But another reason for my blog absence is much more ethereal: I’ve been busy. Really busy.

Every time I call a colleague or client these days I hear the same refrain.

“I’m swamped!”

“Things have been crazy.”

“I’m up at 4am doing e-mail these days.”

Calendars lately are like moving targets. I’ll schedule lunch with a friend and one of us will have to postpone at the last minute because of other obligations. Busy.

The question is, what’s going on? Has the busyness gotten more intense or had I been living in denial of it before? I remember a time not too long ago that I could pause in the middle of the day to go bowling with a friend or sit out on my deck. Not anymore. But why?

The economic downturn in the United States in 2009 certainly played a role. Though things have improved, people are doing more with less and still feel uncertain.

I believe, however, that culture also plays a significant role. American culture has long had roots in hard work, from the Puritans to the homesteaders that headed West with covered wagons. As we become more of a global marketplace, we must follow the sun and be available to clients all over the world. Mobile devices allow us to be “connected” all the time, and we can’t go five minutes without checking them for the next task to drive us forward.

Everywhere I travel in the world this trend of 24/7 busyness seems to be spreading. While I like to be busy, lately I’ve been concerned.

Khalil Gabran wrote about that stealthy thing that “enters the house a guest, then becomes a host, then a master.”

In all of our busyness are we losing the possibility of alternatives? I remember when I went to live in Nepal for the first time in 1999. I have always been an over-achiever and unconsciously subscribed to the idea that your worth is tied to what you do. Spending two stints of six months each in Nepal gave me a different way to think. The pace of life there swayed slowly to an even rhythm. Life was hard for the Nepali people, but where I lived, much of daily existence revolved around hours of tea drinking, porch sitting, and talking to relatives.

Over time I settled into that rhythm and began to feel like a worthy human being even when I wasn’t doing anything. The day I knew I had truly accepted life in Nepal was when my host family and I drove up into the mountains to visit some relatives. We all sat outside drinking tea and chatting in Nepali. Though I was conversational, I couldn’t quite keep up with the pace and I fell into a relaxed silence, letting their voices lull me. Before I knew it I was asleep, listening to the mountain birds and chattering of my hosts. No one minded that I had drifted off, including me. It was okay to take a nap.

Being busy is a “nice problem to have” as I’ve heard many friends and colleagues say lately. It’s better than the alternative. Is that really true? Being unemployed or lazy are not the only alternatives to busy. We can choose to operate our lives at a reasonable pace. We can do things that make us happy or do nothing. We can pay attention to the way we respond to the world around us.

Life is made up of a series of moments. We don’t want to miss too many. So go ahead. Take a nap if you want. Or how about three deep breaths? “Busy” is only one way to approach business and life. Just breathe and let the possibilities open up around you.

If I were to state that culture and language IQ are important components of business today, I don’t think I’d hear too many arguments. What I’m not sure is as well known is the degree to which language and culture matter. The real story is in the details. For example, if you did a Twitter campaign for your company in three languages using Google translate, could you be sure of the accuracy of the translation? What would be the consequence if the message wasn’t 100 percent correct? When you listen to your colleague from India speaking in what you perceive as a heavy accent, are you understanding 100 percent of what they are saying? If not, what are you missing? These details matter, and most organizations do not have protocols in place to address them.

Please enjoy this short video of our ideas and solutions for an enhanced cultural and linguistic IQ.

What tools and techniques do you use to boost cultural and linguistic IQ in your organization?

A few months ago I was sitting around in my office contemplating my impending 40th birthday.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I’ve been playing guitar off and on for many years. I’d taken lessons in high school and college, and I’d been dabbling in music again recently. Out of nowhere, an idea flew into my head. What if I celebrate 40 by taking guitar lessons again, and cap it off by giving a party and performing songs in my house! I loved this idea and I let it percolate and dance around.

