Herman’s blog

Opening Thoughts

When doing business internationally, the culture is strange, and in the words of Harvey Mackay, you’ve got to “swim with the sharks without being eaten alive”. There’s this story in the Bible about someone who was sent to a foreign country to do some business and did not want to because of the culture of the foreign country. His name was Jonah and the foreign country was Nineveh. Just like many of today’s businessmen, Jonah struggled with the idea of “going international”. There are three things we can learn from the story of Jonah that can really help us when doing business internationally.

1. Get rid of your prejudice and small thinking – As leaders, we need to embrace every culture and be willing to sit at the table with people that we do not like. Jonah got new perspective while in the belly of the fish.
2. Motives are key – We need to be driven by a desire to help other people rather than our own selfish motives. Jonah initially ran away from his assignment because he couldn’t see anything that he could get out of it – in other words, there was no profit for him.
3. Embrace the unknown and the unfamiliar – Many times we fear going into foreign lands because we lack the confidence of stepping out of our comfort zones. In many ways, this may sometimes be a manifestation of selfishness. Jonah was selfish in that he did not want to share the good news with another culture.  

One of the strategies that has helped me with cultural engagement has been an acronym that I developed a couple of years ago. The acronym is simple: DON’T BE A SNOB. Here is what it stands for:

Do your homework – Learn about local customs and glean from their experiences.

Observe the behavior of local people – Allow the local people to take initiative in interactions.

Never refuse anything unless – Personal sacrifice has to come in at some level.

Take an interest in the culture – Show people that you are really interested in their culture.

Be humble – Don’t be ethnocentric. All cultures are equal. None is superior.

Embrace an attitude of curiosity – Ask questions and pay careful attention to what’s going on.

Ask about cultural differences – Over coffee or a meal, ask for perceptions about differences.

Seek out positives – All countries and cultures have many positives. Concentrate on them.

Navigate situations cautiously – People value their cultural emblems. Be cognizant of that.

Observe your attitude – Don’t go in to criticize or quote ‘fix’ other cultures

Be flexible on – Keep an open mind when you visit other cultures

What is Culture?

Ferraro (2006) defines culture as “everything that people have, think and do as members of their society”. According to Ferraro then, the concept of culture has three structural components: a material component – what people have -, an ideas and beliefs component – what people think – and a behavior component – what people do.  

The Context of Environment

The comparative study of culture reveals to us that people in different cultures learn different cultural content. And that’s why it’s important to learn the cultural content of the people that you do business with. They may not share your ideas, values and behavior patterns but they are as capable in the context of their cultures as you are in the context of your culture. Understanding this not only enables us to be culturally tolerant in the conduct of international business but it also enables us to have the confidence that we can learn foreign cultures just as we learned our own culture. Successful international companies run effective training programs that empower their employees with skills for operating in foreign countries.

Cultural Universals

While global cultures differ in many ways, there are also many common problems and common features in all cultures. These are referred to as cultural universals. Understanding cultural universals is essential because it offers us a sort of middle ground that makes it easier to do business in other cultures. There are five key cultural universals. All cultures have an [EMESS] economic system, they have marriage and family systems, they have educational systems, they have social control systems and they also have supernatural belief systems. You have to consider all these systems when doing business in any culture. For instance, if you went to rural Australia where the Aborigines live, you will definitely find a production and distribution system for their economy. If you established a company in Botswana you have to consider people’s obligations to their family/kinship functions. If you had to do business with Russia, China or Cuba, you have to consider the social control systems. If you were to do business in any Islamic country you have to consider the supernatural belief systems. According to Richard Robinson, “the successful international business manager is one who sees and feels the similarity of structure of all societies”.

Ethnocentrism

One stumbling block that hinders us from being effective in international business is ethnocentrism – the tendency of people to evaluate a foreigner’s behavior by the standards of their own culture and to believe that their culture is superior to all others. A great example is from the history of my own country. When Kenya was fighting for independence, the British administrators referred to those fighting against them as terrorists while the Kenyan fighters referred to themselves as freedom fighters. Same thing in the Islamic world. While many people refer to Al Qaeda as terrorists and fanatics, I’m very sure that Al Qaeda fighters refer to themselves as crusaders or messengers of their god.

