The Front Line Guide to Thinking Clearly

17

Chapter 2

Better Ways of Learning

and Seeing

o think clearly, we must be able to look beyond the usual

or prescribed ways of doing things, and avoid the ortho-

dox. Managers who work in international settings must be

especially aware that the best practice in one setting won’t

always work in another. The candor and straight talk to which

Americans are accustomed doesn’t play well elsewhere.

Speaking like an American is a good way to become

unpopular. Worse, it can lead to retaliation by aggrieved local

nationals, not to mention exclusion and loss of revenue. I’ve

learned these lessons through personal experience.

We must learn to adapt, ...