If err we must, let us err on the side of tolerance. Felix Frankfurter
Manners are of more importance than laws. Edmund Burke
A want of tact is worse than a want of virtue. Benjamin Disraeli
Cultural differences create hotbeds of miscommunication between CEOs and their employees, between managers and their staff, between salespeople and their customers, between coworkers and teams. Even though ''diversity" has been a frequent topic of corporate training seminars and speeches, graduate school curricula, and management symposiums, there's still a big gulf between awareness of differences and appreciation of differences. These tips will further awareness. Appreciating the differencesa result of attitude and motivationcomes more slowly and with greater reward than mere acknowledgment.
Tip 1001: Choose the right time and place to discuss business.
In Asian cultures, people dine first and strengthen friendships before doing business. In Western cultures, people may begin business over cocktails. Americans discuss business most any place and interpret others' refusal to do so as lack of interest or lack of aggressiveness.