Accommodate local cultural realities

Successful Multi-National Corporations tweak their cultures to reflect the local culture of the countries that they operate in. For instance, McDonald’s won’t sell burgers in India with beef in them. You cannot run a successful business by exporting your current culture wholesale to a foreign country. A good manager or CEO knows that he or she needs to modify company culture so as to accommodate local cultural realities.

Opening Thoughts

I posted this on my Ideal Strategies blog and I thought this might be a good arena to share the idea matrix and allow it to expand through discussion and review. Here we go (You can read the original post by clicking here: Turn Your Concepts into Reality: The IDEA Matrix). I hope you enjoy reading it more than I enjoyed writing it:

Let us look at how concepts can be turned into reality. Here is an IDEA matrix that I developed earlier this year for doing this. The processes outlined below interact at so many levels and the lines are not clear-cut between them. It is possible to go from the I stage to the E stage, then back to the D stage then the A stage and vice-versa. That’s the beauty of nurturing ideas. Here we go:

The I Stage: Invest, invent and innovate

No idea can become reality unless you invest time and resources to it. Ideas grow in fertile ground. For your idea to expand you need to create an environment in which it can flourish and blossom. This could be an environment where you brainstorm with others on the idea or where you can study on the idea. Investing time and resources to the idea is key to being able to invent the idea. To invent is simply to create or produce something. Invention leads to innovation - the introduction of changes or new things in society. The idea has to become a dominant force in your life through the investing of time and resources towards it.

The D Stage: Discover, document and define

Once the idea has been invented, it provides you with the opportunity to discover and really define what the idea’s purpose is. When concept becomes reality, we begin to discover the full potential of our dreams. This should be carefully documented because it is the key to innovation. As long as the idea remains concept, we cannot be able to discover it’s full potential nor to clearly define it. When Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone, he couldn’t define it as we know it today at first. He knew that he had a device for transmitting speech. In his application filed on February 18, 2006, he mentioned “major improvements in telegraphy”. It wasn’t until much later that his invention was defined clearly. Through the many processes of this idea matrix, his concept has continued to be improved in so many ways.

The E Stage: Experiment, experience and evaluate

Ideas need to be experimented on a lot of times at the early stages. Ideas need to be implemented so that we can build on them. If ideas forever remain concepts, we cannot be able to fully experience them. We need to have tangible evidence of the ideas so that we can evaluate them and improve on them. It is the process of constant and continuous evaluation and reevaluation that results in winning ideas. It is through the process of experimentation and evaluation that we really learn about our ideas. When we become students of our ideas, we set in process a mechanism that allows us to actualize the ideas.

The A Stage: Actualize, advance and advertize

Once the ideas have been experimented on and evaluated, they allow us to go to the next level of actualizing them. By this time we have tangible goods and services that can be advanced to others. The key to the idea reaching it’s full potential is in your ability to advertize it. Advertizing is simply bringing your idea to the masses so that others can experience it’s power and purpose. Your idea could be the solution to so much hurt and difficulty that others have experienced. So, work on those ideas. Use the idea matrix to bring them to the forefront of your world.

This past Sunday my wife and I had a slight misunderstanding as we were going out. Her car was parked in the garage, which we normally get to through the basement. My truck was parked outside in the drive-way. My wife had expected me to be taking her car because she had seen me go to the basement earlier. However, I found that her seats were all covered with books and magazines. So, I came back upstairs, took our son and headed out through the kitchen door to the driveway, where my truck was parked.

My mistake was that I did not tell her that I was going to take the truck since I assumed that she knew the seats in her car were covered with books and magazines. Well, long story short, she was not very happy when she finally came outside because she had had to go down the stairs, out through our backyard and finally all the way round the house to the driveway. She expressed her displeasure and I knew that I had to apologize. I’d like to share the process that I used. Hopefully, this will be a tool that you can use too when you need to apologize to someone. My process is an acronym of the word APOLOGIZE.

How to APOLOGIZE:

Acknowledge the offense - The first step in apologizing is acknowledging that you did something wrong. Many of us fail to do this because of pride or shame. Acknowledging the offense simply means taking responsibility for your actions. It takes a lot of courage, maturity and humility to acknowledge that you were on the wrong.

