Chapter 45

How to Do Business With Americans: A Guide for Non-Americans

I’ve been in this country since I emigrated from England in 1962 and I’m still learning about Americans. So, this chapter is a work in progress. I’m going to give you some observations about Americans and the way they do business. This is for non-Americans. If you’re an American you might want to skip this chapter because you won’t agree with everything I say and I don’t want to upset you. On the other hand, you might take the enlightened viewpoint that in order to understand other cultures, you must first understand your own.

Americans Are Very Succinct

This is the first thing that I had to learn when I came to this country. Americans can say in a few words what other nationals, particularly the English, take all day to say. An Englishman might walk out of his front door in the morning and say, “What a wonderful day! I feel positively overwhelmed by the beauty of the morning!” An American would say, “Great day!” and it means exactly the same thing.

I noticed this in the press briefings during the Gulf War. The British information officer would announce to the press, “I’m very pleased to report that we are on our battle plan and if I may be so bold, slightly ahead of plan. Furthermore I don’t hesitate to say I believe we will stay ahead of plan.” The American information officer would get up and with a sly grin on his face say, “We’re kicking butt!” It means exactly the same thing! You as a non-American might see this succinctness as being very blunt, but Americans don’t mean any offense by it.

Americans Answer Questions with One Word

When an American asks you how you like your hotel, they don’t want to know your reaction to your hotel. They just want reassurance that you’re content. You can answer their inquiry with one word, and the word is “Great!” The same goes for any other question that starts with “How did you like …” or “How was the …” or “Did you like …”

Are you ready to practice? Here we go:

Question: “How did you like America?”

Answer: “Great!”

Question: “How do you like Americans?

Answer: “Great!”

Question: “How are you enjoying your stay?”

Answer: “Great!”

Question: “What do you think of the American habit of answering every question with one word?”

Answer: “Great!”

Americans are Very Patriotic

There is only one way to answer a question such as “How do you like America?” That is with an enthusiastic outpouring of support. “What a great country,” you should say, “I just love it here.” Americans do not want to hear that you were stuck in unbelievable traffic on the way from the airport. Or that you’re shocked by the violent level of crime.

Your opinions about Americans working too hard or being too materialistic are much better left unpacked in your luggage at your hotel. It’s not that Americans are unrealistic about the problems. It’s just that they are very paternalistic about their country. Think of America as their child, and a favorite one at that. You wouldn’t dream of criticizing your friend’s child, would you?

I’m a member of the Traveler’s Century Club in Los Angeles. To qualify for membership you must have traveled to more than 100 different countries. When people hear I’ve traveled so much they often ask me, “If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?” I would never answer that question with a direct response. I would precede my answer with a compliment to America by saying, “If I couldn’t live in the United States, I would live on the north shore of Lake Leman in Vevey or Montreux, in the French speaking part of Switzerland.”

You may hear Americans criticize their country and sometimes very vocally. That’s an American prerogative. Free speech and the right of assembly are guaranteed in writing by the constitution. Don’t take that criticism to mean that the complainer wants to change the way of government.

You may be amazed at the way presidents and members of Congress are quickly criticized for what may appear to you to be minor indiscretions. It is not so much puritanical outrage, although it’s true that Americans are much narrower minded in this regard. British actress Emma Thompson, who portrayed a thinly disguised Hillary Clinton in the movie Primary Colors, was asked for her opinion on accusations that President Clinton had had sex with an intern. “I don’t quite understand it,” she said with exaggerated naiveté, “I could understand what the fuss was about if there was a horse involved or something like that.” Realize that American outrage over government scandals is vented with full confidence that the government will not fall over exposing salacious behavior.

The American Class System

One of the things that I first loved about America when I came here was the lack of a class system. My father drove a taxicab in London, and would be forever branded as working class. That would severely limit my ability to advance myself in society. (Things have improved in England since I left and hopefully not because I left. More of that when I teach you how to negotiate with the English in Chapter 47.) America has little of this nonsense.

You may run into some “old money” people who inherited great wealth and have little concept of what it’s like to work to advance themselves, but they are rare. Most Americans are where they are because they put forth the effort.

