of the US BU, where daily complaints and escalations are par for the course.

Many six-figure sales have been cancelled at the last moment, costing the company millions of dollars in lost revenues in the last year alone. Apparently, the Key Account Managers are not doing a good job of explaining the value of our products to potential customers, because they always want lower prices, speedier delivery times and special conditions. It seems that if the KAMs would do a better job of educating their potential customers on our products, these pressures could be significantly reduced.

3. The US BU’s white-collar employees are unreliable in their dealings with HQ counterparts:

Forecasts are never met - not even close. Instead of sticking to plans, they always look for, and usually find, ways to do things differently than planned, making it impossible to exercise any kind of meaningful control.

They frequently complain that ABC Manufacturing Group doesn’t understand the American market. Using that as an excuse, they do things on their own. Their uncoordinated activities are not supported by HQ. For that reason, they usually turn out badly, wasting money, and doing further damage to our reputation on the American market.

Many of the white-collar employees do not react to emails, at all, while some others won’t stop writing. The ones who love to write keep asking the same questions and demanding the same things, again and again, often before the recipient has even had a chance to look at the first email.

Not only that, but if you ask two or more questions in an email, they normally only answer one. And that answer is usually incomplete. They rarely say what they really mean. And they will not give you a straight answer or make a final decision. It’s all guesswork, just a roll of the dice.

Instead of saying what they really think, they usually say something like, “I’ve got to talk to my people,” or, “I have to run this by my boss, before I can give you an answer,” etc. It is terribly frustrating for our people.

Commitments and deadlines are regularly missed. Whether in Quality Management, Marketing, Operations, Logistics or any other department, the US BU’s employees do not turn in reports or forms on time.

They can rarely be counted on to provide requested information. They also seem to infect their customers with the same poor habits, when it comes to providing relevant information in a timely fashion, because their customers act the very same way.

If we try to press them for better explanations, or more details, they usually just answer with, “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” or “We can flesh that out later.” It can be maddening at times.

Aside from using emails to ask the same questions again and again, or to pressure their colleagues at HQ to do something faster, they seem to be squeamish about putting anything into writing. Apparently, they don’t like the written word, neither reading nor writing it.

Please take the following steps immediately: Start building a brain trust of competent, like-minded managers to support Bill. Mary Jones, one of the American team members on your Brazilian project, a manager you know well, would probably be the best person to start with.

Although Mary just started working as a sales trainer and internal sales consultant at the US BU less than a year ago, she has been a successful player in the American widget industry for decades. Before starting her own widget business fifteen years ago, Mary worked for one of the largest and most successful widget manufacturers in the world.

During her nearly two decades at that company, she spent seven years overseas, with longer stints in South America, Europe, and Asia. This experience is exactly why she was selected to be part of the Brazilian restructuring project. She’s definitely an expert in global business, and I truly believe that she can help you get the US BU running smoothly.

You may or may not know this, but a few years ago, Mary sold her widget business to a larger competitor and went into early retirement. Eventually she got bored and started looking for a more productive use of her time. Living very close to the US BU’s facilities, and knowing many of its employees, she thought that it might benefit from her help, so she offered it to the last President, a friend of hers, and he hired her immediately.

Mary was tasked by the former BU President with helping to shore up weak performance in the sales department and providing support wherever else it was needed. Unfortunately, he got fired right after she started, and with the exception of the work she did on your Brazilian project, she’s been in limbo ever since. She’s a highly experienced business-allrounder. As you have said many times, there’s no question that her experience and negotiation skills were instrumental in reaching a successful outcome in the Brazilian project, so it only makes sense to put those skills and experience to work immediately in saving the US BU.

Before we make any big moves, I would suggest that we ask Mary for her assessment of the situation at the US BU. Specifically, it would be good to know why she believes that four previous BU Presidents were not able to move the needle in a positive direction there. Find out what she would do about the situation if it were her call. What changes does she deem to be absolutely necessary? Where would she start? Basically, try to mine her experience and insight for all it’s worth. I don’t think I need to tell you how important her help could be.

Buddy, I know that this report doesn’t go into as much detail as either of us would like, but this is all I can give you right now. In closing, I really think that the best starting point is to enlist Mary’s support in building a brain trust. I am convinced that it will take a group of you to help Bill succeed at turning the US BU into what it always could and should have been, the crown jewel of ABC Manufacturing Group’s international business organization.

