Asking for help

I wrote in an earlier post about assumptions, and adjusting them for a new environment. One way to do that is to ask open-ended questions.

A good example is my check anecdote from before. As I noted, when looking to pay vendors or employees, Germans tend to think in terms of elecronic transfers. US businesspeople, on the other hand, think in terms of checks. Each is a means to an end, but the end remains the goal of paying a vendor for goods or services.

The open ended question is “how do I pay my vendors,” leading (hopefully) to a discussion of the different alternatives and agreement as to a particular way of proceeding. In my experience, in the US, that method will only rarely involve a funds transfer like those known in Germany, but either way the result should be optimized for the location in which the question was asked.

The more direct question, “How can I do a funds transfer?” could lead to a whole series of actions aimed not at the primary goal, of paying a vendor, but at a means to achieving that goal, i.e., making a funds transfer. You may well be able to make that particular means work. In many instances, however, it will simply be a very roundabout way of finding out that things are done differently in your new place of business.

I learned this the hard way – as a student arriving in Germany on an internship, I dutifully went to open a checking account. The bank personnel were confused, but eventually I got my account and ten checks. Furious, I called the bank, asking how I was going to pay my bills with only ten checks? They replied, “wire transfers.” I left Germany nine months later with nine of the ten original checks in hand. Had I asked the right questions, a lot of aggravation (and bank fees) could have been avoided.

Ultimately, when communicating your business goals to your new partners abroad, remember to think about what those goals really are, rather than how you’d likely achieve them in your home country. The results will be much better for all concerned.