The World is globalizing, BiZZdesign is growing and expanding internationally. Are we indeed close to getting one World, with a global culture? Being a Business Consultant, mainly working on Business process management projects in the Netherlands I sometimes wonder whether the same questions and hurdles exists for professionals and companies in other countries.
I got a chance to at least check out how this is experienced in Argentina. Rotary Foundation and BiZZdesign made this possible. In this blogpost I’d like to share my experience gained from of a 4,5 weeks lasting journey in Argentina. I will explain some more about this experience and will continue to share some of the insights I have gained from the journey.
How did it all start?
Sometimes you just get a unique chance. You see it, you feel it, and then, what do you do with it? One year ago I heard about a certain program of the Rotary. It is called Group Study Exchange (GSE), and as the name suggests it is an exchange program with an educative edge. It is provided for Young professionals in the ages of 25-40 in the early ages of their career. Each year a group of professionals from every Rotary district is exchanging with another district throughout the World. The GSE program is designed to develop professional and leadership skills for young professionals, so that they can address the needs of their communities and an increasingly global workplace. Working at BiZZdesign, a globalizing company with further growth ambitions, this was a match of interests.
Without any doubt I applied for the program. I got selected with four other team members and a team leader (A member of the Rotary). The team consisted of a diversity of professionals like a healthcare contractor working for an Insurance company and a biology professor teaching at high school. With this diverse set of backgrounds we all were asked to submit our personal professional interests and preferences. Based on these wishes, for each of us a personal program was provided. After six months of preparation we took off to Argentina for a 4.5 week lasting adventure.
The journey
The journey took place in the south of Argentina, called Patagonia. This part of Argentina is known for its marvelous nature. Most of the traveling within Argentina was with the public busses, which is a great way of traveling large distances in Argentina.
Another specific aspect of this trip is that we stayed in each city in host families. Sometimes with several group members at one family and other times alone, at a Spanish speaking family. In the First weeks this was quite a challenge, because of the language. But after a few days of looking up the translations in our dictionary, we were getting acquainted with the Spanish language. We have met many mayors for a quick interview on their perspective on their municipality, have been interviewed for local television, radio and newspapers. An often asked question was how ‘their’ Maxima Zorreguieta is perceived by the Dutch people.
I’ve had business meetings with local government departments, government consultancy offices, a cooperative bank, a wholesales, chamber of hotels, two bottling plants, a fruit packaging plant, an online discount service provider, an association of ICT firms, and a design and construction company of complex technological systems, like satellites.
My professional findings
The different meetings, excursions, interviews as well as the personal conversations I had, gave me valuable insights. These observations and insights are a reflection of my areas of attention as a business consultant: Processes, Consultancy and Culture. These conclusions came to me after returning to the Netherlands and reflecting on all the different impressions that I had absorbed.
Meetings
In general I have experienced that professional meetings in Argentina are different than meetings in the Netherlands. The whole process is different: Planning the meeting, preparing the meeting and the meeting itself. Experiencing several meetings in Argentina made me feel uncomfortable in the beginning. Meetings are setup on the fly, objectives of the meeting are not set prior to the meetings and delays or sudden changes are common and the only time boundaries were set because of lunch time at 14h. A big contradiction towards regular meetings in the Netherlands, where lunch is the only slack to be sacrificed in the fully planned days. Also thorough planning and preparations are conducted before starting a meeting in the Netherlands.
As this overview shows us, the meeting itself is key in Argentina, being in contact with the right people, discussing relevant topics, making decisions and go. For me, with a Dutch mindset, the first two meetings I was a bit worried about the quality of the meeting. I did not know who I was going to meet, what his expectations were of this meeting and what questions I could or could not ask.
From that moment on, I needed to take a mind shift and start experiencing instead of preparing and executing. This worked out fine, since the meetings allowed for all topics to be discussed and focus to be applied on those topics that are of mutual interest to the participants. More focus was put on the quality of the meeting itself instead of on the (preset) conditions of the meeting.
In fact, when reflecting on this experience I conclude that I had a chance to ask all the questions I wanted, that are relevant at the time and interest to the other party as well. It allowed for unexpected situations and topics. I have experienced how this can work and try to apply the open agenda principle more often in my daily business.
Economy and consultancy
Another main point that I’ve experienced is the maturity level of the Argentinean economy. Whilst the country is rich in natural resources, they do not seem to leverage this benefit into sustainable economic profitability. Common ways of communicating like telephone or internet are not available in all parts of the country. Combined with the large distances this makes part of the country quite isolated from the more and more maturing Capital city of Buenos Aires.
The wholesale company I had a meeting with is a good example to illustrate this finding. The company is supplier to some 80 small shops in the region. Because of the lack of telephone or internet in the region a sales agent travels to these client shops every week to record the order. The next day! he gets back at the wholesale warehouse, with handwritten orders, and order picking can start. Two days later, a small truck leaves, to deliver the orders at the client sites. All invoices and communication has to take place by regular mail or in person. They are seeking for ways to minimize their costs and improve profitability. And actually they are thinking of outsourcing the ordering and transportation activities towards their clients. In this way they cut costs on transportation for the goods and the sales agent! We started an open conversation about their business model in which I suggested to look for new customer segments or new services or product groups for their existing customers to leverage their current assets. His reaction was enthusiastic and curious about how he could implement this. This experience gave me the idea of the openness for new initiatives from the entrepreneurs. But it also made me aware of the difference in maturity in the general thinking paths.
But whilst maturities are on a different level, I am convinced that basic business principles can be applied quite well to the companies I’ve visited.
Culture
Getting in contact with a different culture was a great experience. It did not only allow me to get to know the Argentinean culture, it also allowed me to be more aware of the Dutch culture. By being adopted into this other culture differences and similarities became very clear to me. I think this principle also holds for team and organizational behavior. Experiencing another culture, by joining another team meeting for a specific period will make you more aware of your own culture and customs.
This is one of the aspects a consultant should point out in their environments. We, as consultant, come into a set environment, experience and see the specific behaviors. We can be of help to this customer environment by expressing our observations about their customs and patterns. Not in first place with the goal to change, but with a goal to create awareness of the organizations typical customs and behaviors. This awareness can be valuable in understanding one owns behavior. This understanding can in turn be valuable in communication and relations with other parties, departments and even when welcoming new employees.
Conclusion
Going into another environment allowed me to be aware of both another culture as well as my own culture.
The example of the meetings might not hold for all meetings, but in essence I did experience a significant difference in the setup of the meetings. The main lesson I take from this is to allow myself to have more unplanned meetings or planned meetings without an agenda. This allows for relevant topics to come up and get the attention they need.
The consultancy example from the grocery store made me aware of the difference in maturity level of the economics in general. Basic business principles, like Business Model Management are applicable regardless of maturity level of the company.
Being aware of culture is easier when you can experience different cultures. Experiencing the other culture makes you aware of your own culture. In my work as a business consultant I will keep on experiencing cultures, customs and behaviors. Reflecting these observations will be one of my focus points in future assignments.
