The Enable Blog #2: The Great Cultural Barrier (Reef)

The Enable Blog #2: The Great Cultural Barrier (Reef)

One of my friends joked that in Japan, the level of politeness is so high that if the response to a business pitch is “we will think about it”, the culturally correct interpretation is “we will likely never ever do it”. In Germany, one is likely to encounter an opposite, more direct response, influenced by the unambiguous communication style preferred in the German culture. Cultural differences are often an underestimated barrier in life...

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The Enable Blog #1: Emerging Markets: Be a BRIC (in the wall) or a VIP?

The Enable Blog #1: Emerging Markets: Be a BRIC (in the wall) or a VIP?

Ever since Goldman Sachs came up with the acronym, “BRIC” or “BRICS” for the emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, the term has been used creatively on several occasions. The Economist has made particularly good use of the acronym in recent headlines like “India’s economy: A BRIC hits the wall” and “Indonesia’s middle class: missing BRIC in the wall”. On a recent visit to Taiwan, my host asked...

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