Finally, please document everything you do for posterity. I think that we all will learn a lot from this project, regardless of how it turns out. Please feel free to ask for my help at any point along the way. And thanks again for your dedication and support. Good luck!

1. Let’s Build a Brain Trust

Although this is just a theory, I sincerely believe that a major component in the failure of all the US BU’s previous Presidents was that they tried to right the ship on their own. I don’t think it can be done. I fully agree with Irene that we need to begin turning things around by building a brain trust to support Bill. This would be a small group of competent, like-minded managers, who serve as a rapid reaction force, supporting Bill whenever and wherever he needs their help.

First, I intend to find out whether Mary would like to join me in this quest. If she does, it would be a huge win because she already possesses many of the skills that the team will need. She’s uniquely qualified to help Bill navigate the trials and tribulations that go along with leading the US BU successfully. I’m going to write an email to Mary to get the ball rolling:

Hi Mary,

Hopefully, you’re enjoying a nice start to the week. I just wanted to ask if you would have time to jump on a quick call with me on Thursday or Friday of this week. As you may already know, I’ll be coming to the US next week to help get Bill Smith off to a good start as the new US BU President and I was hoping that you could take some time to give me a few tips. The meeting shouldn’t last longer than an hour. If you do have time for the call, I’ll send you a link by the end of the day. I would greatly appreciate your help on this, and I’m really looking forward to seeing you again soon. Have a fantastic day.

Regards,

Buddy

Mary answered immediately:

Hi Buddy,

It’s great to hear from you again. Sure, I would be glad to meet with you later this week. How does Thursday at 11:00 AM sound to you? I really look forward to seeing you, too. Talk to you soon.

Best wishes,

Mary

I confirmed the meeting with Mary immediately. Why not? There is certainly no advantage in waiting.

Hi Mary,

Thank you very much for your quick response. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your support. Please find the meeting link included in the email below. Talk to you on Thursday at 11:00 AM. Take care.

Regards,

Buddy

Thursday morning arrived in a flash. The following is a transcript of my first online meeting with Mary:

Me:

Hi Mary. It is great to see you again! How are you?

Mary:

It’s great to see you, too. I’m doing very well. Thank you.

How ‘bout yourself?

Me:

I couldn’t be better… just a little too busy, as usual.

Mary:

Yeah. I know how that goes.

Me:

So, how’s life treating you at the US BU?

Mary:

Very well. Thank you. We’re all really excited and a little nervous about finally meeting the new BU President, but that will all change soon enough.

Me:

I can certainly understand that. I’m very curious about him, myself.

From what I hear

, he’s a real

mover and shaker

in the American widget industry,

just what the doctor ordered.

Mary:

I hope so. We can’t keep changing BU Presidents every year or two. If we’re not careful, that bad habit is going to end up putting us out of business.

Me:

You’re right, Mary. And that’s exactly why I wanted to talk to you today. But first, please allow me to thank you again for taking time for this meeting. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it.

Mary:

No problem at all. I really enjoyed the work we did together on the Brazilian restructuring project, and I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to work with you again. So, what can I do to help?

Me:

Well, I’ve been asked to help Bill Smith

get off on the right foot

at the US BU. As you well know, this business unit has struggled since it was founded. Anyway, HQ wants me to help Bill

get a handle on

the three big problems that never seem to go away or get any better.

If anything

, they seem to keep getting worse.

In any case

, they’re chronic.

Mary:

I see. And what problems does HQ say we have?

Me:

Well, they mentioned white-collar churn rates, dissatisfied customers, and the fact that many of the white-collar staff are unreliable in their dealings with their HQ counterparts. You know, those kinds of things. Anyway, I was hoping that we could start today by talking about the situation in sales. You’ve worked with that team long enough to know who the players are and what’s really going on. Would that be OK with you?

Mary:

Sure, we can talk about sales, as long as you don’t expect me to

throw anyone under the bus

.

For the most part,

this is a good group of people trying to

make do

in a very difficult environment.

Me:

Fair enough. By the way, maybe you can help me understand what makes your sales environment so difficult? Obviously, I’m talking about difficulties that go beyond

the usual suspects

.