Two days later I was sorting through some papers in a long-neglected drawer when I stumbled upon a postcard that said “Vision Music Live – In Home Guitar Instruction.” Could this be real? I just had to call the number. A man answered the phone, my future guitar teacher Winston, and we had a long conversation about my plan. I told him I wanted to learn new tunes and play them alongside him at my party. The stage was set and I started lessons the next week.

To describe the journey to the performance would be impossible, because I do not believe I can capture that much joy in words. I had many ups and downs of anxiety, happiness, doubt, and confidence. In the end I had the time of my life performing twelve songs in front of 45 of my friends and family in my living room. Their reaction oozed love and support, and the feedback I received on the music was beyond my wildest dreams.

While summarizing the feelings about my celebration proved difficult, I want to share some of my lessons learned from this amazing experience:

• When we fear something, we must trust ourselves that when the moment comes we will rise to the occasion. I had anxiety about performing music, fearing I would bungle my guitar parts and crack my voice. But when the moment came to step out on our makeshift stage, I opened my heart and got into the “performance zone,” a place where I could share my joy. I played my parts well, but most of all I had fun.
• Sometimes we have to keep working at something, believing that it will get better even when it seems like it never will. During my four months of guitar lessons, I would often come upon a difficult section of a song that I played over and over without improvement. While frustrating at first, I learned the patience to just keep practicing and await the time when the piece would click. It always did eventually, but it was never easy when I was going through it.
• Collaboration brings confidence. While I enjoyed practicing guitar and singing on my own, my happiness and self-confidence soared when my fellow musicians joined me for sessions. I’ll never forget singing with my wonderful backup vocalist, Jill, or hearing the beauty of violinist Erik enriching our songs. Playing with them boosted my skills and my enjoyment a hundred-fold.
• Don’t aim for perfection, aim for giving. I am a card carrying perfectionist, which serves me well as a business owner. When playing music, however, the goal changes. When it came time to perform my songs, I found that I just wanted to connect with my audience, to be myself, and to show my humanity. Perfection was not required.
• Do your best not to underestimate your skills and strengths. Throughout my practice sessions I became discouraged at times. My guitar teacher, however, never seemed concerned. He believed in me completely, and told me that I had more talent and dedication than I realized. After my show, I was showered with positive feedback about my singing, my fingerpicking skills, my musical ear, and my ability to juggle multiple responsibilities on stage. I had no idea about any of that. Not a clue. Now it will be up to me to internalize that confidence and appreciate myself more.
• Great reward comes from using joy, connection, and giving of yourself to bring out the best in others. By sharing something that inspires you, you may inspire countless others in ways you can’t imagine.
• Inspiration breeds new horizons on familiar territory. Through this birthday journey I discovered a strong connection between being a public speaker and performing music. My father always said I was a natural “ham” and as a speaker I perform all the time. Somehow I assumed that would not translate to music. I was wrong. Stretch your skills and let new doors open before you.
• When you struggle with something, isolate the difficulty. That was my guitar teacher’s motto. When I stumbled over a section of a song, he would ask me to take tiny pieces of that section and repeat them close to 50 times. It worked. If you look at the whole song as a problem it seems overwhelming. One small step at a time, however, brings success.
• Compassion is a critical component of any risk. I’ll admit that performing a house concert was not the easiest thing I’ve ever done. I worked hard and risked making a total fool of myself. The cure for those fears was compassion, gentleness with self wherever possible. When we are compassionate to ourselves we have a much easier time apply that compassion to others.

All in all my 40th birthday was one of the best days of my life. I feel that a whole new world, the world of music, has opened up to me. I cannot wait to play guitar with others again and feel that sense of everything coming together.

There’s no need to wait for a special occasion to grab joy and drink it up. Rock on, readers!