My friend Michael Crowe, is also an immigrant from England. (I’m from the south of England. He’s from somewhere north of there. Sheffield, Nottingham, or Northampton, I can never remember which.) He told me, ‘The difference between England and America is simple. In England, if a worker is digging a ditch and looks up to see a Rolls Royce pass by, he thinks, ‘I wonder who he’s stealing from?’ “In America the ditch digger looks up and thinks, ‘One day I’m going to have one of those Rolls Royces.’”

In your country, the profile of wealth is probably a pyramid shape. The base of the pyramid is the poor people. Above that you have a smaller middle class and the apex of the pyramid is the minority of rich people. The profile of wealth in America is more like a kite. A few very poor people, rising to a large middle and upper middle class tapering off to a few very rich people. If you’re here for business almost all of your contact will be with the middle and upper middle class.

Because of the lack of a class system in America, titles are important. Titles indicate rank and how well we’re doing. Titles also indicate earnings in America, which is not so in other countries, where a general manager might supervise many others managers who earn more than he does. Titles are an important bargaining issue in employment negotiations. Many top people in organization have quit because they weren’t given the title they felt they deserved.

A strange thing happened here in 1984. Disney Corporation was in trouble and they wanted to bring in new management. They hired Frank Wells, who in former years had been chairman of Paramount Pictures, to be chairman at Disney. Wells wanted to hire Michael Eisner away from Paramount Pictures, where he was the president. The problem was that Michael Eisner saw moving from being president at Paramount to being president at Disney as a lateral move.

So, Frank Wells took a very enlightened approach, and a very unusual one for an American. He said to Michael Eisner, “Okay you be chairman and I’ll be president. I don’t mind reporting to you.” They worked brilliantly together and turned the Disney company from failure to monstrous success. But that was a remarkable thing for Frank Wells to do. Titles are very important to Americans. It’s our attempt at a class system. So, class in America, if you can call it that, is based strictly on money. If you are financially successful, you will be admired and your family background or the school that you attended will not impress anyone. In fact, Americans love to brag about their humble beginnings. Why else would I tell you that my father drove a taxicab?

Religion in America

I found it very hard to believe that America is one of the most religious countries in the world. Perhaps because the constitution guarantees the separation of church and state, you just don’t hear much about it. Perhaps it’s because there are so many different religions. Perhaps because the most religious states are the rural ones that few newcomers visit. The truth is that Americans are very devout churchgoers. Fifty-three percent go to church regularly and 80 percent of those who don’t will tell you that they pray regularly. Ninety percent of people polled say that they believe in God. Compare that to England where only 15 percent of the people attend church.

This is important to you if you’re to do business in America. Although the subject of religion will hardly ever come up in business, you are probably dealing with an American who feels strongly about his or her faith in God. Be careful you do not offend, particularly in the Bible belt states that sweep down through the center of America from Iowa to Texas and east to South Carolina, which is probably the most religious state of them all. Movie actor Charlton Heston filmed a commercial for Budweiser beer, and had to cancel a planned speech when he was no longer welcome in South Carolina.

Ram Dass is a new-age (metaphysical) religious leader and a very entertaining speaker. He tells a story about being invited to speak in Denver. The Baptist church was sponsoring his lecture and at the last minute, the church elders got cold feet. Their concern was, would this man be saying anything that might go against their religion? He assured the church elders that he would not. “Will there be any praying?” they asked. “Not really,” he told them. “At one point we may all hold hands and push a wish for world peace out into the universe.” “We wish you wouldn’t do that,” they told him.

The Frontier Mentality

Understand how close every American is to being an immigrant, and it will go a long way to helping you understand Americans. A remarkably high percentage of Americans are actually immigrants. It’s over 20 percent in California, the most diverse state. Nationwide, it is almost 10 percent. I don’t mean immigrants from another state. I mean that they weren’t born in the United States. Most Americans’ parents or grandparents immigrated to this country.

