Etiquette for International Business Success

In the early 1980's when I started to plan international meetings we thought about freight forwarding, negotiating in foreign currencies, airlines to collaborate with, tax deductibility, finding something for the participants to enjoy while they were in that exciting location and producing a positive experience that would not be forgotten. The most important part of the experience was one we did not pay attention to -- international business etiquette.

Going global was the buzz-word of the day. Companies sought new markets outside of the United States and associations sought new membership. But there was a problem. We didn't think we had a problem. We as Americans thought that all we had to do was the same thing we were doing at home but in a different language. Using that belief we made lots of mistakes. I was on the "learn as you go" bandwagon. At the time it didn't occur to me that I had to hit the library before make the logistical phone calls. My international experience to that point was vacations as part of tour groups -- sheltered from the logistics and allowed to just enjoy the "experience". But now that I had to be the logistical coordinator I knew I didn't have the skills.

Read Cynthia's entire article Etiquette for International Business Success

Cynthia Lett, our official Business Etiquette Expert