Mary:

Sure, but you should be aware that all the problems you just mentioned, white-collar churn rates, dissatisfied customers and perceived unreliability are all part of a single, much larger, and more complex problem. I’m talking about cultural misalignment. The reason that these problems seem to be so

pervasive

is that we keep trying to manage the symptoms, but we never do anything to cure the disease.

Me:

I’m not sure if I’m following you correctly. Could you be more specific, please?

Mary:

I’d be happy to.

Let’s start with cultural alignment in sales. On the sales side, the right starting point would be to look at how Americans perceive value. For the most part, we assess the value of a sales proposal by asking four fundamental questions: First, “Will this solution do the job?” Doing the job is simply a GO or a NO GO. Either a solution can do the job, or it cannot. If it can’t, it will be immediately discarded. If it can, we ask the second question: “Is this the quickest, easiest, and most convenient way to do the job?” What the marketing experts at HQ seem to have overlooked is that convenience is the greatest source of added value in American business. As long as the job is getting done satisfactorily, convenience is more important than quality, efficiency, price, or anything else.

Me:

That’s hard to believe, but it does seem to fit pretty well with some of the stories I’ve heard since I agreed to accept this assignment. Please go on.

Mary:

Thank you. You know, whether you look at our website, our sales collateral, white papers, or whatever we put out to the public, you’ll hardly find a word about convenience, and this puts our sales team at a terrible disadvantage.

Me:

So, what I am hearing from you is

that the sales problems at the US BU are really HQ’s fault?

Mary:

Well, it’s not as simple as that and it’s certainly not about whose fault it is.

Like I said

, everything goes back to our cultural misalignment issues and how to solve them best.

Me:

We’ll have to speak more about that in the near future, but for now, what’s the third question? You mentioned four.

Mary:

The third question is, “Does this supplier, (these people, or this person), appreciate me and my willingness to do business with them?”

Me:

How would an American know if he or she was being appreciated? That seems rather subjective to me.

Mary:

It is subjective. There’s no doubt about that. But there are clear indicators of appreciation, such as praising people openly and frequently, asking a lot of questions and taking time to listen to and reflect upon the answers, maintaining high enough contact frequency to accomplish the job in small, simple steps and saying, “I appreciate you… or your efforts… very much,” often and genuinely. These are all reliable indicators of appreciation. Still,

talk is cheap

. The real proof of appreciation is being flexible.

Me:

Flexibility?

How do you mean that exactly?

Mary:

What I mean is that Americans equate being flexible with showing appreciation… and showing appreciation with showing respect. Or,

to look at it the other way around,

if you’re not flexible in your dealings with us, you obviously do not respect us.

Me:

That’s amazing. I’ve never heard anything like that before. Are you sure that you’re right about that? It

sounds like a

bit of

a stretch

to me.

No offense.

Mary:

None taken. You should know that when I first started working overseas a long time ago, I basically expected doing business in other developed countries to be pretty much like doing business in the USA.

Boy was I wrong!

Me:

Well, it is very similar, isn’t it? Buy low and sell high. What could be so different?

This is all news to me.

Mary:

It was to me, too. For example, when I first went to South America, I immediately…

Me:

Hold on for a second

, Mary. Forgive me for interrupting you again, but what is the fourth question?

Mary:

I’m sorry but you’ve lost me. What do you mean?

Me:

You mentioned four questions earlier. They had to do with performance, convenience, and appreciation, but you never said what the fourth question was.

Mary:

Oh, you’re right. I didn’t, did I? The fourth question is about price: “Is the price reasonable?”

Me:

Does reasonable mean cheap or something else?

Mary:

It means something else. For any product or solution, there’s a competitive price range. The best solutions usually command the highest prices. And the worst acceptable solutions get what they can get, typically a very low,

bottom-end price

. Whether customers are willing to pay a

high-end price

or much less depends on how much value they perceive in a product or solution. Value is

the name of the game on

the American market. And value is determined by a package made up of performance, convenience, and genuine shows of appreciation.

Me:

OK. I see now. But this is kind of unsettling because HQ doesn’t spend much time thinking about convenience or how to show more appreciation. Their main focus is always on quality and technical specs.

Mary:

I know. And it’s killing us on the US market. Anyway, back to my time in South America.

Me:

Of course, Mary. Please go on.