As I mentioned in my last post, I’m going to be micro-blogging about meaningful tools that help connect us with our global environment. Today, I have made what I can only describe as an amazing discovery! One of the main complaints I hear from my clients on global teams is how difficult it can be to pronounce everyone’s name. This is no small worry; people’s names represent a part of their identity. To say a name incorrectly, especially over and over again, can cause strain. As much of my work revolves around India, I see Westerners struggling with embarrassment over mispronouncing their customers’ or employees’ Indian names.

Those days are over if you use this free tool. It’s called Audioname and it’s so simple to use, yet highly effective. Go to www.audioname.com. You can record your name into your computer (or call a toll free number to record it). Then you have the option to add it to your e-mail signature, social media, or your website. And it’s all free! When I think of the stress this can save worldwide team members I am hardly able to contain myself. Click on the play button below to listen to my name, and then give it a try for yourself. Post your Audio Name link here so I can hear your name. Until next time, enjoy!

Greetings, readers! Happy New Year! I hope your 2012 is off to a rousing start. While at an event on trends in China last month, I learned about the term “microblogging.” Twitter, for example, is considered a microblogging site where people can post status updates in 140 characters or less. Here at Highroad we have dubbed 2012 the Year of Connection and Growth. Through our upcoming e-book, webinars, and other forums, we want to authentically reach more people around the world. So in addition to our usual essay-type blog entries, we will now post more frequent microblogs on issues of depth and substance. This week we want to share some world music.

In about three weeks I am turning 40. To celebrate, I am putting on a house concert for my family and close friends. I will play guitar alongside a couple of guest musicians. In the past I’ve played music as a hobby, but since starting Highroad Global Services I haven’t picked up the guitar much. My job is so fulfilling I thought perhaps I didn’t need to. However, I cannot express the joy that music has brought to my life since I’ve reintroduced it. I can see why music crosses cultures so well, becoming a sort of universal language. The music and its meanings vary greatly around the world, but the feeling generated from it has great power to bond us together in a sort of rhythm.

I discovered this website recently: www.playingforchange.com. Their tagline is “Connecting the world through music.” How appropriate! Please enjoy this stunning video of over 75 musicians across the country of Colombia. I wish you all the best for 2012.

How do you sum up a year? I think about all that has happened here on the Highroad, and yet…

How do you appreciate the millions of little moments that made up our 2011? I think I’ll take the Zen approach and keep it undemanding.

Life on the Highroad this year has given me so many opportunities to learn, sometimes discovering that the solutions to our challenges across cultures are deceptively simple.

Here are 4 discoveries I have made this year that I would like to share:

1. Many of our difficulties, misconceptions, and stresses across cultures could be set right simply by asking questions and listening for the answers. This may not sound profound but it’s true. When I went to Germany this year I discovered that some of the German team members had been working in a virtual environment with Americans for years, yet stereotypes and inaccuracies about the culture abounded. While I was visiting they asked me questions and I answered, clearing up some of the misconceptions in five minutes. I did the same, and by the end of our time together we had created a true sense of team spirit. Ask questions. Don’t be too afraid to offend people. If you ask in the spirit of curiosity and authenticity offense will be minimal, but the reward will be great.
2. Most cross-cultural workplace difficulties and mishaps happen not because of cultural differences alone, but because of the misalignment of expectations. For example, in the U.S. if a problem comes up on a project, the team in charge typically informs the customer or stakeholder right away upon discovery of the issue. Then they proceed to work on a solution. In the IT environment in urban India, the more common response is to do everything in your power to resolve the problem first, then inform the customer or stakeholder. Neither of these approaches is inherently better or worse than the other, but imagine putting them together without knowing the difference. The solution? Have “alignment discussions” where you strategize the possible gaps and how you will handle them. Set norms and agreements around mission critical issues. (For more detail, read this study: http://www.vantagepartners.com/uploadedFiles/Offshoring_Study.pdf)
3. Global leaders can navigate the balance between cultural adaptation and authority by looking within. Leaders of global teams constantly face the challenge of how much to adapt and flex to the different cultures on their team. On the one hand they must take different communication styles, preferences, and work customs into account to create an inclusive environment. After all, inclusion creates value for the organization. On the other hand the leader must know when to enforce a decision, especially one involving safety or quality. This balance or integration can give headaches and I’m not sure you ever “resolve” it. Instead you can first look within and define yourself as a leader. What do you stand for? What are your values? How is your culture influencing you? What is your personal mission? Once that core is defined and strong, you can stretch that envelope to include other cultural styles and ways of doing business. You can be an explorer, captaining a ship and open to possibility, yet firmly knowing when you would leave the treasure behind and protect your crew.
4. Try exploring your universe outside of work, no matter how much you love what you do. This was a big one for me. Highroad is not only a company or a job to me, it is my passion. For the last eight years it has captivated me and still does. I wake up excited to come to work. This year, however, I decided that I could serve my clients best if I explored more facets of myself, learning to be more authentic and creative. I have played guitar for many years off and on, but this past October I took up lessons again and am preparing to put on a performance in my home next year. I cannot express what this has done for my soul and my work. I am having the time of my life playing music; the word “playing” is surely appropriate here. Dust off your hobbies and interests. Take one small step to rediscover them again. Let your mind expand through using its different pieces and parts. Your work will benefit, but it’s okay if it doesn’t!

