For this mistake Monday we present a whole list of gaffes, more precisely, Fortune magazine’s annual list of the 101 dumbest business mistakes of the year. If there’s any doubt that business these days means international business, take a look at how many of those gaffes are related to international business or trade.
So check it out and enjoy.

A number of years ago, I managed a project for a company based in the Detroit Metro Area. (That is the only clue you need to know what industry I work in.) On one trip, I was joined by a colleague from Germany. I picked him up from the airport and we drove to his hotel in Troy. The hotel I was staying in had been booked up, and we were glad that he was able to book a room in a hotel just down the street.
When we got to the hotel and he went to check in, the hotel …read more

Here, another Mistake Monday from our own Jean Mercedes.
I’m on a business trip to London, asking people on the street for directions. First I ask the guy selling newspapers. “Excuse me, sir (Brits are always polite, so I try to be also), where is Hudson street?” The reply: ” ‘udson street? Down der, turn right…” A few minutes later, I am still lost in central London, so I ask the next person I see – a business man in a suit. Trying to fit in and speak the local dialect, I ask for directions to ‘udson street.
The reply “Hhhhudson …read more

Studies indicate that 60% of communication is nonverbal. To put it another way, body language communicates more (and often subconsciously) than our words. Unfortunately, we often forget that very little body language is universal.
The following gaffe is a classic body language disconnect: A manager from the US is visiting the offshore development team in Bulgaria. During a review of the specification, the manager asks one of the highly skilled developers if the requirements are clear. The Bulgarian answers “yes” while shaking his head. The manager repeats the explanation of the requirement and asks “do you understand?”. Once again, the …read more

So, in a fit of inspiration (or lack thereof), this Mistake Monday was going to be one of the oldest and most well-known in the world – the tale of the Chevy Nova. Problem is, it’s probably not true.
As the story goes, the management of General Motors made the fateful decision to introduce one of its most popular models, the Chevy Nova, to the Mexican market. This they did, but unfortunately they failed to realize that Nova in Spanish is the same as “no va,” or it doesn’t go. Mexican consumers quickly decided that a car with such an unfortunate …read more

In a previous post, I wrote about how I like to take small gifts, especially chocolate, to my hosts when I go on long-distance trips. Everybody likes chocolate, right?
A few years ago, I was on business in Malaysia. Before I went, I read up a little on the country. I learned that the country has a mixed race population and is mostly Islamic. I think to myself, “no alcohol, just to be safe” and proceed to buy some nice big bars of chocolate to take with me.
To say the least, I was stunned when, after I had handed out the …read more

It’s another Monday, and another in our series of amusing gaffes in international business. This one is from a friend with the very Hungarian last name of Olah, who is trying to check into a hotel in Buenos Aires.
I went to the front desk and they asked (in English) for the name the reservation was in and I replied ‘Olah’ (my last name). to which they replied ‘Yes, hello…what is the name of the reservation?’  I again said ‘Olah’ and again got the same response. It was at that point I realized that they thought I was …read more

Of course, one of the interesting things about doing business abroad is the opportunity to discover different cultures, and try new things. That’s all well and good, but that also means making mistakes. On random Mondays we’ll run some of the more amusing anecdotes we receive about doing business in a foreign culture, so we’re calling it Mistake Monday.
We’ll start right here in the USA, because for many of our readers (and at least one of the authors of this blog), that is overseas!
A British lawyer came and worked for my old lawfirm and utilized my secretary while I …read more