Mary:

Soon, I realized that the relationships between people at work there were far more important to them than they typically were to people in the US. In fact, the relationships were clearly more important than the business outcomes people were reaching together.

Me:

I’ve heard that, but you were also in Germany, weren’t you? That must’ve been more like the US. I mean half the Americans running around today call themselves German. Not to mention, Germans certainly do a lot of business in the USA.

Mary:

That’s what I was expecting, too, but in some ways, it was even more different to the USA than Latin America was.

Me:

What? Really? How so?

Mary:

Doing business in Germany is all about achieving security and efficiency, as well as doing everything possible to avoid negative outcomes and unwelcome surprises.

Me:

(Feeling slightly offended) … Are you suggesting that Germans don’t care about relationships in business?

Mary:

Of course not. Relationships matter, but for most people, relationship maintenance

takes a backseat to

achieving secure, efficient outcomes. By the way, the time I spent in Asia confirmed for me that they are also relationship-focused, like Latin Americans, but their working-style, communication-style, and management-style is a lot different than what you’ll find in Latin America.

Me:

OK. I believe that the differences are real. However, just thinking about how big those differences might actually be, kind of overwhelms me. How can this knowledge help us solve the US BU’s issues with HQ? And how can we use it to help Bill Smith get off to a good start as our new BU President?

Mary:

If you’ll indulge me

for a moment longer, I’ll get right back to that point. But first, you should know that when I arrived in Europe, right

on the heels of

a longer stint in South America, the differences were

“in your face”

obvious because everything was all still so fresh.

For whatever reason

, a Psychology class that I’d attended in college popped into my head. In that class, we talked about Abraham Maslow’s Pyramid of Needs. You know, the theory that states that every human being has physiological needs, followed by the needs for security, belonging, esteem or respect and self-actualization.

Me:

Oh, yeah. I remember reading about that, too. Please go on. I’m very curious to find out where this goes.

Mary:

Anyway, it occurred to me that what I was seeing in Latin American business was a strong expression of the need for belonging, and what I was seeing in Central European business, especially in the German-speaking countries, was a strong expression of the need for security. That’s when I started to wonder if the American way of doing business might be based on meeting the need for respect.

Me:

That’s fascinating, but I’ve spent a lot of time working with Americans and it seems to me that they also care about security and belonging. These are two of the main reasons why people go to work somewhere and end up staying there. But

now that you mention it,

I doubt if most Americans would stay somewhere if they didn’t feel respected. No… I’m pretty sure that they wouldn’t.

Mary:

I agree. But I wanted to validate my hypothesis somehow. So, I asked a cultural trainer I knew if she could suggest a good book on cultural differences in business. She suggested that I read, “

Culture, Leadership, and Organizations: The GLOBE Study of 62 Societies.”

Me:

Did you read it?

Mary:

You bet

I did. I read it, reread it, studied it, and dissected it. And I keep rereading parts of it to this day. The book gave me many of the answers that I’d been searching for. The main thing I found out is that culture isn’t just a

willy-nilly

thing, there’s a system behind it.

Me:

Since we don’t have a lot of time today, could you just give me

the 30,000-foot view

, please? We can get into the details at another time.

Mary:

Sure. No problem. First off, my assumption about Maslow’s Pyramid of Needs seems to check out. The book talks about cultural dimensions that exist in every cultural group, everywhere in the world, which makes it possible to compare cultural groups with one another.

Me:

OK. That sounds good, but please explain to me what a cultural dimension is. I’m not familiar with the term.

Mary:

A cultural dimension is a just behavioral pattern that can be observed anywhere in the world. For example, the need for security in a cultural group is measured by a cultural dimension called, Uncertainty Avoidance, or just UA.

Me:

I see. And I’m guessing that the average UA level is much higher at HQ than it is at the US BU. My experience would seem to suggest that.

Mary:

Your experience is pointing you in the right direction. The average UA level is so much higher at HQ than it is at the US BU that serious issues are unavoidable. They’re literally

baked into the cake

.

Me:

Wow! What other cultural dimensions are playing a role?

Mary:

In total, nine dimensions were mentioned in the book, but three of them really

jumped off the page

at me: Uncertainty Avoidance, as just mentioned, In-Group Collectivism, and Performance Orientation. Their descriptions matched, almost

verbatim

, Maslow’s descriptions of the needs for security, belonging, and respect. That’s when the light went on for me.