Recommended End of Year Activity:

At Highroad several colleagues and I do this every year, and then get together to share the results.

1. Make a list of all of your accomplishments for 2011. Don’t leave out anything. These can be work-related or personal. They can be tangible or intangible. There are no rules.
2. Get together with friends and colleagues and take turns reading your lists.
3. On a separate sheet of paper or document online, set your intentions for 2012. Intentions differ from goals; they focus on the things you intend to bring about. For example, “I will work out of the country at least twice” or “I will take one day off per month for family time.”
4. Hang the intentions in a visible place and look at them often. Small efforts and attention will help them materialize.

Thank You

Last but never least we want to thank everyone who has contributed to Highroad’s growth and success this year. We value our clients, vendors, blog readers, and colleagues more than words can say. We look forward to our partnership in 2012. Have a restful holiday season, a happy New Year, and an authentic life!

Sincerely,

Vicki Hudson and the Highroad Team

Earlier this week I attended an excellent briefing on China organized by the China Research Center (www.chinacenter.net) and the Georgia China Alliance (www.georgiachina.com). I went to the event with enthusiasm, because I am always seeking information directly from country nationals or people intimately connected with an area.

As I’ve said in previous blogs, I wonder how much of the world could be set right if we just talked to people, asked questions and listened.

Here are the critical points I took away from the briefing:

China’s Political Society

Dr. Yawei Liu, director of the Carter Center’s China program, painted a dark but insightful picture of China’s current state. He said that while China has a lot of money, military might, and economic power, the country lacks three things that need to be addressed. From Dr. Liu’s perspective…

1. China has no friends: You need allies in this world but China is being challenged even in places where they have significant investments like parts of Africa and Burma.
2. China has no civil society: Top leadership in China views civil involvement with fear and mistrust, which often translates to the citizenry. Many wealthy people are leaving the country, and no consensus exists on what China should be, or how to sustain its growth.
3. China has no political certainty: No one can be sure what will happen even one year from now. No unifying ideology exists to guide the country into the future.

Although Dr. Liu’s picture cast a shadow over China’s situation, he pointed out that open political rivalry at the top levels has triggered a debate on what model works best for China, the current system or a more open one. That debate in itself is positive.

China’s Education System

The next speaker was Dr. Mark Becker, President of Georgia State University. He focused on education in China, which operates on what he called a “Soviet model.”

Dr. Becker described great changes taking place in the Chinese education system, including universities that have everything U.S. schools have, all the technology and modern equipment. The challenge in China has been around how to innovate with those tools, how to exercise creativity and excel in design.

One explanation for this apparent lack comes down to language. The Chinese language is based on roughly 13, 000 characters, so school children must spend a great deal of time in early education just learning those. They don’t have time for creative activities.