Purpose to focus on your actions - It is so tempting during a misunderstanding to want to point out the other person’s role. You have to focus on your actions because you have or had no control over the other person’s actions. Do not be tempted to point out the other person’s errors, mistakes or flaws. 

Outline what you did wrong - Clearly explain what you did wrong. You have to be direct and honest. Outlining your actions is best done face-to-face. We live in a technologically savvy world and it is so easy to want to send a quick email or make a phone call. However making an apology is best done face-to-face.

Listen for feedback and criticism - Be open to feedback or criticism from the other person. This is not a time to defend yourself. I have always looked at feedback as feed-forward - information designed to make me a better person tomorrow. Listening for feedback proves that you are willing to make changes.

Offer your sincere apologies - Clearly state that you are sorry for the offense. Being sincere means that you have to avoid using the word ‘but’. Many people apologize like this: ”I’m sorry, but ..” Saying ‘but’ really means that you are not sorry. Again, this also means that you are not focusing on your own actions.

Genuinely express remorse - This is really the first step in repairing the damage done. You have to ask for forgiveness. The benefit of this is that it demonstrates to the offended party that you want the relationship to go back to normal. Expressing remorse is essential for the relationship to begin afresh. 

Identify how you can make amends - This depends on the nature of the offense. Think about what caused the misunderstanding or offense and then figure out what you can do next time so that it does not happen again. You have to really uncover what the underlying problem is and make sure that you never repeat this mistake again.

Zero-in on a resolution - A true apology requires a resolution of the problem. Do something specific that remedies the situation and allows trust to be restored in the relationship. Look the offended person in the eye and assure them that you will do everything necessary to avoid this problem in future.

Endeavor to repair damages done- Finally, there are many things you can do to build-up and enhance the relationship. This might be as simple as a kiss, a note, flowers or a letter to the person you had offended. This communicates to the recipient that you have put everything behind you and the issue should be brought up again. 

Earlier this week I tried out as an instructor at a local business college right here in Cincinnati. During my observation I realized that there are moments too when we are fully aware of our deficiencies or lack of training in certain skill areas. Our awareness of such incompetence should never freeze us from action, it should instead motivate us to acquire the training that we need.

In order to motivate us towards this, I have developed a five-step strategy that can deliver results in such situations. Here is my LEARN strategy for conscious incompetence:

Let your incompetence motivate you towards learning 

Empower yourself by reading about the skill area

Associate with people who have competence in that skill area

Redefine your understanding of your capacity in that skill

Nurture a passion for teaching others that particular skill

Be a peak performer. Never allow incompetence to stop you from accomplishing your objectives. Lack of training should not necessarily equate to lack of ability. You can learn what you need to in order to move ahead into action.

The pursuit of knowledge has been a quest of mankind since the times of Adam and Eve. Knowledge creates pathways into the future. It’s a common quote: we are the masters of our own destiny and the architects of our own fortune. But the real situation is that very few people are actualizing the truth of that statement. Is it because they embrace a mentality that the pursuit of knowledge ends after graduation? What makes some people masters of greatness and architects of achievement while others languish in the obscurity of mediocrity?

My thinking is that the main thing that separates between those who soar and those who flop in life is knowledge that births vision in life. It has been said that where there is no vision, people perish. Vision is the primary ingredient of success, the seed of greatness and the foundation of accomplishment. It takes a certain degree of knowledge for one to even be able to birth a viable vision for life.

The Mastery of Vision

Achievers in life have a mastery of vision that is undisputable. Mastery is defined as the command, grasp or control of a subject (think knowledge). We love sports because we can readily see mastery demonstrated before us. Look at a bike rider like Lance Armstrong. I’ve enjoyed watching him compete in the Tour-de-France year after year. Lance was a master at teaching us the art of vision. His vision came from knowledge of the bike, his body and strategies to beat his opponents. He would train seriously in the off-season and then come out every July in-front of the world’s cameras and show that he had what it takes to win a grueling 21-day race.  

The Architecture of Vision

Architecture is simply the structure of anything. In construction circles, it is the act or process of building. The architecture of vision is therefore the act of giving structure to that which has been intangible - your vision of the future. Going back to our opening quote, we are the architects of our own fortune. Fortune is the end result of knowledge. When it is said that where there is no vision people perish, what that really means is that where people lack hope in the future, there are no fortunes for them to reach for.

