'That'll Never Work Here!'

For those readers whom have been, you will understand when I say, 'India is an amazing place!'

I was fortunate to make two different trips to Chennai, Tamil Nadu, located on the Bay of Bengal in Southern India. Because both trips were productivity improvement projects with a key client, it meant becoming completely immersed in the culture.

India turned out exactly as it was described to me before arriving: 'an assault on the senses.' And while the country is really like nothing I'd ever experienced and the people are so different, they are also very much the same. But it took a couple weeks for the differences to fade away and the similarities to become clear.

Two managers whom were assigned to participate in the project, were disruptive and uninterested for the first day and half. Their feedback was consistently negative and comments like 'this will never work in our culture,' were standard.

During a meeting I called to inquire about the source of their dissatisfaction, the two managers assured me they were not unhappy, just a little unsure about the approach we were taking. We talked through their concerns and agreed to continue to work towards achieving what we had been asked to achieve by the President of the company.

The next day when I arrived at the company head quarters, I was cheerfully greeted by the same two managers. They not only made a commitment to improve their attitudes regarding the training project, they promised they would have some good news to report in the coming days. That they were in the process of implementing some of the ideas and plans we had been discussing in our sessions.

Sure enough within the same week, the two managers stayed true to their word by securing a large contract that had been stalled for the previous six months. By applying one simple idea while maintaining some 'Indian protocol,' they proved to themselves, good fundamentals can bridge continents.

If you find people on your team or within your company saying 'this will never work here,' regarding new ways of doing things, remember it's perfectly normal. Change is not easy for everyone but a little patience and some respectful dialog can make all the difference.

Have a great week,


Kevin