It makes Americans value their freedom above all things. Americans hate being told what to do, particularly by their government. That attitude leads to several hard-to-understand facets of American life. It leads to a remarkable lack of city planning. Most Europeans, for example, are happy to comply with the design standards of their village, so that the entire community has a conforming look. Not Americans, because it would take away a freedom from government control that they cherish. Let me give you another example.

One of the most controversial issues in America is the right to bear arms. You’ll see bumper stickers that say, “When guns are banned, only criminals will have them.” Nobody wants to stop people from hunting, but many people question why citizens need the right to own automatic weapons whose sole purpose is to kill people. That will be hard for you to understand too, until you understand how strongly Americans feel the need to be free of government control.

Time is Money to an American

Americans tell a joke about the attorney who died and went to heaven. (That’s not the punch line!) St. Peter, who in Christian mythology is the person who admits people to heaven, said to him, “Boy, are we thrilled to have you here. We’ve never had a 125-year-old attorney before.”

The attorney protested, “I’m not 125. I’m 39.”

St. Peter said, “There must be some confusion—according to the hours that you’ve billed …”

The joke is funny to Americans because it references the high pressure world in which business executives live. Time is a commodity to Americans. We talk about saving it, investing it, and spending it. As a non-American, you’ll find the pace of business life here startling. A deal can be a good deal but it’s an even better deal if the person who put it together can brag about how quickly he put it together. Michael Eisner, the chairman at Disney Corporation, ran into the president of Capital Cities, the parent of ABC television at a conference in Sun Valley, Idaho. He broached the idea of Disney buying Capital Cities. In less than two months, he had purchased the company for $20 billion dollars. The speed of that deal would give him bragging rights at any country club in the land. When an American appears to be rushing you into a deal, he is not trying to trick you. He is just doing things his way.

You will find life in America to be very high-pressure. There is a great sense of urgency, to seize an opportunity and make the most of it while you can. Some of this comes from Americans being so young. We are a very young society. Part of it comes from the strong sense of individualism. Katherine Hepburn said, “As one goes through life, one learns that if you don’t paddle your own canoe, you don’t move.”

Another part of it comes from the American experience. We have never lived through a war. We have never had our very existence challenged. That’s the kind of life experience that makes people reevaluate their priorities and determine that there may be more important things in life than making money. So to a German, it may make perfect sense to spend three weeks at a spa to rejuvenate their mind and body. To an American, a trip to the spa is more likely to mean a massage between business meetings.

Interesting Statistics About America

Size: Third, way behind Russia and just behind Canada.

Population: Third, way behind China and India, much higher than Russia.

Life Expectancy: Seventh, but only 4.4 years behind number-one Japan.

Gross Production: First by far, over double that of China or Japan. Annual personal income is around $24,000 per person. The median family income is about $36,000 per year. It’s a very mobile society. The average American moves 11 times in his or her lifetime.

The Opinionated American

A line in a Paul McCartney song talked about there being too many people reaching for a piece of cake. I think of that line whenever I hear of a new protest group that has sprung up. There are too many people in America trying to push their point of view on others. There is not a cause, however obscure, that has not organized into a protest group. You will find Americans are frank, outspoken, and opinionated. Don’t take this personally. An American businessman may say to you, “That’s hogwash, Hans, and you know it!” Don’t take this as a personal attack. It’s just that Americans are used to being very open and direct in their communications.

The Friendly American

Americans are eager to have you like them and share their admiration for what they and their country have accomplished. There is a superficial level of friendliness that confuses Non-Americans. Part of this comes from the mobility of the society. Very few Americans stay put for long. It’s unusual to meet someone who was born in the same state as the one in which they now reside. It’s hard to build long-term friendships. Don’t be confused by Americans who appear to suddenly have become your bosom buddy. When I first moved to America I found that people whom I had met only superficially at a party or picnic would say to me, “We’ll have to have you over to the house.” Or “Let’s get together soon.” I thought this meant that I should pull out my appointment calendar and set a date. It doesn’t mean that at all.

Business Cards

Every American businessperson carries a business card, and business card exchanges are common upon first meeting somebody. In your culture, it may be considered polite to carefully study and admire the card. You don’t have to do that here. It’s okay to stick it in your pocket with just a cursory glance.

