#See1See100 Archives - Learning India

Neil Miller July 21, 2015 Filed Under: #See1See100, Cultural Adaptation, Podcast

Episode 10: Sven and Charlotta

Some paths in India are straight, others are squiggly.

Sven Brandelik and Charlotta Osterberg-Mohandas both started their journeys in India with internships through AIESEC in 2007. Eight years later, Sven helps German-speaking companies create the right strategy for deeper engagement with India and Charlotta teaches yoga to individuals and corporations. Both of them have great stories of how they got to this point and open up on this episode of Working with India.

In this episode, you will hear:

Why comparing cultures is terrible for your cultural adjustment
What Charlotta means when she tells people that “Yoga is not for health”
How Indians really don’t need to be taught how to be direct
Important tips for maintaining relationships in India
Sven’s easy-to-remember model for networking in India

You can contact Sven on his LinkedIn page, and also check out his website, Nimble Networker where he created a complete training course for how to build relationships in India. (Only a German could create such a precise science out of something so intangible!)

Check out Charlotta’s pages under the brand name YogYug: Blog, Instagram, Facebook.

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Neil Miller May 11, 2015 Filed Under: #ChaosBeatsLogic, #PowerPlays, #See1See100, Book Reviews

Book Review: Now, Returned to India

There is one group of people with whom I always hit it off. In the airport, at a business meeting, or at my favorite South Indian restaurant – you get that feeling that you are living the same life with a different cast of characters.

Who are they? Returned NRIs. Indians who have spent some years living and working abroad and have resettled in India. Whether it is their global outlook, their similar stories, or their traditional values, I get so connected to them that I have to remind myself that I am not one of them.

Amar Vyas’ book NRI: Now, Returned to India is a nice read that will quickly immerse you in the pressing topics facing returning NRIs. It is a narrative book, loosely (if not strongly) based on real events from the author’s life. It grabs your attention without being too pedantic (like this blog), and is comically believable. [Read more…]

Neil Miller April 13, 2015 Filed Under: #See1See100, #TimeIsEternal, On the Job

I’m the Chief Guest – now what?

Have you ever been invited to be the chief guest of an event in India?

All sorts of events need guests and speakers (business, cultural, religious, educational), and outsiders, even on short trips seem to be a great choice for these things.

We’ve already talked about what to do if you are supposed to introduce someone, but actually giving a speech is a whole other thing entirely. Here are some things you need to consider. [Read more…]

Neil Miller March 16, 2015 Filed Under: #See1See100, #TimeIsEternal, On the Job

10 Ways to Get Rich Quick in Relational Capital

I knew I had to have a lot of Relational Capital with this guy.

As a foreigner coming into a new company who was likely to shake things up a bit, it was imperative that I had a large pool of Capital coming from the CEO.

We sat down at a coffee shop. I guessed from his name that he was the kind of South Indian that only ate vegetarian, so I refrained from the Spicy Chicken entrée. He casually mentioned that he had visited an Ayurvedic retreat center with his wife, and I mentioned all the ways that the ancient Indians seemed so much more advanced than us today. I asked what his kids were studying in college and what he hoped their futures looked like. When talking about ethics, I mentioned a few things I had learned in a book about the Mahabharata.

Sooner or later you will realize that building Relational Capital is essential for doing business in India.

Although Relational Capital is present in every culture, different cultures put different weight on how important it is to do business. There are some pockets in my home in the US where Relational Capital means a lot (getting a job through an alumni network at a business school) and others where it doesn’t mean as much (getting a job at Walmart). [Read more…]

Neil Miller March 9, 2015 Filed Under: #See1See100, On the Job

You need to start thinking about your Relational Capital

Why should I care about talking about cricket with my colleagues?

What difference does it make if I remember the names of my client’s kids or not?

Who cares if I know the important celebrities in India? Or all 29 states?

These are just nice add-ons that will make business go slightly smoother, right? Cute, but not necessary to make good business happen.

