Truth 58
Face-to-Face Paves the Communication Highway

Several years back I made a trip to Japan for a finance conference. The conference went very well. Some great ideas were exchanged, the attendees were very active and interested, and we all learned some outstanding things about each other's organizations. All in all it was a very successful conference. The most memorable part, though, was a dinner I enjoyed with a colleague.

My colleague, Ikawa, took me to an exclusive Japanese (we were in Japan, after all) restaurant high atop a Tokyo skyscraper. I vowed to Ikawa that I would eat anything he ate. He gave me an approving nod and began ordering for us. The first serving came. It was a square of tofu with a pink gelatinous glop of goo on top. I asked, "Ikawa, what is this?" He replied, "Let's see, how do you say in English… oh yes, pickled fish stomach!" Then he ate it in two bites. I looked at my dish, remembered my pledge, and ate it in one bite, fearing that if I hated the first bite I wouldn't be able to stomach (no pun intended) the second bite. It wasn't that bad, but I can't say I'd eat a whole bowl of it. The second course was a 6-inch long whole smoked fish. I asked Ikawa how to eat the fish; he picked it up whole, bit right into the middle, and left only bones behind. Yeesh. So I did the same, realizing only after I had taken a bite that the organs were still in the fish, which was now in my mouth. In addition to the meat, I got to experience all the organs. Fortunately, Ikawa didn't eat the head, because I think I would have needed to draw the line there. The rest of the dinner was all more familiar food, but we laughed a lot about my cultural indoctrination to Japanese dining for years thereafter.

Taking time to work, laugh, and socialize face-to-face with colleagues from other cultures is an outstanding means to build the relationships you need to get things done. Whether you are trying to educate, influence, or collaborate, doing so face-to-face will help you not only communicate more effectively but also build relationships with colleagues along the way. As discussed in Truth 57, strong trusting and collaborative relationships with your colleagues are essential to building an effective communications pipeline that will permit a free and easy flow of information between you.

Taking time to work, laugh, and socialize face-to-face with colleagues helps you build relationships.

Before you jump on a plane to meet with colleagues, consider doing the following:

• Piggyback on another meeting. When going to Europe and Asia, I would schedule my visits around some other event where people from that region would already be getting together. You'll be more efficient by meeting with multiple colleagues in a single location, and you'll be able to participate in a meeting already being held.
• Use the opportunity to educate and be educated. Use your visit to educate people about your respective organizations, discuss high-profile initiatives, and explore ways to better partner together. The more you can learn about each other and understand each other's organizations, the more you can better help each other work more effectively.
• Pack your time full of meetings. Sleep when you get home. Fill your time with meeting colleagues, customers, suppliers, partners, or anyone else who can potentially impact your organization. Spend plenty of time interacting and socializing, and save the head-down work for the plane ride.
• Experience their culture socially. I've found that colleagues from other cultures love to entertain you with activities native to their culture. I've built some of my best relationships while talking, laughing, and eating things I didn't recognize. Embrace their culture, be a part of it, and laugh at yourself along the way.
• Travel in moderation. I had one colleague who used to travel between Seattle and Paris at least twice a month and stay a week at a time. Travel is not only time-consuming and taxing on the body and mind; it is also expensive. Travel when you need to; stay at home when you don't.
• Keep your moral and ethical antenna up. Doing the right thing is the same in Peoria as it is in Prague. In some cultures, activities such as taking and offering bribes or turning a blind eye to cheating are tolerated behaviors. That doesn't mean, though, that you have to participate. Don't compromise your moral and ethical standards just because others around you are engaging in unscrupulous behavior. You may get some quizzical looks, but you'll go to bed at night knowing you are conducting business without compromising your standards of ethics. And your credibility with colleagues will skyrocket.

Meeting, communicating, and socializing with colleagues from another culture is a great way to build relationships and pave the way to getting your point across. When you do travel, make the most out of your visit and socialize with your hosts. Just make sure you have a good reason to travel and that the trip makes business and financial sense.