Me:

OK, but I thought that all human beings share all these needs. So, how does that help us further?

Mary:

You’re right. All of us do share these needs, but what I’ve found it is that our cultural upbringing determines the priority that we place on each of them.

Me:

Again, that’s fascinating, but how will it help us solve the issues between HQ and the US BU. We’ve got to help Bill.

Mary:

Well, think about how Americans act when we feel respected and compare that to how we act when we feel disrespected. Wouldn’t you say that there’s an obvious difference?

Me:

Yeah. There sure is. In the extreme, being disrespectful toward someone in America might get you shot.

Mary:

In any case, it could easily get you into an unpleasant argument or even a fight, couldn’t it?

Me:

For sure. Either that, or people might just say,

“to hell with it”

and

take off

. Who wants

to put up with

being treated disrespectfully?

Mary:

Exactly. So, let’s put this back into a pure work context: What do you think would happen if Americans felt like they were being treated disrespectfully, but they could not or did not want to leave their employer for some reason? What do you think they would do?

Me:

I suppose they would withdraw,

lay low

and just try to

keep their heads down

. With any luck, they might be able to outlast their persecutors.

Mary:

What do you think would happen to their productivity if they decided to keep their heads down until the situation got better?

Me:

It would

tank

, I suppose. Yeah. Their productivity would tank. For sure.

Mary:

Well, there you have it. Perceived disrespect would lead to a fight, flight, or freeze reaction. And if enough people reacted in one of those ways, it would be practically impossible for any company to perform well. Achieving excellent performance would be

out of the question

.

Me:

So, you’re saying that the high white-collar churn rates, the productivity underperformance, the lack of reliability and the sales issues at the US BU are all being caused by HQ? That’s funny, and I don’t mean ha-ha funny, because it seems to us that the Americans are the ones being disrespectful and causing all the trouble!

Mary:

Even me, really?

Me:

No. Not you personally. Please excuse my

knee-jerk reaction

, but I was really taken aback by what you just said. I didn’t see that coming.

Mary:

Don’t worry about it.

No harm done

. What I meant before, wasn’t that anyone had actually been disrespectful, but rather that their actions were being perceived as disrespectful. There’s a difference.

Me:

I see what you mean, but still, how does that help us?

Mary:

Well, it helps already to understand that your cultural background influences your perceptions.

Me:

How so?

Mary:

Have you heard Peter Drucker, the Management Guru’s expression, “culture eats strategy for breakfast.”

Me:

I have, but to be honest with you, I’m not sure if I really understand it, and I’ve never really given it much serious thought.

Mary:

Well, it might be time to start thinking seriously about it now. What the expression means is that culture is superior to strategy because you have to think about strategy. You have to formulate it in a way that can be clearly understood. And you have to use your will to impose, monitor, and maintain it.

Me:

That makes sense. Strategy does take work, but it is

invaluable

work.

Mary:

Agreed. Strategy is invaluable work, but it’s not everything. Culture operates at a much deeper level. It’s always on, quietly shaping your perceptions, decisions, and feelings, influencing every interaction you have with any other person. Culture is where the action is if you are looking to affect change or to improve anything in a mixed-cultural environment.

Me:

I think you may have lost me. Could you tell me how you define culture? I have a strong feeling that your definition of it and mine are not the same.

Mary:

Of course. As far as I’m concerned, culture is a just story that everyone learns while we’re growing up. This story teaches us a description of the world. Social scientists call it a cultural narrative.

Me:

I see. And I can imagine that every country has its own cultural narrative.

Mary:

Exactly. And this is a big deal because the cultural narrative functions like a living-library for each cultural group. It contains all the relevant knowledge and experience gained throughout the history of that group. What has helped them survive and thrive throughout the ages? What is good? What is bad? What is right? What is wrong? What should one always do, or never do? In short, the cultural narrative that people are taught growing up,

imbues

them with a Code of Conduct.

Me:

If no two cultural narratives are identical, I suppose that no two Codes of Conduct can be identical either.

Mary:

Bullseye!

Me:

So, cultural misalignment really comes down to a misalignment of the rules that we are expected to follow?

Mary:

That’s right. That’s the cultural issue

in a nutshell

.