Mastery and Architecture Intersect at the Crossroads of Knowledge

Let us briefly look at the work of an architect. An architect takes a user’s vision and brings it to life. He plans and designs that which had been conceived in the mind. Many architects are great visionaries. One of my favorite visionary architects is R. Buckminster Fuller, the creator of the Geodesic Dome. His concepts were revolutionary. The dymaxion car (contracted from DYnamic MAXimum tensION), for instance. Fuller had a superb ability to dream big and develop audacious goals.   

One of the most important things that must be grasped in life is that learning is not permanent. Many times we set a goal for advancement in knowledge acquisition and once that goal is attained we sort of settle into a feeling that we have arrived. Best example of this is the diploma mentality. Most people stop learning and advancing their knowledge once they get their degree, diploma or certificate in whatsoever they are pursuing. The end result of this is that they slowly start losing most of what they had learnt. The key to continuos improvement in life is a commitment to never-ending learning. Here are some growth keys for a better life:

Generate a passion for learning within yourself - Personal growth is not easy. It takes a special commitment to maintain consistent growth. The key to this is to make a personal decision for continuous learning. You have to decide that no matter what you will carve out time for more learning.

Read widely with a desire to expand your knowledge - Leaders are readers. In order to stay ahead of the pack, you must do what the pack doesn’t do. Few people read on a daily basis. What you do daily will decide who you become permanently. You have to read and listen to audio books daily.

Omit useless activities from your daily agenda - Personal growth goes hand-in-hand with time management. In order to develop yourself you must learn to discriminate wisely amongst activities. That’s the key to maintaining focus. Activity doesn’t necessarily equate to productivity.

Wear a whatever it takes attitude - All year I've enjoyed watching Tiger Woods play golf and win the 2007 Buick invitational, the WGC-Bridgestone Tournament and the PGA Championship. Tiger has committed himself to continously improving his game. Nobody wears a whatever it takes attitude better than him. Imitate his style as you develop your own learning. 

Treasure the company of others that are learning - Who you become in five years depends a lot on who you associate with today. Find people that are learning and share in their growth. Your environment should consist of people that are going in the same direction in which you are headed. That is the key to advancement.

Hammer-out a lifestyle of continous learning - Developing a lifestyle of learning is not easy. Once you set your eyes on growing, all sorts of obstacles will try and prevent you from attaining that goal. You have to “chisel” out a pathway of continual learning in your life.

Embrace these keys to learning and you will definitely attain more than you ever thought possible! 

A wise sage, Aristotle, once said, "The proof that you know something is that you are able to teach it". Good teaching, therefore, comes from sound knowledge of one's material. A commitment to continued personal growth is therefore essential in the development of better teaching skills. The idea of staying updated through daily study in one's field of expertise is therefore one of the most empowering things teachers can do for themselves.

July 21st is a special day for me. Christmas, for me, comes in July - on July 21st! Today is a special July 21st for me because I'm starting a new decade of my life. As I enter this new season, I'm thinking of what the rest of my life will be. Life is short and we need to constantly be asking ourselves the question, "Am I living a life that is making a difference for those around me?" Bob Buford once said, “None of us know when we will die, but all of us, if we wish, can select our own epitaph”. Man's greatest challenge is to live a life that leaves a solid legacy behind him. This July 21st, I'm asking myself ten key questions that will determine the rest of my life. Here are the ten key questions that are foremost in my heart right now (there's a bonus question after the ten):

1. Am I going to be one of the boys and get the affirmation of mediocrity or will I step out of the herd and blaze a trail of accomplishment?

The idea of affirming people has been around for a long time. Dale Carnegie’s 1936 masterpiece, ‘How to Win Friends and influence People’, has helped so many people over the years to develop a people-centered perspective that has enabled them to empower others positively. I would highly suggest a reading of the book. When you focus on self, all you care about is personal accomplishments. But when you learn to affirm others, you empower them to accomplish great things.

