2. Cross-culture training

Ignoring cultural differences has financial consequences

If you don't pay attention to the cultural background of your counterpart, you will miss promising business opportunities. This can lead to massive financial losses. For example, Russian, German and French engineers were working on a new type of cargo aircraft. The project failed because, among other things, too little attention was paid to cultural differences. The financial loss amounted to around 50 million euros. The same thing happened when, for example, a Swiss company, which until that time had operated in a team-oriented and rather democratic manner, was taken over by a large German corporation. This company was very hierarchical and introduced uniform processes at its new subsidiary. Decisions were now made top-down. This led to a sharp drop in sales at the once very profitable Swiss subsidiary.

It is human nature to first assume that the other person behaves similarly. But in a global environment, this approach can become an obstacle. Even the digitalized world does not change this fact. Digitalization may well bring new possibilities for communication, but the context is often lost through these channels. This makes it even more important to deal with the cultural aspects of interaction. One must therefore work consciously and actively with different cultures. This is not something that comes naturally, because the “foreign” challenges us in our own cultural identity.

Working efficiently across cultures requires intercultural competence. This means the ability to interact and communicate with people from other cultures in an appreciative, mindful and reflective manner. Many people think that because they work internationally, they are interculturally competent – but that is far from being the case. Although international experience is valuable, it is not sufficient. Intercultural competence requires an interplay of knowledge, approaches and skills, and is a lifelong development process.
What could Thomas Huber and Wayan have done to transform their promising opportunity into a successful business relationship?

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  Taking the culture of a business partner into account means preparing in advance – e.g. with the help of good intercultural sources or intercultural experts.
  
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  Check your own intercultural competence by doing an assessment to see where you stand in this respect.
  
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  Better understand your own cultural reality, i.e. become more aware of your own values and see how these manifest themselves in a business environment.
  
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  Do not assume your approaches are the same, and know that yours is only one of many. Diversity can be consciously used to find new, innovative solutions.
  
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  And finally: know that you don't know. There are no certainties when working interculturally. It comes down to people.
  

Working effectively across cultures is not something that can be delegated. Even hints and tips, or “dos and don’ts” have little effect. Anyone who wants to use culture as a long-term resource to become more innovative and successful must develop their own intercultural competence. This means embarking on a long-term process that starts with you.