One trend happening today shows wealthy families building universities that emphasize innovation and design. English proficiency among students is increasing rapidly as well. We should be paying attention to China’s youth for a glimpse into how they might shift the tides of business.

China’s Social Media

Dr. Hongmei Li then spoke about internet trends and social media in China. The country has over 500 million Internet users and the divide between urban and rural usage is shrinking. 300 million Chinese participate in micro-blogging (like traditional blogging only focused on small elements of content, short sentences, or individual images). In 2010 that number was only 60 million.

Many white-collar workers see social media as the way to promote civil society, but a lot of money is spent on Internet police. Heavy censorship still exists. The government has a wish that the Internet would be used more as developmental business tool, helping Chinese to develop their management skills and creativity. But the power of the Web has not been totally contained in China. Do an Internet search on Chinese artist Ai Wei Wei for a strong example.

What is next for China?

Global Atlanta reporter Trevor Williams told relevant stories about China’s inequities, stating that the government will need to address them if the country wants to remain a powerful player on the world stage. Much of China’s wealth is still concentrated in the eastern coastal areas, and President Hu Jintao must find a way to deal with one billion people, many of whom are very poor and getting a louder voice.

If you live in Georgia, I highly recommend attending the events hosted by the Georgia China Alliance, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting business exchanges between China and the State of Georgia.

Opportunities in China are boundless, but only if we pay attention to the realities.

Last night I attended the third annual AmCham (American Chamber of Commerce) Business Day, hosted by AmCham Germany and Bridgehouse Law. This event opened my eyes and confirmed a motto I’ve been a lot lately: How much of the world could be set right just by talking to people. I’d like to continue on this theme and explore how we can collaborate more effectively on a global scale to solve the economic crisis.

The AmCham event, which took place at Emory Goizueta Business School, consisted of a panel of distinguished speakers (click here for the speaker list http://www.bridgehouselaw.de/en/aktuell.html#1). The moderator, journalist Katja Ridderbusch, posed questions about  the state of the “transatlantic relationship,” with a focus on Germany and the United States. Needless to say, much of the discussion centered around the Euro crisis; after all, what could affect our relationship more?

The speakers and moderator lent so much depth and substance to the subject of the debt crisis; I only wish I had a recording to share with you. Here are some of the lessons learned that I took away:

• Historically, Europe and the United States have been at a low ebb before; Germany is economically robust now, but even ten short years ago they were called “the sick man of Europe”. The U.S. had has its share of the same. We can come out of this crisis, but only if we work together and eliminate finger-pointing.
• Germany and the United States are tied together through strong bonds. In the U.S., German companies directly employ one million Americans; millions more are employed indirectly. Germany is the largest investment of American capital outside the U.S. We only stand to gain by strengthening ties.
• Although the Euro created a common currency, what we are seeing now are divergent fiscal behaviors among the different countries. Neither Europe nor the U.S. can afford another twenty years of living beyond our means. The individual also has the chance to make an impact by eliminating debt and practicing fiscal restraint. We should model what we want to see our governments do.
• Germany and the U.S. dealt with the economic downturn in different ways which point to their cultural roots. In Germany, rather than downsize the workforce, the government implemented reduced hours and other trimming measures. This kept people working, which proved important. Studies show that the longer you are unemployed the less likely you are to get a job.
• All of the speakers highlighted the friendship between the United States and Germany. Hopelessness can contribute to the economic spiral, but this can be countered by collaboration. As Peter Fischer, Minister of the Economic Department of the Germany Embassy stated, Germans and Americans share the values of “liberty, pluralism, tolerance, and democracy.” Those seem like powerful tools against hopelessness, but only if we seek to understand rather than compare cultures.