…said people who have never actually done business in India (or most of the rest of the world).

There is no way to overstate this. Either you understand that the quality of your relationships is the largest factor in your ability to do good business, or you will understand it later after you screw it up. [Read more…]

Neil Miller March 2, 2015 Filed Under: #PowerPlays, #See1See100, On the Job, Podcast, Team Management

Episode 6: Jessica Kumar

Starting points are pretty varied in India.

You are a man in your 50s who is coming in as the CEO of a new division.

You are a retired woman in your 60s who is ready to start a new adventure.

You are a young married couple getting some international exposure in your roles.

Each starting place comes with its own challenges; you must learn where you fit in Indian society and what rules apply to you. It takes time to learn these and some are easier than others.

But hands-down, the hardest of all the starting points is the young unmarried female manager.

Everything is leveraged against her. Indian management is still dominated by men (although this is slowly changing). Socially, most people are more concerned if she is going to get married soon than if she is capable of doing a good job. Because she is young and female, it is an uphill battle in nearly every relationship for her to get respect from people reporting to her without coming across as extremely rude and conceited.

So, I’m always amazed when I hear of a woman who made it work.

This month’s Working With India podcast features Jessica Kumar. She came to work in northern India as a young woman in her early 20s. She worked as a team-lead in several functions and got deeply involved in the culture and work life of India.

Here’s why you need to listen to this podcast:

Jessica is one of the few outsiders who completely embraced language learning and is fluent in Hindi. (She shares some great tips.)
She has perhaps the best advice for anyone trying to find their place in Indian society, regardless of their starting point.
She’s married to an Indian, and intimately knows the ins and outs of a joint family (though her first exposure might surprise you).
If you don’t listen to her story about how she learned a cultural lesson the hard way, you are likely to repeat it yourself.

Here was my favorite quote from the show: “If you pick a particular role or way people see you, it generally sticks for life.” Listen now to understand what she means.

You can listen in the player below, or subscribe on iTunes.

(A quick note on the audio – we had to switch to a phone about 10 minutes into our conversation, so you will notice that the sound quality changes all of a sudden.)

Here’s where you can find more from Jessica:

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Neil Miller January 20, 2015 Filed Under: #ChaosBeatsLogic, #PowerPlays, #See1See100, #ThinSkinned, #TimeIsEternal, Daily Living

13 ways to be a gracious god in India

Marty was a bit nervous about his first trip to India. He was visiting a team he had worked with for a few months, and was delivering some additional training to them.

A driver with Marty’s name greeted him at the airport and tried to take Marty’s bags. Marty felt a mix of suspicion and do-it-yourself-ness, and got into a small tug-of-war match to take his bags away from the driver.

When he walked into the office after freshening up, the entire office stood up with smiles to greet him. Marty gave a mostly blank look and tried to quickly find a place to set his things down. The head of the office came and asked if he’d like to join him for tea. “No thank you, I’ve got to get a few things organized here first,” Marty said.

After getting settled, the team took Marty out to lunch. On the way, Marty said he was still feeling a little jet-lagged and wasn’t very hungry. After looking over the menu, Marty selected a single bowl of soup. “Don’t you want some rice or Indian breads?”, the team asked. “No thank you, I’m trying to watch my carbs and my wife says I need to eat less gluten.” [Read more…]

Neil Miller January 12, 2015 Filed Under: #GreyIsWhite, #PowerPlays, #See1See100, #ThinSkinned, #TimeIsEternal, Daily Living, On the Job

How to Recover from Offending Someone in India

You made a careless phrase.

…or you forgot to cc someone on an email.

…or you unknowingly made a senior person look bad.

…or the hint of sarcasm in your email wasn’t taken the right way.

…or you forgot to invite someone to a meeting.

If you stick around India long enough, it’s not a question of if, but when you offend someone.Therefore, instead of discussing how to avoid it, let’s talk about how to recover from it. [Read more…]