It is a wrap the last webinar organized by CCFF (Chambre de Commerce Franco-Finlandaise) and Nordic Strategic Consulting with David Szymanski as a speaker!
We exchanged in an interactive webinar on the ways to Crack the code for better business between Finns and French.
More than 90 participants registered with profile ranging from CEOs to Sales Directors, from Executive Owners to Students, from Developers to Consultants, from HR to Self-Entrepreneurs…
More than 60 companies represented, from large corporations to Law firms, from industrial companies to start-ups, from wine magazines to gaming industry, from universities to food industries …
The feedbacks of the participants were very unanimously enthusiastic!
“Thank you, brilliant, very good presentation and nice interacting tools. “
“This kind of event is very fruitful, I wish to see as a round table concept soon, maybe after corona disaster”
“Thank you very much for the presentation, very interesting! Everyone should have this basic knowledge when working in a multi-cultural environment. It’s not an option!”
“Leading people and business with the common goal to generate profit is not enough to ensure great result. Bridging cultural gaps often make the difference!”
In brief, we looked together at four cultural dimensions where Finns and French have some clear differences: The perception of time (Monochronic/ Polychronic), the level of organization (Flat/ Hierarchical), the context culture (Low/ High) and the culture orientation (Task/ Relationship).
The participants mapped the two cultures on these dimensions and realized concretely the existing gaps.
Knowing there is this gap and understanding its nature is the first step. Closing it, is then possible by simple clear actions.
You are a Finn:
You may tend to believe: That you Loose time in small talks
You may want instead: To invest time in relationship to get the job done faster
You may tend to believe: That being on schedule is a great deal
You may want instead: To reserve slack in your schedule for possible time elasticity and reach the goal on time
You may tend to believe: That a clear message is a short message
You may want instead: a clear message requires to cover background information beyond the facts
You are a French:
Do all the above, but invert 😉
Additionally, you may want to:
Synthetize your message to the core (start with the conclusion and develop afterwards)
Choose to separate more the time for action and the time for discussion
Expect dealing with decentralized power A Finnish employee may be more empowered to make decisions on spot, even in the absence of his/her superior.
Finally, we will all remember that there is no Right and Wrongs…
… Just a different map representing a same territory. The winner is the flexible one, always. The one who can close the gap and meet the other in his/ her model of the world.