More I travel... Simpler I become

Have now traveled to Thailand, UK, Malaysia, Indonesia, Luxembourg, Hungary, Sweden, Austria, France, Switzerland and Italy (makes it one more the TEN to tango.....)

What have I learnt--

1. Have learnt to be sensitive to cultures -speak slowly and understand the sensitivities -someone likes his coffee, some his meat and some his wine
2. There is much more than the English language - most of the countries had their own local languages - Do I need to learn any of them?
3. Professional writing is a key strength. Am lucky to learn from Ted's 56-year experience of British english :) - Write short, precise and powerful sentences.
4. Core principles of business remain the same - but decision making cycles differ and complexities are sometimes accepted as inherent
5. Fewer the words, the better - every word introduces a perception
6. Smile often - it is better to be perceived as a fool who smiles unnecessarily than as a guy who is an energy sucker, who frowns and grunts - reminds me of the Mr. Energy Sucker :)
7. Keep team structures simple - everyone wants to be a reviewer and a business leader - but the key contributions come from the doers
8. What makes a successful team - ample work to keep the team busy, followers who look up to leader(s), respect for each other's private space and goals, ability of the team to articulate a problems/challenge in one sentence (Richard's famous last words) and of course an adequate pay-scale
9. Portuguese have a standard perception on the Germans, Germans think of British in a different way, The British and the French blame each other for their invective(s), Italians are mindful of not having any coffee beyond 5 PM, the Swiss are confused due to a tri-lingual existence, Luxembourg is nothing but a commercial district whose population doubles during work hours (with people coming in to work from neighbouring countries)
10. Beyond topline and margins, it is also about sustaining an investor eco-system and a customer base (through brand building)
    

Doing business is not a monotone.... treat is just as you would want to treat your life... !! Find examples from real-world visuals, motions, conversations and facial contortions - Nature houses numerous novel ideas to do better business