On July 29, 2021, WTA’s Simon Greathead lead a training on International Negotiations for Global Markets. As an associate professor at Brigham Young University's Marriott School of Business, Greathead is highly experienced in teaching negotiation strategies and lead the seminar with practical stories and examples.
Greathead began the training with a story:
“There was a man in the Middle East who left to his 3 sons 17 camels. To the oldest son, he left half of the camels. To the second son, he left a third of the camels. To the youngest son, he left a ninth of the camels. Well, 17 doesn’t divide by a half, it doesn’t divide by a third, and it doesn’t divide by a ninth. The 3 sons went to a wise old woman and said, ‘how do we separate these camels between us?’ To which the wise old woman said, ‘I don’t really know the answer to that question, but I do have an extra camel I can give you.’ The wise old woman gave them one camel. Now they have 18 camels. Well, 18 divides by half, 18 divides by a third—it's 6—and 18 does divide by a ninth. 9 + 6 + 2 is 17 camels. They gave the one camel back to the wise old woman.”
Titled “The Eighteenth Camel,” Greathead’s story serves as a foundation for the training. When “I teach negotiations at BYU, I express to my students that it's your job to find the 18th camel in life, and that 18th camel is the golden goose to solve the world's problems. There is always an 18th camel [but] our personalities get in the way [and] our inability to think critically gets in the way of finding the 18th camel.”
Subsequentially, Greathead introduces negotiation to the age-old argument: nature or nurture. He concludes that competent negotiators are a mix of both, but what is more important is their ability to express and control both emotional intelligence (EQ) and logical thinking (IQ).
Another skill that negotiators have is the ability to correctly choose between what author and psychologist Daniel Kahneman calls “System 1 and System 2…System 1…is emotionally driven. It tends to be the fast part of our brain.” In Kahneman’s book, Thinking, Fast and Slow, he states that System 1 is “our initial response to stimuli.” As a parent, Greathead has learned to overcome System 1 reactions and respond to his children with System 2 replies and reactions. If he does not agree with something his son says, Greathead is now more patient and rational in responding to him.
Greathead then discussed irrational expectations in negotiations. There are 2 steps to overcoming these types of interactions:
As an example, Greathead used a software company and their client. If the company needs the software in a much shorter time than originally anticipated, the software developers cannot finish the product; however, by asking why their client needs the software in such a short amount of time, the software company can then come up with a rational solution. In this case, their client wanted to launch a marketing campaign soon. Instead of producing and utilizing the new software, the software company just needed to launch a marketing module. The software company had found the 18th camel by simply asking why.
Lastly, Greathead taught the difference in and importance of distributive and integrative negotiating. A distributive approach, Greathead explains, strictly sticks to the boundaries of a fixed pie. As a result of not negotiating possible ways to expand the pie, both parties do not get their intended outcome. With an integrative approach, negotiators utilize the tools Greathead previously mentioned such as EQ vs. IQ and System 1 vs. System 2. By demonstrating self-control and patience, negotiators can find the 18th camel and land a deal that satisfies both parties.
To receive more information and details on WTA’s upcoming events, become a member and follow our Twitter and LinkedIn.
Recently the World Trade Association of Utah had a chance to chat with Simon Greathead, Associate Professor of International Business and Supply Chain Management at BYU Marriott School of Business, to discuss an important aspect of international business: culture and how it relates to effective cross border trade.
As an expert on the topic, Greathead went into detail about his course at BYU “Culture as a Language of Business”.
“This primarily was for English language students who would like to learn about international business. As I started researching how I would build that class it came to me that culture in and of itself is a language of business and in many respects is considered more important than a second language,” said Greathead.
“There’s great power in individuals who are able to use cultural understanding as well as individual relations to get business done.”
The course is designed around the eight scales of culture defined in Erin Meyers best-selling book, "The Culture Map: Breaking Through the Invisible Boundaries of Global Business."
These eight scales are an important tool to understand the varying levels of communication styles in different regions. In America, communicating tends to be generally direct and upfront. This is also called "low context communication" according to Meyer.
The U.S. is one of the lowest context cultures in the world, because it is a young country that has a culture born from many different, interacting languages. Early settlers had to use their lowest common communication methods to build the nation.
In other areas of the world, such as Japan, the origin of language and culture dates back four to five thousand years. A deep understanding of communication between individuals is rooted in those many years of development. The communication style in Japan is considered high context and more nuanced.
This is commonly referred to as “kuuki wo yomu” in Japanese or “reading the air”. It is the idea of understanding what has not been said between individuals by considering other communication factors such as body language or context is key to effectively communicating in Japan. These subtleties may be lost on individuals coming from regions who practice lower context communication.
“You can buy the skill of language, meaning you can hire a translator.” said Greathead. “But what you typically can’t hire so easily is a cultural expert. So, if you understand culture it can get you a lot further in international business than a second language can.”
Understanding these levels of communication, or “context” as Meyers suggests, serves as the foundation for successful business relationships with individuals of other cultures.
When building the course, Greathead also pulled from the work of Geert Hofstede who extensively researched understanding culture from a psychological standpoint. He described culture using the metaphor of a forest and a tree.
Greathead said, “You can describe culture using characteristics of a forest, but unfortunately you cannot describe the tree.” This means you can understand a culture as a whole, but this does not describe every individual belonging to that culture.
Greathead describes this process of understanding culture as a journey - one that could take several years. “When I worked in Europe, I took my American wife with me. After two years, my wife, Brooke, understood well some of the nuances of British culture.” said Greathead. He explained that it takes approximately two years to confidently manage cultural nuances on a social and business level.
There are many readily available resources to learn more about navigating international business. Some of these resources include GlobalRoadWarrior.com or The Economist. According to Greathead, the best way to learn these different communication styles between cultures is to interact with them directly and ask them plenty of questions.
“It is an art and a science. The science is knowing the formalized characteristics are for a given culture. The art is knowing when to apply that knowledge and when to consider an individualized approach to a relationship” said Greathead.