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“The global economy has almost conditioned us to the idea that frontiers are not the primary obstacle to doing business. It is more difficult to overcome the language barrier, and at times cultural differences can have a strong influence on the course of business communications. We can decipher the words, but what can about the nuances between the lines?”

“In the course of my work, on numerous occasions I have encountered differences between Eastern and Western partners in their approach to doing business. In business, what the British call ‘small talk’ is extremely important: the art of talking about nothing while in fact negotiating the key question. And it is very important to know when to stop. Once I got into an extremely awkward situation. We were sitting at a table in a classy restaurant, our party was made up of CIS and Swiss businessmen. Suddenly one of the partner tugs my sleeve, says, ‘Hey, translate this for them, I want to tell them a joke!’ He could speak English, but he wasn’t confident about joking in English. Well, the joke began okay, but it ended obscenely! I initially fell speechless from shock, then I translated it, of course, but here it was necessary for me to explain the joke because there are no analogous concepts in the German language. The Swiss businessmen gave a tense smile… It was a good example of an unfortunate moment.”

“Humour is generally the most difficult thing to translate into other languages, and here it is worth thinking hard before you go and say something rash! What can you say about the interest of your Western European partners in the former USSR?”

“The market in the CIS is of great interest to Western manufacturers, and they are actively trying to break into it, but they realise that it involves huge risks and a large investment. And there is no guarantee that the investment will bring returns. So, Western companies are interested in working with middlemen who have experience in these markets. Companies like ours. We negotiate contracts for the promotion of various types of equipment, generally in the former Soviet countries, primarily Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan. The company is responsible for all financial schemes and logistics, and our partners located at the clients’ end organise the installation and servicing. In Switzerland the conditions for doing business with Western manufacturers are convenient, firstly, there is cheap credit, secondly, you can insure the deal on good terms. Plus, of course, Western manufacturers have trust in a Swiss company, it’s almost physically palpable. And our colleagues from the CIS countries also have faith in Swiss quality, so we carry out a difficult but honourable role: we bring civilisations together.”

“You work in Switzerland and live in Germany. Do you feel any differences between these neighbouring countries?”

“The differences are pretty big! Living in Germany, you constantly come across miserable officials, with pig-headed bureaucracy. But in Switzerland I had an interesting experience. Once our company needed a special certificate confirming that we have no debts and our taxes are paid regularly. This certificate is issued by a government official in a special office, at a local level. I went there, said hello, and in the office there were pictures hanging everywhere, clearly painted by the same artist: naked models in different poses. Soft erotica, as they call it. Well, we finished our business, I paid for the certificate, and I asked: ‘So, you’re a lover of art, you take an interest in pictures?’ This got him going, and he started to explain. It turned out these pictures were his, he holds regular exhibitions right there in his office, people attend, and the pictures sell well. And he asks: ‘Would you like to buy one?’ I say, ‘Thanks very much, I’ll think about it, maybe I would.’

A bit more about the difference between Switzerland and Germany. Somehow I was invited to the presentation of an accounting company. After the presentation, there was a reception, the kind where everyone stands with a glass in their hands and all sorts of conversations are struck up. One of the managers of the company that had invited me said to me, ‘You’re lucky to live in Germany, but to have a job in Switzerland! You must have noticed that we treat our employees differently, we give them the right to work however they wish, at their discretion, and we don’t have that rigid hierarchy like you get in Germany.’”

“What differences in styles of business management between people who grew up in the former USSR and European businessmen seem the most marked to you?”

“Russian-speaking businessmen always conclude a deal during or after a party. The Germans can’t understand this, they prefer to make business decisions while they are sober. Being drunk doesn’t bother Russians. It is obvious that the decisions are thought out earlier, but the clinching of the deal traditionally takes place under more relaxed conditions. The Swiss, in turn, differ in that they take a long time to weigh it up and they avoid harshly negative language. You won’t hear them saying: ‘No, we won’t work with you!’

But you can also find the opposite behaviour. Once we were concluding a deal on collaboration with a Swiss company which had agreed to work with us in Eastern Europe. Our director — who was a Russian-speaker — gave a brief description of what we do. I was surprised to see the Swiss make their decision almost instantly. They explained it to us: ‘We are a small firm, we make equipment for solving certain tasks, we are very interested in the market in the CIS, but you’ll understand that we cannot enter it without a middleman. And we see that you have experience, so we are happy to work with you!’ Of course, we’d had some contact already, and before we began our direct negotiations there was some correspondence, but it was patently obvious that they were very interested in new markets and in real need of a reliable partner. After all, there have been plenty of cases where Western firms have opened branches somewhere in the CIS only to close after two or three years. So the most important thing is to understand each other. If your intentions are sincere, everything will come together.”