One hour out of Shanghai and
somewhere over the South China Sea two fellow passengers got into a
confrontation. I probably would have overlooked it had I not been trying
to get some badly needed rest. The whole incident came about as a result
of a passenger trying to retain control over two adjoining seats while the
other man thought it was his right to lay claim to the seats. Even though
the other passenger had assigned seats he also wanted to gain a bit of
additional real estate. Any of you that travel long distances in coach
can appreciate the added comfort of an additional seat. As the saga
unfolded and the name calling commenced I quickly realized that what started
off as mutual personal need had escalated into how different cultures interact
when placed under stress. To my surprise the name calling started with
the man from the East and not from the Westerner. Usually a culture that
prides itself in having dignity and decorum had turned this person into a
severely agitated and ready to wage mortal combat individual. In
retracing the series of events I realized that simple gestures, piecing looks
and condescending name calling contributed to the heightened state. I
also surmised that some in most harbored bigotry, manifested by the names that
were used, created the persistence and undercurrent that was displayed.
As things got more and more tense, and I was losing valuable sleep, my
restraint could no longer be contained. Little did I realize that years
of working global allowed me to take action in a very direct and effective
fashion. Instinct pointed me in the direction of the right person,
utilizing the right approach and cultural form to diffuse the situation and
return things to a less heated stated. I half expected that the opposite
would occur but it didn’t, both returned to the seats and no further measures
were required.
Business is allot like this
incident. We seek something, we wander into unchartered waters only to realize
that we are out of our element. Fearing a loss of dignity we revert to
primal actions, with origins going back into our culture. Without
intercession catastrophe will take place. No one wins and everyone
loses. Companies whether buying services or delivering them need to spend
time understanding, discussing and consuming each other’s culture. This
is not simply limited to social norms and behaviors but also the varying ways
that business is conducted in other parts of the world. As I pointed out
at the East Africa Contact Center Conference in Nairobi, “One would never
venture into the bush without a guide, why do we do this when it comes to our
business enterprises?”. Education and gaining awareness should be
mandatory and as the stakes for success increase the use of various guides is
invaluable.
What could have turned out to
be a very ugly and possibly publicized international incident resulted in a
return to normalcy. I managed to even get rewarded to a little extra
travel comfort by the flight attendants. Even thought the outcome was less
than what everyone might have wished or expected, tranquility prevailed and we
reached our destination on time, without added turmoil and I even managed to
get a bit of much needed rest.
Feel free to contribute your
thoughts or send an email to me at jdurant@Int-IOM.org