2. Will I be enticed by the promises of wealth or will I live an epic life based on my true capacity?

Nothing excites me more than the person who gives up financial gain for the sake of developing his or her personal potential. When you live with such a philosophy, growth is never a problem. It’s potential-centered thinking that sets the pace for the kind of legacy a person will leave behind. Again, when one is not blossoming in life, the pre-dominant question is “What can I get (or receive) from this situation?” When one is in bloom, the pre-dominant question is “How can I grow in this situation?”

3. Am I tempted by the life of ease and play now, or am I motivated by the desire for living my best life possible?

There are two kinds of people in life: eagles and turkeys. Turkeys are usually show-offs. Nothing pleasures them more than just having fun - 24/7. Then there are eagles. These are usually focused and goal-oriented people. They'd rather engage in something that enables them to grow and grow others than just play and have fun all the time.

4. Do I want to live a life of comfort and convenience or will I soar towards a better life in which I make an even greater difference in society?

John F. Kennedy said, ” And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you -ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.” Most people are looking for security from their leaders. Those who blossom in life find ways in which they can significantly contribute to their country and community.

5. Am I going to settle for the acceptance of my peers and friends or will I aim for the excellence that comes from the pursuit of a cause that is greater than my personal dreams?

Do you know what happens to crabs in a bucket? As one of them tries to make it's way out of the bucket, the others will always pull it down. Think of people now. Many people don't even attempt to climb out of the bucket because they enjoy the acceptance of mediocrity. They'd rather hang with the boys and girls rather than excel with the men and women who are making a difference.

6. Am I satisfied with adding value to my community or will I go for the more rewarding joy of multiplying value to the world?

Value multipliers impact and influence other people greatly. The great thing about being a value multiplier is that you are able to empower people to be organized and do something positive. What a beauty! You multiply value by passing along the best in yourself to other people. I’m always pleased when I hear from people I led in high school and at the university. They always say things like, “Herman, that idea was awesome. It took our group to a whole new level.” While those short-term moves were great for whichever group I led, the best thing is that they felt empowered.

7. Will I be a jack of all trades and master of none or will I stand out from the pack and be a master of one thing?

This is my pet peeve. We engage ourselves in too many things nowadays. I acknowledge that in life we have to wear many hats but it becomes a problem when those hats don't fit us! You've got to find the hats that fit you. You were born with purpose and potential inside you. The sun's rays do not burn unless brought to a point of focus. Find your magnifying glass and let those rays burn!

8. Am I going to fill up my life with things and events or will I go for the right things and events?

Most people’s undoing is that they short-change themselves by being involved in too many things. Life for them is measured in numbers - how many activities, how many parties, how many friends, etc. They believe that the more events/activities they engage in, the better their lives will be. Wrong! We need to go for quality. It's not how much activity you engage in but the productivity you manifest! It's not how many parties you go to, but the quality of the parties. It's not how many friends you have but the richness of the friendships you have.

9. Is my prime desire to have a stable life or am I willing to tap into the joy of living significantly?

We live in a unique day and age. It's so easy to live a stable life by simply being mediocre. I think we need to go beyond stability to success. You may have seen the movie Click. I'll put my own spin on it. It's about this guy who wants to live a stable life and acquires a remote from Bed, Bath and Beyond that enables him to control virtually every aspect of his life. We can't control everything in life. Success comes when we engage with variables that we can't control. Let's go BEYOND stability. Let's strive for success.

10. Am I laboring in my work at the expense of my family or am I creating a legacy for those whom I love and society in general?

Nothing dominates life more than work. Every day we are working! Small wonder that the Sabbath was created for us. Even though we must work to keep in order to keep life moving, we must do so in the context of family. Work should not revolve around family but family around work. My family is my first priority, not my work. I am a family man, not a work horse!

Bonus Question

Am I living for the next level or developing a legacy for and with my family, friends and people in general?

People today are consumed with the idea of going to the next level in their lives, be it in their relationships, careers, finances or other area of life. July 21st might seem like going to the next level for me but I find the idea of going to the next level to be too limiting. My paradigm is that we need to be consumed with the idea of the kind of legacy we will leave behind at the end of the seasons of our lives. Thinking about your legacy every day, rather than thinking about the next level only, makes you a better leader. Thinking about a legacy makes you other-people centered while thinking about going to the next level tends to make one self-centered.