12 Quick Cross-Cultural Tips For Today’s Global Executives

Are you a competent executive, but don’t know anything about proper cultural practices, customs, and protocols in other countries? Knowing the right cultural cues and practices is very valuable to create sustainable and profitable relationships when doing international business.

Here are 12 quick tips to increase your awareness and increase your success: –

1) In the East Asian boardroom, which involves new business acquaintances, many executives will arrange the business cards of the participants by the way they sit at the table, so they can be sure to know the right name, title and place it right in the company hierarchy.

2) If you do business in East Asia, be prepared to bring lots of business cards. You will use more than in North America during conferences or similar meetings. Understand the protocol for giving, receiving, handling and storing business cards. Never write on a business card. Store in a classy place above your waist. Using a back pocket or wallet for this purpose won’t work, gentlemen.

3) For men – it’s not uncommon in the Middle East for your local male colleague or client to hold your hand while walking. This means they like and trust you. Be warned, if you think that your hands have suddenly become damp, as a result.

4) In many countries, you can meet local residents in just a few minutes, who may ask rude questions that we usually consider very personal. An example is: Are you married? How many children do you have? … READ MORE ...

3 Reasons International Business Travelers Need a Roaming SIM Card

The 2010 global financial crisis has diminished and businesses are roaming abroad again. Instead of sending emails and relying on responses, they instead head to face-to-face meetings just to make sure everything is okay. However, these travelers are now far more cost-conscious. Exorbitant bills with roaming fees are no longer acceptable to the company. Those who regularly travel for business needs need a roaming SIM card and the purpose of this article is to explain the reason.

In most countries, you will not pay to receive calls –

Using a landline means you pay exorbitant roaming rates for outgoing calls but you also end up spending a lot of money to receive calls. If you get a roaming SIM card, you can cut this bill by up to 70% or more because you won’t pay to receive calls. Even countries where you have to pay to receive calls will incur a fraction of what you will pay with your home cellphone.

You don’t have to constantly change phone numbers –

A few years ago, some travelers recommended getting a prepaid SIM card in every country you visited. This causes unnecessary costs because you constantly have to call the office, your family and your friends just to update it with your new telephone number. With international call rates, these costs can add up quite quickly. A roaming SIM card means that you only have one number in any country you travel so you don’t need to constantly update people about your … READ MORE ...