June 2, 2010
I remain totally convinced after all of these years that travel is not only hearty food for the soul, but a unique way to build the critical skill of adaptation. Look around at our world today. If we don’t adapt, we don’t survive or thrive. International journeys help us to expand our comfort zones and ultimately be more comfortable anywhere in the world!
Early this morning my husband and I flew from Atlanta to Brussels, Belgium and dove into the adventure of adaptation. I’m conducting a one-day training on working with India offshore teams in France and we decided to make a mini-vacation of it. When we landed in Belgium we clasped hands and said, “We’re in Europe!” Although that fact was made obvious by the wheels touching down and the announcement welcoming us to Brussels, I believe that travel is about a collection of moments, a rich feast of memories deserving of celebration. Of course this feeling of elation was soon replaced by airport confus Read more...
May 19, 2010
The economic downturn scares me, and not for the reason you might think. My company, Highroad, has weathered the storm well and we’ve continued to seek new ways of building bridges between cultures. No, the recession scares me because of the hidden costs, the ones we don’t think about until one day we wake up and discover that what we’ve lost is not just tangible – it’s a matter of soul, a pillar of an organization’s survival. Let me explain.
Earlier today I stumbled upon a quote from my favorite author, archetypal psychologist Thomas Moore.
He said, “When we tell stories of the past, do we emphasize efficiency or charm? Do we ride the Orient Express because we know it will arrive on time? Do we visit Antarctica because the accommodations are so comfortable? Ultimately, what satisfies the soul is that which is captivating, spellbinding, or full of charm.”
That statement made me freeze, forge Read more...
May 10, 2010
I remember back when I started Highroad Global Services almost seven years ago. The whole idea for the business came from a small note in a journal I made while living in Nepal. The note consisted of a brainstormed idea about how to educate others about the different cultures of the world. I came up with a model called Enrichment/Respect in which I encouraged leaders not to force respect for other cultures on their employees, but to let it happen naturally through enrichment. When you work together with people from varied backgrounds you struggle through time zones and language challenges, but you also get rewarded through interesting food, music, ceremonies, architecture, stories, and more.
You know that old saying about how we never take our own advice?
Well, that certainly applies to me, and to many of my clients. We are truly living in the information age with e-mail flooding in without cessation, Blackberries and iPhones consuming our attention, and more demands on our time since the economic downturn. I increa Read more...
April 15, 2010
Have you ever worked on a project where the person heading the initiative tells you, “This really needs to go well.” For example, imagine you are conducting a pilot training for a new high-stakes client, or giving a presentation to the CEO of your company. To add more pressure, let’s say that you are using new skills in your project, perhaps for the first time. Sweating yet? In these situations, what is the first thing people usually abandon? For those of you who guessed “their authenticity,” you’re right. In today’s post I’m going to share my own engagement with authenticity in my work, as well as some best practices for staying true to yourself and providing value to your organization.
I’ll start with a confession. One of my favorite movies is Pirates of the Caribbean. Oh, that’s not the confession in case you were wondering, but I do admit to loving this movie with a fervor – the story, the acting, and the soundtrack. I suppose it takes me bac Read more...
March 31, 2010
After a hyper-challenging journey to India a few weeks ago I arrived in Bangalore to meet up with my the staff from my counterpart, an amazing company called Athiya. As Highroad Global Services is in the business of building effective operations between the US and India, we spent years choosing an associate we could trust to serve alongside us.
In this post we would like you to meet Athiya Director of Learning and Development Chitralekha Narayan as she answers our questions! Read on to find out the most common misconceptions about each country and much more.
Vicki: Tell me a little about how Athiya got started.
Chitra: Athiya was started in 2004. It was my brainchild. For ten years before this happened, I’d been heading the Learning and Development (L&D) department of various MNCs and I found that the training companies who supported an organization’s L&D deliverables just didn’t have high enough quality. They simply didn’t understand in-depth the pain points of organizations or what a company l Read more...