Last but not least I offer my own interpretation. I wish both Europe and the United States a speedy recovery, but I hope we do not miss the opportunity that lies in this bad situation. We are “in the same boat” now. From that common boat, let us generate empathy for each other and put our fingers down. Let us seek greater cross-cultural awareness and skills so that Europe and the U.S. may leverage their collective resilience and capacity for imaginative solutions. After all, look how far we have come since 1945. Forgive my American optimism here, but if we can make it through that, we can make it through anything. I return to my theme — How much of the world could be set right just by talking to people. Now, I rarely assign homework in my blog, but this is an exception.

Your Assignment: I invite you to write to a colleague, client, or friend in Europe and ask their opinion about the Euro crisis. Let’s start the dialogue. And let’s listen well.

Here is the discovery I made while riding the German trains, staying with a family, building teams, and seeing friends: How much of the world could be set right just by talking to people.

Yep, that’s it. Wait, don’t close your browser yet. Allow me to explain.

As my company Highroad Global Services grows and expands, the world expands and shrinks alongside it. My team and I are constantly challenged by the increasing complexity of global teams, virtual communication, and integrated world economies.

If we didn’t have evidence to the contrary, we might start to assume that with all of this globalization we don’t have to worry about dated problems like stereotyping.

Let me tell you, everywhere I have worked in the world I have found misperceptions about different cultures to be alive and well, even in multinational companies where cross-pollination of nationalities is common. (See this blog’s previous post for more on perception).

You might say though, that stereotypes are not only still with us, they have become more dangerous. Why? Because we are more dependent on each other now in our teams and in our ability to solve the world’s crises.

So back to my discovery. How much of the world could be set right just by talking to people.

This is easy to imagine but it takes willingness and risk to execute.

My week in Germany provided many opportunities for dialogue, but only because I was willing to be uncomfortable sometimes. Here was my journey in a nut shell, and the lessons learned.

• Get an Expat Perspective: In Frankfurt I visited an old friend, an American expat living in Germany. As we strolled the streets of the city past an Appelwein cart, Goethe’s house, fountains, stained glass, street musicians, and churches, I asked questions. What did she miss about the U.S.? What did she not miss? What was it like to raise a child in Germany? She described the flexibility of the work environment and being off for one year with her child. She came back to her job which the company kept for her by law. This is called “Parents Time.” People get temporarily replaced while they are away on maternity leave. I was fascinated by her adjustment to her new home.

• Talk on the Train: I took about eight trains in one week in Germany which provided ample opportunity for learning. I met a couple going from Stuttgart to Aulendorf in the south of Germany. They both university professors and spoke fluent English. I asked them about their home town, and the biking trip they were about to take. Stereotypes about Americans in Germany are not uncommon (and vice versa, of course), and this simple dialogue could have helped to assuage them with little effort.

• Stay with a Family: There is nothing more exciting, life-changing, awkward, and wonderful than staying with a family overseas. I was invited by a former client of mine to stay in his family’s home in a rural village with his wife and four children. I learned more about Germany in those four days than in all my previous years there. We discussed how much private and work life are separated in Germany, what terms were offensive in the U.S. which were innocent in Germany, how the people in the village often had visible struggles but refused to talk about them, how women are treated in the workplace, and so much more. I visited my client’s daughter at school and we talked about stereotypes between our two countries. We each asked questions and were willing to hear the answers without defense.

• Build a Team: My final piece of the journey was a teambuilding event for a client near Koblenz. I gave a short presentation, then the team split into groups of eight or nine for geo-caching, a kind of scavenger hunt with a GPS. I was the only American on my team, but my colleagues spoke English and I understood enough German that we communicated well. We spent the whole day on the scavenger hunt, learning to work as a team, laughing a lot (the stereotype about the serious, humorless German is quite humorous to me!), and once again asking questions. I found out that Americans can be perceived as superficial in Germany. Rather than get defensive, I asked questions around that and gently corrected misperceptions where needed. We openly discussed politics, family life, and the social ills of both countries. Most of all we spent time together face to face, engaged and willing to have fun.

