Culture Cheat Sheet for Growing Global and Loving Local in 10 largest markets: "In Rome Do The Romans!" Whether you fancy developed markets or BRIC – appreciating the cultural nuance is key to helping you unlock the value of your investment. And while peddling in cultural generalizations is not enough (North and Southern Italy and England and Scotland may be worlds apart) – it’s a cheat sheet after all.

1. Cultural Cheat Sheet: Grow Global. Love Local
Navigate 10 largest economies in 5 minutes
Doing business in China
Five Ways to Succeed Five Ways to Fail
Be sincere: it’s the quality most prized by the Expect quick results
Chinese
Do favours: it’s a great way to build Lose your temper or get impatient – it shows a
relationships and they will be returned lack of control
Show respect to senior people and older people Fail to keep regular contact
Spend time building the relationship Be extravagant or immodest in your dress,
behaviour or personal habits
Reciprocate: if someone asks for your help, Ignore Chinese social etiquette – especially at
help them mealtimes
Doing business in the USA
Five Ways to Succeed Five Ways to Fail
Be positive and clear about what you do and Use British understatement and sarcastic
who you are humour
Network and be visible Make un-PC comments about sex, race and
religion
Deliver on time and on budget Suggest that Americans lack a sense of humour

2. Adopt a relaxed and friendly approach Fail to advise of slippage in the project
Be supportive: modify proposals, don’t reject Slip out for a beer at lunchtime
them
Doing business in India
Five Ways to Succeed Five Ways to Fail
Spend time building the relationship Keep your human side hidden
Do things on the phone of face-to-face when Be patronizing – India ceased being a part of
you can the British Empire more than 60 years ago
Check performance and delivery – but with Show intolerance if things don’t happen exactly
courtesy the way you expect
Be more relaxed about time and schedules Show impatience if things don’t happen in your
timescale
Build a basic knowledge of India’s religions and Fail to adapt to local business customs and
dietary customs adapt them to your needs
Doing business in Japan
Five Ways to Succeed Five Ways to Fail
Spend time building a good relationship Try and stand out as an individual in a land of
consensus
Work hard and earn trust Cause a Japanese person to lose face in front of
others
Socialize – sing in a karaoke session even if Try to rush people into an agreement
you’ve got a lousy voice
Stress team achievement, not individual Ignore Japanese protocol and customs
achievement
Study Japanese business protocol – correct Talk loudly, gesticulate extravagantly
process is as important as a good result

3. Doing business in Brazil
Five Ways to Succeed Five Ways to Fail
Build the relationship Avoid mentioning Portuguese or Argentinian
superiority in any area
Dress your best – good clothes and accessories, Insist on bringing up the disparity of wealth in
clean and pressed Brazil
In all-male company, compliment the beauty of Decline social invitations
Brazilian women
Brazilians are very house proud: accept if they Be inflexible, stiff and formal
invite you for dinner or just a drink
Stay in good hotels – style matters Ask to see the favelas, Brazil’s shanty towns
where guns and drugs are frequent
Doing business in Russia
Five Ways to Succeed Five Ways to Fail
Be patient Criticize Russia
Be firm, even tough, in your negotiations – the Compromise too early in a negotiation
Russians value leadership and strength
Respect the Russian calendar: their meeting Show disunity in the team
times may not be the same as yours
Pay attention to the hierarchy: it’s important to Neglect to check what ties behind the
give due respect to the boss. prosperous front
Show personal warmth: Russians build business Use ‘hard sell’ rather than ‘academic sell’
on personal relationships tactics in negotiating

4. Doing business in the United Kingdom
Five Ways to Succeed Five Ways to Fail
Deliver on time, without drama Boast about your achievements
Arrive at meetings punctually Talk for an hour in a presentation
If you’re having difficulties, ask advice Phone people in the evening about work
immediately rather than risk missing a deadline
Check at the end of a meeting exactly what the Let a colleague down once he or she believes
Brits expect of you they can depend on you
Join them for a beer after work, or in the gym Be patronizing to women
(many Brits now avoid alcohol)
Doing business in Germany
Five Ways to Succeed Five Ways to Fail
Demonstrate efficiency and punctuality Be disorganized and ignore due process
Be straightforward and direct Promise and fail to deliver
Do what you say you will do Do things without consultation
Find out the rules and follow them Go over the heads of line managers or reports
Respect the management hierarchy Be over-familiar with colleagues

5. Doing business in France
Five Ways to Succeed Five Ways to Fail
Understand the free market v social contract Do it all in English – if you have no French,
debate in France apologize
Show appreciation of French culture Ignore the French intellectual approach
Make sure that French guests eat and drink Swear and drink too much
well
Maintain a degree of formality until you’re Dig up the old clichés about Anglo-French
invited to use first names conflict
Be logical and consistent in negotiations, and Decline lunch invitations and buy a sandwich to
when you reach a decision, stick with it eat at your desk
Doing business in Italy
Five Ways to Succeed Five Ways to Fail
Build good personal relationships and keep in Criticize or belittle Italy and its economy
contact
Show appreciation of Italy and especially of Remain solely on a business footing
your partner’s region
Remember that the top man or woman makes Decline invitations to eat or drink with your
the decisions hosts
Dress carefully and in coordinated fashion for Wear jeans and trainers to the office on a
meetings: in Italy clothes do make the man (or Friday
woman)
Name Italian products that you own of have Make jokes involving the Pope
enjoyed
Sources: Glocal Partners, adopted from The World’s Business Cultures