March 16, 2010
As many of you read, my journey to India last week tested my patience and endurance. I have been training for a 5K run thank goodness, as I needed every bit of that strength to make it through the barrage of missed flights and taxis. At long last I arrived and as soon as I smelled the sweet scent of India all of the pain was forgotten. I had the chance to work with a global team for a large US-based consumer goods company, as well call center employees from an Indian company, and MBA students from Bangalore.
This trip has made one thing abundantly clear to me and I want to share it with you: The global workforce has undergone a significant change and most companies are not even aware of it.
As I mentioned in a previous post, the line between offshore and onshore is blurring. In the past several years, the average Fortune 500 company had a presence in India in some form. Some hired contract employees to do back office work, some had manufacturing plants there, and some sold products to Indian customers. Most Read more...
March 7, 2010
Legend tells that every true traveler must have a war story, a travel tale so horrid that fiction itself could not compare. I thought I had experienced a few of these: The Calcutta Railway story (click here to read), the time I had to sleep in a cardboard box while waiting for a train in northern Greece, the time I spent twenty days in a concrete dorm studying meditation. Sure, I had nearly run out of water on a five-day camel safari in the desert near Pakistan, but apparently those tales did not qualify for the Book of Travel Nightmares. Alas, I think this time I’ve done it.
The bad dream all started at 6:10 pm on February 27th. Air France flight 210 innocently lifted off from Atlanta, Georgia and began winging its way to Paris, France, then onto Mumbai. I watched a few movies, ate a few bad airline meals, and looked out the window at the haunting clouds hovering above the Atlantic Ocean. As the sun sta Read more...
February 24, 2010
November of last year I returned from a trip to India with my head spinning as always. I have been traveling to this country for twelve years and I never leave without having my illusions challenged. When we work abroad, no matter how experienced, we each carry our own cultural lens through which we view interactions and routines. For example, I still have difficulty crossing the road in India. Why? Partially because of my mindset. How do I know this? When my husband accompanied me for a month-long trip to South India three years ago he sailed across the busy streets without blinking.
“It’s all in your perception,” he said. “Think of the streets like a river, and you are a rock with the cars flowing around you.”
A great image, but this did not prevent me from the fear of being crushed by a rickshaw. Nonetheless I keep trying, and I keep seeking new ways of approaching the same problem. Sometimes I wait for others who are crossing the street. Sometimes I run as fast as I can to the other sid Read more...
January 26, 2010
When I went to India in November of 2009 my mission was to gather information from the counterparts of my North American clients. After all, to build bridges between two cultures you must hear both sides of the story. In today’s market, even the words “offshore” and “onshore” have become blurred. Global/virtual collaboration is the only way that companies will thrive nowadays, and many leaders I work with strive for more than just low-cost labor in offshore relationships. They strive for a truly global organization.
One of the main reasons I travel to India is to share what I have learned first hand with others. Here I would like to offer you “Five Things You Need to Know About Offshoring” in the form of commonly asked questions from clients and colleagues. If you have other questions please reply to this blog via comments, or e-mail me, and I will answ Read more...
December 28, 2009
This year, as you have likely seen in previous posts, has not been my favorite of years. We faced the death of a dear loved one and a host of other challenges causing my husband and I to wonder when we would see the proverbial sun. By the time the holidays came we were in great need of a vacation and some time to reflect on our losses and our gratitude as well.
We decided to head up to Colorado with our family for a white Christmas (and Hannukah); this proved to be one of the best decisions of 2009. From the moment we arrived my eyes were graced with storybook scenes of the Rocky Mountains, windswept evergreens, snow-capped peaks, and elk wandering through my sister-in-law’s backyard. The snow that fell created rolling waves of marshmallow creme dreaminess as everyone busied themselves cooking and wrapping gifts.
My first morning in Golden, Colorado I awoke to l Read more...
I remain totally convinced after all of these years that travel is not only hearty food for the soul, but a unique way to build the critical skill of adaptation. Look around at our world today. If we don’t adapt, we don’t survive or thrive. International journeys help us to expand our comfort zones and ultimately be more comfortable anywhere in the world!