How much of the world could be set right just by talking to people. And you don’t have to travel to do it; just look around you and you will find people who are different from you. Ask questions. Stay with a family. Visit your clients when there’s not business to be done.

Don’t be so afraid to offend people that you don’t take any chances to get to know them. Let’s have a dialogue. We can start right now.

Stay tuned for the new series of Highroad webinars “Ask A (Nationality)” where we will be interviewing people from different countries about common misperceptions and realities of their culture. Which countries would you like to see first? Post a comment here and we’ll listen.

Much of our success in managing life and global business comes down to perception. Several years ago I stayed for two weeks in a very basic monastery dorm room in Southern Thailand. One night at bedtime I climbed onto my mat and tucked in my mosquito net around me. Just as I was about to close my eyes I saw a spider on the wall – it was the size of a large man’s hand. I knew that my decision came down to perception management. I could choose to perceive the spider as a threat and run screaming from the room waking everyone else up, or I could accept its presence and just go to sleep. The spider remained the same no matter what I chose. I chose to go to bed. He never moved the whole night.

Years later perception management still fascinates me. As many of you know I help onshore/offshore teams build collaboration between India and the U.S. Not long ago Vantage Partners released a study (http://nearshoreamericas.com/outsourcing-relationships-new-study-2509/) saying that cultural differences posed the number one challenge to offshore contracts. I was not surprised, but here’s what did raise my eyebrows a bit: The challenges did not come so much from the cultural differences themselves, but in the way they were perceived by both offshore providers and their clients.

For example, customers in the U.S. overwhelmingly believe that their offshore provider tends to communicate indirectly. Providers interviewed, however, tend not to perceive those differences. After all, what is “indirectly?” For the providers in India or China, their communication approach seems natural. These perception misalignments  cause a loss in the offshore contract value, some customers reporting a loss greater than 30%. Perception then becomes reality.

I began to wonder if so much of what plagues us in global business is just a matter of aligning perceptions and expectations. This is not an easy task, and a recent business trip to Memphis, Tennessee proved that once again.

Blues music makes my heart and soul swoon, so when I found out I would be fifteen minutes from Beale St., the center of Memphis’s music scene I immediately set aside an evening for rocking out. Since I would be out late as a woman alone, I went on a couple of travel websites to make sure that the area was relatively safe. Before long, however, I was in the perception trap.

Descriptions and reviews of Beale St. ranged from “smelling like a urinal” and “filthy and not for families” to “everything I expected and more” and “music to my ears.”

I thought back to my time in Nepal where I spent a year living right under the glory of the mighty Himalayas. Many tourists that visited there described it as “dirty,” “poor,” or “fourth world.” Though living there drove me to tears from time to time, Nepal’s beauty and complex culture defied description. The streets, porches, and shops were always swept clean, and many of my colleagues had thriving businesses. Again, perception.

So I decided to go to Beale St. and I had the time of my life. I listened to live blues until midnight and let the sounds of guitars, bass, and harmonica permeate me for hours. I made sure I stayed in well-lit areas with lots of people, just as a common sense practice.

The question is, what do we do about this perception challenge? If perception misalignment is the ailment, than communication is the cure. Global teams must discuss not only processes and procedures, but how they are going to work together. They must design protocols around communication which include agreements they make as a team. They should ask the “W” questions (who, what, where, when, why) about cultural differences, project management, deadlines, and giving feedback. We can no longer afford to leave these aspects of teamwork to chance.

On an individual level we can check our perceptions consistently simply be being mindful of them on a regular basis. When they come up, we can acknowledge them as perceptions, and then ask inquiring questions: Is this true? Can I be 100% sure that it’s true? What evidence can I provide? How do I react toward my colleague when I have that perception? What options do I have for checking my perception? (These questions were adapted from Byron Katie’s The Work.)

Just remember the spider on the wall in Thailand. You may always choose how you perceive something, and how you seek to understand others’ perceptions of you.