Where's the Hardest Place to Negotiate? the Middle East

I was recently asked in which culture I thought was the most difficult to negotiate a business deal. The most difficult I could think of would be to negotiate with the Roma (gypsies) of Europe. But that really doesn't come up much in international business. The Russians would be a strong candidate for most difficult, but a sharp wit and enough vodka can often help bridge the gap. No, my vote would go to Middle Eastern cultures as the hardest to navigate in negotiations.

Before I explain why, I think it is important to point out that in my experience Middle Easterners are normally warm and welcoming people. Business partnerships can often be measured in decades, with Middle Easterners showing a strong sense of commitment and loyalty to those who recipricate. Middle Easterners I have known have a wonderful sense of humor and are dedicated to their family and friends.

Now here is why the Middle Eastern cultures get my vote. Long-term business relationships depend on each side benefitting from the relationship. But when Middle Easterners (& Russians) negotiate, culturally they want to win at the other side's expense. There also can be a lot of drama (emotional displays) in the negotiation that negotiators from other cultures are not accustomed to seeing. But the final reason is that it is easy to offend a Middle Easterner and very difficult to regain the trust. This happened to me last fall. I was building rapport with a young professional Middle Eastern person. Over a period of three months, this person repeatedly offended a group of people. Instead of understanding or admitting her role in the group, this person blamed everyone but herself. In the process of complaining to me, I indirectly inferred joint responsibility for the situation. The result - an emotional volcano errupted and ties severed.

Does that mean that the rest of the world should not do business with Middle Easterners? Absolutely not. There are ways to compensate for any challenging aspects of Middle East negotiations. First, always come prepared with what you can give to the other side and what you can't. Most importantly, inflate your price to allow for deeper discounts and a perceived win-lose that is actually a win-win. Second, instead of dreading an emotional display in the attempt for deeper concessions, enjoy the show! It's for your benefit. Your role is to stay calm and focus on the long-term relationship. And finally, never directly or indirectly accuse your counterparts of any wrongdoing. Instead, focus on the negotiating issues at hand. Remember, well negotiated business relationships with Middle Easterners can be some of the strongest and most enduring to be found anywhere.

Are You an International Entrepreneur?

People have asked me what defines an international entrepreneur. The answer might seem easy - someone who starts a company and then takes it into global markets - but that's not the answer. Here is my definition based on various academics and practicioners in the field of International Entrepreneurship:

An International Entrepreneur is someone who strategically leverages international opportunities, relationships and learning in order to improve business outcomes for their organization.

Here is what an international entrepreneur is NOT:

- Someone who reactively sells goods or services to a buyer outside of their home country.

I have talked with entrepreneurs who, when it comes to international opportunities, leave their entrepreneurial spirit behind. These leaders are normally quick to point out their international sales. But these foreign sales are mostly order taking. There is little if any effort to research foreign markets to find new market opporunities. Value chain activities are almost always exclusively based in the home market with little thought to competitive advantages that could come from foreign operations. And there is no attempt to identify foreign business partners who could help bring alternative funding sources, customer lists and other advantages to the organization. Finally, reactive international sales missed the chance to learn from foreign markets and become more competitive from that newly acquired knowledge. International entrepreneurs develop business strategies that incorporate these new sales, operations, and financial opportunities from overseas markets.

- Someone who started their own company recently.

An international entrepreneur who impresses me is Rob Joyce, CEO of The Wheelabrator Group (TWG). This company is one hundred years old - hardly a young start up. Yet TWG has gone through many changes and is now looking at how to leverage international markets for competitive advantage to serve manufacturing companies all over the world. Mr. Joyce did not start this company, but he has crafted business strategy that will ensure this medium-sized company's continued growth in mature markets like the U.S. as well as growing markets like China and India.

- An international entrepreneur must be their organization's leader.

Not true, but this person should be in a position that can affect the company's international business direction. It could be the head of sales, international sales, global ops, or the company's COO. There is a local company (Denver, Colorado, USA) with an enterprising young international sales manager. This manager developed a distributor network reaching over 90 countries worldwide, and has increased the portion of international sales from 10% to 30% of the company's revenue and a slightly higher percent of profits.

- An international entrepreneur must work for a for-profit company

Not true. Social entrepreneurs can be international as well. The International Development Enterprise is a not-for-profit organization focusing on bringing subsistance level farmers out of poverty in developing countries. Entrepreneurs from IDE have developed in-country relationships with partners in places like Bangladesh to produce irrigation equipment from local materials by local workers.

I hope this explanation helps to clarify the term International Entrepreneur. If you aspire to be an international entrepreneur, I hope these examples help spawn ideas as to where you can look for your next opportunities. Good luck to all!