Me:

Some of the tensions between HQ and the US BU are starting to make more sense to me now, but whose rules should we follow? I’ve already seen enough to know that some American rules

won’t fly

at HQ. And I am starting to believe that many of the problems we’ve been so concerned about over the years can be traced back to the fact that many of HQ’s rules won’t fly in the US.

This is a real conundrum.

Mary:

That sums it up very nicely.

Me:

Thanks, but what can we do about it? I don’t want Bill Smith to end up like all four of his predecessors,

not on my watch

.

Mary:

Well, let’s take the situation apart and approach it logically. I think we can agree that cultural misalignment does in fact exist between the US BU and HQ, right?

Me:

Yes. That seems obvious to me now.

Mary:

Good. I also think we can agree that these misalignments should be handled internally. I mean, we don’t want them to touch our customers, or how do you see that?

Me:

Oh, I fully agree. We need to handle the differences internally. Our customers should never even know that cultural tensions exist.

Mary:

Would you also agree that the USA is unlikely to change its way of doing things to better meet HQ’s expectations?

Me:

(After a nervous chuckle) ... Yes… Obviously.

Mary:

Then, it only seems logical that in our dealings with American customers, suppliers, partners, and for the most part, with each other in the USA, we must prioritize American expectations.

Me:

Fair enough. But, like we’ve already talked about, some of those expectations just won’t fly at HQ.

Mary:

Well, then, we’ll just have to separate the US BU from HQ

to a greater degree

. We need to let the Americans do the things that are appropriate in the USA and HQ should continue doing those things that are appropriate there.

Me:

OK, but if the US BU is allowed to do its own thing, how will that work with the other BUs around the world? And how could it be managed, at all? Just think about it. Wouldn’t letting the US BU operate independently result in a massive loss of control and efficiency? I think that there’s a real danger of it becoming useless to the rest of the group. And that would be a complete disaster.

Mary:

Yes, it would, but that’s the worst possible scenario and highly unlikely. The key to success lies in focusing on the interfaces. If we get the interfaces right, which I am absolutely certain that we can do, things will improve in a hurry. We just need to treat our alignment efforts like a win-win negotiation with a valued partner.

Me:

(Feeling a bit frustrated) … Get the interfaces right? Treat alignment like a win-win negotiation? Now, you’ve really lost me, but I can’t do anything about it until we’re able to meet again. When would you have time for a follow up conversation? This is a critical body of knowledge and I really want… and need… to understand it better.

Mary:

You’ll be in the US next week, won’t you? Why don’t we meet first thing Monday morning?

Me:

Monday morning would be fine.

Mary:

How would 9:00 AM work for you? Or would ten o’clock be better?

Me:

No, 9:00 AM is perfect. In your office?

Mary:

Yes. Nine o’clock in my office sounds great. Have a great trip, safe travels, and a fantastic weekend.

Me:

You have a great weekend, too, Mary. I’m really looking forward to continuing our conversation on Monday. And thanks again… very much… for your help.

Mary:

No problem. It was my pleasure. See you on Monday.

2. Welcome Mr. President!

Fortunately, I got to America without any hitches. The flight wasn’t remarkable in any way. I rented a car at the airport, and I moved into a Corporate Living Suite close to work. Feeling bored and restless, I also moved into my new office over the weekend. My meeting with Mary wouldn’t take place until 9:00 AM, so I had a fair amount of time to kill.

I decided to swing by Bill Smith’s office before the meeting with Mary. I wanted to introduce myself and try to get a sense of how he felt about Mary and the brain trust idea. There’s no doubt that it could be an impact multiplier and I knew that Bill would need that.

On my way over to his office, I noticed that the building really needed to be painted. I wondered for a moment if that meant anything, but I didn’t have time to dwell on it right then. When I got to Bill’s office, I saw that it was still cluttered with unpacked boxes. Nevertheless, Bill was already sitting at his desk, working at his laptop. At least, he had managed to set up a chair in front of the desk.

Bill’s door was open when I got there, but I stopped and said, “knock, knock,” while making a gesture of knocking on the door. Without looking up, he waved me in and pointed to the chair in front of his desk. At first, I wondered what was going on. He seemed to be acting strangely, but then I noticed that he was wearing earbuds. Apparently, he was sitting in on another meeting. So, I waited quietly and thought about my coming conversation with Mary.

