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9 Tips, Not Too Flattering, For Doing Business In U.S.

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A few weeks ago, with the help of the folks at One Hour Translation (or OHT for short), I posted some tips for conducting business abroad in a number of countries, including Argentina, Germany, China, India and Brazil.  As a follow up to that post, OHT has provided me with another list that hits closer to home: tips for conducting business within the United States.  Again, by tapping their vast network of 10,000+ human translators, but using only those who were born overseas and are employed inside the U.S., OHT has compiled a list of 9 tips and characteristics of the American business place to help companies and individuals navigate the terrain.  While they are geared towards international firms and executives looking to enter the American market, they are also quite informative and eye-opening, painting a pretty unflattering picture of the American worker and our nation's business norms.  See the nine tips below. Thoughts and comments are welcome.

  • Loyalty from American businesspeople can be very fleeting.  If a person needs something from someone else, they will be accessible and forthcoming.  When the same person no longer needs anything from their counterpart, it’s quite normal to become unresponsive to communication, a 180-degree change of behavior in just twenty-four hours.  Yet, if this person suddenly needs something again the next day, it’s not unusual for them to reach out very warmly and pretend they did not completely ignore their counterpart just the day before.
  • Most industries in the U.S. have very clear, defined rules of conduct.  It’s crucial to know how things work (even if you plan to break the rules).  For example when selling to big retail chains, buyers decide by March what will be on their shelves the following year.  If you approach them in April, you will not be considered.  In other countries, these rules are not so rigid.
  • Because the American system of business is so rigid, bending the rules and/or cutting corners are not recommended.  Also, while it is a very rigid system, it is extremely pro-business and accommodating.  Even if a law or regulation doesn’t make sense, it’s usually easier to work with these rules than try to go around them.  Most Americans don’t question the rules or authority, while it’s much more common for foreign nationals to want to work outside the system if they think they know a better way.
  • Doing business in America is easier than in other countries.  Almost any business service imaginable already exists.   It’s remarkably easy for startups to leverage this pro-business climate and appear like a mature, big business from day one.
  • American employees subscribe to a “think inside the box” mentality – to do your job and not beyond that.  This ethic has contributed greatly to the U.S.’ success.  By ensuring that each employee does what they need to do – nothing more, nothing less – if the master plan was designed well, then everything will work as planned and scale correctly.  By contrast, Europeans – especially those working for small companies – tend to work beyond what’s required, because the work needs to get done.  For many Americans, this “someone had to do it” concept is incomprehensible.
  • American ‘consumers’ more than live up to that title.  Foreign nationals doing business in the U.S. are often surprised by American consumers’ willingness to spend future income they haven’t yet earned, while saving little if nothing for the future.
  • While the power of celebrity is felt around the world, in the U.S. it has unique and direct business implications.  Companies able to score an important celebrity endorsement (e.g., appear on The Oprah Winfrey Show during its peak), could see their business change overnight.  Outside the U.S., celebrity followings are not as passionate, markets are smaller and populations don’t have as intense a ‘consumer mentality.’
  • Very often, business ventures get only one shot to succeed.  “I don’t have,” and, “We can’t do that,” are unacceptable phrases in American business.  Companies must deliver what’s been promised; if a major deadline or target is missed just once, sometimes that’s all it takes for major collaborators and partners to look elsewhere.
  • America is all about the money.  It’s not as if there are no other values, but money is the biggest value, and everything revolves around it.