Tipping in America

Load up with one-dollar bills because it’s going to cost you a bundle in America. Plan to add 15 percent to restaurant bills, bar bills, and taxi fares. Skycaps who check your bags at airports and bellhops who carry your bags to your room expect $1 per bag. Hotel doormen expect a dollar when you arrive for holding the cab door open for you, and again when they call a cab for you when you leave.

Don’t be looking through your coins trying to figure out an appropriate tip. Tips fold in America, they don’t clink. Just round up to the next dollar. If you come from a country that doesn’t believe in tipping, all of this will seem outrageous to you, but it’s the way it works here. Don’t withhold or reduce tips even for bad service, particularly when you’re with businesspeople. It will just make you look cheap.

The Diverse Population of America

America is one of the most populated countries on Earth and one of the most diverse. You will certainly encounter people from all ethnic backgrounds. If you come from a homogenous country, this will confuse you. My friend Jack visited me from England and as he looked around the restaurant, he said, “I can’t believe how many Non-Americans there are in this country.” I told him, “Those are not Non-Americans, Jack. They are Americans. You’re the only non-American here.”

California, where I live, is the most diverse state. Twenty percent of California’s residents were not even born in the United States. If you live in the City of Los Angeles and are a Caucasian, you are the minority. Approximately 20 percent of the population of Los Angeles is of Asian descent, 30 percent is of Mexican descent, and 10 percent is African Americans. As newspaper columnist Calvin Trillin remarked, “I believe in open immigration. It improves the diversity of the restaurants. I’d let anybody in except the English.”

Don’t assume that you can tell a person’s status from the way he or she looks. You may have an appointment with the president of a company that does $100 million a year in sales. That president may be Asian in appearance, or black, or of Mexican descent. You just can’t tell. And you certainly can’t assume that the president will be a man.

The Self-reliant American

Individual accomplishment is glorified in America. From an early age, children are encouraged to be competitive, discover their strengths, and pursue their own dreams. To Americans accomplishment is king, even when that takes the individual away to opportunities that are far away from his or her family or community. This may seem very strange to you if you’re from Japan, where to stand out from the team seems arrogant, or from Australia where it would seem like hubris and the “tall poppy” always gets cut down.

American business executives are well-paid by world standards but that is justified by boards of directors and stockholders, because a

Single executive brought in to run a company can dramatically affect the fortunes of the company. This competitiveness extends all the way through the organization. Although in recent years companies have tried to install quality circles and team problem solving, it goes against the grain. Even down on the assembly line, workers want to out-work and out-produce their fellow employees. The country is successful in large part because America is a very competitive society.

You will encounter this competitiveness in your business dealings. Americans want to win. They do not want to compromise. They will compromise if that is in their company’s best interest, but it is not in their heart. This is epitomized in the saying of a legendary American football coach, Vince Lombardi. You may see this slogan proudly displayed on plaques on the walls of executive suites. It says, “Winning isn’t everything, but making the effort to win is.”

America is also a ruthless society. The rewards are great for the individual who succeeds, but those who fail find little support. There is no such thing as termination pay in America. An office worker who loses her job will be told at 4:30 p.m. on a Friday afternoon and is expected to be out of the building by 5. The company owes that employee nothing other than any earned vacation days that have not been taken, and that is a matter of company policy, not government fiat. The employee will have been required to pay into a state unemployment fund and will be able to appeal to the state agency for survival benefits for just 13 weeks.

A Final Word About Americans

“O beautiful for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain

For purple mountain majesties, above the fruited plain

America! America!

God shed his grace on thee, and crown thy good with brotherhood

From sea to shining sea.”

That song, “America the Beautiful,” by Katharine Lee Bates, is not the national anthem. The American national anthem is a battle hymn. Some pacifists wanted to make “America the Beautiful” the national anthem until they were told that, even for Americans, it’s just a little too narcissistic. Americans are very proud of their country. They believe fervently that it’s the best country in the world. I’ll prove it to you: They’ll tell you, “Even the people who don’t like it here won’t leave.”