Suddenly, he said, “OK guys, I’ve got to get going. I have to join another meeting right now, but I want you to know that I really like what I’m hearing. You’re definitely on the right track.”

He closed his laptop, looked up at me and scanned me silently for a brief instant. Then, he stood up, smiled warmly, and extended his hand to shake mine, “Hi, I’m Bill Smith. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

I shook his hand, nodded affirmatively, and returned his friendly smile. Then, I said, “I’m Buddy. And the pleasure is all mine, Bill.” The following is a transcript of my first conversation with Bill Smith:

Bill:

Buddy, huh? Oh, you’re the guy from HQ, the one who’s supposed to help me get started. I was wondering when we were going to meet.

Me:

I hope I’m not disturbing you. I just wanted to stop by and say hello. (Pointing around the room at all the boxes) … I see that you’ve already started to move in, just like me.

Bill:

Well, at least the boxes have arrived. (Laughing) … Hopefully, I’ll be here long enough to actually get them all unpacked.

Me:

Oh, I’m sure you will be, Bill. I’ve heard so many good things about you already, I’m just eager to get started working together. It sounds like you’re already off to a good start.

Bill:

Yeah.

I can’t stand

wasting time. I knew that the sales team was having a meeting this morning, and I wanted to sit in on it, just to get a first impression. However, Mary Jones, the person I most wanted to meet, didn’t even attend the meeting.

Just my luck

.

Me:

Oh, that one’s on me

, Bill. She probably wasn’t there because she and I are going to meet at 9:00 AM. We scheduled the meeting last week already. In fact, I’ll be heading over to her office when you and I get finished here.

Bill:

Is she as good as everybody claims she is?

Me:

Oh, yeah. She’s that good and a whole lot more.

Bill:

That’s nice to hear. We’re going to need her help to right the ship. I have no doubt about that.

Me:

Do you have time to go through a few things right now, Bill? If not, it’s no problem, I can gladly come back later.

Bill:

No. Why don’t get started now and see how far we get?

I pulled out an agenda and handed a copy of it to Bill. My agenda had five items on it. Number three was supposed to be an overview of the known problems at the US BU, but after my conversation with Mary, I was no longer certain about how to handle that one.

Introductions

My role for the next couple of months

Overview of known problems at the US BU

Bill’s goals as President of the US BU

Decide on the top 3-5 objectives for the coming year.

As I went through the list of agenda items, I told Bill about my reservations concerning item number three. I mentioned that, before I’d spoken to Mary, I felt relatively certain about what the problems at the US BU were, and why they existed, but I said that I was no longer so certain about my assessment.

Bill said, “Wow! That must have been some meeting.” I said, “It sure was.”

Next, I introduced myself officially to Bill. He seemed very attentive and interested in what I had to say, but he didn’t ask any questions. He just listened to me and took notes. “Another notetaker,” I thought. That’s a good sign. Then, I asked him to tell me about himself, which he did in a very professional manner:

“As you already know, I’m Bill Smith. Although, this is only my first day as the President of the US BU, I’ve been working in the widget industry for about fifteen years. I spent most of those years at Widgets for the World, one of ABC’s main competitors worldwide. There, my last position was Head of Sales. I served in that role for 3 years. Before that, I was a Regional Sales Manager, responsible for the East Coast, and prior to that, a Key Account Manager, focused exclusively on major, widget manufacturing equipment customers.

Before I went to Widgets for the World, I spent a few years at Nippon Widget, the largest widget manufacturer in the world. There, I worked as a Key Account Manager, but was also a full member of an interdisciplinary change project, aimed at streamlining and standardizing the sales processes in country markets all around the world.

I also spent a short time as an Account Manager at a large widget wholesaler. That was my first job out of college. Anyway, I’m thrilled to be leading the US BU because I truly believe that I can help this organization become what it could and should be - the top equipment manufacturer in the American widget industry. I honestly believe that.

By the way, I’m thrilled that you decided to drop by this morning. And I can’t tell you how happy I am that we’ll be working together so closely over the next couple of months. I’m genuinely excited about having the opportunity to learn from you.”

My first impression was that Bill and I think a lot alike, and I have no doubt that he’ll quickly become more than my colleague. I can already easily imagine him becoming my friend.

Me:

Thanks very much, Bill. I really appreciate that.

What do you say