ARE YOU INTO BOXING OR JUDO?

Most of the business people who have been in Turkey for more than a year get used to the Turkish word “inshallah”, which means “with God’s will & support”. They often start using the word as a teaser about an uncertain issue. This makes me realize that they have a good understanding of Turkish business culture: a unique fusion of old and new, East and West.

During the prehistoric age, human beings were ruled by nature. They believed in external controls and responded to their causes as well as they could. During the Renaissance, humans started building machines and technical evolution brought about internal control. We sincerely believed we could control almost anything if we planned properly and developed suitable technology.

This is still the case in Anglo-Saxon business cultures. If you have a good idea (identify a need) and an execution plan, and you work hard, you will succeed. If not, there is something wrong with one of the elements mentioned above. That’s it. It is like boxing; you have to have a good idea of where to hit, a good plan on how to do it, and a healthy body for execution. Then it is a matter of time before you succeed.

In most Asian (and emerging countries) business cultures, however, the concept is totally different. You have to get the first three in order, but you will also need luck and blessing to succeed. External factors are as important as your plans, and they can turn your world upside down if you believe nothing can stop you. It is like sailing.

No matter how well maintained your boat is, if the weather changes and the sea gets rough, you will have difficulty sticking to your course. Then all you can do is respond to the waves. You can even use the powers of nature to get wherever you want to go faster. It is also like judo. You use the power of your opponent and put him down by converting his energy to yours.

Usually, these two cultures clash when they work together. One likes to control, the other prefers a responsive approach. I have observed several clashes between these two schools of thoughts in Turkey. Problems among joint ventures partners, local managers and the headquarter staff at international companies may cause financial damage.

Today, the citizens of the Western world are busy trying to figure out which currency they should keep their money in. This is like elementary school homework for the average citizen in this country. Being partially from an Asian culture and a fully emerging market, we grew up managing crises and have seen so many devaluations that we have become experts in our reactions.

We have learned to have a longer strategy, but to not rely on making plans that are longer than three months. Why? The answer is simple. No matter how good the ideas, the products, or the plans we make, and no matter how hard we work, we have learned that things can change externally and can cause failure unless we learn how to trim our sails and change our course accordingly. If you are a local operator, this becomes your life’s motto. However, the color changes if you operate with a foreign partner company or report to a headquarters office based in a developed country. When you want to respond to a sudden external factor, they might not notice this on their radar and they will ignore your call. Even worse, they might see the object and panic as they have never seen it before and force you to take action when you want to wait until it goes away.

Four years ago (when we were not in the same global crisis boat), without any particular reason, we had a sudden devaluation of the Turkish lira. As local management, we examined the possible causes and impact and then decided to wait a week before taking any action.

An hour later, we received an invitation to discuss this matter on a conference call with the Finance team at headquarters. We were on their radar screen because of our size. That afternoon my Finance Director and I were talking to five executives from headquarters, one of whom was my boss.

They were asking us to take action. Our view was different; we believed that the sudden wind of change was not here to stay and that if we were to react to it, the damage would be great when the situation returned to normal. My boss did not have much experience in emerging markets, but did have many years of wisdom and trusted the captain to handle the situation. He gave us two weeks to resolve the problem. About a week later, the issue was history.

With the change in the environment, the recent global crisis, and especially the dust of a volcano in Iceland, taught the entire world good lessons. It does not matter how well you plan things internally, you also have to adapt your plans according to the external environment. However, at the same time, you have to have a plan and a destination. That’s why we have started merging the two in modern times. Why do you think yoga classes have become so popular lately?